Barflys & Butterflies

The fellas go all in on Obsession. Ground covered includes the re-platforming of Jamal’s erotic escapism page, the rebranded slang definition of obsessed, Brian’s memorable visit to an American Girl Doll Store, obsession as part of “going through a phase”, remembering what the O in OCD stands for, relationships, small distractions versus fixation, internet rabbit holes, GT’s Lifetime movie-inspired childhood lies, losing your center of gravity to someone else, the surprising normalcy of obsessive moments in your day, and yet another mispronunciation of the word tangentially. 

The fellas go all in on Control. Ground covered includes the difference between routines and rituals and the benefits of combining them, the illusion of control, assigning blame versus actually addressing problems, the danger of information control, alternate facts, social media algorithms, mini acts of rebellion, the notion that we all turn into our parents, the value of ‘steering into the skid’, the willingness to let someone else take the wheel, the idea that the game slows down when you think less, and the eternal struggle to find balance.

The fellas go all in on Loneliness. Ground covered includes the dying advantages of mask wearing, the anonymity of a large crowd, ground rules for pimps, the need to invest in socialization for a return, raves, the negative connotation surrounding loneliness, the Ray Liotta cocaine pinky, codependency, the marketing of friendship, social media, dating apps, missed connections and the individual prisms we see the world through. 

The fellas go all in on Time.  We're so pressed for it we can't even give you a recap.

The fellas go all in on Fairness.  Ground covered includes the 'it is what it is' outlook as an acceptance of unfairness, the Propublica IRS data dump, GT looking out for our listeners in Kyrgyzstan, the inability to legislate outcome, Jamal talking revolution, 'The System', hypothetical Cornhole scenarios gone awry, HR1, the Black Forager, and Dan finally admitting his propensity to one day rob banks.

The fellas go all in on Resilience. Ground covered includes the reemergence of NYC and beyond, transformation versus continuation, a quick rant on the current labor supply shortage, critical infrastructure hacks, goldfish memories (again), the go along to get along attitude as a form of resilience, and, of course, the Mountbattens. 

Brian checks in with some fresh political anger. Weird, right?

The fellas welcome Dan back to the fold and go all in on things we hate.  Ground covered includes small talk, passive aggressiveness, hypocrisy,  the debate surrounding the return to office life,  one way conversations,  story topping, selfishness and some helpful NYC tourist advice. 

The fellas go all in on Escapism. Ground covered includes more Sex and the City talk than one might expect, guilty pleasures, hate-watching, snobbery, Brian’s sobering pandemic realization, the human need to judge others, the value of getting lost in something, ego, charcuterie, Martha Stewart and a multiple alarm fire. 

The fellas go all in on Insecurity. Ground covered includes Brian’s recent worries about the podcast, the folly of bringing pictures of models to haircuts, Alcatraz, body insecurities, West Side Story, not giving a shit, how social media enhances everything, projecting insecurities, and yolked calves.