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The first season of the X Games League is ending in New Orleans, and only one team walks away champion. July 24th through 26th at the Caesars Superdome, watch the world's best skaters, BMX riders, and moto athletes battle for the title. Plus, live performances from Metro Boomin', JID, Subtronics, and Bunt. Three days of sport and music. Get your tickets now at xgames.com.

When Democrats are messing up, I say it. When Republicans are messing up, I say it. I'm Essie Kupp, a journalist and political commentator. And on my podcast, Off the Cup, I help you make sense of the often nonsensical news. I do this on cable news too, but on my podcast, I can really let loose and be my honest, unfiltered self. I just want to talk about something that happened this week because it's so bonkers, so stupid, such incredibly bad politics. We have to talk about it. Come for the hot takes, stay for the sanity. Listen to Off the Cup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Hire the right pro today. It's Mojo in the morning show. So you had to leave after we got done with some post-show stuff yesterday, Shannon, and you were going off to do a, how long was this thing?

It was like four and a half hours long.

A four and a half hour, was it a modeling gig?

It was a photo shoot for a brand new client that iHeart has. The downtown Birmingham shopping district is the client. And it was actually really fun because you get to play dress up, you know, and get your hair and makeup done, which we never get. And it's for the town of Birmingham? It's for the town of Birmingham and all of their, like, restaurants and shops and parks and different things like that. So they, funny, I've known I've been, you know, this was on my calendar for a month or two now. Well, a couple of weeks ago, they said, would your fiancee, Wes, be interested in doing it with you? Because we need a male model. We figure we'll just throw him into the mix. You guys will have natural chemistry, which I always love. So he did it with me yesterday. I roped him into this four and a half hour long thing. But he ended up having, I hope, a good time, too. So the very last place that we were taking photos yesterday, we were at like a little coffee shop. And they sat us at a table with coffees to answer some questions for social media. Okay. First off, let me go back and say, I am not a model. I am so uncomfortable and awkward when we have to take still photos to the point where somebody finally offered me a glass of champagne to loosen me up a little bit. Okay. So that's where we were. Like we talk on the radio in a room where there's nobody else except for us. So I kept having to explain this to them as they were like, do this, do this, no smile. I can't do no smile photos. That is just not me. I actually just laugh it it comes out quite the opposite it's so bad so fast forward to the end of the day Wes and I are sitting there we're answering these like interview questions for their social media and across sitting across from us was a table of these like really cute I would say group of friends maybe in their 20s okay and they were very inquisitive about what we were doing because we had a whole bunch of people that, that were with us. And so the, like the producer of this shoot, um, you know, explained what it was. Oh, they're doing a shoot for the downtown Birmingham shopping district. And we've been going around town all day, taking photos. She at one point gets up to go grab something. And this group of, of friends turned their questions to Wes and I, and they were like wait so you guys work for the magazine no do you work for the company that's putting on the shoot no we don't do you own this restaurant no they actually like recruited us to to be the models for this thing you're the models yes yes we are um so you don't work for the company That's behind the photo shoot No, we don't How did they pick you? Did you win a contest? I'm like, look, this could not be anymore

They were a little judgy

And it was I looked at Wes and I'm like, wow I feel really bad about myself How about you? It was so funny But ding, ding, ding It's those 20-somethings

Those rat bastard 20-somethings KP Peace.

and lydia yeah yeah it was you guys it was comical um that's that is funny how do you do this

and do the pictures without doing what you do here in the studio let me see the picture can

i see the picture well and i didn't i couldn't and i you know that's what scares me is i don't

get to pick yeah so ugly i i've realized by the way that any posed photo that i'm in I look like I've got Maybe something going on in my life Like I look like

Or that you have to poop really bad That's what I feel I look like

Like when I look at a photo of myself Where we're posing People look and they go Oh, that's mojo Like they give me the Oh, what a good Oh, like that But if I do Like one of those photos Where they just catch me That's why I always like to Hey, if you're going to do a picture Get us just talking Yes You know what I mean? Yeah, I like that so

What are those pictures called?

Candid. Is it a candid? Yeah.

My brain was just blank for a second, but yes.

I like candid shots of myself better. I was looking at the photos from when we were at the Pistons game the other day, and the candid shot photos of just talking to the listeners that were there in the concourse area of Little Caesars, I'm like, wow, actually, I don't look so bad. When you take this photo, I got this look on my face, like, what is that?

And imagine the photographer telling you, no smiles here. Just have like a, you know, just kind of have a serious. I cannot do a serious face to save the life of me. I got dimples. I was laughing so hard. I'm like, you can't tell me to do that. I feel like I'm taking a passport photo. It is not going to be good.

I never like my smile in photos. So I'd rather just be, like you said, just talking. You catch me talking. Actually, there's no way to photograph me without me being talking. You don't like your smile? No. Really? Well, it's because it's forced. If I'm trying to smile, it's not how. It's because you've got those pretty lips. I'm telling you, it's those lips that you've got. Yes, you've got those lips. You like my lips? You've got pretty lips. No, if you get me in a true laugh that I didn't know I was being photographed, then I like my smile. Because it's genuine. Yeah, if you try to laugh.

Although I will tell you this, though. There are times where I've seen, and I see it on Shannon's stuff, but I also see it on our old producer, Ellen's stuff, where they do the laugh photo, and I know that they weren't laughing really. Oh, but those are the photos I choose. Those are the photos I choose. That's a fake laugh. I know you're not laughing.

But those are the best because they're more candid than just like a static smile.

Well, that's the thing that you always end up doing is you do the laugh.

I think they could tell that I was really nervous yesterday too because at one point the owner of one of the restaurants that we were taking photos in, she came up to me and she's like, do you want a little glass of something? I'm like, I actually want a bottle of something at this point. That would help so much.

Get me drunk. Although you get me drunk. And it did. You know what my problem is? My problem is with photos, and I don't know if anybody else has ever experienced this or known anybody experienced this. I have one eye that opens up a lot. Yeah, I do too. You have a squinty eye. And it looks like, honestly, I got something wrong with me. And so if I wear glasses, it hides it. If I don't have it, they go, hey, why is your eye? I look like, honestly, I look like a pirate. maybe what i should do is i should put a patch right a patch right over it and i'd be johnny

depp in that uh in that photo shannon you should have had them playing your favorite soundtrack because that usually works when someone tells me to change my body or be like smile i will look like i've got yeah that anything would have helped anything well you you did all those pageants kpr

I was the worst.

I never won photogenic because I like the in-person interaction, like you said, with the candid stuff and talking with people. The photo shoots were always the worst. You say you're not photogenic? No, I'm not. You are so photogenic. There's a difference between being attractive and being photogenic. Oh, well, you're attractive, but you're not photogenic. You're a photographer. Some people know how to pose themselves. Other people look like a noodle, and I look like a noodle. I feel like I pick the worst sides. And I, yeah, I honestly feel like it comes with confidence. And so if they had played like your favorite soundtrack or, you know, song, you would have gotten hype, you know? And they shouldn't have mentioned the way you look. They shouldn't have been like, oh, yeah, no. They make you think about it?

Oh, my God.

When I hear people who are very photogenic, like yourself, KP, say that they're not photogenic, I look at myself and then say, what am I? Right. Like, I am definitely not somebody that looks good in any pictures.

Yeah, how about you cringe when you see my Instagram? I don't cringe at all, Megan. I think you're gorgeous. Actually, Megan, I think you're very photogenic. Megan is stunning, yeah. Like, look at models, don't you? Yeah, me too. If nobody else is going to say it, I'll say it.

No, no, you are. Like KP said, you are very photogenic. You're very stunning. But in real life, in real person, I mean.

Yeah, no, no, no, I agree, 100%. You're correct.

What's your trick?

You got to film yourself. People need to stop taking photos. You have to film yourself. I remember you saying that. And then pull stills from whatever you have filmed. Yeah, that's really good advice. Film it in high resolution. Put your camera as high as it can go. Film yourself for like two minutes. Pause the video. Scroll through it. Grab frames.

So I tried that because after I have the same one-eyed thing Mojo says he has. after St. Patrick's Day, everybody's looking at my Radio Spike Instagram and they're like, wow, your one eye is drunk on St. Patrick's Day. It looks like I had a stroke, like one side of my face is, but so I tried the film thing and then I realized, oh no, it's just always like that. There's no chance to grab a shot that the one eye isn't closed more than the other. Yeah, go like that. Arr!

But I will say this about the filming thing. When KP does grab a still for the still shot that's on our videos on our you know uh social media i go wow that looks actually like a pretty good uh picture you know what i mean but it is kind of a candid still

yeah it's neat i try and catch you at your good moments oh i know i honestly feel like it's like getting a teenager out of bed to get mojo to do anything social wise and i have just learned that you just got to make him laugh or smile and then quickly snap a picture and then leave well i also

notice your new angle with him with video is you keep moving the camera further and further away Yeah, what is that all about? I'm getting a sense.

And I said to him yesterday, no offense, but your head looks kind of big. So I need to pull it back. And I'm like, I'm not saying that your head is big. See, I got to be honest.

I positioned it back in the day when we first got these cameras. I positioned it there because I don't like, I like it to look like radio. I want the microphone right there and I want it to be, I don't want to look glamorized like, you know, and have it be television or movies or anything like that.

Well, you perfectly positioned the microphone to cover your face. And I would love to see your pearly whites. I want to see what you're saying, and I can't see you. She's trying to find your best angle,

and she's moved the camera 25 feet away.

The problem is I still use the same promo picture from when I was like 35 years old, and so it's when I go out and meet listeners. They go, who are you?

It's like a fisheye view.

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The first season of the X Games League is ending in New Orleans, and only one team walks away champion. July 24th through 26th at the Caesar Superdome, watch the world's best skaters, BMX riders, and moto athletes battle for the title. Plus, live performances from Metro Boomin', JID, Subtronics, and Bunt. Three days of sport and music. Get your tickets now at xgames.com.

When Democrats are messing up, I say it. When Republicans are messing up, I say it. I'm Essie Kupp, a journalist and political commentator. And on my podcast, Off the Cup, I help you make sense of the often nonsensical news. I do this on cable news, too. But on my podcast, I can really let loose and be my honest, unfiltered self. I just want to talk about something that happened this week because it's so bonkers. So stupid. Such incredibly bad politics. We have to talk about it. Come for the hot takes. Stay for the sanity. Listen to Off the Cup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.