If “penultimate” meant “last,” this would be the penultimate episode of our VSOP series. Thanks again to John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, and the sturdy padlocks on the studio doors that prevented their escape.

This episode will be more interesting than average for: farmers, Québécoises, basket weavers, camp counselors, small business owners, and a capella aficionados.

This episode will be less interesting than average for: dancers, hair stylists, carnies, Renaissance buffs, vegans, and criminals.

Special Guests: John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton.

YLNT VSOP, Part II! The drugs* have kicked in, and we have reached cruising altitude. Stay tuned for the final, gripping conclusion to the VSOP series next week. Or so.

A partial list of works referenced in this episode, and their creators:

* Imodium, Dermarest

Photo by frozenmeat (detail)

Special Guests: John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton.

It’s YLNT VSOP, Part I! We convened a special session in San Francisco, featuring guests John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton. Aided by Hodgman’s expertise and Coulton’s hatred of poetry, we finally got to the bottom of our most lingering questions:

…and many more.

UPDATE: If you enjoyed this episode, you might like to learn more about how we made it. Check out the production journal.

Photo by Ryan Carver (detail). Check out his other great photos from that day here.

Special Guests: John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton.

Thousands* of you wrote to us asking for Election Day guidance. Sadly, we don’t have time to evaluate every candidate in every race. Instead, we commissioned the handy YLNT Voter’s Guide you’ll find below. We recommend you print it onto waterproof paper, fold it into a tiny square, and hide it in your mouth as you enter the voting booth.

Of course, this simple checklist can’t cover every scenario. But we did try to make our guidelines as broadly applicable as possible:

VOTE FOR:

1. Yourself. If you are on the ballot, give yourself the vote. Don’t overthink this one.

VOTE AGAINST:

1. Anyone who has given you a venereal disease.

Listen to the episode for many more helpful voting tips, including some Election Day-specific pickup lines.

Also: Rappy pants and dentures, hats of the Seduction Community, Pascal’s voting wager (Vote for Adam’s dad). No ice cream for the handicapable. After two it’s quote unquote “me”. Love in a voting booth, medieval jewelry vis-à-vis Hypercolor, Adam’s hypnotic sexytime, and push presents.

*”Thousands”: from the Greek, meaning “zero.”

Photo by RS_Joe (detail).

FIRST:

Nose harmony, quarters, who’s Capote now?, “He plays you better than you play you,” layers of latex, latchkey ontologies, start shooting your stock scenes now, one water ski or two?

AND THEN:

Out-browed, back when it was called Mr. Owl, shared entendres, the recurring mint, each table represents a different decade, a full sparkly thong, Assumption never gets enough of the churning butter jokes, reverse garage sales.

Photo: Jorge Luis Borges Coin by TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

You’ve just hopped on the #17 Express and must quickly decide where to sit. In the back of the bus, four teenagers have staked their claim to a dozen seats. An old woman sits next to an open, delicately balanced bag of cat food. Up front, fumes rise from a guy who’s picking his teeth with what might be a knife.

So where do you sit?

If you’ve got your trusty YLNT SeatFinder, decisions like this are a snap.

Changin’ gears, basic stranger strategy, Adam eats alone, the Sultan of Awkward gives wisdom, pick fruit from your neighbor’s tree, fortune cookie photomat, our new sponsor, that Al Roker, it’s a conversation.

Photo: over used by DanielJames

Now* accepting applications for the Class of 2016! Sample from our wide range of available courses, including Sociology 102: Shaving, Chemistry 206: Principles of Muskmaking, and Techniques in Silent Disdain. Independent study credit (read: drinking alone) is also available. Listen to the episode for lots of exciting announcements regarding our Guest Lecturer series. Remember: early applicants get the good nicknames!

Also:

Why stereotype when you can monotype? The robot/cameltoe axis, Birth of a Nation(’s Boner), public transportation is not always a thing, how we do it at NYU, old-guy-as-engineer phase of life.

* Should read: “Not”

The parenting of negligence, things you didn’t know about gas stations, ancient aphorisms, tethered to a key, you go in and stay there until you have wisdom, They’ve Got It!, blue sky pie in the sky, Adam tries a little culture jam, Sunday morning habits, hot spring best practices, paddle balls, Erotic Rosary II, your first time at Uggo’s.

Photo: twocentsworth, Dubai Skyline No. 2 (Detail)

Sandwich smiles into the mouthpiece, teenage telemarketing salad days, LonelyWear’s autumn line, the secret of our success (at Macy’s), ham symphony, Karl gets fired from the Geek Squad, acquaintance on final approach, face school.

Important questions raised by this episode:

Photo: Photocapy, Canned Ham (Detail)

We’re back from summer break full of something and something. Expect weekly episodes until it’s time for fall break. Or early September break. Break!

Pilaf games, the myth of women and computers, retroplagiarism can happened to you, young butlers in high demand, 20s sex ed film, prespooling and the origins of the Industrial Revolution.