This Show Has Everything

On this Final Friday in July, Hillary, Christy, and Ann are getting together to sort through the mailbag, talk about potential Burbank boat names, and discuss a few of our most memorable summer vacations. Some quality Throw Your Phone™ entries from the Wagoneers get us thinking about how Mike has ruined things, planning to ambush Luke with a syringe (it’s for his own good! And listener Scott’s sanity!), and dabbling in unfortunate accents. In vacation talk, Hillary’s semi-wild teenage cruise leaves us questioning her claim of being a goody-goody, Christy has more vacation horror stories than any one person should have, and Ann explains why she hates the Badlands of South Dakota. In camp experiences, one of us lived a teen girl's dream, one of us yearned for something that was not to be, and one of us depended on MTV for her summer entertainment. Plus, a new purpose for some of our Amazon purchase kickbacks, and some very important news about Tate Donovan.

Repeat after me: “Charge it to the room.”

Unlike Luke’s boat, Hillary, Bobby, Ann and Mike are firing on all cylinders, and are ready to co-captain a two-hour pleasure cruise through the latest week of TBTL. Because this week, we are all Jerrys. (The only person happier than us is probably Kevin O’Brien.)

Plus, Mike tells his Credit Card Debt Silver Lining Alert™, Ann shares her recent kitchen scare (don’t worry, the cookies for the picnic are OK), Hillary seems a little too happy to be down a kid for the week, and Bobby channels a hybrid of Phyllis Fletcher and Rap Master Maurice.

Some additional notes:

• COME TO THE PICNIC on Friday!
• Check out this chiropractor commercial by Rhett & Link if you can handle the pops and cracks.
• Check out Crime Writers On for actual discussion of the S-Town lawsuit
• Check out Hit Parade because it’s awesome
• We love you, Kathleen!

Hey, we know you’re busy looking for your new barndominium, but take a break and check in with the LRB crew as we run through the previous week’s TBTL content, thin though it may be. Topics for discussion include sneeze hypocrisy and the perils of living with a sleep scream sneezer, Starship-related PTSD, alcohol-related reasons to go to Canada, documentaries that will make you cry, and some strong anti-consumerist sentiment. Plus, Hillary used the patriarchy to her advantage when (maybe?) buying a car, Meredith is getting a visit from the Dog Fairy, and Mike says it’s okay to be an asshole, as long as you’re entertaining.

On this special shameless crossover episode, join our friends Amy and Mitchell from Earbuds and Earworms on a musical exploration of YOUR listener-submitted summer songs! (And don’t forget to subscribe to E&E, because they do cool stuff like this every single week.)

While you’re listening, go check out the new shirt (and mug!) designed by Josh Knisely—husband of Phyllis, father of Gus, social media hero of many—in our merch store. Wearing it (or drinking from it) will most certainly make you the toast of Valley Center, Ohio.

It’s Independence week, and the ladies of LRB are over here just chillin’. We’ve got some decisions to finalize before we gather in Seattle in a few weeks’ time, including the look of the costumes for our upcoming quidditch match at Gas Works Park, and the plan for our Singles tour of Seattle. In this week’s recap of TBTL, we come up with some tips for minimizing on-air allergy noises, figure out how we can qualify for disabled parking placards, and realize why so many breakfast cereals have undergone name changes in the years since our childhoods. Additionally, we discuss ballpark patriotism, how “it’s better than it sounds” is never a ringing endorsement, and how it can be that Paul Rudd is not a “weird, cat-faced monster.” Oh, and Luke? We love you, but keep your dog on a leash.

Neither heat nor illness nor live show jealousy stays Bobby, Ann and Meredith from recapping the latest week of TBTL—in part with a little help from LRB Southern Events Correspondent and Earbuds and Earworms host Amy Sheppard. If you’d like a snack for the journey but you’re on your post-adventure grind, you can either nab a bag of Protes from the GNC down at the intersection of Vanity and Insecurity, or you can just order some Beanitos from this shamelessly blatant Amazon referral link that nets us some of Jeff Bezos’ pennies with every order. (We keep them in extra Middle-Aged Mom-ish Ten mugs.) If either of them asks for your number, just remember, they don’t really care: It’s Leg Day.

Roll down your windows and crank up the volume, because this very special episode of Little Red Bandwagon featuring some of our all-time favorite “club bangers” is the perfect soundtrack for a leisurely cruise down Highway 694. (Maybe just turn it back down a bit for Mike’s stories, especially if you hit traffic.) Plus, we take a quick dip in the LRB Mailbag.

Remember, we want to hear YOUR summer songs, too! Send them over to our friends at Earbuds and Earworms on Twitter, Facebook, email or voicemail (731-234-5578) for their upcoming show featuring your submissions. (And if you aren’t already subscribed to E&E, what are you doing with your life?! Amy and Mitchell are crushing it weekly.)

For full tracks of the songs featured on this episode, check out our Spotify playlist. (We’ll add your songs submitted to E&E next week!) That should tide you over until the TBTL Song of the Summer contest, or the pilot episode of Phrends—whichever comes first.

Grab your bindle and your earbuds, because on this special TBTL-A-Thon Week in Review, Meredith, Hillary, Bobby and Mike join the Tens Across America celebrating what makes our fan community great. (Because even when we’re throwing our phones, we’re throwing our phones together.)

In addition to recapping the highlights and lowlights of TBTL’s hitchhiking (and car-renting) hosts, Hillary and Meredith make the case for more women in corporate leadership, Mike continues to wage his war on kids’ snacks, and Bobby tries to scrub something he saw at The Wieners Circle from his brain by sharing it with everyone.

Remember: Support TBTL if you can, or Columbus, Mississippi, will become Luke and Andrew’s Waterloo. And it doesn’t take a minor in world history (stop bragging, Mike) to know that’s a bad thing.

The TBTL-athon is fast approaching, and your intrepid LRB hosts are already getting a wee bit tired of hitchhiking “planning”. So, instead of spending much time on Luke’s inexplicable decision to pack only black shirts and Andrew’s steadfast desire to wear pants in the searing southern summer heat, Hillary, Ann and Mike are ready to debate how much moon dust the government actually needs, puzzle over what happens at monster truck shows, and wish a certain public radio personality all the best in his new life with his new bride. Mike has a story of wildlife (and Abbey) running amok at The Ranch. Hillary tells us about her uncomfortable experience watching the movie Parenthood. Ann gives a live demonstration of just exactly why she hates a specific song. Plus, the problem with portraying a serial killer, our new motto, and we entreat Andrew to “show a little respect for the nut.”

Don’t fill up at batting practice—Bobby, Ann and Flapjack Daddy Mike are breaking down a suite-full of hot dog stories, not to mention some actual thoughtful conversations about racism, depression and skyjinx karma.

By the way, Bobby has started riding his bike again. And by the way, Ann thinks Bunnicula has plausible deniability. Oh and by the way, Mike knows he invented the term “hot dog story,” and he just wants his cut of all that sweet public radio cheddar.