It's Pretty OK

This week, the gang is talking about a story Pierce read in The New Yorker about what happens to products after consumers return them — a pretty important question, considering that the value of returned products is believed to be close to $1 trillion. MUSIC: "Through the Sewer" – C.O.F.F.I.N ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison ( The New Yorker ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Football season is back, and believe it or not, the gang has very different relationships with the NFL. Nobody's particularly happy about the way that teams are kicking star players (especially running backs) to the curb — and in a surprising turn that will shock you all, Sean gets extremely agitated about the way that professional sports owners do their business. MUSIC: "Liked U Better" – Jeff Ro...

This week, the gang is doing something that is definitely not a blatant rip-off of any other podcasts or anything like that...they're drafting restaurants! Each participant is picking 5 real-life restaurants to build a town around. MUSIC: "Pleasure Seeker" – Be Your Own Pet ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Hearing Songs for the First Time (playlist by Drumeo on YouTube) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

This week, the full gang is back together for the first time in quite a while, and with Kevin back from a long trip, they're talking about the kinds of souvenirs and other little gifts/collections that you amass when you travel. MUSIC: "It's Alive!" – Ratboys Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Sean and Pierce are talking about the soccer transfer window — with its many twists, turns and sagas — and wondering how we got to the point where as fans, we're spending more time focusing on signings and trades and such than worrying about the actual games themselves. MUSIC: "All We Ever" – Chris Farren ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Hanif Abdurraqib (MTV) and Steven Hyden (Uproxx) on The Last...

THIS PODCAST IS ABOUT MUSTARD SKITTLES. THAT'S A REAL THING. THERE'S REALLY NOT ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY ABOUT IT. JUST LISTEN! MUSIC: "Knockin'" – MJ Lenderman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No, it's not a podcast about the MTV competition show. This week, the gang (minus Kevin, who's on a jaunt around the west coast and Canada for a while) gets together to talk about summer reading and the concept of challenging yourself as an adult. Is it just a way to motivate yourself to do something you don't want to do, or can it be about reinforcing something that you already enjoy? MUSIC: "Eye...

This week, it's the show you didn't even know you were waiting for...because you probably weren't actually waiting for it. Pierce and Sean finally do their long-rumored watch-along of the 2011 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. (You can find the game on Dailymotion just like they did if you want to be a sicko and watch it yourself.) Somewhat unsurprisingly, the di...

This week, the gang is talking about game shows and why we love them the way we do. MUSIC: "Be Careful" – bdrmm ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Juvenile's Tiny Desk Concert (NPR Music on YouTube) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang is talking about the wonderful world of bar food. Wings and fries and all that jazz. MUSIC: "Pressure Cooker" – DAZY and Militarie Gun ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Daniel Ellsberg’s Life Beyond the Pentagon Papers (The New Yorker) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang talks about work benefits. Per diems on company trips, parental leave, health care, vacation time — the whole nine yards. MUSIC: "Carlos Is Crying" – The Hold Steady Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the SPORTS BOIS talk about the Denver Nuggets' NBA championship victory. Well, they actually talk about Nikola Jokic's unexpectedly muted reaction to reaching his sport's highest pinnacle, and whether we would all do well to learn something from the big Serbian's perspective on work and competitiveness. MUSIC: "On My Knees" – Middle Kids ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: How Will ‘Succession’ Be Rem...

Dive on in for some hot sardine-on-mackerel action! This week, the gang is talking about the Futurama episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two," which is both eerily prescient about the internet of the 2000s and 2010s...and also somehow a parody of Married...with Children ? MUSIC: "Freak" - Feeble Little Girl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang talks about "townie summer" — the phenomenon in which all of the students in a college town (or the tourists, depending on the town) vanish for a season, leaving the locals behind to do their thing for once. MUSIC: "Checks" – Dead Billionaires Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang gets together (hell, Max and Pierce literally get together!) to discuss what's going on with gym memberships. Max talks about his experience with ClassPass, and Sean suggests that the new wave of fancy "fitness experiences" like Equinox are the new-age replacement for a stuffy old-money status symbol. MUSIC: "Chosen to Deserve" – Wednesday ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Reign of Error (A...

This week, the gang is talking about the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad process of buying a car, so strap in. MUSIC: "Orion" – Rodrigo y Gabriela Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No puns or misdirection or anything in the title — this week, the gang is talking about coffee table books. Well, I guess they start talking about coffee table books as a way to get into a larger discussion of something that they refer to as "situational reading" and how it's changed in the smartphone era. MUSIC: "Kill Your Television" – Ned's Atomic Dustbin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

This week, the gang is back at it to discuss CSA. No, not some horrifying dystopian hybrid of the CIA and the NSA — community-supported agriculture , in which you pay a local farm/producer up front for a season's worth of produce, to be collected on a periodic basis. Basically everyone on the pod has at least considered it, but only Pierce has taken the plunge. Plus, Sean has a totally unreasonabl...

This week, Sean, Max and Pierce are talking about the phenomenon of "content creep" — the way that as podcasters, video creators, and other creative folks get more popular, the demand for them to constantly be creating more and different kinds of output just grows and grows. MUSIC: "JOY (God Only Knows)" – Joy Anonymous Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Sean is getting older and finding that his beer tastes are becoming, as he put it, "maybe not like MY dad's, but definitely like A dad's." Are there other things where we're changing in this sort of way as we get older? And how does the "27 Club" factor in? MUSIC: "Watching the Credits" – The Beths Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang is talking about the news that Pierce's favorite brewery in Atlanta is shutting down its local taproom and moving its production operations out of state. How do you deal with the loss of something like that that has become a fixture in your life? MUSIC: "Training Montage" – The Mountain Goats Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the SPORTS BOIS talk (in a very timely manner) about Purdue's first-round exit from the men's NCAA Tournament at the hands of 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson, the smallest team in the bracket. It seems to be part of an ongoing trend over the last decade or so in which the value of dominant centers is rapidly shrinking. And the gang finds a way to sneak in a "fond" farewell to Jim Boeheim al...

This week, the gang gets together to talk about the hype around kitchen "multitaskers" like the Instant Pot as well as single-use implements like garlic presses. What's the argument for each, and how is Sean going to connect the Instant Pot to his iPhone? MUSIC: "Not Strong Enough" – boygenius Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang (minus Kevin) convenes to talk about movies — more specifically, the Academy Awards. What role do the Oscars play in the modern world of fragmented streaming services? MUSIC: "Futures Bet" – U.S. Girls Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the gang is talking about $2 bills. Why do they feel like such a novelty, and should that maybe change going forward? MUSIC: "A Long December" – Oceanator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.