Podcast Town

On Step by Step, J.T. and Cody's public access show gets picked up to go state wide, so of course J.T. becomes an unbelievable asshole. Scott Stapp had a few things to say about this when he wrote "Unforgiven" from My Own Prison.

Plus, the podcast (finally) gets its own TV show on the acclaimed network VH2. However, Chris & Rob's friendship and the future of the show is put in jeopardy when Rob forgets to use a coaster. And the more they talk about the big wig executive they met from VH2, the more Chris & Rob become suspicious of his credentials. 

It's ladies' night and the feeling is NOT right when Chris & Rob can't find any women to be on the podcast. Luckily they meet Andrea on hotornot.com, who calls in to offer the female perspective of this episode of Step by Step where Frank hires an attractive woman to his construction crew. 

We also discuss the Art of Anarchy song 1000 Degrees, and Rob falls in love with Andrea despite the fact that she may actually be a robot.

All Dana wants for her 17th birthday is to have a Sprite-fueled, no-parents party at a weird motel. Her mom, Carol, forbids it so she lies and sneaks out to have the sober high school party of her dreams. And what are the odds that Carol and Frank booked a room in the same hotel for the sole purpose of getting freaky? The odds are 100%.

Plus, Chris & Rob pitch a Step by Step reboot that would be right at home alongside Fuller House, Girl Meets World, and Game of Thrones. And the best part is they have cast themselves as new characters. Don't miss the dramatic reading of Step by Step : The New Class in the final segment. Jeff Bezos, give us money. 

On Step by Step, Cody is sad when his old man friend Walter from the nursing home dies. But then he's happy when he finds out the old man left him 250K in his will. Now Cody has to deal with all the kids in the clan who want a piece of his inheritance. Scott Stapp also took Walter's death pretty hard when he wrote the song "On My Sleeve" and of course we will explain how the episode and song are related.

Plus, Chris & Rob record at Rob's house for a change since he has the sniffles. Chris thinks Rob may be close to death and tries to get into his will at the last minute. Then the guys both decide to try heroin and see what happens. 

Frank's high school buddy Scooter comes to visit and makes everyone in the family and the viewing audience uncomfortable. Also Cody gets a pet turkey. And wouldn't you know it, the Creed song "Stand Here With Me" is also about those things. Plus Chris & Rob have a guys' night, which of course consists of drinking light beer and looking at the adult magazines Chris stole from his uncle's house. Unfortunately they forgot they invited returning guest Erika to also be on this episode, forcing them to break their strict guys' night "no chicks allowed" rule.

When Rob discovers an overdue video rental from 1994 has bankrupted him, friend/enemy of the show Martii takes a controlling stake of the podcast and institutes some creative changes. Weirdly, season 2 episode 11 of Step by Step also sees an overdue video rental causing problems when the youngest kid in the clan, Brendan, loses a rented VHS under his bed. Logically, Brendan decides to leave home forever. Later, we find out what Scott Stapp thinks about Brendan's transgressions by analyzing the Creed song "Faceless Man." This all makes complete sense.

On Step by Step, Dana & J.T. face off in the school election for Student Body President. But even though Dana is more qualified, J.T. wins as voters flock to his tell-it-like-it-is outsider persona. Oh boy. Plus, Chris & Rob run against each other for President of Step by Stapp. This podcast campaign has everything - attack ads, heated debates, and finally the tension of election night as both votes are counted. Who will win? Who will lose? And will Billy Joel seek legal action for using his copyrighted music? Listen and see!

Returning guests and resident Art of Anarchy experts Steve Schifini & Julian Morena (aka The Fart Boys) are here to help decipher how the Step by Step episode where Cody reveals his virginity inspired Scott Stapp to write a new song in 2017. Plus, Chris & Rob get deep during a very serious interview about Julian's new album. We find out all the scintillating details such as the name of the album and how many tracks are on it. Also, Steve discusses his rival podcast and we try to figure out once and for all whether ventriloquism is real or not. Julian Morena's new album "Kind of Nice" is available now at julianmorena.com - go pick it up if you like music!

Dana has a date with Mike "The Mover" Walters, who everybody knows just wants sex. Luckily Patrick Duffy is there to c-block her at every turn. Plus, Chris & Rob report on the recent Scott Stapp interview in which he reveals that he spoke with the ghost of Scott Weiland in a tour bus bathroom. The news story is light on details, so Chris & Rob reenact the encounter to show you EXACTLY how that conversation happened. In this episode, you will also find out how to prove the number of times you've had sex in your life, and how to correctly play the board game Mouse Trap.

Suzanne Somers' most attractive daughter, Karen, gets a chance to go to Chicago and be ogled by old men as a teen model. For some reason, Carol doesn't like this. Will Karen see that her mother is just looking out for her best interests? Or will she abandon her family and become the glamorous supermodel she's always wanted to be? I honestly can't remember. Plus, Chris & Rob try their hand at NPR-style investigative journalism podcasting and create their own version of the wildly popular S-Town. They reach out to a mysterious Step by Step fan twitter account and meet Bob K. Through a series of phone calls with Bob, Chris delves into the complicated and unexpected past of one obsessive sitcom fan. Is it more compelling than anything NPR has ever done? Yes, and thank you for asking.