In the Stacks with Barry & LaToya

It’s the end of the 8th season. LaToya’s feeling more depressed than usual and was recently sick. Barry is still excited about The Great Gatsby and talks about his harrowing experience of falling down three steps. They both agree that there are movies that never need to be remade, thanks, Cary Elwes. Barry has a new solo podcast and reveals a season-ending cliffhanging confession.

Even with a well-planned show outline the hosts still meander into discussions around death, shacking up, and water hoses. Barry is excited that it’s “Gatsby” season and LaToya is looking forward to seeing Lizzie McGuire. First world problems abound as Barry is excited about a major accomplishment. And, despite their friendship of over a decade, Barry throws LaToya under the bus and makes her provide clarifying details of the first date weekend that she had with her now-husband of 7 years.

This week it seems that neither Barry or LaToya are watching the runtime clock for the episode making it the 3rd longest episode to date. LaToya informs Barry that the fans loved his raunchy closing of the last episode, but can he perform under pressure? Barry rethinks the BaToya rating scale. DragonCon 2019 has come and gone. Barry outsmarted a mosquito in a very surprising way. Nicknames go to a whole new “White Chocolate” level. Labor Day is a movie marathon day for LaToya and Barry’s the only one on Facebook Dating.

With Barry insisting on cursing each episode, LaToya changes the podcast setting from Clean to Explicit. The floodgates are now open for Barry and his potty mouth. LaToya is dealing with life-altering events but is glad that she has her writing and Gwen to take care of her. When Barry dies, he’s entrusting LaToya to be his Facebook Legacy Contact, but she hasn’t given him the honor of being hers. A new rating scale is established. Ready or Not, Tag, you’re it.

LaToya’s late to another recording, and this time it’s not because she’s waiting on food, she’s addressing her personal life and her lost love. Barry sells out. Barry divorces LaToya… one Thursday each month. Disney and Marvel’s divorce. Immigrants with constitutional rights?! Yeh, the show is its usual shade of mayhem and fun.

LaToya makes us start the show late because her food wasn’t delivered in time, prompting Barry to threaten to record the show without her. She tells him to go ahead, knowing he was just bluffing. Talk turns to the advances in eye care, a very expensive trip to the dentist, Barry’s nearing completion of writing another novel, movies (of course), Netflix, entertainment, and Barry’s true calling.

The show starts on an upbeat tone and then drifts to the hard-hitting issues of the day, gun control and race relations. Barry talks about being a surprise role model to kids whose lives are nothing like his childhood. LaToya shares a secret about being of a lighter hue. While there are some uplifting elements, including Barry’s Yoo-hoo obsession, this episode puts it all out there.

The hosts are exhausted. Barry’s started the new school year, and LaToya drank an energy drink several days ago that is still impacting her cognition. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the fairy tale that Barry thinks you should see and they discuss why LaToya will likely choose Apple Music over Spotify. Like an old couple, they bicker back and forth. Who would have thought that Barry would be the one who wants attention while LaToya is the one who says he’s too clingy.

Barry gets a new hand-me-down headset from LaToya and he’s not happy. We get a Roxie update and LaToya has issues with USPS. The hosts go down the movie and television rabbit hole and LaToya admits to watching over 70 television shows. We’re excited by Disney+ but can’t decide how we feel about the Cats movie trailer. Oh, and there’s a brief discussion about God. It’s a little bit of an alphabet soup type of episode.

Tonight’s show almost didn’t happen because Barry claimed packing for a trip took precedence over recording at the show’s regular time. Hopped up on caffeine LaToya unintentionally leads the conversation until Barry puts her in her place. After all, it’s In the Stacks with Barry & LaToya, not the LaToya Show. Talk turns to entertainment and “train wreck” television, yep, “rowdy, gonna get a little unruly.” Barry’s very guilty pleasure is Love Island. And while it’s been ages since her days of watching Toddlers & Tiaras, LaToya spills the beans on her mother’s addiction to crime television and 90 Day Fiancé. Talk eventually turns to more serious topics, including Barry’s new perspective now that he’s a high school teacher in a rural town.