Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers — Episode Summary

Podcast: Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers
Episode: Upper West Side Turkey & A Sea Sick Thanksgiving: Listener Episode #18 in Pittsburgh!
Date: November 25, 2025
Hosts: Seth Meyers & Josh Meyers
Special Guests: Family members (Larry, Hillary "Hurry", Pashi, Ash, Axel), Plus listener stories

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode takes the Meyers family tradition of Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh as its backdrop. It features candid family banter, reflections on travel memories, and listener-submitted Thanksgiving disaster stories. Recorded in person with multiple generations, the show is warm, irreverent, and packed with stories of minor catastrophes—both Meyers' own and those from listeners—centered on Thanksgiving trips gone awry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pittsburgh Thanksgiving Tradition

• Annual Return: The Meyers family has returned to Pittsburgh for a decade for a football game, this year bringing the next generation (Ash & Axel).
  • [00:31] “For the 10th year, we’ve come to Pittsburgh.” – Pashi
• Kids’ Excitement: Axel's intense anticipation for the Fort Pitt Tunnel, and seeing the stadium from the air and car.
  • [01:45] “Now, this is what I call Pittsburgh.” – Axel, via Pashi

2. Amusement Park Adventures in Holland

• Efteling Park Memories: Discussion of a family trip to Efteling amusement park, with comments about the beauty, classical music, heat, and the perils of the “flux.”
  • [04:24] “It was the most exciting place I think I’ve ever been... but it was hotter than Hades that day.” – Hillary
• Family Banter: About questionable ailments ("the flux") and inappropriate clothing for the weather.

3. Bread and Bakery Antics

• Gags about Hillary wanting only “a couple slices” of bread from the bakery, leading to Larry and Axel bringing back two slices in a bag for $4.
  • [07:34] “Nobody sells bread by the slice.” – Seth
  • [08:02] “Here's your bread.” – Axel, delivering with pride

4. Turkey Cupcake Experience

• Bakery trip story where Axel lobbies for, and succeeds in acquiring, an extravagant turkey-shaped cupcake.
  • [08:50] “Turkey, turkey, turkey, I’m gonna eat you. Turkey, turkey, turkey, yum, yum, yum!” – Axel [55:58]

5. Listener Questions

• Destinations the boys begged for and were denied? None; the family always made it happen, provided they showed interest.

  • [09:36] “There was never anything you asked that I wouldn’t get from.” – Hillary

• Dream Destinations:

  • Seth: “The graves of my enemies.” (joking) / Tokyo (serious)
  • Hillary: Grand Canyon / New Zealand
  • Larry: The animal migration in Africa (Serengeti)
  • [15:09–16:17] “I want to go somewhere that’s very far away, because I’m imagining that you snap and you’re there.” – Pashi

6. Listener Family Thanksgiving Stories

a) The Upper West Side Traveling Turkey

• Story by Kimberly [21:45]

  • Catastrophic oven failure in a classic NYC apartment forces the family’s chef to roast a turkey 15 blocks away and taxi it back, suited up and bourbon in hand.
  • [24:02] “As we entertained small children in a packed apartment ... he sent selfies with his feet up, bourbon in hand.”

• Meyers Reactions:

  • [24:05] “...the chef was wearing a coat and tie while he was cooking, sitting there drinking a bourbon, coming back in the cab. But he was properly dressed for Thanksgiving.” – Larry
  • [24:15] “He had the best Thanksgiving of anybody!” – Seth

b) The Dog & the Turkey Carcass

• Story by Melissa [26:59]

  • A pandemic Thanksgiving; while the family is out, the dog pulls the turkey carcass from the counter and tries to devour it.
  • [30:33] “Don’t trust your Australian shepherds. They can reach the counter and they have no qualms about finishing off your turkey dinner.”

• Meyers Connection:

  • Multiple stories of their own dog, Belle, surreptitiously licking or eating neighbor’s turkeys, pies, and dinner rolls.
  • [33:10] “That house was like a ghost house. Now nobody ... they went crazy. It was like a zombie movie.” – Seth, joking about potential rabies transmission

c) The Sea Sick Costa Rican Thanksgiving

• Story by James [44:25]

  • First meeting with partner’s father in Costa Rica is ruined when James suffers a debilitating illness on a six-hour deep sea fishing trip and spends the rest of the week in bed, hallucinating, and comforted by binging this very podcast.
  • [45:58] “I’m hallucinating. I’m seeing the ocean disappear as the sun sets... I never leave my parents for holidays… I listened to Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers. It really meant a lot.”

• Meyers Response:

  • [48:44] “James, the first thing is Thanksgiving is coming up in about a week... but not your boyfriend, who doesn’t seem to be as attentive as he should be.” – Larry
  • [49:13] “What a—using a tragedy for comedy... you had a Family Trips-worthy, more than worthy story.” – Seth
  • Reflections on the perils and empty promises of deep sea fishing and whale watching.

7. The Youngest Generation: Ash & Axel Myers Interview [53:11–59:48]

• The boys describe their excitement and anxiety about their first Pittsburgh game, the Terrible Towel surprise, and their (unique) Thanksgiving food wishes:
  • [55:36] Ash: “Sushi that looks like a turkey.”
  • [55:45] Axel: “Another one of those big turkey cupcakes.”
  • Axel sings his “turkey” song to win the bakery cupcake.
• Family story recounted by Axel about encountering a rattlesnake in New Mexico and a classic dad/travel exhaustion story:
  • [58:53] “So my dad was so tired… he looks down at the stroller and he said, where’s Axel? And my mom, Alexi, said, ‘you’re holding him.’”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Axel’s Anticipation:
  • [01:45] “Now, this is what I call Pittsburgh.” — Axel (via Pashi)
• Thanksgiving’s Family Spirit:
  • [09:43] “...if we had begged for it. Hurry would have thrown the doors open.” — Seth
• Classic Family Roasting:
  • [13:23] “Those are the two names you least want a white dad of your age to attempt.” — Seth, ribbing Larry for “Chase Sweewanders” and “Ke Huy Quan”
• Perfect Summary of the Podcast’s Ethos:
  • [14:20] “Some people are just wonderful storytellers.” — Hillary
• Why Listeners' Stories Are Compelling:
  • [49:13] “What a—using a tragedy for comedy... you had a Family Trips-worthy, more than worthy story.” — Seth
• Axel’s Cupcake Song:
  • [55:58] “Turkey, turkey, turkey, I’m gonna eat you. Turkey, turkey, turkey, yum, yum, yum.” — Axel

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:19 | Family gathering intro: Pittsburgh trip context | | 01:45 | Axel’s Pittsburgh tunnel excitement & “Now this is…” | | 04:24 | Recounting the Efteling amusement park in Holland | | 07:34 | “Bread by the slice” bakery gag | | 08:50 | Turkey cupcake saga | | 11:10 | Airbnb foosball story and morning routine | | 12:03 | Favorite podcast guests discussed | | 15:09 | “Snap-your-fingers” dream destinations | | 21:45 | Kimberly’s Upper West Side oven/turkey listener story | | 26:59 | Melissa’s dog/devoured turkey carcass listener story | | 44:25 | James’s seasick Costa Rica Thanksgiving listener story | | 53:11 | Youngest Myerses: Ash & Axel interviewed | | 55:36 | Dream Thanksgiving food: sushi-shaped like turkey, etc. | | 55:58 | Axel’s “turkey” cupcake song | | 58:53 | Axel: Dad, stroller, and Uruguay story | | 59:40 | Steelers song by Axel, wrap up |

Tone & Style Highlights

• Banter is self-deprecating, familial, and affectionate.
• Stories seamlessly blend humor, absurdity, and warmth.
• Family traditions and mishaps are celebrated as badges of honor.
• Listener participation weaves into the family’s own narratives, making the show inclusive and communal.

For New Listeners

This episode is a pitch-perfect snapshot of Family Trips: a celebration of messy, memorable, and heartfelt family travel stories, loaded with sharp wit, sibling rivalry, and the chaos of every family’s best-laid plans. Even if you’ve never met the Meyers clan, you’ll recognize your own family in their gags about burnt turkeys, runaway dogs, and the never-ending quest for the perfect trip. The inclusion of listener stories cements the sense of shared experience, while the interplay between generations keeps things fresh, unpredictable, and funny.

End with:
“Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!” — Axel [59:40]