In this episode, we’re talking football in honor of America’s favorite holiday—Super Bowl Sunday. I tell Todd about Christina’s brilliant, outside-the-box idea to make football more entertaining to people who don’t give a shit about football. Then we talk about the time my dad changed the way we watch football on TV. It’s a super episode!

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Hello and welcome to episode ten of the Situation Normal podcast! The podcast has the same vibe as the newsletter, but instead of reading, you listen to me tell stories to my friend Todd.

In this episode, I tell Todd about serving on 1.5 juries. This episode is the follow-up to a piece I recently wrote about wasting two days of my life on jury duty. On the one hand, jury duty is a miserable experience that any sane person should avoid. But on the other hand, it might just be the best thing this country has going for it, at least as far as the rule of law is concerned.

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In this episode, I tell Todd about a game I love losing: Music League. Back in November, I wrote about how I love playing Music Love with friends, even though I always lose. But a funny thing happened after I published that story: I started winning! Listen to the episode to find out what the hell happened and how the season ended.

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In this episode, I tell Todd about my strange and silly encounters with real life versions of a popular internet genre: FLORIDA MAN! Stories include: an obnoxious customer and an unwieldy burrito; stoners pumping gas… and courting death; an indecent proposal at a red light; a magical timeshare presentation.

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In this episode, I tell Todd about the first time I got paid for my creative writing. Here’s a hint: that story involves lawyers, new media companies, and a children’s book parody. After the story, we talk about the economics of writing a best-selling humor Substack and how creative people ought to think about their own happiness and fulfillment as those things relate to careers, side hustles, and hobbies. For reference, we talk a lot about this post I wrote called “What’s the deal with Substackanomics?”

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In this episode, I tell Todd about the time I rode inside of a Rose Parade float. Spoiler alert: I didn’t love it, but my dad had a blast. We also talk about my father’s contributions to parade entertainment, the origins of the Rose Parade, and why going with the flow when things don’t go according to plan might just be the secret to finding joy.

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In this episode, I tell Todd about my 2023 wins and how my tradition of recording my wins began. Along the way, we talk about drugs and butt stuff, medieval relics, yoga, the key to a happy marriage, and the joy of podcasting with one of your best friends.

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In this episode, I tell Todd a couple of Hanukkah stories. We also talk a lot about fried food and holiday traditions for Jews in America. Plus, I share a little about what my Jewish identity means to me.

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The podcast is free, the stories on Situation Normal are free, but people pay because they love Situation Normal and the want to support my work. If that sounds like you, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription by going here.

Hello and welcome to episode three of the Situation Normal podcast! I’m Michael Estrin and write Situation Normal for people who take their humor with a side of humanity and a dash of insight. The Situation Normal podcast has the same vibe as the newsletter, but instead of reading, you can listen to me tell stories to my friend Todd.

In this episode, I tell Todd about my battles with our Alexa, which might be trying to kill me. Then we talk about two stories involving text messages. In one story, texting technology robs us of our humanity, but in the other story, texting technology helps us find our humanity. It’s complicated. Then we make things even more complicated by talking about Now and Then, the last Beatles song that some people call “AI John Lennon.” I wrote about Now and Then in a recent post titled “Do baristas dream of electric Beatles?”

How to listen to the Situation Normal podcast🎧 Every episode of Situation Normal is available for free on Substack, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Be sure to follow / subscribe!

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Welcome to episode two of the Situation Normal podcast!

In this episode, Michael tells Todd three doppelgänger stories about two of his celebrity doppelgängers. It’s double the fun, and maybe twice as deep as the last episode.

The conversation includes discussions of:

Special thanks go to: 

Asha Dornfest, David Lee Ingersoll, T. Dalton Wolf, KdD, Bill Southern, and Stock Fiction (Meg Oolders) for sharing their doppelgänger experiences!

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Support this podcast, if you can💵💶💷💴🪙💳

The podcast is free, the stories on Situation Normal are free, but I pay Todd for his time, tools, and talent. If you can spare it, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription by going here🙏