Too Much Information

As the record-breaking album turns 25 — and Ms. Hill announces an upcoming anniversary tour — Alex and Jordan educate you on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill . You'll learn all about the intense relationship drama that went into its creation, the controversy surrounding the proper credit for the album's songs, and how the stress of making and then living up to the masterpiece ultimately led Hill to...

As Jordan reveals his true colors as an ardent aughts pop stan, the TMI gang celebrates Ms. Britney Jean Spears. While revisiting her much-maligned feature film debut — written by Shonda Rhimes!? — they somehow manage to touch on the work of Frank Zappa, the origin of the word "yikes," the specifics of the Lunchables product line, and MTV's aborted plans for a musical version of Alice in Wonderlan...

Jordan and Alex commemorate the recent loss of Robbie Robertson by taking a load off, Fanny, and revisiting The Band's iconic 1968 debut, 'Music from Big Pink.' They trace the group's path from Canadian bar-band hellraisers to woodsy Woodstock balladeers and the album that launched 1,000 Americana bands. Also featuring patented TMI detours that include Alex getting way too excited about Rick Danko...

Get ready for an all-new iteration on the classic Too Much Information: Crystal TMI™!  No, just kidding, it's a game we stole from Tim Heidecker called Stump the Buff, in which a series of increasingly byzantine trivia questions in the buff's chosen field threaten to, well, stump them. And your two hosts couldn't have a more cognitively-dissonant spread for you: Heigl's answering questions about g...

Your two bio-exorcists of big-ticket trivia dive into one of the most idiosyncratic movies of all time. This early Tim Burton joint gave Jordan nightmare as a kid, so they brought in a guest expert — the third member of the TMI triumvirate, beloved producer Mykal Alder June! You’ll learn all about the much darker original script, the perils of building a bridge in Vermont for the film, the gross l...

Our Mexican Pizzas of minutiae make a run for the border this week, covering the history of the perennial late night fast food option, Taco Bell. From its origins in unabashed caucasian theft, the hilarious corporate pettiness that has kept the chain running for decades, the life and legacy of America's favorite ad campaign-affiliated Chihuahua, just where the hell Baja Blast came from (spoiler: n...

Barbie Fever has swept TMI thanks to Greta Gerwig's upcoming film, and Jordan forces Alex to discuss the making of one of the most polarizing hits of the '90s. You'll learn all about the doll's surprisingly scandalous backstory in the German red-light district, the band Aqua’s confounding fixation on Rick Astley, and the lengthy lawsuit that resulted from the hit song, and why it won't appear in t...

With a new Indiana Jones movie allegedly out, Alex and Jordan prepare to likewise desecrate a sacred artifact in the spirit of scholarship and/or greed: 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'! They'll leave no stone — or idol — unturned as they comb through the minutiae of the film's genesis in a sandcastle-building session between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, marvel at the myriad ways in which Harrison...

Jordan and Alex delve into the coming-of-age classic that dares to ask, "Do you guys wanna see a dead body?" You'll learn about the deeply autobiographical Stephen King short story that spawned the script, discover which of the four leads had sex for the first time on the set, and find out which star married a 'Stand By Me' superfan. You'll also hear how River Phoenix's experiences in a cult infor...

Alex and Jordan take a wide-ranging look at the life and deeply troubled legacy of '90s television's answer to PT Barnum — and how he made the jump from Cincinnati Mayor to giving a platform to individuals who fetishize Spam and date livestock. (Hint: it involves at least one very public sex scandal.) You'll learn about his Forrest Gump-ish early days at the center of a truly bizarre number of his...

Jordan and Alex cruise through the making of a comedy classic that salutes the uniquely American phenomenon of taking a long, arduous road trip to a place that sucks. They'll explore the film's genesis as a John Hughes-penned short story in National Lampoon Magazine all the way up through the multi-million-dollar movie franchise it spawned — including some questionable sequels that mercifully went...

Alex and Jordan throw on their skinny jeans, vintage Ts and leather jackets to discuss one of the turn-of-the-century masterpieces of modern rock and roll — a dirtbag opus that taught us that rich kids could, with the right tunes and production, convincingly cosplay as legitimate scuzzbags. You'll learn about the band's privileged beginnings among the upper Manhattan elite (Sean Lennon introduced...

Jordan and Alex take a trip to Bluffington to pay tribute to everyone's favorite sweater-vest clad diarist. You'll learn all about the real-life love story behind Doug Funnie and Patti Mayonnaise, the behind-the-scenes drama stemming from the show’s transition from Nick to the House of Mouse, and the controversies that continue to rage concerning Skeeter Valentine's blue skin tone. Plus you'll dis...

Jordan and Alex put the podcast in the basket to talk about one of the all-time masterpieces of horror cinema. Join your well-scrubbed, hustling hosts as they debunk the oft-repeated theory that Anthony Hopkins doesn't blink during this film, celebrate the determination Jodie Foster brought to campaigning for her role, and marvel at all the creepy touches that make the film so great, from its soun...

Jordan and Alex discuss one of the best-selling singles of all time. It's a song that boasts more top tier talent than perhaps any other. It's also a song that brings new meaning to the phrase: “Well, it’s the thought that counts..." They'll give you the backstory and behind the scenes drama of that one night in January 1985 when 40-something of the biggest stars in music crammed into a single stu...

Jordan and Alex explore the beloved early Aughts comedy that taught a generation important facial expressions like Blue Steel and Magnum, dared to ask the question “But why male models?”and showed us that sometimes all you need to sort through important issues is an orange mocha Frappuccino. You'll learn all about the VH1 sketch that birthed the character of Zoolander, how Ben Stiller got David Bo...

Alex and Jordan salute the 25th anniversary of the biggest, dumbest, most ass-kickin'-est '90s action blockbuster. It's a film that taught us all that oil rig workers can (with the right montage) make successful astronauts, the leathery glam Muppets in Aerosmith still had hits in 'em, and there's no problem that Uncle Sam can't blow up real good. They'll get into all the messy reasons why Bruce Wi...

Jordan and Alex move the pod to an an-up-and-coming Chicago neighborhood—ah, it's already been gentrified. Well, they'll self-soothe by immersing themselves in a beloved chronicle of a similarly bygone era, Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville!" From a quick history of the Chicago indie scene that birthed the record, to the myriad of odd sonic tricks that make up its production, to the kinda-weird lengt...

Jordan and Alex scale their own personal Cliffs of Insanity to take listeners deeper into the warm heart of "The Princess Bride" than ever before! They round up the (practically) inconceivable list of directors who tried and failed to adapt the beloved novel, take a quick sidebar into pirate code, and demystify some of the stories about Andre the Giant's youth ... and drinking habits. They'll also...

The warm smell of pod-itas rises up through the air as Jordan and Alex tackle one of the biggest songs of the 20th century from one of the biggest punching bags of all time: The Eagles' "Hotel California!" They're prisoners here of their own device as they delve into why, exactly, the Eagles are so hated (spoiler alert: it's mostly Don Henley), wax rhapsodic about Joe Walsh and dissect the operati...

Let's take a journey to the Neighborhood of Too Much Information! Jordan and Alex go  deep on the secular saint known as Fred Rogers, tracing his early years as a bullied rich kid to his ascent to the benevolent king of children's television. You'll learn about his oddly beautiful obsession with his weight, the time he danced around the set with a sex doll, the hidden message behind his trademark...

Jordan and Alex hurtle their bodies off the top of a keyboard and microphone with no safety precautions to bring you an in-depth discussion of 1998's classic 'Rush Hour'! Podcast stunt coordinators were horrified at the lengths Alex goes to in his Jackie Chan fandom, unpacking Chan's legacy as one of the world's singular entertainers, the film's role in Hollywood's Nineties' dalliance with the Hon...

Jordan and Alex celebrate their 100th episode (and their friendship) by honoring the most famous best buds in entertainment — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  They'll talk about their initial bond as kids in Boston, the complex personal histories that went into the movie's script, and their long road to the Oscars. They'll also explore the early version of the film that was intended to be a thriller,...

Here's the story of a man named Brady, a lovely lady, six adorable kids, and the wild, surprisingly raunchy way that they became The Brady Bunch. Jordan and Heigl dive into their craziest episode yet, outlining all the weird pseudo-incestural relationships between the kids in the cast (including Barry Williams' famous date with his TV mom), the real-life drama between two of the Brady sisters, and...

Jordan and Alex spend most of their lives living in a podcast paradise this week going deep on Stevie Wonder's magnum opus ‘Songs in the Key of Life’! They'll explore the chaos that was Stevie's work process at the time, including 3:30 a.m. call times for bassists and guitarists sleeping in the studio, scour the insane guest roster of the sessions for hidden gems (Alice Coltrane? Frank Zappa?) and...