This Show Has Everything

We know you’re enjoying that smooth repaved highway, but turn down C2C and turn up LRB, because Bobby, Ann, Meredith and Mike are defending the honor of quartets everywhere with a TBTL Week in Review covering almost as many topics as Tim Allen has Christmas movies.

On one hand, there’s some serious talk about Luke and Andrew’s serious talk about the long overdue hard rain of truth finally taking down prominent predators. On the other hand, there’s a mad pooper on the loose outside Buffalo. Not to mention, Meredith has a pupdate, Bobby has a story, Mike has hired Jackie Chiles, and Ann has some concise words for Garrison Keillor, one of many men who probably would benefit from watching this video.

Oh, and sorry about your house, but you probably shouldn’t have asked us to do everyone’s dishes.

For her Phinal Phyllis Phave Phriday, Phyllis Fletcher joins Mike for a listen back to times when alleged “woo girl” Jen Flash Andrews was thrown out of restaurants, and in one instance, given up by a tell-tale pen. Mike shares some of his  own delinquent dining behavior through the years (with apologies to Hoagy’s Corner), and hits Fletch with one more round of his patent-pending gotcha segment, While We Have You.

Remember: Proceed with caution when retrieving your ill-gotten 100 Grand Bar from Bill Radke’s bathrobe pocket. You have been warned.

This episode features TBTL clips from the third hour of Feb. 3, 2009, and the third hour of April 3, 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving, Wagoneers! You’re all welcome around our post-holiday table, even if you think casseroles are gross and you’re afraid to eat the onion ice cream. Pull a bag of jerky out of your fanny pack and we’ll get down to business; just don’t accept a cup of Kryptonite coffee from Meredith, okay? Luke’s been skateboarding in the airport. Again. Is it bad of us to be hoping, at this point, for a small disaster? We discuss TBTL’s participation in this year’s Podcrawl, and one of us has a surprising depth of knowledge about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Additionally, Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish undergoes the LRB test, we agree that Andrew probably shouldn’t call himself The Bone Collector (seriously, have you seen the movie??), and then wonder how long it might be until Luke’s scalp falls off due to his laser baldness products. In host news, Mike’s going after Big Pharma to the tune of one hundo a day, five hundo a week. Meredith shares a cat fact that will melt your heart. Ann wants everyone to listen to Done Disappeared: A True Crime Podcast by John David Booter immediately. Just do it, okay? Also, we wish you a Happy Sex Day, however you may celebrate.

Gather ‘round the dining-pod table as Ann, Bobby, Christy, Meredith and Mike share what they’re thankful for in this Very Special LRB Thanksgiving Special. From family, friends, babies and orthopedists to Netflix, M&Ms, 6ft (or 9ft) iPhone cables and much more—plus, of course, our listeners—we have plenty to talk about this year.

Don’t mind Mike, Ann and Bobby—they’re just here recapping the latest week of TBTL until your friends return, and awkwardly ask for their spots back. Until then, feel free to fastpod this episode at any speed you like, as long as you laugh at all the spoofs, and stay tuned after for the series premiere of The Eagle & The Cowboy. (Better yet, once you’re done, go listen to GROUP podcast, and order a DropMix for someone you love.)

Plus, Bobby designed a T-shirt, Ann loved Lisbon, Christy is a snackspreader, Mike has a few words for creepy old dudes, and we’re glad Andrew is more or less OK, but that doesn’t mean we care about some things he drew in 2013.

“This is what happens when I do this on Percocet.” –Christy Wise

Our TBTL friends spend so much time telling “hot dog stories” that we decided it’s high time to talk about the actual thing, and thus we bring you a show with stories about hot dogs. First, we talk about our own relationship with encased protein products: when vegetarian Christy gets drunk, her evening often includes “street meats”, while Ann is philosophically opposed to “roller meats”. Luke once made a terrible drunken decision at the Hollywood Park Casino, which leads to a somewhat disturbing conversation about floor food in the restaurant industry. Andrew tells the original hot dog story, which isn’t as long as we remembered. We discuss possible shape re-designs for child choking hazards and plot a possible takeover of Big Bun. Somewhat ironically, our show about hot dogs is full of hot dog story-type tangents. We end up talking about surprise bra snacks, canned pasta-influenced shameber foods, The Mummy’s possible arrest record, Skittles, the ongoing allure of the Ryan Gosling movie Drive, and childhood babysitter trauma (Stephanie knows what she did).

If Luke and Andrew are the Bud Lights of the Third Coast Craft Cocktail Conference, and Bobby, Mike and Christy like TBTL, does that make Little Red Bandwagon the Andrew of podcasts about a podcast?

Chew on that like a ball of salad on the good side of your mouth washed down with some “wine product” while we break down your latest week of TBTL, catch up with the Nice Lady, join Mike on a Shark Tank™ shopping spree, remember Bobby’s favorite SNL commercial of all time, listen to an audio postcard from Portugal. The Ann, and more.

Remember: LRB holiday merch (that looks a lot like our regular merch) is on sale now, and more is on the way! Have an idea for new merch? Send it our way!

Someday a hard (?) rain is going to come and wash all the scum off these lanes. Until then, join Bobby, Mike and Buffalo Ten and pastry chef Bet McIlreath for a listen back to the summer day in 2016 when Andrew “Hard Rain” Walsh and guest co-host / adventure buddy Phyllis “Edna” Fletcher hit the road to record an afternoon of bowling and pull tabs at Kenmore Lanes.

Plus, why A Tale of Two Cities is one of Bet’s favorite Simpsons episodes, why Buffalo is one of Bobby’s favorite places, why Andrew Zimmern says you can Go Fork Yourself, and why Mike might need a little privacy with a Beef on Weck from Schwabl’s. You’re driving and the clutch is blown, but don’t worry—it’s mostly flat.

Yes, this is a long one. But we couldn’t imagine cutting down this classic episode of TBTL from Aug. 10, 2016, so you’re getting the whole thing.

Join Meredith, Ann and Bobby for your latest TBTL Week in Review as soon as we’re done following chalk messages and spooky signs up a long side street and driveway to a foggy house promising full-size candy bars. What could go wrong?

Plus, Meredith is going to Michigan! (In her new car!) Ann is going to Portugal! (Somewhat spontaneously!) Bobby is going to take a nap! (Because he earned it!) And, is TV’s Chris Hayes gaslighting us? (Probably.)

Through the magic of advanced planning, Phyllis Fletcher joins Bobby for a listen back to a pair of Luke’s cringeworthy stories from 2009. Between the awkward phone call from his alleged fiancée’s best friend, to the woman who insisted on helping him pay for some Dick’s, these gems from the radio days will really make you think about the perception of people around you, and that moment in time when the truth sets in. Not to be outdone, Bobby shares his own pregnant pause, and we break down the perils of a casual dress code.