The Family Archives

So Barbie and Oppenheimer are doing well. Really well, in fact. Especially when you factor in all the doomsaying about how theaters are dying. Turns out the secret was to stop making superhero movies years after everyone got tired of them. That's Hollywood for you: always on the ball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don't worry, it's still a normal show. However, about halfway through it we offer a fascinating look into what goes into keeping the show going, courtesy of Brad and Bilski. Not only does it pay the bills, but fans of impromptu recording sessions will love it. For everyone else, there's Costaki. If your local team has any hope of ever being good again, it's fun to talk about how great you are. If...

Once upon a time, a man decided that a chainsaw was a musical instrument. Thus, Tom's interest in Jackyl was born. On today's lost episode, you get to hear not only all about the song, you get to hear the song itself along with commentary from the man responsible for it. Then you'll hear our commentary of his commentary. Maybe one day, someone will commentate on our commentary. I guess that's tech...

A cop, a marine biologist, and Mr. Money Talk walk into a recording studio. The result is this show. It may sound like a completely random assortment of people, and I assure you, it is. But this family is also a completely random assortment and we've been on the air for eleven years, so it's a proven formula. You know what else is a proven formula? Hanging out with great white sharks. A very impor...

We frequently have both mamas and papas on this show, but we've never had The Mamas and the Papas on. In our defense, all but one of them is long gone, so it's physically impossible for us to do that. That doesn't mean we can't deliver; Scott G. Shea wrote a book chronicling their rise and fall, which took place in under five years. He also dispels a popular myth involving a sandwich. Learn more a...

It's the cool young people episode today since Tom and Kathryn couldn't make it. Of course, we're all in our thirties so "young" is subjective, but do you really want to hear a podcast that's just a bunch of teenagers? Believe me, you don't. With us young adults, you get more erudite topics like eye crust, eating dog biscuits, and haunted F250s. You're not going to get that kind of informative con...

They say life in plastic is fantastic. Judging by how many people are freaking out over a movie about a plastic doll, it must be. That or people just enjoy wearing pink. You know what else people enjoy? Being serial killers. It's not quite as popular as Barbie, but there are enough shows about it to make you think so. If you had to choose one, we recommend the doll. Just don't go all Sid from Toy...

No, she's not related to Alex. For one, both she and Alex are Rasmussen by marriage, not birth. For two, Leslie's husband's family is from Connecticut. And for three, Leslie pronounces it like Rasputin. Okay, I made that one up. What I didn't make up his her writing career, her husband's writing career, and her son's writing career. Would it surprise you, then, to learn she wrote a book? If so, pl...

This is the second half of our 500th episode event from 2014. If you missed part 1, it was uploaded yesterday. And also in 2014, but there's a reason they're called "the lost episodes". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ten(ish) years ago, we made it to episode 500. It was a milestone we weren't sure was ever going to happen, so when it did, we made a big deal about it. We had a live appearance before an audience at the New Hope Cinema Grill, invited as many people as possible to be guests, and did over two hours on stage. Today, we're approaching episode 2500. That's five times the episodes. Now that's what I ca...

Have you ever wanted to watch two billionaires who are probably not in terribly great shape punch each other over and over? As you may have guessed, that's not a trick question - it's an allegedly upcoming event between Zuckerberg and Musk. We say "allegedly" because we have doubts it'll ever actually happen. They'll probably cancel it due to some convenient wildfires somewhere. Learn more about y...

It's the return of Josh Arnold, and this time he's going to tell you what running shoes to buy. Also financial advice, of course, but they say that a sturdy foundation helps keep everything aligned. Maybe it helps keep your bank account aligned too. Probably not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does the future of entertainment hold? Depending on who you ask, it's robots delivering lines written by robots to other robots. And those robots will be dressed up like real life actors. Does that sound like a dystopian nightmare? Or is it at least better than yet another superhero movie? Of course, it might never actually happen. The whole Tupac hologram thing never took off. Learn more abo...

He lost his dad at 12. He lost his mom at 14. He lost his skin and fingers at 30. To say he's had a hard life would be the understatement of the century. Yet despite this, he re-enlisted in the Air Force, got a gold medal at the Invictus Games, and he wrote a book. How's that for overcoming adversity? So next time you order a grande and they give you a tall instead and you want to yell at the bari...

Fans of classic Minnesota radio, rejoice! Wait, have I said that already? If you stick around here long enough and you like Minnesota radio personalities, you're going to rejoice sooner or later. This time, it's because we have not only John Hines, but Paul Stagg and Don Shelby on with him. Another reason to rejoice is that we've turned The Lost Episodes into a game. Write down all the different i...

You know how all anyone has talked about for the past six months is AI? It'll write your books, paint your art, steal your job, and of course, manufacture your human-hunting robots. Well here at The Family, we've always been ahead of the curve, and this topic is no exception. Nine years ago, Louis was on to talk about The Artificial Intelligence Revolution, a book about what it sounds like. Seems...

Everyone's talking about money lately, and generally it's not positive. Why not bring some optimism into the conversation? A little investing now is a lot of money later. Right now boycotting products is all the rage, so why not jump on the bandwagon and stop spending your money at the corporate evil of the week? That's money you can put into an IRA right there. Boycott a few more and watch your p...

Brad and Angelina's once-idyllic love life has become a tragedy as they battle in court. Harry and Megan are finding themselves lacking an audience. Even Tom Cruise and Christopher Nolan are waging a war for IMAX screen time. Is there no peace in Hollywood? No, not really. Watch some of the crap they've been putting out lately and you'll never experience peace of mind again. Learn more about your...

Hungry? Well then don't go the hot dog eating contest. Those aren't about satisfying hunger. They're serious business. You have to train for months just to avoid a reversal of fortune. If you're a serious eater with a seriously stretched out stomach, head over to New York City in a week. The rest of us can watch it on ESPN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember Hillbilly Handfishin'? Of course you don't. Who the hell would? Dave Mordal, maybe, out of sheer disdain. You know what I bet you do remember though? When Tom and Dave were both on a certain local radio station and a certain local podcast. The podcast is this one, if you hadn't figured it out. The radio station we'll leave unspoken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...

Ali is one of those people who've been on the show since the early days, but only manages to come in once every couple years. Touring is hard. Making specials is even harder. Such is the life of a comedian. But did you know he's also an interviewer? We didn't. And we assume April didn't either. That's what we've been bringing since the dawn of human history: knowledge and laughter. Well okay, our...

Car Selling Secrets is back, Officer Dave is an officer again, so let's celebrate with the first time the latter was on the former. Even back then, he was telling us not to text and drive. Maybe that's why he couldn't stay off the beat. Too many people texting and driving who need to be thrown in the slammer. You know what they say: evil never sleeps. Although I'm not sure who exactly says that. P...

If you don't know what an "NBC Page" is, don't feel bad. Apparently it's an extremely difficult position to achieve. Unless, of course, you're Shelly. She made it in the 70s, when celebrities were celebrities and half of them died young for some reason. And yes, their personal lives were often...interesting, to say the least. Read all about it in My Peacock Tale. Get it? Because tail? Learn more a...

If you're claustrophobic and want to start exposure therapy, then we have just the episode for you. There are five people trapped in a tiny submarine two miles beneath the surface near the ruins of the Titanic. They can't stand. They can't leave. And in about two days, they won't be able to breathe either. That, or the sub imploded and they died instantly. One of the two. So if you have a fear of...

It's the day after father's day, and while we have plenty of fathers on this show, we still need to indulge in some festivities. And what better way to do that than with some dad jokes? Don't worry, we segue to regular jokes pretty quickly, because Alycia's comedy special is a mere 11 days away. Why not watch that instead of spending $1300 on a Taylor Swift ticket? Unless you're one of those peopl...