Slower Lower

You'll want to sharpen your knives for this episode! Chris and Crystal hung out with Roland and Erika Morris, the husband-and-wife owners of M&W Family Butchers in Delmar. Topics discussed: - How Roland learned to hunt and process deer as a child. - From decoy carving to meat carving. - M&W Family Butchers and the Slower Lower podcast are sponsors of the 2026 Delaware Whitetail Open! -...

Topics discussed: Frog season has ended. A $500 tip at the Sterling Tavern. Revisiting the matter of a certain barn and BBQ joint in Delmar. The new Downstate Delaware podcast. Ms. New York Goes To Sussex County. Why do newcomers to a state always want to turn it into what they left? The nor'easter of '26, and thoughts on erosion, beach replenishment, and building one's house upon the...

It's a Laurel Historical Society takeover! This week's guests are George Denney and Artez West, the president and vice president of the Laurel Historical Society, respectively. Chris and Crystal sat down with George and Artez at historic Rosemont (c. 1772) for a conversation about the society's past and future. Topics discussed: George's birth in Wilmington, education at Salisbury...

Chris and Crystal recap a fantastic lunch at a "new" (to them) spot, and discuss local Delmarva news stories, including a feud brewing in Delmar. Topics discussed: Don't sleep on the Village Inn restaurant and tavern in Parsonsburg! A tasty lunch of a fried crabcake, peas n' dumplings, and bacon-wrapped crab-dip-stuffed jalapeno poppers. When a restaurant doesn't look like mu...

Chris and Crystal make a long-overdue visit to Easton, Maryland, and stop by the reopened Washington Street Pub as well as Vintage Books & Fine Art and Rude Burger. Topics discussed: The old Washington Street Pub vs. the new one. Eating oysters out of oyster season. When the placemat artwork is so beautiful that you ask for a clean one to take home. Cream of crab soup and Maryland crab soup. V...

As Labor Day weekend ushers in cooler temperatures, pumpkin ales, and Slower Lower Delaware's relaxed off-season, Chris and Crystal celebrate and mourn the summer of 2026. Topics discussed: Slower Lower will once again sponsor the Delaware Whitetail Open in November. The Baltimore Sun was fascinated by a photo of a boy tubing on Salisbury's flooded streets. The great George Thorogood is co...

Steve Wootteon is the drummer for the bands Have Mercy and Meth Rats. Topics discussed: Have Mercy's recent European tour. Differences between American crowds and European crowds. lowercase bands vs. ALL CAPS BANDS. Fonts. Ssssssibilance. The interesting new Avenged Sevenfold EP. AI-generated music. . . . and more!

Cody Fenzel is a Maryland outdoorsman, wild game connoisseur, and three-time competitor in the Muskrat Leg Eating World Championship, taking 3rd place in 2024 and 2nd place in 2025 and 2026. Cody and his fiancé, Katie Rosati, hung out with Chris and Crystal at historic Rosemont in Laurel, Delaware. This is a fun one! Topics discussed: How Chris stumbled upon Cody's "Muskrat Mauler" p...

When a poorly planned episode about Delaware happenings starts to run out of steam, Chris and Crystal call up Joe Wilson and chat about the upcoming World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off.

Crystal's out of town for the weekend, so Chris caught up with returning Slower Lower favorites Fulton Giebel and Billy Hardesty over a lunch of Egyptian-style kibda using deer liver. Topics discussed: Rave reviews for deer liver kibda sandwiches with pita bread and zesty tahini sauce. A fatal car crash at Mancini's in Fenwick. An unfortunate case of "tongs to the dong" in Salisbury. People turnin...

The first full weekend of August means one thing around here: It's the Eastern Shore Threshermen & Collectors Association's three-day Old-Time Wheat Threshing, Steam & Gas Engine Show in Caroline County, Maryland. Chris and Crystal devoted a Saturday to Sweet Caroline, returning to the Threshermen show for yet another year and popping into a favorite lunch spot in Denton, as well a...

After the cruise vacation of a lifetime, Chris and Crystal shoot the breeze about stops in the Bahamas, Mexico, and Honduras, and catch up on local Delmarva news and brews. Topics discussed: Wild chickens on the island of Coco Cay in the Bahamas. Entering Mexico for the first time; comparing and contrasting the port of Costa Maya and the local town of Mahahual. The Mayan ruins at Chacchoben. Drink...

Chris and Crystal chat about their experience on the biggest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas , whilst cruising about 15 miles off the coast of Cuba. Topics discussed: The staggering size of the ship (five times bigger than the Titanic ). The level of service provided by the staff. Don't skip the main dining room, which is as good as any five-star restaurant. A...

Chris and Crystal share the sad news that the rooster featured in the Slower Lower podcast's intro and artwork died during the recent heat wave, and talk about other recent happenings including a high-speed pursuit on Route 1, going crabbing with Billy Hardesty for Delaware crabs, and the growth of the Slower Lower YouTube channel.

Chris and Crystal weigh in on local news stories and recount visiting several excellent Sussex County businesses, two of them for the very first time. Topics discussed: Big Oyster is reviving Tall Tales Redheaded Stepchild red ale! The scrapple eating competition at First State Fest at Hudson Fields on Saturday, June 27th. And who the heck is the Muskrat Mauler? Somebody accused "the yellow p...

Chris and Crystal reflect on their recent weekend on Smith Island, the only inhabited offshore island in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Known for its crabcakes and soft crabs, iconic layered cake, and the locals' traditional dialect, the island is accessible only by boat. Topics discussed: Connecting with Jerry Smith, "The Rogue's Point Pirate," who was featured in Peter Santenello's vi...

Jerry Smith is a waterman, history buff, YouTube creator, and life-long resident of Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay. In 2024, he was featured in Peter Santenello’s viral video about the island and its unique culture which has since garnered 5.2 million views, and which resulted in a GoFundMe raising more than $38,000 to repair Jerry’s hurricane-damaged home in Rhodes Point. As “the Rogue’s Poin...

Back by popular demand! Grandma Shirley returned to the Slower Lower podcast for a conversation about her life in the tiny town of Trappe in Talbot County, Maryland, in the 1950s and 60s. Topics discussed: Meeting a young man named Charles Diefenderfer in 1950 and going for a drive before camp meeting service. Denton Pilgrim Holiness Camp in the 1950s. Getting married and moving from Hurlock to Tr...

Chris and Crystal reflect on their first year of podcasting and several local news stories. Topics discussed: Crystal's glowing review of the Red Roost outside Salisbury. Imported crabs and unscrupulous crabhouses. Should restaurants identify the source of their crabs as if they were oysters? The hideous new bollards and boardwalk gate in Rehoboth Beach. Delaware Governor Matt Meyer posted a B...

This very special episode of the Slower Lower podcast features Chris's 91-year-old grandma, Shirley, who was born in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1934. In Grandma Shirley's first-ever podcast interview, she talks about growing up in the small town of Hurlock in the 1930s and 1940s. Topics discussed: The Pike family's old house in the woods at Rhodesdale. The sad poisoning of the family's dog, J...

Delaware-based country singer Shane Beard returns to the Slower Lower podcast with his friend and musical collaborator Kyle "K.O." Owens. We're celebrating the release of Shane's new single "Would If I Could" and a very cool music video! Topics discussed: A dude in Selbyville is upset about the stinky stuff farmers are spreading on the fields. Chicken manure vs. cow man...

This is the second of two special episodes recorded at historic Rosemont (c. 1772) in downtown Laurel, Delaware. Chris and Crystal were joined by Dr. Keith Cunningham, a gifted and passionate linguist who is reconstructing the long-dormant language of the Nanticoke Indians. Topics discussed: Greeting one another in Nanticoke. Historic Nanticoke word lists from the 1700s. Lydia Clark, the last nati...

Troy and Carolynn Foxwell are a husband-and-wife team who serve as the State President of the Delaware Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the State Regent of the Delaware Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, respectively. They joined Chris and Crystal at historic Rosemont (c. 1772) in Laurel, Delaware, for a conversation about the organizations, how folks can discov...

In an episode that is almost entirely about gardening, Chris and Crystal give shoutouts to Turnpike Tulips and Lakeside Greenhouses, review the current state of their garden, and read and discuss a variety of posts in the Delaware Gardening group on Facebook. Topics discussed: Local news item: A theft of bee hives in Delmar. Regional news item: They're going to use dredged material from Baltimore...

This week Chris and Crystal recount an unplanned overnight stay in friendly Onancock, Virginia. Topics discussed: The incredible sushi and service at Maurice Orange crushin' and boat watching by the water at Mallards Devouring two bowls of the Eastern Shore clam chowder at the Blarney Stone The craft beer selection at the booming Onancock Taphouse Booking a last-minute stay at the Charlotte Ho...