Garage Logic – MISCHKE: Serial Killer Fun

Host: Tom “Mishke” Mischke, Garage Logic (Gamut Podcast Network)
Date: December 6, 2025

Overview

This Garage Logic episode, hosted by Tom "Mishke" Mischke, delivers a wry, offbeat exploration into the quirks of human nature, everyday life, and the surprisingly macabre topic of serial killer names. Through a blend of monologue, playful banter, listener call-ins, and social commentary, Mishke effortlessly pivots from discussions about prodigies and marketing to tongue-in-cheek examinations of which first names are most “serial killer-proof.” The episode maintains Garage Logic’s signature combination of homespun wisdom and mischievous humor, meandering through nostalgia, random trivia, and outright silliness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Musings and Comic Isolation

• Mishke addresses his audience directly, mocking himself for recording alone in a room and pondering whether the whole broadcast is an elaborate prank on him ([03:14]).
  • Notable quote: “You spend 30 years talking to yourself in a little room, see what happens to you. They've done studies on solitary. You know, people go mad.” ([03:14])
• Jokes about the studio coffee, quipping it was made with “old Vietnam army socks” ([04:44]).

Prodigy vs. Everyman: The Tale of Larry and Ken

• Larry the Prodigy (15-year-old Belgian quantum physicist):
  • Receives a PhD at 15; his thesis dives into complex subjects like quantum entanglement and analogies between black holes and condensed matter ([05:01]).
• Ken from Indiana: Drops out at 15 to work at a car wash, destined for anonymity ([05:01]).
  • Mishke draws a philosophical takeaway: “Each guy is giving this life a decent go, putting in an effort and hoping things work out, which is all any of us can do.” ([05:01])

Wall Street, Y’all Street, Small Street, and Name Etymology

• Wordplay riff on financial districts: ‘Wall Street’ in NYC versus Texas’ ‘Y’all Street’. Mishke jokes about ‘Small Street’ in ‘Huberville, Mississippi’ as a local financial hub ([08:08]).
• Absurd alternate streets: ‘Squall Street’ (money gusts away), ‘Brawl Street’, and the unsettling ‘Dull Street’ ([10:13]).
• Paul street becomes an etymological tangent about the name ‘Paul,’ linking to the apostle and imagining a dinner with “Paul Revere, Paul Simon and Paul Bunyan dining together” ([11:30]).
  • Mishke plays out a whimsical conversation between these ‘Pauls,’ ending with Paul Simon singing parodic lines like, “Just get those colonists free” ([12:15]).

Listener Call-in Segment: “Spin the Listener Wheel”

Steve from Duluth

[16:25 – 25:20]

• Background: Marketing pro, “just Steve from Duluth.” Discusses product branding, yoga, and Marvel comics.
  • Mishke teases him about the likelihood of “Steve” being a serial killer: “I'd like to research how many Steves have ever been serial killers. My guess, None. I might look that up right now.” ([25:21])
• Comics & Nostalgia: Mishke shares love for Archie comics and “Silly Putty” on Betty, effecting mock outrage over “stretching Betty” ([19:05]).
• Deep Dive into Work: Steve’s proudest project – Gino’s Pizza Rolls at Pillsbury ([22:39]).

Comic Serial Killer Name-Checking

• Serial killer rabbit hole: Mishke discovers that even ‘Steve’ has serial killers associated with it, including Steve Wright and Steve Morin ([26:09]).
• Tries other names (Craig, Kenny, Dustin, Hans), only to find unsettling murderers with each name—Kenny McDuff (“the Broomstick Killer”), Kenneth Erskine (“the Giggler”) ([27:43], [29:07]).
  • Notable quote: “You know what name I meant. When I was thinking of names where they could never be serial killers, the name I meant was Craig.” ([27:33])
  • On ‘Giggler’: “I was afraid that was the reason. I was really hoping it wasn't that he giggled. There's something worse about that than even laughing or howling.” ([29:07])

Dustin the Tow Truck Operator

[30:09 – 36:01]

• Story about drunk-driving prevention program where Dustin had to tow intoxicated patrons and bizarre customer behavior (public urination off the truck) ([33:45]).
• Mishke launches into a bit about billing for life-saving services, joking: “Next time you collapse, I'm gonna call a tow truck. We'll just drag your ass to the hospital.” ([35:28])
• Continuation of serial killer name-counting: discovers a “Dustin Honkin” ([31:40])

Will Hans, the Engineer

[46:27 – 53:52]

• German heritage banter, engineer jokes (notably the “uniform beam walks into a bar” joke and explanation of ‘moment’) ([48:13]).
  • Notable quote: “So like when you say, I'm tightening this screw or my lug nuts on a tire down to 75 foot pounds or newtons, that's actually... you're putting a moment on those nuts.” ([48:25])
• Discusses his life, building homes, and meeting his high school sweetheart at a Sadie Hawkins dance ([51:21]).
• Playful musings on what teenage girls want boys to say to them ([52:34]).
• Jokes about the German word for butterfly (“schmetterling”) and how Germans can make any pretty word sound harsh ([53:02]).

Music & Song Origins: “I Want a Gal Just Like the Gal Who Married Dear Old Dad”

• Mishke investigates old morality songs, their lyrics, and the unintended creepiness—“Do you want to have a child who, when he's 18 or 19 or 20, is looking at their mother and saying, I gotta get me a girl like her?” ([39:07])
• Reads lyrics from “Just a Girl That Men Forget” (1923), lampooning its outdated moralizing on women and marriage ([44:21]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being alone on air:
  • “Mishke, what are you doing? You're alone in a room... What is wrong with you?” ([02:54])
• On finding meaning in ordinary life:
  • “Each guy is giving this life a decent go... which is all any of us can do. You take what you're given and you give it a go.” ([05:01])
• Serial killer riff:
  • “Can you imagine some guy saying to his 18th victim, I know this is gonna surprise you, but my name is Steve.” ([25:21])
• On morality songs:
  • “If he had said, I'm looking for the kind of love these two have... say that, don't say, dad, are you done with Mom? Cause I can't find any like her.” ([41:57])
• Engineer joke and explanation:
  • “A uniform beam walks into a bar. The barman asks, what would you like, good sir? The beam replies, just give me a moment.” ([48:13])

Selected Timestamps

• [05:01] – Prodigy vs. Everyman monologue (Larry and Ken)
• [08:08] – Wall Street/Y’all Street/Small Street riff
• [16:25] – Listener wheel: Steve from Duluth interview begins
• [22:39] – Steve’s pizza roll marketing victory story
• [25:21] – “Steve” serial killer discussion starts
• [30:09] – Dustin the tow truck operator interview
• [39:07] – Mishke riffs on the song “I Want a Gal Just Like the Gal Who Married Dear Old Dad”
• [46:27] – Will Hans, German engineer, joins the show
• [48:13] – The “uniform beam” engineering joke with full explanation

Tone & Style

Mishke’s delivery is irreverent, self-deprecating, and improvisational, marked by a conversational ease that disarms both listeners and call-in guests. The humor pivots from dry social commentary to the absurd, peppered with nostalgic asides and gentle ribbing. Even the macabre (serial killers, death) is handled with a light, playful touch that underscores the show’s “common sense” ethos rooted in everyday peculiarities.

Conclusion

This episode of Garage Logic zigzags hilariously through popular culture, obscure history, and the absurdities of everyday life, tied together by the unlikely thread of serial killer name folklore. Through its whimsical, meandering conversations, it reflects on meaning, mortality, and the details that make ordinary people—and the world they inhabit—so colorfully peculiar.