Hey Riddle Riddle – Patreon Preview #356: Chatterbox 31
Date: January 2, 2026
Hosts: Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, John Patrick Coan (JPC)
Theme: A loose, comedic exploration of improviser banter, swapping personas, playful hypotheticals, handwriting, and offbeat fan questions—barely about riddles, as usual.
Episode Overview
This Chatterbox installment brings the signature Hey Riddle Riddle mix of banter, improvisation, absurd scenarios, and a peek into the hosts’ distinct personalities. The trio riff on New Year’s resolutions, re-introducing themselves as if meeting for the first time, swap personas, debate life skills such as handwriting, and answer fan questions—all while playfully getting sidetracked. There’s a healthy sprinkling of meta-commentary and recurring inside jokes.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. New Year’s “Fresh Start”: Forgetting Friends
- Adal opens with a “resolution” to forget his friends in 2026, inspired by the lyric “let old acquaintance be forgot” (00:05), wanting “to rediscover the two of you for the first time.”
- “I feel like I want to rediscover the two of you, you know, for, like, the first time. So I have three new friends.” —Adal, 00:17
- The group riff on memory loss, referencing Memento, 50 First Dates, and the idea of starting over with blank slates.
2. Swapping Vibes and Personas
- Erin and JPC humorously try to “swap their vibes,” listing clichés about each other’s interests (flannel, buying books impulsively, tiki bars, etc.) (02:35–03:30).
- “Who do I shoot? Which one?” —Adal, joking about swapping identities, 03:29
- Erin describes himself with,
“Flannel shirts, buying books impulsively, tiki drinks, going to tiki bars in new cities, using my money for experiences. I’m up all night, baby. I like the peace that it brings when people have no expectations from me. My handwriting. Unbelievable. Tall.” (02:43)
3. “If You Had Nice Handwriting...”
- Discord fan Q: What would be the first thing you’d do if you woke up with nice handwriting? (03:52–04:47)
- Erin: Send “letters and postcards” to loved ones, especially to friend George Elrod, who sends her postcards.
- JPC: “I’d copy a lot of Declaration of Independence’s,” placing forgeries behind frames at garage sales—riffing on National Treasure tropes.
4. Cursive in Schools – Hot Take
- Adal notes Montessori schools use cursive exclusively, wondering aloud why; group discusses the decline of cursive in public education and wonders about its possible correlation to improved learning (05:09–06:08).
- “There must be some correlation between cursive and like, I don’t know, faster learning...” —JPC, 05:45
- Erin: “A lot of public schools across the country don’t mandate it anymore, so that’s strange. I think they should.” (05:53)
5. Satirical Public School Commentary
- The hosts lampoon the narrative that teachers are “greedy and evil,” mock the state of public schools, and joke about doing “your own research.”
- “One thing that’s hard about the public school system is that teachers are all, like, greedy and evil. Right. They make too much money and they’re, like, really evil people.” —Adal, with heavy sarcasm, 06:14
6. Ridiculous Small Business Tangents
- JPC invents “cat pies,” a food truck where cats supposedly make and serve pies (06:46), and the group creates a fake narrative about small business woes, bookkeeping, and buried podcast cohosts.
- Segueing from fictional business struggles to a playacted endorsement for business banking tools, they maintain absurdity:
“I have cat pies, which is my food truck, where my cats make pies that I sell.” —JPC, 06:46
7. The Ongoing “Buried Alive” Running Gag
- The crew concocts a scenario where Erin is buried alive by construction businesses, linking it comedically to bookkeeping chaos. They playact “Father New Year” and riff on holiday tropes and magical wardrobe curses (09:32–12:15).
8. On Unusual Handwriting
- Adal confesses he might write letters “bottom to top,” and was told in high school he “does it upside down”—diverting into joking about “having the devil inside him” and being ostracized by teachers (12:43–13:40).
9. “Should Zootopia 2 be Tootopia?”—Fan Q&A
- Toon Wolf’s Discord question: Should Zootopia’s sequel be Tootopia?
- JPC offers a deadpan, emphatic no: “No. Zootopia. Because Zootopia leaves ‘topia’, which is the suffix. The zoo part is what we’re looking for.” (14:26–14:52)
- The group riffs on Hollywood sequel naming: “Back to the Teacher,” “Front to the Backcher,” and “Zootropia.” (15:33–16:01)
Memorable Quotes & Moments
On the “Rediscover Your Friends” Resolution
“I want to wake up with a sense of terror. Where am I? ...Why am I pregnant? What’s going on?”
—JPC, 00:45
On Swapping Identities
“This sucks. That’s exactly my thing! I wear flannel. I buy books impulsively. I use my money for experiences. I like tiki bars…”
—JPC, 03:19
On Handwriting
“It would be so nice to have nice handwriting for once. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
—Adal, 03:44
On Cursive in Schools
“There must be some correlation between cursive and... faster learning or more comprehensive learning.”
—JPC, 05:45
On the State of Public Schools
“One thing that’s hard about the public school system is that teachers... make too much money and they’re, like, really evil people. We have to kind of stop them in any way we can.”
—Adal (satirical), 06:14
On Zootopia Sequels
“Zootopia. Because Zootopia leaves ‘topia’, which is the suffix. The zoo part is what we’re looking for.”
—JPC, 14:44
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:05 – Adal announces his “forget your friends” New Year’s intention
- 02:35 – Persona and hobby swap game
- 03:52 – Fan Q: If you could change your handwriting…
- 05:09 – Cursive in Montessori and public schools: philosophies & practices
- 06:08 – Jokes about teachers, school funding, and “do your own research”
- 06:46 – “Cat pies” food truck bit and small business woes
- 09:32–12:15 – Father New Year/Santa sketch and magical clothing exchange
- 12:43 – Adal’s upside-down handwriting confession
- 14:26–14:52 – The Zootopia sequel naming debate
- 15:33–16:01 – Goofing on sequel naming conventions for other movies
Tone & Delivery
The episode is delivered in Hey Riddle Riddle’s signature playful, wry, and improvisational style. Sarcasm, meta-humor, and friendly ribbing dominate, with each host playing off the others’ absurdities and escalating the running jokes. The language is casual and the camaraderie evident throughout.
For New Listeners
If you’ve never heard Hey Riddle Riddle, this episode encapsulates their irreverent, barely-about-riddles format: rapid-fire improv, inside jokes, left-field questions, and unfiltered riffing. You’re invited to enjoy the dynamic, not just the answers, and the banter is the main attraction.