Read it and Weep

What is the best thing ever? We've got 8 new nominees forged in the fire of a topic draft. Okay, it was more a friendly discussion but I think it was really interesting. Watch now to find out what the next era of BTE will look like. 💻 Follow along with the Figma

What do you bench, bro? Can you dead lift me? If I'm dead? It's powerlifting and it's good for you body and mind, apparently. At least Rachel likes it, and she's here to tell us why. Learn the history of powerlifting, learn about a few cool powerlifters including a nine year old who can lift 3x her body weight, and learn about our new funding idea: a brain supplement called Triple Blind where you...

It's our first ever Hunter episode and he takes things in a slightly different direction, deeply personal journey across state lines to his favorite late night eatery, the one and only Waffle House. He teaches you how to order properly, the traps to avoid, and whether or not you should start anything with your server. Plus he calls out David. Seriously, David. What the hell man. 💸 Get Alex's new...

Writer Sarah Hatheway joins us to talk about a thing that's brought her so much joy over the years, romance novels. She loves them so much she's written her own (more on that soon, we hope). We learn about the history of the genre and a bit more about how genre works in general. It's a really good episode.  Get the best selling novel "Unwrap My Heart" Follow along on the Figma Watch this episode o...

If there's one thing that's a shoe-in for Best Thing Ever it's the thing that our hosts have pursued for a combine 20+ years. But after a great history of standup comedy from Anthony, we prove that we're a lot more conflicted about our careers than even we knew. Is standup the best or is it stinky? If you're enjoying the show please give us an honest 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and tell us if...

Trees. They're everywhere. Watching. Biding their time. Providing us everything we need to live but always threatening to take it away. They're the beauty and the danger, but are they the best thing ever? Alex gives a presentation on his 15 favorite trees in an effort to convince people they are but where do they end up? Find out. Follow along on the Figma here Please take a second and leave us an...

It's the moment you've been waiting for, that Anthony has been saving all his political capital for, it's time for the pro wrestling episode. Along with special guest Jamie Carbone , we go on a journey into the world of wrestling and how we can appreciate it more. We learn words and phrases like "the shine", "a work", "gaga", and controversially, "some color." We hope you learn something too and m...

As a beverage goblin I'm thrilled to present my strongest application for best thing ever so far, warm beverages. We give you a brief history of coffee and tea as well as a guide for how to find the best coffee shops.  PLUS we're joined by incredible standup comedian Irene Tu ( irenetu.com ) who recently opened for Patton Oswald and Sarah Silverman and has a new record out that's just the best. Wa...

Everybody connect to your LAN and settle into your hunched-over position so we can tell you the tale of a transformational video game (and masculinity both good and bad). We're talking about communal video games generally and Halo specifically. Grab your Bawls and let's dive in! Plus this week we've got a very special guest. Laser The Boy just dropped his debut LP and you can (and should) listen t...

Our search for the best thing ever continues with a deep dive into one of the cuddliest movies of all time, Studio Ghibli's "My Neighbor Totoro." Will it unseat bread and cat videos? It's a tough call. Plus the briefest history of Japan you've ever seen and an update on bay leaves.  Explore the My Neighbor Totoro slide deck at your leisure

We're back for our second episode ever and the first one where we actually have a tough time ranking the topic. And this topic is a strong possibility for Best Thing Ever, it's fresh baked bread, featuring a complete history of bread written by Ezra Fox. Is it better than cat videos? Find out! Plus we give advice to Ali on moving in with a partner for the first time. You can get really mixed advic...

It's the first episode of our new show! After months of work we're here to launch our brand new podcast investigating all things to find the best one. And our first contestant out of the gate is Cat Videos. Featuring a history of Cat Videos written by Anthony Lopez and and immediate first place ranking. Watch this episode on YouTube Peruse the Figma as you listen

And that's it. We've finished one full year of playing the game we made up, Kevin Bacon's Exquisite Corpse. It's a mixed success, so we spend the episode talking about how we could have improved if we'd thought about it earlier. Plus we re-rank a few movies on our master list to make it a little bit better but still pretty weird. Next up: A VERY COOL THING WE'LL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT SOON

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS! Well maybe it doesn't since weather prevented Hunter from joining us today. But we watched his movie choice anyway, the Tom Cruise orgy movie Eyes Wide Shut and it was a fun chat. Plus in the news, Tom Cruise jumped off a thing . Next up: That's a wrap on season 5! We'll do a post mortem in early January and then talk more about where we go from here.

After much controversy, we travel back to PT Anderson's 1992 epic about chance and fate, Magnolia . It earns a pretty high place on our list of best films of all time. Plus in the news, Alex's video finally worked. Next up: Controversy continues and that ends in the weirdest way possible, and we're traveling through the Cruise Missile and watching Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Our second Batman movie of season 5 is also our third time visiting the 90s Batman series and it's probably our best stop on the bat train.  Plus in the news, Alex is performing in Austin, TX next week and Santa is a conspiracy. Next up: After a LOT of rules lawyering, we're watching Magnolia (1999)

Alex chooses Anthony's movie and Anthony chooses violence. Plus in the news, a very important month is over, Alex posts a video, and the Wall Safe Wallsafe is on sale now . Next up: Ezra moves through Danny DeVito to Batman Returns.

Hunter had to leave for the Holidays early so we did a special bonus about the just-wrapped Disney+ Star Wars series Andor . Alex is less enthusiastic than the others would like but it's always nice to talk about how George Lucas sucks. Plus in the news, Disney switches Bobs and donuts get real. Next up: We finally watch Virgin Suicides (1999).

From a princess who wants to be a wolf to a princess who just wants to know her own name, we watch another 90s animated film not made by Disney, this one the oddly a-historical Bluth joint Anastasia . The panel isn't thrilled but it has its supporter(s). Plus in the news, Alex gives a Zelda update and talks about his new project Fauxcella . Next up: Ezra's gambit backfires as Alex steers us to Ant...

Alex comes roaring back onto the score board with a complete 5-point play as we watch the Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke and talk about it's greater meaning about how many bullets it takes to kill god and when to date a wolf girl. Plus in the news, Alex is haunted by Zelda: Breath of the Wild . h/t Caleb for making sure I watched this video first so I didn't look like a complete idiot: https://ww...

Hunter's back in tiptop so we can finish our journey down the Lost Highway to spooky David Lynchville. Plus a long discussion of Halloween decorations and the long-awaited exercise update. Next up: Alex power-cards his way to points with a double move that lands at Princess Mononoke .

Hunter's out sick so the rest of the crew does a six-topic lightning round in slow motion. Topics include "What would media like look if we lived in a world with a Purge" and "Who took the Devil out of Halloween?" Next up: Hunter recovers and we talk about Lost Highway (1997) with him.

Anthony takes the free point for picking a spooky movie as he moves via Cathy Moriarty to the 90s childhood crowd pleaser Casper , which holds up pretty well as long as you don't overthink the mechanics of the Lazarus Machine or Casper kissing a girl while she's sleeping and a couple other standard 90s cringe moments. Next up: Hunter moves via Bill Pullman to the David Lynch film Lost Highway (199...

Alex comes roaring back onto the leaderboard with his fourth target movie, the 1999 classic of queer cinema, But I'm A Cheerleader . It's funny and heart warming and maybe we don't talk about it as much as it deserves because we just kinda loved it and didn't have many jokes about it. But we loved it. Next up: Anthony wins the draw YET AGAIN and takes a bonus point for moving us to the spoopy movi...

After what feels like ages, Hunter scores his second points movie of the year with the Wong Kar-wai movie Happy Together . Anthony loves it but Alex and Ezra both feel like they're not smart enough to like it all the way. But they do love the cinematography and waterfall. Plus big news from Alex's TikTok and his newest video from his YouTube series about the future . Next up: Alex joins the scorin...