Amy and Emily are back, and surprise! One of them is named Emily! (This probably isn't a surprise, huh?) The two go over the wild past year, when Amy was the first person Emily told she was a trans woman, but they also make lengthy pit stops to discuss the recent Norman Lear live TV event, the film A Simple Favor, and Emily's complete inability to properly summarize concerning Supreme Court cases. With music by Martin Denny and Ferrante & Teicher!

It's our annual Christmas music mix, with minimal Todd and Amy and almost 80 minutes of tunes to open presents to, or navigate crowded airports to, or just hang out to. Enjoy!

Todd and Amy reach the end of the road (almost) with their thoughts on one of their favorite of all Christmas songs, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." But if this song is so good, why are so many versions of it so bad? And why is Todd saying heretical things about Michael Buble? Plus: Stick around for Amy spoiling what presents she got her kid, William E. Studwell not particularly caring about this song, and Todd's last-second shopping. With music by Rosie Thomas and Aimee Mann!

Todd and Amy are joined by Todd's wife and roommate Libby Hill, who wants to talk about "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," being a depressive 8-year-old, and just what it is about this haunting song that endures. Along the way, William E. Studwell will admit nobody really knows when this song was written (either a really long time ago or a... less really long time ago), Amy will try to remember some of the other Advent songs, and Todd will talk (again) about getting a nice Christmas dinner out of the house. With music by Billie Holiday and Kendall Payne!

The year is almost over, so Todd wrangles Amy into talking about his favorite religious carol: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." But did you know no less than five people were responsible for the writing of this song? Or that it used to have a title that included the word "wellkin"? Well it did! We're also going to discover what Todd and his wife are doing for Christmas dinner and what Amy's been yelling at people in her office (mostly the names of Christmas carols). With music by Kate Rusby and Corky Hale!

Todd and Amy talk about Darlene Love's immortal "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" but get sidetracked by discussion of talk shows (like you do), Todd's other podcast (like you do), and the Rosie O'Donnell Christmas album (which Amy would very much like to find under her tree this Christmas). Here on the shortest day of the year, don't you want to hear one of the all-time great songs of Christmas longing? And hear Todd realize about five minutes in that he doesn't have that much to say about this song? And hear Cher??? With music by Justin Wilson and AB & the Sea (featuring The Shes)!

Todd and Amy talk about one of Todd's favorite songs ever written -- and that's only slight hyperbole -- when they discuss "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." They'll talk about why Todd loves this song so much, why William E. Studwell loves this song so much, and why this edition of the Spotify Game is the most perplexing yet (and also why Amy's reference to this particular game made yesterday's episode extra confusing). Also: Todd will teach you a life hack to make this song even more enjoyable, one he learned from a former coworker! With music by The Going Thing and Reverend Horton Heat!

Todd and Amy are joined by Amy's friend Libby Wiebel, who can finally talk with Todd about what various musical symbols mean. The three of them dig in to "The Twelve Days of Christmas," pondering whether the "true love" gifts the song's narrator with just one partridge in a pear tree, or 12 spread across 12 days. They'll also discuss how boring this song can be, why that John Denver and the Muppets album was EVERYWHERE for a little while, and whether the song is a coded Christian message. They'll even check Snopes! With music by Speedomaster and Mabel Mercer!

Todd and Amy take on that classic Christmas animal song, "Do You Hear What I Hear." They'd quibble slightly with William E. Studwell's classification of this song as being about animals, simply because it mentions a lamb, but they do enjoy the dulcet tones of Whitney Houston (who somehow never recorded a full Christmas album). Also, they'll delve into how many of the songs in this year's countdown were by couples and just why this is called "Do You Hear What I Hear" when that phrase doesn't appear until verse two! With music by Fat Daddy and the Living Strings & Living Voices, as well as a special appearance by Alec Guinness.

Todd and Amy unexpectedly find themselves teaching the controversy again, now that they're talking all about "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," which apparently some people want to ban or something? The controversy is very, ahem, trumped up, but talking about it allows the two to delve into issues of problematic art and how to deal with it in our own lives. Then Todd rants about why he doesn't really like the Rankin-Bass special, while Amy holds it up as a great show for all the weird kids out there. With music by Luke Flowers and Sara and the Stanleys!