SPA Brings Famous Hot Wings Interviewer to University Park

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Student Programming Association, better known as SPA, hosted an event on Thursday called “In The Hot Seat” with Sean Evans. He’s the host of the widely successful YouTube segment “Hot Ones” where he interviews celebrities while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings.

Evans interviewed stand-up comedian, podcaster and Penn State alum Jared Freid while they ate the “wings of death”.

The first wing has Freid reminiscing about his time at Penn State. Freid discussed his time as a stand-up comic, discussed funny stand-up stories, as well as talked about Penn State cliches that are true and false.

For example, Freid said PSU students are not wild party animals. Then he said everyone is a good human and enjoyable to be around, especially at a party. He received a few laughs from that comment.

Throughout the interview, Freid asked Evans many questions as well. He asked if Evans eats wings outside of work, his favorite interview and how many times Evans films each week.

Evans shared stories about his childhood and how he found his love for spicy food. This gave the audience a closer look into Evans’ life since he’s usually the one asking questions.

Freid talked about his love for “The Bachelor” which he has a podcast about. Evans was very interested in Freid’s passion for the show as well as his romantic side. He asked Freid about the most romantic chain restaurant, as well as who should pay for dinner on the first date.

Finally, Freid revealed his Mount Rushmore of comedians: Kevin James, Dave Atell, Jerry Seinfeld and Bernie Mac. He also talked about his overall idols of comedy. Evans shared his favorite comedians as well: Dave Atell, Conner O’Malley and Nick Mullen.

Freid had a ton to say and throughout the interview the wings caused him to become more incoherent.

By the time they got to the last few wings, both were freaking out due to the heat. Freid began panicking towards the end but he ate every single wing in its entirety.

To summarize, the event was excellent. It was entertaining to see the show done live and experience the pain Evans sometimes goes through in each “Hot Ones” interview.

After Freid finished his interview, Evans stayed behind to answer some fan questions. Evans had a lot of great input on how to research, shared funny Hot Ones memories, as well as opportunities he’s earned after the show's success.

“In The Hot Seat” with Sean Evans was an incredible and memorable event and a huge win for SPA. Hopefully moving forward, the student-run organization can bring more guests like this to campus.

Jack Freiser is a fourth-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, jef5614@psu.edu.