Brian and Cort are at it again in Episode 69 of Listeners Like You, the podcast for listeners by listeners, in which Brian and Cort pretend sharing their extremely ordinary media consumption habits are a public service.

In this episode, Brian and Cort heroically attempt to discuss the end of Chuck Wendig’s latest book, Staircase in the Woods, without sounding like literary snobs holding Wendig to some unattainable standard of storytelling. Brian picks apart the plot, the narrators, and his own fan-casting of the yet-to-be-made movie version of the book.

Cort covers The Mash Up, a whiskey podcast. Brian unveils his “Battle of the Birthdays” game.

We also detour into Stephen King adaptations, again, cult documentaries, and the philosophical question of how long two 52-year-old men can walk without dying.

Finally, ask yourself this question: Does Brian contain multitudes? Listen and find out!

Cort takes on Bones by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, a band whose lineup and sound have seen some serious evolution. We also recount our recent night out at an MJ Lenderman show (with our first ever guest, Hanson Tipton), dive into the Neil Diamond jukebox musical A Beautiful Noise, and debate what actually makes something a “jukebox musical”.

Ariana Grande somehow makes an appearance (don’t ask), Brian saw Weapons, and Major League Baseball’s Shohei Ohtani gets some airtime as the Dodgers continue to dominate (at the time of recording). Plus — Cort might finally listen to the Random Podcast pick, The Mashup. You should come back next time if for no other reason than to see if the man can follow through on any promise.  

Bones – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

This week, the guys revisit The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig as Brian continues his audiobook experiment and reiterates his position that nothing shatters immersion quite like a narrator trying to do both male and female voices. Cort, meanwhile, listened to the podcast My Wife Hates Video Games and wondered if that's all she hates. The conversation meanders through actors, including talk of the AI generated Tilly Norwood, and then on to music when Brian brings some excellent new album recommendations:

Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override

Thank you as always for the use of our theme song:

And if you're interested in a link to the audiobook of The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig (Audiobook), there you go!

This ep, Cort listens to Another Fine Day by Golden Smog, Brian tries his hand at instant home brewing, and the guys talk about Memphis’s shifting soccer scene. With the loss of 901 FC almost ancient news at this point, Brian rejoices the arrival of a new semi-pro team.

🎶 Album: Another Fine Day – Golden Smog

Just when we think we've got this podcasting thing figured out, we get thrown a curveball. So now we're throwing curveballs too! Brian’s assignment was the first eight chapters of the AUDIOBOOK of Chuck Wendig’s A Staircase in the Woods—about an hour of listening pleasure. Brian, ever the overachiever listened to double the assignment, and Cort, as the self-proclaimed audiobook-o-file of the podcast and not to be outdone, finished the whole thing. We talk about the listening experience (pros, cons, and how to fit audiobooks into real life) and the book itself (with only the mildest of spoilers). Brian realizes that unlike his own children, he may not have been read to as a child, but he likes it.  Give the full ep a listen for all the details and introspection.

Quick hits (because we're not just an audiobook podcast): Cort discussed his very late-to-the-game exposure to Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug and beyond that he decided he might need to give some once-dismissed pop hits a new listen. That detour leads to TV-music chatter (yes, Paradise with Sterling K. Brown gets mentioned). Then it’s back to the reason we're all here, podcasts of course, with TIME’s “Top 100 Podcasts of All Time,” where the guys agree that they very much disagree with TIME.

Theme song: Cyrus oh Cyrus by The Flying Scrub Jays

Cort listened to Brian’s Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats setlist-turned-playlist assignment.  Brian spent a week in Colorado going to concerts and is ready to talk about it! Brian is still watching shark movies ... good ones, even.  The guys also get into Memphis’s craft brewery scene, and Cort waxes nostalgic about one of his favorite beverages, which is all followed up by Brian mentioning the bizarre saga of Walmart's possibly radioactive shrimp.

Also in this episode: a bean-based app that’s somehow revolutionizing ADHD productivity. And in breaking news Cort finally gets Brian to accept his first audiobook assignment.

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats Playlist (Brian's assignment to Cort):

Cyrus Oh Cyrus – The Flying Scrub Jays (theme music): Listen on Spotify

In this episode, did Brian enjoy the Old Gods of Appalachia horror podcast? Cort didn’t listen to it, despite promising to, which prompts Brian to demand a new, more reliable system for assigning homework. AUDIOBOOKS ARE ON THE TABLE! (accountability is not)

Brian recounts his recent trip to see The Wiz, a show marred only by an unfortunate tangle of hair. We discuss the Memphis craft beer scene, including the loss of Memphis Made Brewing. There’s a detour into South Park’s latest political parody and ICE’s apparent attempt to draft Superman (seriously). But the real, "bury the lead why don't ya," bomb-drop is that Brian went to Colorado and saw not one, but two live shows: The Lumineers and Regina Spektor. Tune in to see which blew his mind.

Finally, Cort’s next assignment is a Colorado-trip-inspired, Brian-curated playlist of Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats tracks, so we're giving you an early link to the playlist in case you want to play along for next episode.

Theme Music: Cyrus Oh Cyrus – The Flying Scrub Jays

Check out Old Gods of Appalachia here: Old Gods of Appalachia 

Brian assigned Talking Through Tin Cans by The Morning Benders, and what starts as Cort’s simple album review turns into a deep dive on the band’s identity shift, artistic shift, and the fact that the name change apparently changed everything. Cort did his research, people, but Brian came with doctorate-level analysis, as per usual.

Elsewhere, the new Ben Folds Live with the National Symphony Orchestra gets full marks (who’s surprised?), and the first part of HBO’s new two-part Billy Joel documentary sparks conversation, appreciation, and… Cort’s possibly under-examined thing for pianists.

Brian watched more shark movies (it was all for research, of course) while Cort recommends something different to Brian to shake things up for the next episode. And they might’ve made it through an entire episode without talking politics, but no guarantees.

🎧 Talking Through Tin Cans by The Morning Benders

We’re back with Brian’s thoughts on Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia, an album recommended by Cort’s daughter. While Brian’s reaction is, let’s say, unsurprising … the conversation actually gets pretty deep into the weeds in a good way. We dig into the fact that what makes a challenging album listenable (or even inspiring) to some, maybe does not to others, and Cort may give a demonstration on how not to defend art that plays with uncomfortable lines (a.k.a. our new podcast in the works Why Some Things Are Better Left to Those Who Know.)

From there, it’s a stop at Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup victory, which gives Brian a reason to celebrate and to wade (briefly) into the geopolitical glorious glory (or fiery dumpster fire) surrounding the win. Then it’s capes and cowls time with a check-in on the new Superman movie, before we wrap up with a ChatGPT songwriting experiment that is very on-brand, if not exactly the next Spotify hit.

Theme music: Cyrus Oh Cyrus – The Flying Scrub Jays

This week, we welcome our youngest (and likely most musically gifted) guest ever, Brian’s son, Whit Faughnan, who gave us a playlist of Fugazi tracks because he likes Fugazi and the DC Hardcore scene (you know, the one from before he was born). We go deep on Fugazi's music and history and dig through the legacy of Dischord Records and the Hardcore movement. What more could you want? 

🎧 Whit’s Fugazi Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6SsTEzPeuDPOOAmkqqK7U5?si=f4ef5a30351e45af