The Absurdists

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Who’s hiding snacks in your house? Odds are one of you is. Brandi Mastrud and Marlo Anderson dig into the real absurdities of living together, from whether you should make your bed and why the dishes matter so much to secret snack stashes, the number one thing couples actually fight about, Netflix cheating, remote control wars, the sleep divorce, snoring, cover hogs and the great toilet paper over-or-under debate.

Along the way, Brandi confesses to the Reese’s she hides in the freezer, Marlo reveals SocksWithoutPartners.com (a matchmaking site for lonely socks) and admits he bought a Dremel tool to replace one he couldn’t find, then lost the new one the same day. Plus the missing-sock formula, why both partners think they do more than half the housework, the thermostat cold war and roommate roulette.

Watch for the fact-check cards when the numbers need a second look.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 3, Episode 3 with Brandi Mastrud and Marlo Anderson.

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Would you pay to get a potato in the mail every month? Brandi Mastrud and Marlo Anderson work through a list of real (and really weird) subscription services, from messages mailed on potatoes and rent-a-chicken to bacon and pickle of the month clubs, hot sauce, tinned fish, exotic meats, dice, fossils, pay dirt for gold panning, cryonics memberships and even pet care after the Rapture.

Along the way, Marlo pitches his Hotel Pen of the Month Club, Brandi shares her family’s Universal Yums box, and they dream up a coffee club with a VIP line. Plus rent-a-bees, candle clubs, succulents, booze-infused jerky, olive oil and mac and cheese clubs, Bokksu, MeUndies, the magic of brand-new socks, dry cleaning, the swallowing-spiders myth and why nobody remembers names anymore.

Watch for the fact-check cards when they get something wrong.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 3, Episode 2 with Brandi Mastrud and Marlo Anderson.

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Why does a basic greeting card cost $8 now? Season 3 of The Absurdists kicks off with new co-host Brandi Mastrud, who brings Marlo Anderson a list of everyday things we all accept as normal but are kind of ridiculous when you stop to think about them.

Marlo opens with the e-bike that hit him outside the building, then they get into pricey greeting cards, card keepers vs. card tossers, thank-you letters vs. thank-you cards, birthday months, the Texas Roadhouse birthday saddle and birthday spankings.

Then comes tipping: the convenience-store tip screen, why the $2 button wins, whether tipping devalues real service, where tip screens came from, the no-skip tip screen near Flagstaff, self-serve froyo, cash tips and no tipping in Iceland. Plus the oat milk upcharge, credit card fees, coffee dates instead of drinks, a local restaurant’s Halloween decor debate, who gets to trick-or-treat, Christmas Eve shopping, gift exchanges full of gift cards, favorite holidays, Hallmark movies and the top Christmas songs.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 3, Episode 1 with Brandi Mastrud and Marlo Anderson.

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Season 2 of The Absurdists wraps up by welcoming a new co-host: hairstylist and content creator Brandi Mastrud, who Marlo Anderson met on a riverboat during North Dakota Music Hall of Fame weekend. (Don’t worry, Mary Murphy will be back from time to time.)

The topic is the absurdity of waiting, and it turns into a getting-to-know-Brandi episode: the red light that forgets you’re there (and how many cycles before you go), Brandi’s stop-sign and speeding tickets, the song that cost Marlo points on his license, channel surfing past commercials, TikTok attention spans, crosswalks, slow drivers, waiting for gas, moving over for sirens, e-bikes, and whether lawmakers can keep up with AI.

Then it’s the DOT, self-checkout vs. the cashier, 85-minute restaurant waits, how long Marlo will wait for a haircut, the tornado-warning haircut, Brandi’s social anxiety and why Marlo still gets nervous on stage, and the filler-word swear jar. Plus warning labels: “for external use only” on a curling iron, the Red Bull “gives you wings” lawsuit, the Superman costume, blister packs you need scissors to open, and Reno’s red shopping cart law.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 10 with Marlo Anderson and Brandi Mastrud.

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Doctors once drained your blood to cure a fever, drilled holes in your skull and prescribed powdered mummy for your wounds. In this episode of The Absurdists, with Mary Murphy traveling, Marlo Anderson is joined by guest Justin Cancilliere to dig through the most absurd medical practices of the past.

It starts with bloodletting (even at the dentist), trepanation, mercury, mummy powder, Spanish fly blistering to release bad “humors” and milk transfusions. Then there’s the Australian “whale hotel,” where rheumatism sufferers lay inside a decomposing whale, electric belts that promised to cure baldness, and Marlo’s own run-in with a laser hair cap.

From there it’s cocaine toothache drops, Coca-Cola’s original recipe, heroin cough syrup, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup (morphine for babies), asthma cigarettes, chloroform, strychnine tonics (hello, chaotic 1904 Olympic marathon), arsenic tonic, tapeworm diet pills, radium water, phrenology, monkey gland rejuvenation, malaria therapy, insulin comas, lobotomies and the whirling chair. Plus Justin’s pick: how doctors “treated” hysteria. (Reminder: neither of them is a doctor.)

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 9 with Marlo Anderson and guest Justin Cancilliere.

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Parents once mailed their children. A bank was mailed across Utah, brick by brick, by parcel post. And the CIA tried to turn a cat into a spy. In this episode of The Absurdists, Marlo Anderson and guest Ginger G celebrate America’s 250th birthday by counting down 25 of the most absurd moments in U.S. history.

It starts with a 5-year-old mailed 73 miles across Idaho for 53 cents, Boston’s Great Molasses Flood and the chaotic 1904 Olympic marathon (a runner who rode in a car, a winner fed strychnine and brandy, and a Cuban mailman who stopped for a nap). Then it’s the government poisoning industrial alcohol during Prohibition, moonshiners’ cow shoes, the CIA’s Acoustic Kitty, World War II bat bombs, B.F. Skinner’s pigeon-guided missiles, the plan to nuke the moon, the steel cap launched by a nuclear test and missile mail.

They also get into the Pig War, the Toledo War, Ohio’s 150-year paperwork problem, Indiana’s attempt to legislate pi, Wisconsin’s yellow margarine ban, Mike the Headless Chicken, outlaw-turned-funhouse-prop Elmer McCurdy, the Cardiff Giant (and P.T. Barnum’s fake of a fake), Dan Sickles and his leg, Andrew Jackson’s 1,400-pound cheese, the Battle of Los Angeles, Oregon’s exploding whale and Cleveland’s Balloonfest ’86.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 8 with Marlo Anderson and guest Ginger G.

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Why make butter when four sticks cost a few dollars at the store? In this episode of The Absurdists, Mary Murphy brings a different kind of show: DIY and homemade everything, and the moment you wonder why you’re doing it at all. Mary is on her third batch of homemade butter (and $60 of gear) and still only has whipped cream, while Marlo Anderson confesses to a homebrew beer kit living in a box, a $230 phone stud finder that loses to the $8.99 one, and a $7,000 laser that sat for a year.

They get into mozzarella made tableside, sourdough starters with names, homemade pasta, 3D printers (need a birdhouse? Marlo has 40), an embroidery machine that just sits, kitchen gadgets, reupholstering a chair, AI and YouTube for DIYers, and the $8 thermostat that cost Marlo a motor.

Then it’s crate-box furniture, IKEA instructions (spin three times), Mary’s Nest thermostat win, her mom’s crocheted hats, classic car shows and Mary’s ’68 Camaro, boiled peanuts, farmers market soap and Mary’s Willy Wonka pinstripes. So, is DIY worth it?

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 7 with Marlo Anderson and Mary Murphy.

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Is cheddar a place? It is: a village in England. In this episode of The Absurdists, Marlo Anderson switches topics at the 11th hour and quizzes Mary Murphy on products that come from the map, starting with cheese: cheddar, plus Colby, one of the few cheeses born in the USA. Mary admits she broke up with ice cream, and Marlo reports on the 8 p.m. ice cream line.

Then it’s food and drink: Champagne and the widow behind the bubbly, cognac, tequila, pilsner, bologna (and a surprise duet of the bologna jingle), hamburgers, Brussels sprouts and Belgian fries, lima beans, Fig Newtons, Boston cream pie and Buffalo wings. Plus, what would a sandwich called “The Murphy” be, and why does Marlo smash his? Meet the Marlo Mash.

From there it’s fabric and fashion (denim, tuxedos, jersey, cashmere, angora, calico and muslin), cologne, magenta and the Battle of Magenta, and Panama hats that come from Ecuador. They wrap up with real towns that sound like a menu: Sandwich, Massachusetts; Hot Coffee, Mississippi; Chicken, Alaska; Pie Town, New Mexico; Two Egg, Florida; Oatmeal, Texas; Toast, North Carolina; Tea, South Dakota; and Sugar City, Idaho.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 6 with Marlo Anderson and Mary Murphy.

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Wombats really do make cube-shaped poop. But do flamingos turn neon blue? In this episode of The Absurdists, Mary Murphy brings a game: Two Truths and a Lie, packed with absurd facts, and Marlo Anderson has to spot the fake in every round. Before the game starts, Marlo teases some big news and Mary reveals she studied opera and still dreams of a Tony.

The rounds cover animal oddities, a cloud that weighs as much as 100 elephants, the Great Wall of China held together with sticky rice, 3,000-year-old honey, why carrots are orange, Oxford versus the Aztecs, Greenland sharks, Victorian squirrels in tiny outfits and the bones in your body. Then it’s whales, starfish with no brains (and Mary’s new insult for Las Vegas traffic), the chocolate bar that melted into the microwave, and the wallpaper origins of Play-Doh and bubble wrap.

Along the way: a day on Venus that lasts longer than its year, diamond rain on Jupiter and Saturn, cows with best friends, sea otters with favorite rocks, and quirky laws from Norway, Canada and Tokyo. How many lies did Marlo catch?

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 5 with Marlo Anderson and Mary Murphy.

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What exactly does a best boy do? In this episode of The Absurdists, Marlo Anderson is joined by filmmaker Nolan Johnson of Quantum Digital to decode the absurd world of making movies and TV. It starts with Marlo seeing The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere in Las Vegas, complete with a seatmate who skipped the “obstructed view” seats that were really just part of the show.

Then they work through the end credits: best boys, key grips and gaffers, gaffer tape, why an extension cord on set is called a “stinger,” dolly grips, Foley artists making zombie sounds with jello, and the boom operators holding a microphone overhead all day. Marlo shares what continuity looked like on the movie Medora, shot partly in an old Bismarck Kmart with boxes and boxes of candles.

Then it’s the movie and TV tropes that drive us nuts: nobody says goodbye on the phone, whiskey that’s really apple juice, empty coffee cups, hacker typing, “zoom in and enhance,” nobody eating their food, the villain monologue, waking up gorgeous, running from danger in a straight line, Hallmark small towns and walking away from explosions. Plus Nolan’s most underrated movies, from Tucker and Dale vs. Evil to Hell or High Water.

The Absurdists, where logic takes a back seat. Season 2, Episode 4 with Marlo Anderson and guest Nolan Johnson.

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