This week, Mike and Ann are joined by LRB’s favorite accordion enthusiast and Appalachian clogger Bob Stein. After Mike and Bob compare their summers (Bob’s was better), we hold the ceremonial unboxing of a Wagon Full of Loot. Then, we dive into the recap of last week’s TBTL, which may or may not have been swass, depending on which definition you want to use. We come up with a new, more useful hurricane-naming system, introduce a new segment called, “Old Man Stein Yells at Clouds”, and elaborate on the perils of telling someone they look like Bobby Hill. Mike knows the real reason we hit the snooze button on World War III, and Ann is forced to use the term “fecal material” far too many times. Plus, Bob floats an Up with People conspiracy theory for the ages.

Get your potato salad ready, because buttery smooth-voiced RenTen Sean Vale joins Bobby and Ann for a TBTL favorite, Jen Flash Andrew’s first encounter with The Man from Dixie’s BBQ—$15 worth of pain that would make George Mallory proud.

Plus, you know that thing where you're on vacation and think, “gosh, I’d really love to live here?” Sean did that (in Thailand, not Renton) and tells us all about it, including the time he yelled “Luke, pull up! Pull up!” in the ear of a motorcycle taxi driver in Bangkok.

When you’re done, check out Tiny Kitchen Cooking with Sean’s husband Ahn, order your ketoconazole shampoo on Amazon, and clean that PB&J off your face, at least, after the pain finally goes away.

This episode looks back to hour 2 of TBTL from July 17, 2008. 

Tetrahedron clusters Ann and Bobby are flanking special guest host Mike Farnan (our backup Mike F.) for your latest LRB Week in Review, right after we finish shoving in 30-year-old Bernie Kosar breaking news coverage, feasting on kielbasi and sauna meatballs, and avoiding that giant, vicious, vengeful fish. (Just kidding, we promise, on at least one of those.)

Plus: Just a minute, Ron! Mike and Bobby both have stories about the movie Captain Ron, and Ann used to keep a knife in the bathroom, for emergencies. Remember, if you need a little private time, there’s always the bathroom on the third floor of the UW Communications Building, if you don’t mind getting sweaty and nostalgic.

Here’s Aziz Ansari’s 50 Cent grapefruit soda story. We’ll add a link to the forthcoming Four-Minute Workweek as soon as it’s available.

In this month’s clip show, Ann and Christy are back for a second round of the TBTL terms and phrases that captured our imaginations over the years. Along the way we discuss mid-nineties nautical movies, the story of Christy’s very own Overboard cruise experience, ways to tell your friends and family you’re having digestion issues, the best unit of time ever, how Luke invented a word (no, not ‘gaymazing’), and take a detour into a discussion about the MochaLatta Chill. Some of these terms even affected our lives: a TBTL vocabulary mystery helped Christy solve a problem at work, and the show has been a primer on functional alcoholism for Ann. Plus, we expand our knowledge of the Jerkington family tree. Be sure to listen all the way to the end of the show to find out whether Ann fires Christy.

P.S. In case you wanted to know, Alec Baldwin’s three hopes for 2009 were: 1) Slumdog Millionaire wins the Oscar, 2) the auto industry continues to work on fuel efficient cars, 3) there won’t be a SAG strike.

Special guest and lady social-scientist Ellen “Kenny G” Middaugh returns (see ep. 193) to help Bobby, Meredith and Ann break down the latest week of TBTL from Bud Light to bird feeder, and every disgusting and insecurity-laden step between. Ann pilots the Millennial Falcon through a Kessler Run of corrections, Meredith brings the facts on pesticides and silk pillowcases, Bobby made his very own batch of Ooey Gooey Tar Bars thanks to a recipe from Ann’s Aunt Carroll, and Ellen doesn’t hate when Andrew jacks up the reverb, but we let her stay anyway. (One thing we do all agree on? The more Carey Burbank on TBTL, the better.)

Plus, another anecdote about why plungers should be mandatory, and the surprisingly Southern sound of Ann’s sensibilities being shaken.

Our show plan for this episode was foiled by the whims of a US government agency, so Ann, Christy, and Bobby decide to take some time to design a new LRB game/contest. Hey, if Luke and Andrew can do show planning “on-air”, so can we. Get your daubers out, because we’re playing bingo! TBTL bingo, that is. Everyone’s welcome to play – just send an email to [email protected] and you’re in like Flynn. In true crowdsourcing fashion, we want Wagoneer input on which TBTL terms, phrases, or concepts should get a square, so hit us up with your ideas. This is going to be fun: imagine listening to TBTL and crossing your fingers in the hope that Luke will talk about his diet grind, because it’s THE LAST SQUARE you need (kidding – you know we’re going to fill in that square during the first five minutes of the Monday show, right?).

Additionally, we finally take some time to examine our Amazon purchases list with the care and attention it deserves. You guys have been buying some seriously interesting stuff, and we want to celebrate your interests and take a tiny peek into your (safely anonymized) lives. As always, our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who supports us by using our Amazon affiliate link when purchasing things from The Company Slowly Taking Over The World. The pennies we get add up to some serious jam money! If you’d like to help us out, just use littleredbandwagon.com/amazon as your shopping portal.

Bobby, Ann and Meredith get an earlier-than-usual, reverb-free jump on the TBTL Week in Review so Meredith can help with Harvey relief efforts—if she can pass a background check. (If not, we’ll just get her to lead a rosé-fueled yoga class instead.) Thankfully, that’ll give Ann more time to find the perfect place to hang her recockulous mother-and-corndog/child portrait, and Bobby more time to giggle about Ann’s package.

We have all sorts of things we think you should buy this week, including Ex-officio underwear (even though it can’t vote), communion wafers (ideally with Nutella) and Quilted Northern (because you don’t settle). Really though, buy anything you want as long as you do it at littleredbandwagon.com/amazon.

Take out your Bluetooth® and adjust your tone, sir, because it’s time to sit and politely listen to LRB’s latest Phirst Phriday Phyllis Phave Edition! Phyllis joins Bobby for a listen back to two clips from September 2008 when Jen’s resolve to be the change (in manners) she wants to see in the world is put to the test, would-be Azteca appetizer-scammers be damned.

Plus, Phyllis gives us the bittersweet low down on her SUPER EXCITING NEW JOB as National Public Radio’s newest bureau chief, a gig that will only be a stepping stone to an on-air national host position if Bobby’s scheme works. She also told the folks over at After These Messages (never heard of it) about it this week, if you’re into that kind of thing.

While you’re listening, be sure to go connect with (link with?) Phyllis on LinkedIn, and endorse her for stuff. That way in a few years she’ll have a faint memory of us little guys she left in the pod-dust.

After last week’s excitement at the LRB picnic, your hosts are all happy to be back in our home studios. Despite all the traveling we’ve done recently, we’re confident that nobody on this podcast rode their skateboard through the Haggens’ parking lot, or got crunched by a seat recliner on the plane, or took out a planter with their vehicle (actually, scratch that last one).  We’ve got your latest TBTL week in review, and boy, do we have questions. Ann wants to know if men are really that afraid of getting in trouble with their partner, Mike wants to know the mechanics of butt-dialing someone, and Meredith wants to know how long she’s going to have to continue defending ICP. In addition to addressing these important queries, we discuss parking in Texas, puzzle over whether tonight pants are for sleeping in, and plan an extravagant Chick-fil-A/hotdog bar wedding. And Mike makes a shocking scissors-related confession.

What, you think Luke and Andrew are the only ones who can record on a boat? Join Bobby, Ann, Meredith, Christy, special guests and at least one child we would later find out was an unintentional stowaway for a listen back to the sounds of the LRB Summer Picnic on August 18th! We’ve got clips from many super Wagoneers (and a few confused 11s) who braved Seattle traffic, parking lot RV meth labs, and a poorly lit (but well-stocked) snack table to spend some time together, and it was the highlight of our night to talk to them. Well, the second highlight after having our pictures taken with Jack Taylor’s amazing TBTL and LRB displays.

Note: Mike has noted all of you who flouted his rules about food, and justice will be swift. We look forward to seeing the survivors at next year’s picnic!