This week, Ryan and Brian investigate mustard, theme parks, and calendars -- and still, Ryan has no confidence over the security of his crossword streak as he travels back in time to New Zealand.

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This week, Ryan and Brian make no progress in understanding international travel, cultural holidays, or the distinctions between two playwrights. Thanks to a mouse, this week's show was recorded on a Friday, so it'll be up to the viewers to tell the hosts all about the Saturday and Sunday puzzles.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

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• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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This week, Ryan and Brian revisit Manet/Monet mnemonics, make an effort to self-educate on Jewish holidays, question the powers of various fruit juices, and get an abundance of antipodal advice on maintaining crossword streaks. All that plus annoying the crap out of Ryan with another Kealoa.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

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Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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This week, Ryan and Brian delve back into food curiosities through no fault of their own! It was you, gentle viewers, who sent this stuff in! That, plus the usual junk (including an arboreal Kealoa).

Stuff to click:

• Grid Prix, a new crossword tournament in Michigan (March 19)
• The Breakfast Simplex
• Garson O'Toole discusses an alleged Groucho Marx quote
• Burgerittoville [sic]

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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This week, Ryan and Brian ponder Manet/Monet mnemonics (say that ten times fast), feel ancient when faced with allegedly comedic "memes" and "other internet lore," and realize they don't actually understand how groundhogs determine the weather.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

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Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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This week, Ryan and Brian discuss levels of pain (some of which they inflict on each other), listen to 50-year-old music, and dismiss potentially quality sandwiches by virtue of poor personal relationships.

Stuff to click:

• The Globe and Mail Puzzles and Games
• "Cover of the Rolling Stone"
• Manet & Morisot
• a cat eating salami, as a treat (it looks like bologna, but whatever)
• a Weltanschauung

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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This week, Ryan and Brian plan on matching dinners, nearly break records, and appreciate that an overseas listener wants America to find more positive new vocabulary. Go watch some Catherine O'Hara movies this week. She was a legend. (This has nothing to do with the podcast, we're just fans.)

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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• Contact us: Email ([email protected]) / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

This week, it's truly the highlight of any Fill Me In Season, because Ben Zimmer joins Ryan and Brian to talk about the 2025 Word of the Year! There's still plenty of the same slop there's always been, but jump ahead to about the 31-minute mark if you're just here for The Barnacle.

Stuff to click:

• Ben Zimmer on BlueSky, Facebook, and Slate
• The American Dialect Society
• Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe
• Scott Weiss's Oscars Anti-Match Quiz and info on Zoom-based escape rooms

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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• RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
• Contact us: Email ([email protected]) / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

This week, Ryan is off doing Ryan things, so Shannon Rapp (aka Norah Sharpe, an expert in sconces; the name is fake but the puzzles are real) steps in for discussions of crosswords, sandwiches, and thunder gods -- yup, even without Ryan, the topics still don't really change.

Stuff to click:

• Daily Crossword Links
• Shannon on BlueSky
• Gioia's Deli
• Big Top Deli
• The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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• RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
• Contact us: Email ([email protected]) / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

This week, Ryan and Brian continue to suffer from bronchial ailments despite having both gotten all the appropriate vaccines. To be clear, we still believe in vaccines! Things we don't necessarily believe in: whether we should move to Malta, whether Hello Kitty is a cat, and whether the host of a murder mystery party should be a critical part of the story.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a DM or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

• Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
• Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
• RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
• Contact us: Email ([email protected]) / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky