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That Was Us

Uncle Nicky Meets The Twins | "One Small Step" (511)

That Was Us

That Was Us

Film Interviews, Tv & Film, Tv Reviews

4.92.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2026

⏱️ 92 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on That Was Us, we’re breaking down This Is Us Season 5, Episode 11: “One Small Step.” Centered on Uncle Nicky’s journey to meet Kevin and Madison’s twins, the episode explores how the smallest steps can lead to the biggest changes—and how the stories we tell ourselves can shape an entire lifetime. In this episode, the hosts chat about: * Media saturation, smartphones, and the idea of going back to a simpler “brick” device * The importance of setting intentional boundaries with technology—for yourself and your kids * How limiting choices can actually lead to more clarity and happiness * Challenging your own “core belief” stories and the narratives that hold you back * The difference between routine and rut—and how to break out of it * The loss of shared cultural moments and what brings people together today They also break down the episode, including: * Nicky’s emotional journey from isolation to connection * His first flight since Vietnam and what it represents * Cassidy helping Nicky prepare for the trip—and confront his fears * Nicky’s arrival in California and his misunderstanding about the twins’ baptism * Flashbacks to his relationship with Sally and the life he almost chose * The moon landing as a symbol of hope, possibility, and connection * His attempt to reconnect with Jack after the war and why he ultimately walks away * Kevin and Madison welcoming Nicky into their home * Nicky’s powerful monologue to the twins and the meaning behind “you two are my moon” * The emotional final moment with Kevin discovering Nicky in the nursery And a friendly reminder, you can catch new episodes of That Was Us every Monday, a day early, exclusively on Hulu. Available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts on Tuesdays like usual! That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: -This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit Betterhelp.com/twu today to get 10% off your first month. -With Shipt, it’s never just a delivery order – it’s shopped same day – in the same way you would. Use code "podcast" to get a year of Shipt for only $49 – HALF OFF the regular $99 price – at https://Shipt.com/offer. Terms apply ------------------------- 🍋 About the Show: The stars of This Is Us, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan, dive back into the world of the Pearsons, reliving each episode and all the life lessons that came with it. Together, they dig in and dig deep, have the tough conversations, bring in very special and familiar guests, share never-before-heard behind-the-scenes moments, and feature listeners in highly anticipated fan segments. Join your favorite family back in the living room to examine our past, cherish our present, and look to the future with new episodes of That Was Us every Tuesday. ------------------------- Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is a headgum podcast.

0:25.6

On today's episode, we are diving into season 5, episode 11,

0:27.3

one small step.

0:32.8

In the present day, Uncle Nicky makes the journey to California to meet Kevin and Madison's twins, and through flashbacks, we see young Nikki's romance with Sally and the choices that shaped his life.

0:41.6

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0:46.7

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0:55.1

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0:59.4

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1:05.2

like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Life. Life. Life is lifen. Life is life. Not small choices. The choices are shaped as life. Yeah. I like that. It's a kind of app, too. It's a very interesting thing. First of all, Hello. Hello. Welcome to the pod. How are you guys doing? How are you guys doing good?

1:28.3

I'm better now for seeing both of your faces.

1:31.3

I love you guys.

1:33.3

Just like, immediately, like, my day is brighter.

1:37.3

Yep.

1:38.3

Seeing both of you.

1:39.3

Yeah, I feel the same.

1:40.3

Seeing all of you, actually, our whole crew here, you know.

1:42.3

I love to acknowledge everybody off camera because like... Sam, Todd, Natalie. What is the etiquette? Some people do, some people don't or whatnot. Yeah. And like I like to, like, I don't want to pretend that we're here by ourselves. Yeah. Can you imagine? We're just the three of us alone in a room. Trying to set up these cameras. Yeah. Funny sound. I'm like, we know how to do anything. Shelly is the only person that could probably set everything up.

2:01.2

Correct. trying to set up these cameras. Running sound. Like, we know how to do anything.

2:20.2

Sully is the only person that could probably set everything up. No, correct. Absolutely not. And Mandy and I would be like, can we help? Yeah. How can we help? How can we assist? Can I order food? Acknowledge people. But we will not go as far as giving anybody else a microphone like some of these other podcasts. They do that. You know what? Does an armchair give Rob a Mike?

2:21.0

Once in a while.

2:51.7

They give him a mic. They let them speak. I think Rob takes. You see, we have a mic. Rob takes. Rob takes a mic over there. Rob takes a microphone. Turn it off. Oh, dang. Yeah. It's been a fun time for me. Like this will like, out of time, but I'm going to give people stuff. Yeah, catch us up. We're on, we're like halfway through season two of Paradise. Oh, really? Airing. Airing. Folks are very excited. Like, very, like, even Sam was just saying she'd watched this last episode four, and she's like, OMG, Y, G, Ong. And it is kind of crazy. So when you guys get there. I've only watched the first. You've watched the first. You came to the premiere. It's spectacular. I came to the premiere. Gonca Shane. It's, the show is just like in typical Dan fashion. Good. It's just like when you are expecting one thing and they give you something else that you're like,

3:12.1

what?

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