Patreon Preview #361: Reacher for the Stars

Summary

Hey Riddle Riddle – Patreon Preview #361: Reacher for the Stars

Release Date: February 6, 2026
Hosts: Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, John Patrick Coan (JPC)

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Episode Overview

This episode is a lively blend of book talk and absurd improv, all in true Hey Riddle Riddle fashion—where the riddles are almost beside the point. The main focus is on Lee Child’s "Echo Burning", a Jack Reacher novel, served up with wild guessing games, playful banter, and a signature improv scene based on a wrong but inspired book summary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comedy Movie Rant & Recommendation

[00:00–01:28]

• The hosts lament the lack of comedy movies in theaters.

• JPC raves about "Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie," calling it hilarious and filled with jaw-dropping twists.

  • “It is so fucking good... it is the first like mockumentary style film in a while that made me laugh out loud.” – JPC [00:30]

• Adal and Erin riff on critical blurbs and hype up the film as a must-see (not sponsored, just excited).

• Movie plot condensed: Two characters try to book a show, travel back to 2008, and chaos ensues.

  Notable Quotes:

  • “Your jaw will hit the floor in a good way, in a way that makes you say, I have to clean up my jaw now.” – JPC [00:37]

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2. Guessing the Plot of "Echo Burning"

[01:28–06:47]

Adal's Guess:

• Sets the story in the South, possibly inspired by "Mississippi Burning."
• Imagines an underground tunnel system, drug operations, and a murdered ex-military friend whose widow involves Reacher.
• “I think I’m just describing Justified.” – Adal [03:39]

Erin's Guess:

• Envisions Reacher in a cave, dealing with echoes that turn out to be a villain mimicking him.
• Expands this into a scenario where Reacher is being set up for saying things he didn’t.
• “Turns out it’s a really shallow cave. Bad guy keeps just repeating what he says back to him. Am I close?” – Erin [04:23]

JPC Gives the Real Plot:

• Reacher hitches a ride in Texas with Carmen, a woman stuck in an abusive marriage.

• She's arrested for her husband’s murder, with Reacher investigating her innocence amid lies and hatred on her remote ranch in Echo County.

• “Reacher finds himself investigating the truth.” – JPC [06:03]

• Opens a discussion on the ubiquity of Lee Child books, especially in airports.

  Notable Quotes:

  • “Adal, you did get some things kind of pretty close in that one.” – JPC [04:01]
  • "Oh, I guarantee you could go walk into any airport in the country and find a Lee Child book." – JPC [07:12]

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3. Goodreads Ratings Banter

[06:47–07:36]

• Conversation about the most-rated books on Goodreads; guesses include "Harry Potter" and "Hunger Games."
• Erin runs through a list: "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone," "Hunger Games," "The Fault in Our Stars," "The Nightingale," "1984."
• JPC notes the overwhelming airport popularity of Lee Child's books.

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4. Mike the Paladin’s Review & The Recurring "Reacher Punches" Trope

[07:38–08:45]

• JPC reads a reviewer’s take, highlighting Reacher’s habit of punching corrupt cops—never just "good cops."
• “It's not a crime to be interested. Actually makes you pretty cool.” – JPC, on Mike’s constant use of ‘interesting’ [07:51]

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5. Improv Scene: Echoing in the Cave

[13:08–15:36]

• The hosts stage a scene inspired by Erin’s "living echo" book idea.
• Erin is a cave explorer pursued by Adal, a villain who mimics everything she says or does.
• Scene escalates with comic repetition, misunderstandings, and wild declarations (Mr. Caves, painted like Gotye, etc.).
• “You stick out like a sore thumb. You're painted like codier [Gotye].” – Erin [14:19]
• “Don't do what I did to you. Stop it.” – Adal [14:50]
• Ends with the classic Hey Riddle Riddle improv goofiness and brotherly twist.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Your jaw will hit the floor in a good way, in a way that makes you say, I have to clean up my jaw now." – JPC, on the movie recommendation [00:37]
• “I think I’m just describing Justified.” – Adal [03:39]
• “Turns out it’s a really shallow cave. Bad guy keeps just repeating what he says back to him.” – Erin [04:23]
• "Oh, I guarantee you could go walk into any airport in the country and find a Lee Child book." – JPC [07:12]
• “It's not a crime to be interested. Actually makes you pretty cool.” – JPC, as Mike the Paladin [07:51]
• "You stick out like a sore thumb. You're painted like codier." – Erin [14:19]
• "I'm a bad guy, I'm not that bad." – Adal [14:47]
• “I'm your little brother.” – Adal, ending the improv scene [15:36]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] – Movie Rant & Recommendation
• [01:28] – Guessing Echo Burning’s Plot (Adal, then Erin)
• [04:43] – Erin's Echoing Villain Theory
• [05:44] – JPC Reveals Actual Plot
• [06:55] – Goodreads Banter
• [07:38] – Mike the Paladin Review Segment
• [13:08] – Improv Scene: The Echo Villain

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Podcast Tone & Style

Unscripted, punchy, and full of wit—true to the show’s ethos, riddles are just a jumping-off point for layered in-jokes, improv, and running gags. The hosts’ improv skills and comedic timing anchor the episode, making it as much about the ridiculous as the riddles or book talk.

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Recommended For...

Fans of Jack Reacher and Lee Child, comedy podcast lovers, improv enthusiasts, and anyone who loves seeing how far off the rails a simple prompt can go.

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Listen to the full episode and more at Patreon.com/heyriddleriddle

Transcript

[A]

Adel, Aaron, I know that the two of you have been so mad that they are not putting comedy movies in theaters anymore. While do I have a shocking declaration for the two of you?

[B]

Shock me.

[C]

Shock.

[A]

Okay, shock you. Let me rub my socks on the carpet. I just saw Nirvana, the Band, the show, the Movie, and it is fucking excellent.

[C]

Humming a what?

[A]

Okay, this movie is so funny. It's the first like mockumentary style film that I've seen in a while. That is. That was making me laugh out loud. Plus it's. I will not get into it, but when the twists come in this movie, your jaw will hit the floor in a good way. In a way that makes you say, I have to clean up my jaw now. But I do like that it touched the ground.

[B]

Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Is this the movie that Variety called? It's insane that it exists. And fandom said gives no fucks. A movie you absolutely must see to believe.

[A]

Yes, you have to see this.

[C]

A comedic miracle says Sunshine State Complex. A comedic miracle. Jpc.

[A]

Yes. So the plot of the movie is they have a plan to book a show at the Rivoli, but something goes horribly wrong. And then Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. You have to watch this movie. It is only in theaters starting February 13th. Nirvana, the band, the show, the Movie. It is so fucking good.

[B]

I'm there. I'm there again.

[A]

Run. Do not walk to the theaters February 13th to see Nirvana, the Band, the show, the Movie. You do not have to be familiar with the show. Just go see Nirvana, the Band, the show, the Movie. You'll get it. It's fucking great. So Echo Burning Adol. Let's see. What can I tell you about this? This was chronologically. Let's see. This was the. His fifth novel that he published, but chronologically it is the ninth Reacher novel.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

So he did write some prequels, but I have not read this one. Also, this is the fifth one that he published. Published in April 2001. So they started in 97 and this is 21. And this is his fifth one. So that tracks. That's all I can give you about it. What do you think Echo Burning is about?

[B]

This is the ninth. Okay, so I think what this is is. I think that this is set in the south, because if I know anything about Mississippi Burning, it's at Mississippi.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So I assume this was inspired by Lee Childs, AKA James Polk, Garfield, whatever his name was. He saw Mississippi Burning and He's like, I like that snappy title. Let me do Echo Burning. So I think it's in the south, and I think there's. Echo. Makes me think, well, hello. Okay, so I think there's an underground sort of like, literally underground tunnel system in the hills somewhere in the south, let's say Virginia.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

In the sort of coal mines or something where there's some sort of drug operation going on and someone Reacher knows. An ex military friend is killed, and he goes to the funeral, and at the funeral, his friend's widow kind of clues him in to how he died. And so Reacher goes to the coal mines looking for. Looking for what happened and trying to put an end to it.

[A]

This feels like half of an episode of Reacher and half of an episode of Justified.

[B]

As I was talking, I'm like. I think I'm just describing Justified.

[A]

Honestly, not a long walk between Reacher and Marshall Raylan Gibbons. Like, they're.

[B]

Well to distinguish, let's just say. Let's do some casting so it's not too close to Justify. Let's say that the guy who's heading up this whole thing in Virginia is Walton Goggins.

[A]

For sure. For sure.

[B]

Set it apart.

[A]

Could play it. All right, Aaron, that's Adel. You did get some things kind of pretty close in that one. Aaron, do you have a guess? Do you have a guess for what? This. For what Echo burning could be about.

[C]

Okay. They're in a cave.

[A]

Hobo in a cave. Perfect.

[C]

You like where I'm going? You like where I'm going?

[A]

I do like it.

[C]

And at first, they're like isolation, and they think that they're alone in the cave and that the echo they're hearing is a real echo. Turns out it's a really shallow cave. Bad guy keeps just repeating what he says back to him. Am I close? Tell me when I'm getting warmer.

[A]

I will let you know.

[B]

And if you want to know a movie that did not hold up, Shallow Cave is just. There's a lot of prosthetics going on. They're just gross.

[C]

I'm warm, though.

[A]

No, no, no, no. I would let you know if you got anywhere near warm. Cave, I would say is pretty cold. And so I feel like you're going deeper into cave, and it's not. I don't hate the direction that you're going. It's just not. It's not the right direction.

[C]

What about, like, someone starts copying him?

[B]

Ooh, I like that.

[C]

Like, he has, like a. Yeah, like. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

A mimic.

[C]

A mimic.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

A mimic.

[A]

Yeah. So there's. That's good. Because, you know, you can't put a foil up against Reacher, who's just like, you know, like a five. One, like nerd. Because Reacher's just gonna, like, pound his head in, right? Yeah. He's gotta have a rival that's like echoing him. I love that.

[C]

Right? Yeah. And then no one believes him. Cause he's like, that wasn't me. It wasn't me who said all those things.

[A]

Oh, got it. He's being set up. Okay, cool.

[C]

He's being set up by someone who's echoing him.

[A]

All right. Here's what it's about.

[C]

I'm warmer.

[A]

Adol was closest. Without going over, he would have. Reacher hitches a ride in Texas. Okay, so the South. Adel is right in the South. So it's Texas.

[B]

Although, tell somebody from Texas they're in the south, and they will not enjoy that.

[A]

Exactly. It's more to the west. Carmen, the driver, is a mother of a young girl and is trapped in an abusive marriage. She requests Reacher's help. After some deliberation, Reacher consents. However, at her remote ranch in Echo County, Reacher encounters lies, prejudice and hatred. Climaxing, and Carmen being arrested for the murder of her husband. With Carmen's true motives cast into doubt, Reacher finds himself investigating the truth.

[B]

So, a widow.

[A]

A widow. But it doesn't start out as a widow. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When Reacher meets her, she's just probably like, a hot lady, you know?

[B]

She's. Yeah. Smoking hot lady.

[A]

I mean. Okay, so this one has four stars on Goodreads, 100,000 ratings. So it's like, these are. Well.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

100,000 ratings.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's like. And this is just like, the fifth book. Like, he's. He's got a lot of ratings.

[C]

What book on Goodreads do you think has the most ratings?

[A]

The Bible reads, like, of any. It can't be the Bible. Nobody's read the Bible.

[C]

Harry Potter.

[B]

I do think I would probably guesstimate 87% of all Lee Child books have been read in an airport.

[A]

Oh, I guarantee you could go walk into any airport in the country and find a Lee Child book. Yeah.

[B]

Mass market, paperback. Kind of.

[A]

Yeah, there's probably a whole section that's just devoted to, like, hey, you got an hour on an airplane. Crack into a Reacher.

[C]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Hunger Games. The Fault in Our Stars. The Nightingale. In 1984.

[A]

Yeah. That makes sense. That makes sense.

[C]

Interesting.

[A]

Here's a review from Mike the Paladin. The Paladin is in parentheses. What are the better Reacher books? I've given three positive reviews in a row here. Pretty good. Kind of a little something about Mike. This book is what I'd call an interesting opening if you've read many of the reviews. You know I use that word frequently. It says so much. I do love someone being like, I know you're thinking, do I say interesting a lot? Guess what? It's not a crime to be interested. Actually makes you pretty cool. Reacher, upon smacking someone else in the nose, makes the disturbing discovery that he seems to have damaged the person of a local constabulary. So it seems like Reacher punches a cop, which I do think in the couple Reacher books that I have read, him fighting the cops does seem to be a kind of a consistent thing. Now luckily in all the Reacher books, the cops that he like punches or kills or whatever, they're all corrupt cops. It's never Reacher just being like, hey, fuck cops because he was a cop. It's just him being like, well, this cop's actually more of a drug runner than anything, but I guess I can break every bone in his body.

[B]

Aaron, jpc. Good morning to you.

[A]

Good morning to you. Adol, my dear.

[B]

You know how I used to give my money to the squirrel in my backyard to tuck away for a winter's night?

[A]

Mm, yeah.

[B]

Well, that squirrel ate all my money. So I've decided to use something a little more clever.

[A]

Found.

[C]

Oh thank goodness. Oh my gosh, it was so stressful. When you're giving all your money to that squirrel, this is so much better.

[A]

Yeah, because that squirrel eats money. And Found eliminates the clutter by giving you one platform that handles it all. Banking, bookkeeping, invoices and taxes. No more paying for multiple subscriptions and dealing with clunky, outdated apps. No more trusting a squirrel who's a wild animal who lives in a tree who likes to eat money.

[C]

Yes, and it makes it easy to regain control of your business finances so you can get back to doing what you love. Getting revenge on that squirrel.

[B]

And unlike the squirrel, Found has automated things like tracking expenses, finding write offs and budgeting for tax time. That squirrel last year cost me so much money during tax time.

[C]

Yeah, I know, that's a headache time of year. The tax time just go to one place that is going to have it completely under control, where all of your stuff is in one safe space.

[A]

And as a small business owner, AKA Tyrant, I love Found because it allows me to put all of those administrative tasks in one platform. I can get in, I can get Out Saves me time, helps me streamline things. It's a really great platform if you are running a business.

[B]

But don't take it from them. Take it from me.

[C]

This is nuts.

[A]

No.

[B]

Take back control of your business. Today. Open a found account for [e-mail]. that's f o u n d dot com. Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by lead bank member fdic. Join the hundreds of thousands who have already streamlined their finances with found.

[A]

Aaron, that is not a squirrel. That is Richard Kind in a squirrel costume. He is eating adults money.

[B]

I used to live with George Clooney.

[C]

Guys, I bet you've noticed that I'm super confident now. It's all kind of turned around for me. I keep getting compliments on my cashmere oversized V neck sweater. Whoa.

[B]

Aaron. Yeah? Did you get taller?

[C]

No, I'm just wearing my favorite brown mongolian cashmere oversized V neck swear I got from Quint's.

[A]

Did you shrink?

[C]

No, no, no.

[A]

What the heck?

[C]

I bet you thought this cost an arm and a leg. It did not. It did not.

[A]

Oh, you got turned inside out.

[C]

No. I'm wearing a really cute sweater from Quints.

[B]

Oh, we can see your bones.

[A]

Huh?

[C]

That's a different thing. We'll talk about that after. Quince has the everyday essentials I love with quality that lasts. Organic cotton sweaters, polos for every occasion, Lighter jackets that keep you warm in the changing season. The list goes on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And plus, doesn't quints only partner with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production? I think I remember knowing that about quints.

[C]

Yeah, Just quality clothing. I also have a raincoat from them that is so good. It's the type of piece that you're going to keep for years and years and years.

[A]

I got a cable knit sweater from Quint's and I kid you not, it is the only thing that I have ever followed the directions on to hand wash everything else that I own. I'm like, it says hand wash, but I'm not hand washing this. This is. It's so nice that I'm like, I must hand wash this. This is a nice sweater.

[B]

What I've discovered is since buying items from Quints, I just collect a few very nice items. And it's about quality over quantity. I used to have like 40 different types of jackets and now I just have two nice ones from Quints. And. And they pair well with everything.

[A]

Okay, so here's the deal.

[C]

I also love their home stuff.

[A]

Their home stuff is amazing. If you don't want to get your bones turned absolutely inside out. Like I assume is what happens to Aaron.

[B]

We'll talk about that later.

[C]

I think that's just my body.

[A]

Refresh your wardrobe with quints. Go to quints.com riddle for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. A that's quints.com riddle free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com riddle this one's on me, guys.

[C]

I did break my arm and didn't notice. No problem at all.

[B]

But you look good doing it.

[C]

I know.

[A]

But I do want to see a scene. We're going to see a scene based on Aaron's Reacher Adol, you are going to be the antagonist to Eren. Aaron, you don't necessarily have to be reacher, but you are going to be like hunting a bad guy in a shallow cave. And then Adol, you as the bad guy are just gonna be like mimicking everything that Eren does. Back to her. Perfect.

[C]

Okay. Safe. For now. Gosh, I never thought I would be this low. I never thought I would fail. This bad. Okay, Echo. You're making me feel worse. Wait, I didn't echo the.

[A]

The. The.

[C]

The punches. Cave wall. Shut up, Cave. Shut up, cave.

[B]

And my guy was all had like, what's godier?

[C]

Hey, man, why are you painted like godier in the middle of this cave?

[B]

I was trying to blend in with the cave.

[A]

You.

[C]

You stick out like a sore thumb. You're painted like codier.

[B]

So you knew you were punching me?

[C]

Yeah. Got you. Mr. Caves. You think you can get away with this?

[B]

So you found out my real name, Mr. Caves. And this was not. This was just. The cave is brown. So I used. I just would have get ahead of this.

[C]

Hey, I wasn't even going to say anything, man.

[B]

I'm a bad guy. I'm not that bad.

[C]

I'm a bad guy. I'm not that bad.

[B]

Don't do what I did to you. Stop it.

[C]

Stop it. I'm covered in.

[B]

I never said that. I take out a knife and I stab right between the ribs.

[C]

Oh, you stabbed the cave. And I'm over here and I'm.

[B]

Wait, how are you doing this?

[C]

How. Hey, man, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen.

[B]

Wait. Are you echoing or are you just kind of.

[C]

Hey. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well. Okay. All right. Okay. This is serious. No one can see us. Let's just say that we had this huge fight. We out. I won we'll call it. We call it quits.

[B]

I'm your little brother.

[C]

What scene.

[A]

1, 2, 3, 4. Hate riddle. Riddles. Cl Listen to the rest of the episode now by starting your free seven day [e-mail]. hey, Riddle, Riddle.