The Ascertainers

Send us Fan Mail Today we are joined by Mark's best friend from High School, Steve (not to be confused with Jim's brother Steve).  If you judge someone's character by the company they keep, Mark must be a good dude. RIP Saxophonists Newt's--New Burger of the Month and we're not even mad Even more disorganized live Shoutout Jim's car guy, Griffin Mark's hidden acc...

Send us Fan Mail We dial it down in terms of tone and volume from last episode with Jim's family.  Throwing another music one at you --seeing as we are supposed to be a music podcast and all. Public corrections Newt's and Mark's bacon Shoutout Feegee (creators of our theme music) Mark's championship editing skills Free Tootsie Pops, er no? Unfrosted Radio Game Very partially tr...

Send us Fan Mail I know what you're thinking--are these the people Jim grew up with or was one of them bitten by a radioactive spider.  The jury is still out on that one.  We celebrate Jim's mom's birthday with some laughs and just the right amount of brotherly angst. **Because we had 5 people and only 4 microphones, Jim decided to sit between 2 mic's to be accommodating.  Only...

Send us Fan Mail We finally persuade Mark's wife, Dianne, to sit in on an episode.  We told her she didn't have to talk or anything--just check it out and she could chime in if she wanted to.  Basically, the podcast version of just the tip.  Well, we got more than we bargained for as she did chime in, and she was awesome! Meatloaf again Newt's--The Place to Be! Radio Game (featuring...

Send us Fan Mail If you ever wanted to know how Jim would react to winning the Radio Game--this episode is for you.  What started innocently as a second episode of the night turned into some pretty good laughs and a good time overall.  Mark really liked this one. Multi-media exposure Grab bag redux OG Newt's Kiss Army Mark's grooming tips The Miracle Worker--Helen Reddy Shoutout Carlos i...

Send us Fan Mail New concept tonight.  We're not pointing any fingers here, but everyone knew Mark and Jim would run out of topics sooner or later.  So tonight, we break out the Grab Bag.  Might be a worthy concept, but who's kidding who? Newt's shoutouts Mark and Jim leave fashionably late Thank goodness we're not political RIP Bill Walton Team America World Police recommendat...

Send us Fan Mail As the title indicates, we could use some of YOUR input on music topics.  I mean it's not like we talk about any topic for more than 1/4 of any episode (although there is some juicy Molly Hatchet and Jethro Tull stuff in the radio game today). Thanks for the theme music, feegee (@feegeeband) Mark shot a 50 and he's going to STATE! Errors & Omissions Watch "The W...

Send us Fan Mail In the spirit of the new golf season, we had to use a Mulligan on this one.  We recorded on our usual night, and it turned out even less good/more bad than usual.  We added Jim's wife for support and got a much better result. Golf recap We put the suck in seersucker Mark's Bird Island-Lake Lillian glory days story Puckered has entered the chat Our video debut Newt's...

Send us Fan Mail Hey, we made it to 60--and still aren't very good.  What does say about you for listening? Newt's is HOPPING New car to Mark Size concerns Movie Reviews:  Clerks and Blade Runner 2049 Radio Game Bee  Gees Documentary Eff Jimmy Fallon Timberwolves--can they do it? Sprewell's financial prowess Kentucky Derby update Errors & Omissions 2024 golf preview Musicians th...

Send us Fan Mail We take a slight left turn from almost being a music podcast to talk about the thing everyone in our demographic can relate to in some way--Wide World of Sports. Reunted and it feels so good International listeners Wedding recap--guy style Jim's cool friends New Newt's Featured Item--we're not mad....just disappointed Beyond burger shoutout Radio Game RIP Dickey Bet...

Send us Fan Mail May was rough on us schedule-wise.  We'll record a fresh episode on the night this one is released.  In other words, this episode was recorded a while back and has been aging in the barrel.  Careful--we don't know how strong it is. No matter how you spell it... Earth's gonna earth The European Model Iman and other one-named celebrities Joey Browner--we (Jim) promise...

Send us Fan Mail Due to scheduling conflicts with Mark and Jim's super busy social calendars (or something like that), we went to the episode pantry and pulled this one off the shelf.  It was this, or canned peaches.   Hey German listener... The Subaru of sandals Jim's milestone birthday Old guy stuff Uncle Milty's is bigger Newt's--The We'll See Burger Our cool new stage...

Send us Fan Mail Ran into super listener Pat K at Newt's (nobody was hurt) and recruited him to come on a future episode.  He claims to have listened to every Ascertainers episode.  Be like Pat. The Rain the Park and Other Things South Park Randy Shoutout CSI: Jim's Basement Vikings Middle Linebacker or Porn Star? Still no Ascertainers Burger at Newt's (but ask for it anyway) Can&ap...

Send us Fan Mail For all you Viking's fans, this is also known as the Scott Studwell episode.  Not because we talk about him or anything--but he did wear #55.  I bet he also knows Joey Browner. In this episode, we finish up on 1976 by talking some music, TV shows and other useless banter.   Well, my broker is EF Hutton Newt's--yum--you should go there Saving best stuff for Mark (phrasing...

Send us Fan Mail We're still trying to get our groove back (as if we ever had one).  Jim's wife, Kris makes her Ascertainers debut. What would you say you do here? Gramma's Boy Introducing Mrs Jim Mancini's shoutout Girl drinks Fancy Ray sighting Newt's:  Featuring the All-New Ascertainers Burger Errors & omissions Radio Game 1976 songs, pop culture, etc Hair calendar...

Send us Fan Mail The sophomore slump hit your boys hard.  We enter year two of this adventure by failing on our first two attempts at getting anything worth sharing with you, our loyal listeners--both of you.  What we ended up with should be an indicator of how very bad the first two were... Listener shout outs Prospective guests Newt's and how Mark pissed off our ONLY sponsor The Ascertainer...

Send us Fan Mail That couple is Mark and Jim.  During the recording with the Think Drink Disney fellas, Jim dissed Mark even more than normal.  Thanks to Mark being a podcasting pro and great editor, you probably didn't even know about it, but in this episode, you'll hear how we worked things out.  Extra Kleenex for this one..... Another new friend at Newt's Jim and Cory are both Ro...

Send us Fan Mail One episode was not enough for legends Matt G and Lance from the Think Drink Disney podcast.  This time around is a bit less frenetic (look it up Ascertainers followers....  The TDD people probably knew that one already).  If you could use a laugh, give this one a listen. Reintroducing Think Drink Disney (TDD) What's with all the Kleenex? Micro Obliterator Callouses Never pas...

Send us Fan Mail Big week--Matt G and Lance from the Think Drink Disney podcast pay us a visit.  Jim has known Lance for going on 20 years and The Ascertainers have looked up to T.D.D. for a while.  With four guys in the Dojio (Dojo/Studio--copyright pending), there's a little bit of cross talk and a whole lot of laughs.  What The Ascertainers lack in technical proficiency, raw talent and pre...

Send us Fan Mail We spent a little more time at Newt's before recording this one--you decide for yourself if it shows.... Thick glasses? Choose positivity, damn it! Have to or get to? Cheat day Ice Fishing story (a/k/a Aurora BOREalis Newt's is delicious Where the heck is Sara??? John Cameron Swayze Mark's new neighbor Fake meat during Lent Bob Marley Entertainers Uff Da #Newts #Fin...

Send us Fan Mail We were so ready to get started that we skipped the intro.  As Ascertainers episodes go, this one is pretty close to the original recipe--50% of people won't like it.  The other half will hate it.  Enjoy! Big Shots Newts Shoutout--Welcome to MN Ken and Renee! Is it hot out there or is it just us? The two Parris's Think twice about lending Mark your Jaguar Mental spotter...

Send us Fan Mail After teasing 1973 as a topic last episode, we decided to actually tackle it this week and stuck with the plan.  1973--come for the easy listening, stay for the easier listening.  This one was challenging to spice up. Knee Job Newt's you say? Symbiosis Who bites gum? Paging our German listener 1973--The rise of Heavy Music?  Kind of. Mark's guy Eric/Tommy Bolin Mick Jagg...

Send us Fan Mail Well, we finally did it--we went the whole episode without talking about our topic-- which does get mentioned in the episode, but since we didn't cover it at all, we don't want to further mislead by using it in the episode title.  One way to look at this is that it's like a choose your own adventure.  Another way is to question the (lack of) motivation by these host...

Send us Fan Mail It's been brought to our attention that we maybe not mention a topic in the title of the episode since we only get to the topic with about 11 minutes left (margin of error +/-1 minute).   Hey, at least we're consistent--and this one is NO different.  We make up for it with extensive inaccurate rumors about former MN Vikings All Pro Safety, Joey Browner.  It doesn't...

Send us Fan Mail Just Mark and Jim on this one.  Feeling guilty about not giving his guest/brother much of a chance to speak on Episode 43, Jim vows to do better on this one--and pretty much succeeds.  The bar is set pretty low for him. Smiley face emoji Mark's visit to Como Park Zoo Conservatory No gibbons for you today Chuck Foreman When to execute a Chuck-spin Doing donuts Newt's was...