This Show Has Everything

Ann and Christy are laughing their way through this final LRB clip show by looking back at some times that people other than us offered up critical feedback for TBTL. But first, we acknowledge that our own responses to judgement from others aren’t always a model of emotional health. We protest the injustice of getting slapped for not following rules we didn’t know existed, or criticized for things...

Welcome to your slightly hungover, somewhat lonely, and extremely pet-centric episode of LRB! Ann, Hillary, Meredith, and Mike are here to talk you through all of that business/nonsense. We finally get around to recapping a bit of TBTL, including the prevalence of exceedingly specific t-shirts that we all still find hilarious all these years later. We also refuse to quit naming nuts and vow to nev...

It’s LRB’s official Hampton Inn Lobby Rotary Pre-Funk, complete with DIY waffles and soggy ottomans. Bobby shares pictures of hotel elevators, Mike Has Ideas to accommodate traveling snackers, Ann recalls the time she went Hollywood , and Meredith answers the age-old question, “why the face?” We also discuss TBTL.

We’re pretty sure we won’t get memberships in Illusionists Local 4309 after this show, but it’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make. Christy, Mike, and Ann take the opportunity provided by a content-lite week of TBTL to go heavy on our own stories. We’ve got a Boogie Nights anecdote, some medical mishaps (both past and present), and the worst hold music experience ever. TBTL-related topics include b...

Two shows in one! Sort of. First, Bobby, Christy, Ann and Mike are nearly derailed from any substantial talk of TBTL by a corn fest, a pile of dirt, and a familial connection to a(n) (in)famous (minor) celebrity bowler. Thankfully, the LRB Mailbag gets us back on track, and even inspires some spirited (albeit brief) roleplaying. After the music, stay tuned for special bonus content: Audio from the...

A full Coven (plus) has convened for this LRB episode! Hillary and Christy reveal that they are teens at heart. Ann reveals that she is a MN State Fair expert (LRB event next year?), and Meredith reveals she used to have a pet snake! Other topics discussed include but surely are not limited to, emojis, Train Lyrics, Hamilton (of course), spiders in your wall, 90210, Ann as a drug mule, and much, m...

It’s been a busy weekend indeed at LRB. Bobby hosted a party (and met listener Bet!) despite battling a chest cold. Hillary prepared (mentally) for back-to-school time despite it only being August. Meredith made new friends despite being at the High Times Festival. And Mike used the movie Reality Bites to make a serious point about an often-overlooked TV and film heft continuity issue despite the...

There comes a time in a young man’s life when he feels that the entire world is persecuting him. And sometimes that’s accurate, especially when you’re talking about Andrew Walsh and the phenomenon of the cat-roll. From his (supposed) pal Luke, to a dedicated consort of Tens, to legitimate media stars, it seemed for a while that everyone was pranking ol’ Andy with a simple snippet of audio. AND WE...

It’s another week here at collective LRB studios, and Hillary, Ann, Bobby, and Mike are running down the latest navel-gazing adventures of TBTL. Lots of questions were asked this week. Is Trump going to win in 2020 (don’t jinx it, Luke!)? Is Luke a hypocrite about his vegetarianism (probably, yes)? Is Andrew wasting his summer (who knows)? Was the octopus lady an irredeemable dummy (according to M...

What a fun time we had in Seattle! Your LRB hosts are (mostly) back home and ready for a post-picnic weekend debrief. We have lots to discuss, including how Hillary is sober on the show for the first time in … a while, what caused Meredith to discover her mom voice, how Ann saved all of LRB from food poisoning, and what we thought of the tricks Mike showed us with a washcloth/towel and a sample si...

The picnic is over and the votes are in! Ann, Bobby, Christy, Hillary, Meredith and special guest Gus reveal the winners from the Oreo Challenge at the 2019 LRB Picnic while discussing the merits of the unholy suicide/graveyard bowl of cookie leftovers fueling our lakeside afterparty. In the TBTL Week in Review, Luke once again confesses to being a wasteful wiper, and a bicyclist causes Andrew to...

Join The Coven™ and Bobby for a quick Final Friday roundup featuring peak podcasting, Reality TV hypocrisy, decoy ducks, more butt faxes, and more. Plus, airport wheelchair groupies, backwoods hotel wifi, puppies as presidents, microwave chicken with  PEEPS® (a game, not a recipe*), a live review of Surly Brewing Co.’s Dots and Loops , and of course, a young future star Hilliary doing her best Mad...

This week, Hillary is back from Europe, Bobby is back from Missouri, Mike is back from cursing Ann, and Ann is back on the Conan Train. For the stick, we recap the latest week of TBTL. And for the marrot , we learn about Ann and Mike’s meat bridge, Bobby’s chilling midwest encounter, and Hillary’s even colder bathroom studio. We dare you to send her a bill, Hillary’s parents. COME TO THE PICNIC! F...

It’s the end of the TBTL 2019 Summer Games, and your LRB recappers have laced up our Air Jordan McNasty 25s for the final match. We reflect on the second week of (improved) quizzes, the problems with ska, why you really should consider those tattoos in advance, and why Andrew shouldn’t be embarrassed about that feature piece he did for Tamara Keith. Mike is stocking up on anvils and TNT. Meredith...

In our media-obsessed culture, the emphasis on having a trim figure is constant and overwhelming. Almost all of us have been frustrated, at some point, by not being able to achieve the perfect (or, let’s face it, just slightly improved) body, but nobody remains more stubbornly committed to winnowing away those extra pounds than Luke “LB” Burbank. Christy and Ann are ready to do a run-down of many...

TBTL may have half-assed Summer Games Week (as well as the pronunciation of chorizo and allium), but Ann, Mike and Bobby are most definitely full-assing this week’s LRB. Bobby just got back from Blue Jays Loonie Dog Night in Toronto, and the Great White North isn’t looking so great these days. Ann is standing ready to rescue her dearest Justin, though he now has competition for her affection from...

It’s time for another TBTL recap or, as we’re calling it, an hour and a half of enjoyable nonsense. The Bonsai Team of Hillary, Mike and Ann has gathered to recap topics that include whether we could handle being trapped on an airplane, age-related bird fascination, Ashton Kutcher’s speech choices, and the existential crisis that is our collective financial future. Hillary made an embarrassing cho...

t’s the end of the month, and Bobby, Ann, Hillary, Mike and Christy have a lot of ground to cover before the Jamaican-Norwegian housekeeper comes knocking. Inspired by recent conversations on TBTL, we share some of our worst job interviews, as well as voicemails from two of our favorite listeners, and learn that the best thing to do it to lie, especially if we were recently at a Snoop Dogg concert...

In the wise words of Stefon, this LRB has everything: alcoholic Oreos, garlic tips, crappy cars that blow only heat, Stephen Tobolowsky, ironic cybersecurity training, Mary McDonnell, and, of course, Deeznutz. Join the Coven (™) for all that and much more, including Ann’s potential move to Pasadena, Hillary’s fear of seeing Toy Story 4 (spoiler alert - she cried), and the President basically ruini...

Holy frijoles! Bobby, Mike, Hillary and Christy are on the line to recap the latest week that was, and sweating out of every orifice. (Sorry, just trying to live up to the title.) Join us for talk about Christy’s fake sleeping bus face, Hillary’s *terrible* joke, Mike’s war on centipedes, and Bobby’s creeping on a nearby listener. Oh, and some stuff from last week’s TBTL. After the show, stay tune...

We’ve all been there – feeling nervous and slightly sweaty as we attempt to impress a stranger so they will eventually pay us money. JOB INTERVIEWS. I’m talking about job interviews, you pervs! The TBTL fellas have a rich history of awkward or embarrassing experiences trying to (or trying not to) get a gig, and have no problems recounting the particulars. Christy and Ann are ready to dig into the...

The TBTL-a-thon wrapped up in Australia (OR DID IT???) and your LRB hosts are making a quick getaway in our car (Foley included) so that we can use our outdoor voices without embarrassment. On deck for today’s discussion: television show longevity, driving in NYC, the popularity of Tim Allen, and our extraordinary contrariness. Hillary remembers the Alamo. Mike Has an Idea that might just work. Me...

Good Day, Mates! Your LRB hosts have also traveled to Australia for this week’s TBTLathon. However, instead of the fly-infested lands of the Outback, Hillary, Ann, Meredith, and Mike have landed on the scenic, populated, and desirable towns of Melbourne, New Brighton (New South Wales), Wagga Wagga, and of course, Pirates Bay, respectively. What a strange coincidence! Though we are on the other sid...

It’s the end of the month, and Bobby, Mike, Meredith, Christy and Ann (along with our Google Drive spirit animals) are here to catch up on an array of LRB topics including a two-month backlog in the mailbag, an unexpectedly laissez-faire approach to the LRB picnic potluck, and a new AMA question that opens an old wound for a couple of our co-hosts. (Don’t worry, that’s not blood—it’s just marinara...

It’s a vest-heavy week for the “conventionally attractive” tech-bros at LRB HQ, but between business calls the gang is squeezing in a recap of the final week of TBTL (before Luke and Andrew inevitably bite the big one in Australia). Topics discussed include: the problem with shopping for t-shirts at the Roo-A-Rama, why The Rock is the Cookie Monster of opioids, field mice as python food, and wheth...