It's Pretty OK

This week, the gang is talking about what "luxury" means in a time when things that were once the sole domain of the rich and powerful — like having someone drive you around in a car that is not a taxi — are so attainable that they almost feel mundane.

MUSIC: "Welcome to My Island" – Caroline Polachek

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This week, the gang attempts to tackle a question that's been asked an awful lot in the last few years: Is rock music dead? Of course, it would probably be useful to have some idea what rock is in 2023, and that seems to be a practically unanswerable question.

MUSIC: "Hard Times" – Paramore

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This week, the gang is talking about New York's list of rules for contemporary society (h/t to Kottke.org for blogging about it first). How much pizza is the appropriate amount? Is it okay to send work emails after midnight? And how silly is it for these "rules" to be emanating from such a narrow/particular segment of the population anyway?

MUSIC: "Stove Lighter" – Camp Cope

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Do You Know How to Behave? Are You Sure? (New York)

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This week, the gang is talking bulk shopping. That's right, it's an episode about Costco, so grab your giant shopping carts and get ready for a 55-gallon drum of podcasting! I'm sorry, I'll never write something that stupid again. (I will probably do it again next week.)

MUSIC: "Wet Dream" – Wet Leg

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This week, a new study sheds some interesting new light on the environmental lifecycle of coffee — and also raises everyone's hackles by making yet another tired appeal to the role of personal responsibility in solving the climate crisis.

MUSIC: “Hunger for a Way Out” – Sweeping Promises

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Here’s how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change (The Conversation)

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This week, the Sports Bois are together again to do something we've definitely never done in the history of this podcast. That's right, we're talking about MVP awards and what they mean. Okay, fine, we've done this before. Like, kind of a lot. But this time, the catalyst is different: the extremely likely possibility that Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is going to win his third consecutive NBA MVP award — a relatively unprecedented feat given that it's only happened three other times. Oh, and we get in an argument over whether a gas-powered leaf blower emits as many chemicals in half an hour as a pickup truck does driving from New York to Los Angeles.

MUSIC: "$20" – boygenius

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Leaf Blower's Emissions Dirtier than High-Performance Pick-Up Truck's, Says Edmunds' InsideLine.com (Edmunds)

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This week, the SPORTS BOIS™️ are together to talk about the phenomenon of time-wasting in sports — how it differs from soccer to basketball and baseball, if there's anything that can be done about it, etc.

MUSIC: "College Try" – Futurebirds

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: "'I Can’t Speak!': The Craziest Game in Darts History, Explained" (ESPN Daily on Apple Podcasts)

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This week, the gang gets together to talk about J. Crew and the phenomenon of the store where things are always on sale, as well as why it seems like the quality of your clothes is worse now (hint: because it is). And a new face takes over the trivia contest!

MUSIC: "New Shoes" – Paolo Nutini

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Your stuff is actually worse now (Vox)

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This week, the gang says goodbye to 2022 and rings in 2023 with a discussion of the growing phenomenon of "nostalgia tours" pegged to musical anniversaries. And of course, the thrilling conclusion to Rolling Stone Rock Music Trivia for the year.

MUSIC: "E.M.I." – The Sex Pistols

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Happy holidays! This week, the gang gets together to talk about gift-giving in the time when, as they put it, "everything is a subscription." Is gifting someone a subscription to a service basically just the same as giving a gift card? Or can it still be a thoughtful expression of care for a friend/family member?

MUSIC: “Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24” – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: The Best USA 🇺🇸 Grocery Store Coffee (James Hoffmann on YouTube)

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