The Download's tracks

The word is Crew and the nerds spend most of this episode discussing their dream Star Trek crews. They each choose a favorite character from any of the shows to fill these ten positions: Captain, First Officer, Science Officer, Doctor, Engineer, Helmsman, Security Officer, Communications/Counselor, Wildcard, and Visiting Alien Who Happened To Be On The Bridge At The Time. Moving on to media, Keith...

The word is Danger! The nerds discuss various dangers, including a new game Andy is working on called Danger Star. Then they spend a lot of time talking about their favorite robots, with Andy first providing a detailed recap of episode 160, in which they discussed the topic informally. Then they break it down into sub-categories including favorite Star Wars robot, favorite real-life robot, and the...

The word is Artemis because the nerds were watching the live broadcast of the launch of Artemis 2 while they recorded this episode. They also discuss the space program in general and various moon-related topics. Then they discuss their favorite (and not so favorite) fictional AI entities, with a lot of side discussions about robots with notable artificial personalities. After they drop the spoiler...

The word is Party! The nerds talk about various parties, starting with a party of adventurers catering a dinner party, which was the concept for a D&D scenario which Keith had fun running at GaryCon. Next they talk about their favorite parties of various types. In old business, they discuss again the Deck of Many Things. Then they discuss upcoming events before moving on to media. They discuss...

The word is tarot, and the nerds spend a lot of time talking about tarot decks: what they like about them, which tarot decks are their favorites, etc. Other topics they discuss along the way include other divination systems, the Chronicles of Amber, the Looney Oracle, Rekon-3, the Deck of Many Things, Persona, Last Call, and Oblique Strategies. Then they get into a very long discussion about Zarca...

The word is Haggis, since Keith just said goodbye to his beloved cat of that name. Keith talks about what a great cat he’d been, and how empty the house is now, without both Haggis and Ping. To cheer themselves up from this somber topic, the nerds talk at great length about ice cream — their favorite flavors, manufacturers, parlors, etc. Moving on to work stuff, Keith talks about his new project,...

The word is Academy, since the new Star Trek series about Starfleet Academy just debuted. They discuss the show at a high level, saving the spoilery details for the final part of the show. Then they discuss their favorite schools in various categories. Moving on to life stuff, they each report on current work stuff they’ve been working on: Keith talks about a zany Daggerheart scenario he ran, and...

The word is Song, since the holidays just ended and Christmas songs were in the air and on their minds. They discuss their favorite holiday songs in various categories at length. Then they each talk about their upcoming travel plans, Keith going to DM University, and Andy going to CodeMash. Then Keith talks about his recent trip to film another season of Legacy of Worlds. Moving on to media, Keith...

The word is Dejarik, since this year’s holiday gift from Looney Labs is Looney Dejarik, which Andy explains at length. Then the nerds talk about their favorite calendars, with Keith talking at length about advent calendars in particular. Next, Keith talks about the launch of Jerry Garcia’s Cosmic Journey, and plans for the third season of Legacy of Worlds. Moving on to media, they discuss Pluribus...

The word is Costume, since it was just halloween. The nerds discuss their favorite costumes, from childhood to LARPing to what to wear when answering the door for Trick or Treaters. Moving on to work stuff, they discuss their plans for PAX Unplugged, and Andy drops a few hints about his newest game. Lastly, they discuss media stuff, including Pluribus, Taskmaster season 20, Predator: Badlands, and...

The word is Pets, since Keith is mourning the loss of his dog Ping, while Andy is celebrating the adoption of two kittens. Speaking of cats, they finally tell the story of their visit to a cat cafe in Osaka, which they mentioned repeatedly in episode 351 but never got back to. This leads to other reminiscing about their great Japanese adventure, including discussions of their favorite high-points...

The word is Tokyo, because Keith and Andy recorded this episode during their trip to Japan! The show begins with a discussion they had on their second day, while waiting at the Tokyo train station, then jumps ahead to conversations about their day at Expo 2025 in Osaka. A couple of days after that, they recorded their thoughts after returning from Tokyo Disneyland, and the show concludes with a co...

The word is Konniccichwa, because Keith and Andy are preparing for their big trip to Japan. But first, Andy talks about his recent trip to Burning Man, which somehow leads to a big discussion of their favorite wizards. Then Keith talks about his aunt, who’s just moved from near Portland Maine to his town of Portland Oregon. He talks about showing her the Chapman Swifts, a local natural phenomenon....

The word is Pallet, because Keith and Andy have pallet-related stories to tell about their recent adventures at GenCon. Then Keith gives a few hints about the new world he’s creating for the Daggerheart RPG system. Moving on to one of their Favorite Things, they discuss their favorite vampires. Lastly, after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first 5 episodes of season 3 of Star Trek:...

The word is Goodloe, which is the first name of the guy who’s been drawing the doodles that illustrate this podcast for the past 347 episodes. Sadly, Goodloe is stepping down as our cartoonist, so the nerds discuss their favorite Goodloe cartoons. Then they spend most of the rest of the show discussing the new Superman movie, and the new Fantastic Four movie. Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Rewatch, and the nerds start by discussing classic shows they’ve been watching again, including their favorite shows to watch over again. Then Andy invites Keith to join him for a trip to Japan, which they are planning to take this fall, along with Andy’s brother and his wife. Then Keith talks about a new game he’s been working on for a while now and is finally able to talk about: Jerr...

The word is Cones, and after some discussion about the different types of ice cream comes, the subject of the Cones of Dunshire leads to very long conversation about fictional tabletop games and their favorites in that category. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they review the end of season two of Andor and the start of season 19 of Taskmaster.

The word is Smartypants. The nerds talk about a web series called SmartyPants and being a smartypants in general. Then they discuss their favorite coins (and also their least favorites). Moving on to media, they spend a lot of time speculating about the upcoming Fantastic Four movie based on the trailer, then Keith gives us spoiler-free reviews of Thunderbolts and Sinners. Other media topics inclu...

This week the word is Jeopardy and the subject of favoritism is game shows. They have a lot to say about game shows, including fictional game shows and the issue of various game-show-adjacent forms of competition. Then Keith recounts a few tales from his recent D&D in a castle travels.

This week the word is snacks, so the nerds discuss their favorite snacks. In quite a bit of detail. Eventually, after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss various versions of the story, Button, Button, as well as Season 1 of Paradise.

This week’s word is surplus, and the nerds talk about surplus stores, their favorite leftovers, unfinished business from the Twilight Zone, air fryers, Kzinti chow, They Might Be Giants, Hundreds of Beavers, Flow, Wander to Wonder, Disneyland rides that are being phased out, upcoming travel plans, Homeworlds, Paradise, and (after dropping the Spoiler Curtain) Severance season 2.

This week the word is Twilight, as in the Twilight Zone, which is the subject that dominates most of the episode. They compare notes on their favorite episodes from each incarnation of the series. Other topics include twilight in general, the Twilight Zone pinball machine, TZ books, movies with a zoney feel, the Over the Edge RPG, and the first half of season 2 of Severance. Spoiler warning: conta...

This week the word is Trekkie and the nerds spend the entire episode discussing their favorite episodes from each of the 11 different Star Trek series.

This week the word is Biscuit so the nerds talk about biscuits (and cookies and scones). Then Keith reports on his recent travels, including to London (where he did a cool Taskmaster thing and visited the Bodleian library) and then Toronto (where he filmed another season of Legacy of Worlds). Then Andy talks about reorganization work he’s been doing in the Looney Labs office, and future plans for...

This week the word is Santa, since Keith and Jenn got Santa to work in their booth with them at Pax Unplugged. Then they get into a very lengthy discussion about their favorite holiday shows and movies, including favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol and holiday episodes of regular shows. Later Andy talks about inventing Kickback, a new game for the pyramids, based on ideas that came to him in...