This week, Hillary is back from Europe, Bobby is back from Missouri, Mike is back from cursing Ann, and Ann is back on the Conan Train. For the stick, we recap the latest week of TBTL. And for the marrot, we learn about Ann and Mike’s meat bridge, Bobby’s chilling midwest encounter, and Hillary’s even colder bathroom studio. We dare you to send her a bill, Hillary’s parents. COME TO THE PICNIC! Friday, July 26, 5pm, Shoreline WA. Don’t miss it!

It’s the end of the TBTL 2019 Summer Games, and your LRB recappers have laced up our Air Jordan McNasty 25s for the final match. We reflect on the second week of (improved) quizzes, the problems with ska, why you really should consider those tattoos in advance, and why Andrew shouldn’t be embarrassed about that feature piece he did for Tamara Keith. Mike is stocking up on anvils and TNT. Meredith reviews Stranger Things Season 3. Ann reminisces fondly about the OK Soda hotline (1-800-I-FEEL-OK). And in pet news, the cats of LRB are preparing for Thunderdome.

Come to our picnic and watch us make your children cry.

In our media-obsessed culture, the emphasis on having a trim figure is constant and overwhelming. Almost all of us have been frustrated, at some point, by not being able to achieve the perfect (or, let’s face it, just slightly improved) body, but nobody remains more stubbornly committed to winnowing away those extra pounds than Luke “LB” Burbank. Christy and Ann are ready to do a run-down of many (but certainly not all!) of the fad diets, kooky nutrition ideas, and far-out strategies he’s employed over the years in an effort to build his beef castle. From extreme calorie restriction, to cheeseburgers and booze-ahol, to part-time veganism, he’s willing to try just about anything, although his enthusiasm usually outpaces his preparation. Along the way, we remind ourselves that it’s a “cheat meal,” not a “cheat day,” get annoyed by Bridget Jones’s Diary, and wonder exactly what Luke was doing with those pickles.

If you’re interested in reading about the truth of dieting, why it doesn’t actually work, and what you can realistically do to be happy with your body, here’s the book Ann mentioned: Secrets from the Eating Lab, by Traci Mann, PH.D.

TBTL may have half-assed Summer Games Week (as well as the pronunciation of chorizo and allium), but Ann, Mike and Bobby are most definitely full-assing this week’s LRB. Bobby just got back from Blue Jays Loonie Dog Night in Toronto, and the Great White North isn’t looking so great these days. Ann is standing ready to rescue her dearest Justin, though he now has competition for her affection from a handsome young new Scottish fellow. And Mike is suffering from a bout of sociopolitical indigestion after the President’s “perp rally,” though a gelatin-suspended seafood sample didn’t help. Plus, a blissfully short breakdown of TBTL’s quizzes, an apropos reminder that  the worst wounds are the emotional ones (with examples!), and an audio postcard from middle-aged transcontinental mom-iish type Hillary, recorded after a harrowing Hungarian pedicab ride. Remember: Come to our picnic on July 26th! Bring anything you like as long as it isn’t aspic. And, go listen to Spectacular Failures, edited by our own P-Fletch!

It’s time for another TBTL recap or, as we’re calling it, an hour and a half of enjoyable nonsense. The Bonsai Team of Hillary, Mike and Ann has gathered to recap topics that include whether we could handle being trapped on an airplane, age-related bird fascination, Ashton Kutcher’s speech choices, and the existential crisis that is our collective financial future. Hillary made an embarrassing choice in library books. Mike confesses to a TBTL-listening transgression. Ann takes issue with the idea that she might do anything half-assed.

Hey, if you want to get in on Hillary’s forthcoming Book Club of Questionable Choices, consider using our Amazon link to purchase After by Anna Todd.

t’s the end of the month, and Bobby, Ann, Hillary, Mike and Christy have a lot of ground to cover before the Jamaican-Norwegian housekeeper comes knocking. Inspired by recent conversations on TBTL, we share some of our worst job interviews, as well as voicemails from two of our favorite listeners, and learn that the best thing to do it to lie, especially if we were recently at a Snoop Dogg concert. And, we discuss albums we love (or that we hate that we love), including some from a nearby dumpster. Plus, Christy regales us with the second-hand epic that was Jeremy’s freewheeling adventure through middle America in a hot-wired old Honda Accord. As far as feral humans go, he’s really doing quite alright.

Plus, Christy tells of her time as Joey Fatone’s #1 (of 1) fan, Mike laments his long-lost sizzle zoetrope, Hillary regrets not stashing her backseat boombox, Ann prefers her in-Transit entertainment unaccompanied, and Bobby wants us to livestream Jeremy watching 8 Mile. Detroit strong!

p.s. COME TO OUR PICNIC: https://www.facebook.com/events/415597032371377/