Love Hate Relationship

Love: Kieron Gillen Andy comes into this episode talking up one of the great comic book writes of the day, Kieron Gillen . He talks through his relatively late entry into the medium, some of Gillen's best works, including The Wicked and the Divine and his Star Wars books, and cool stuff like his curated playlists for all of his works. Alex, meanwhile, learns that there's another cool-ass music jou...

Love: Shazam Alex starts this episode up by talking up maybe the last great example of a smartphone app that does an unequivocal public service, Shazam. He talks about it's tech bro origins, the game show based around it, and even tells a story involving "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. Andy, meanwhile, learns that there are Shazams that are not DC Comics characters and is delighted by a Riker refe...

For Love Hate Relationship's 85th episode, we come back with our second Triple Relationship Special! We start with Jessica Day ( New Girl ) who wonders if she's the asshole for peeing in the cat's litter box when her boyfriend's IBS forced him to hold the bathroom for a crazy long time . Alex makes a few confessions about his checkered past while Andy defends the notion of not locking doors in ant...

Love: Cracked Andy turns up the early 2000's nostalgia to reminisce on the halcyon days of Cracked.com. He discusses the site's history, including a weird pseudo-connection to Mad Magazine , the incredible careers it's launched, and the bedrock it laid for Internet comedy as a whole. Alex meanwhile, uses the opportunity to lament the awfulness of venture capital and pivots to video (and not only b...

Love: Josie and the Pussycats Alex takes us back to the perfectly innocent era of 2001 to talk about one of his favorite underrated movies, Josie and the Pussycats . He, of course, spends considerable time on the incredible soundtrack, its underappreciated satire, and why it's better than Fight Club . Andy meanwhile, tolerates him, but does learn who Babyface is over the course of the segment. Hat...

Love: Benny Blanco Andy takes a page out of Alex's playbook this episode and does a love on music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. He schools him on the man's legendary credits, his hilarious turns on Dave and TikTok, and his ghoulish looks. Alex learns who Charlie Puth is sort of, and we all agree that Dr. Luke still sucks. Hate: Pitbull Discrimination For this episode's Hate, Alex calls out...

 Love: Public Libraries Alex gets both nostalgic and literary for this episode's Love where he dives into the history and benefits of public libraries. He talks up their value as a universal public good, the trouble they've been in over the years, and even calls out a book or two he would've never read without them. Andy meanwhile gets extra nostalgic, and everyone gets a reminder that the in...

Love: The Expanse Andy takes his Love to talk up the sci-fi masterwork, The Expan se. He talks the book and its authors' connection to good old George R.R. Martin, the value of space zombies and class struggles, and why he thinks Jeff Bezos should just pony up for more seasons. Alex, meanwhile, gets weedy about hard vs. soft sci-fi and admits that Star Wars is neither. Hate: Lawns Alex takes a mom...

Love: Tim Pierce Alex starts this episode with the latest installment of his "People You Didn't Know Made Everything You've Ever Loved" series to discuss session guitarist, YouTuber, and sweet old man, Tim Pierce . He relays Pierce's understated journey to becoming one of the most prolific session players since the 80's and his extensive work for everyone from Adele to Phil Collins on the Tarzan s...

Love: Rum Andy takes it alcoholic for this episode to discuss his favorite of all liquors, rum. He gives some chemical, geographic, and historical context for it, discusses its versatility, and even calls out a favorite brand. Alex tells a traumatic story of why he barely touched the stuff for over a decade, and we discover the three genders of Cowboy, Pirate, and Russian. Hate: Capital Punishment...

Love: 16-Bit Video Games For Alex's Love this episode, he takes it more than a little old school and outside of his usual wheelhouse to talk about 16-bit video games. He gives some history, both personal and non, talks up the accessibility and creative possibilities of the format, and talks about being a crappy high school math student. Andy, meanwhile, references games some of us have probably ne...

Love: Michael K. Williams Andy's less-than-timely-but-no-less tragic Love for this episode is the late Michael K. Williams. He talks up highlights of his work, from the Trapped in the Closet video to Omar in The Wire to The Atlantic's "Typecast" short film (which he asks all of you to check out here for the sheer excellence of Williams's performance. Alex meanwhile re-remembers the song "100% True...

After a brief hiatus to relocate Andy up to the mountains of Western North Carolina, LHR is back with our first Triple (or maybe more like Sextuple) Relationship Special! We begin with Prince Phillip ( Sleeping Beauty , not the dead guy briefly played by Matt Smith on The Crown ) who looks for some help with his partner's sudden and concerning need to take in stray and wild animals . There's some...

  Love: Meet Me @ The Altar Alex uses his precious Love time to talk up what he considers to be the most exciting new act in guitar-based music today, East Coast Pop Punk band Meet Me @ The Altar . He discusses their unique, internet-based origin story, their fresh take on a sort of Paramore sound, and why he thinks they're going to be one of the newest, biggest acts in music. Andy, meanwhile...

Love: Warhammer Andy takes his time this episode to discuss his Love of all things Warhammer. He explains the history and nature of the game, his personal attachment to the painting and construction of it's (weirdly expensive) figurines, and his struggles with wanting to get back into it. Alex, meanwhile, offers a class dissection of who it's maybe intended for, fails to ask more questions about S...

Love: Hanif Abdurraqib Alex uses his Love time to talk up poet, cultural critic, and music journalist extraordinaire, Hanif Abdurraqib . He reads a selection of his work , discusses his expertise on music ranging from Fall Out Boy and Stevie Nicks to Carly Rae Jepson and the Weeknd to Celine Dion and the Four Seasons, and the tragedy that more people haven't heard of this quiet genius from Columbu...

Love: Laura Kinney Andy uses this episode to wax affectionately about a comic book character perhaps marginally familiar to most fans, but completely off the radar to the layperson, Laura Kinney AKA X-23 AKA Wolverine. He discusses her origins as a barely-more-than-one-off character in a lesser-known X-Men animated show to her character history in the comics, all the way to her current-ish status...

Love: Lewis Black For this episode's Love, Alex takes everyone into the history and work of comedian, author, and actor Lewis Black. He relays Black's surprisingly full life as a Yale-graduate and successful working playwright and actor before his breakthrough as a stand-up at age 50, his equally surprising turns as a writer and essayist, and just what he meant to a young, pre-anger future podcast...

Love: Patrick Stewart For his Love this episode, Andy talks up one of the acting titans of the Sci-Fi, Comic, and Shakespearean Nerdoms, Sir Patrick Stewart. He discusses Stewart's 60+ year career with everyone from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Star Trek to American Dad , and the special place that Jean-Luc Picard holds in his heart. Alex, meanwhile, mentions the sole version of Dr. Charles Xa...

Love: Adam Neely Alex's Love this episode is Bassist, Composer, and Youtuber Adam Neely . He talks up his work, including electro-jazz covers of " Hello " and " Run Away With Me " and his instructional videos on subjects ranging from music theory to the controversial key of "Hey Joe." Andy meanwhile learns that music theory is super racist and just where his cohost gets all these musical hot takes...

Love: RA Salvatore Andy (quite literally) takes the stage at the top of the episode, as he first of all sums up the discussion around the 20-or-son minutes of audio that were sadly lost for this recording which, douchebag buffer aside, are all about fantasy author RA Salvatore. He talks up the man's prolific commitment to the craft, his dynamic character work, and his incredible attention to detai...

Love: King of the Hill Alex delves back into the glory days of FOX's Animation Domination to talk about Mike Judge's animated sitcom, King of the Hill . He gives some history into its development (including MVP Greg Daniels), Andy asks if Hank Hill might be the greatest animated father of all time, and *POCKET SAND!* Hate: Video Game Crunch Culture Andy takes everyone through a tour of the phenome...

For the latest in the Triple Love Special series, Alex and Andy spend an episode talking up movie director/writer, composer, satirist, and all-around awesome dude, John Carpenter They begin with a primer on Carpenter's early years, from his time as a two time college drop-out) once for music, once for film) to his first couple of film effort, which included an Oscar-winning short, a sci-fi comedy...

Love: The Muppets Andy finally pulls the trigger on one he's had back-burnered for a while and talks all things Muppets. He and Alex delve into some fond childhood moments, what makes these characters as universal as they've been, even decades onward from the original show, the surprising origins of "The Rainbow Connection," and all of why Jim Henson was such a good, awesome dude. Hate: The Rock a...

Love: Phil Lamarr Alex's Love this episode is onscreen and voice actor extraordinaire, Phil Lamarr. He talks Lamarr's minute career in movies, his prolific career in onscreen TV, and his absolutely incredible career voicing iconic characters in animation (and only to of them involve Chris Rock impersonations). Andy gets to spend a little time playing Death Battle with a couple of Lamarr's best cha...