Hey Riddle Riddle - Patreon Preview #369: "Welcome to Flippertech Global"

Release Date: April 3, 2026
Hosts: Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, John Patrick Coan (JPC)

Episode Overview

This wacky bonus episode of "Hey Riddle Riddle" takes listeners into the fictional world of the hosts as tech magnates and founders of the smash hit "Penguin Baseball." Now, flush with cash and questionable motivations, they’re unveiling their latest bizarre venture: Flipper Tech Global. The episode unspools as a blend of improv, mock corporate meeting, and surreal comedy—swerving between fake product pitches, corporate intrigue, and straight-up absurdism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Technical Difficulties and "Tech Toby" (00:04 – 01:13)

• Opening chaos as hosts pretend to join a video call, with one feeding into the bit by "dialing in" from a Maserati doing 185 mph.
• Introduction of “Tech Toby,” initially thought to be a robot but actually a human intern.
  • Erin jokes: “Toby is a 22-year-old intern. Classic human style.”

2. Penguin Baseball & Corporate Money (01:15 – 02:15)

• The trio in-character as the “three founders” reflect on their billion-dollar merch success and “how money has changed them.”
• GPC quips: “Money’s changed us.”

3. Introducing Flipper Tech Global (02:15 – 03:14)

• Adal congratulates the team for reinvesting their ill-gotten (and possibly tax-evading) earnings into “Flipper Tech Global.”
  • John: “Our tax guy said that was the best way to hide it... We did it purely for the wrong reasons.”
  • Erin, paranoid: “This is parody. Just want to repeat. This is parody.”

4. Big Ideas for the New Season (03:14 – 04:53)

• JPC pushes for low-effort, high-profit options: “Can we make it even more basic? Like a fallow year for the field?”

• Adal and Erin pitch ramping up development with “metal beaks,” “growth hormone,” and especially...

• Waddlewear — costumed suits for birds to impersonate penguins.

• Glacier Cloud — for “downloading penguins,” a nonsensical AI project.

  • Erin: “We are obviously trying to force AI into everything that we’re doing.” (04:39)
  • The team dances around the question of “penguin DNA” experiments.

5. Awkward Improvised Relationship Subplot (05:00 – 05:25)

• Side bit as “scientists” are questioned about their relationship status, unsure about romance but certain about sex.
  • GPC: “Is it purely sexual? Are you falling in love?”
  • “Scientists” (improv voices): “We don’t talk.”

6. More on Penguin Tech: Office Culture & HR (05:49 – 06:38)

• JPC makes a threat, tongue-in-cheek: “If you don’t tell us what’s going on, we’ll have you killed.”
• Long running gag riffing on employees with John C. Reilly / John C. McGinley voices.
  • GPC: “I said John T. McGinley.”
  • Adal: “That was one of your many, many requests, that as many people as possible at this company have John C. Reilly voice.”

7. The Freefall Scene—Absurd Action Movie Vibes (06:45 – 07:29)

• GPC claims to be in freefall off a bridge, heightening the absurdity.
  • GPC (deadpan): “I went off an incomplete bridge about 60 seconds ago, and I’m in a full free fall.”
  • Ludacris (the rapper, a.k.a. Chris Bridges) is imagined to be in the car, “kind of freaking out.”

8. The Notorious “JPC Tax” Charge (07:37 – 09:22)

• Erin asks about a suspicious recurring $5,000 charge labeled “JPC tax.”
  • Adal: “Go to your Rocket Money app and have them cancel that for you.”
  • GPC improvises a dramatic voice alert for when the tax is canceled: “That’s a voice alert I have every time someone unsubscribes to the JPC tax.”

9. Peak Absurdity: Cloning 1930s “Baseball Penguin” DNA (11:20 – 12:53)

• Adal reveals they’ve found “old baseball penguin DNA” in Antarctica and are considering cloning 1930s-style penguins.
  • Adal: "This was a penguin built sort of like a 1930s baseball player."
  • JPC & Erin riff about physical features: “Broadened his shoulders. 65 years old, quite drunk all the time.” (12:01)
  • Fears are raised about a “Jurassic Park” scenario.

10. Monster Baseball Team and Ominous Finale (13:13 – 14:03)

• Imagined monsters (“Phoenixes, Pegasi, Mermaids...”) are revealed to be laying eggs, wielding gloves, and ready to play baseball—improvised chaos.
  • Erin: “It’s laying eggs in my chest.” (13:58)
• GPC as a monster: “Must steal second base. 1, 2, 3, 4.” (14:03)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Adal: “My Maserati doesn’t go 185.” (00:31)
• GPC: "I'm out chasing fences." (00:33)
• GPC: “At 185? You’ll never know. I could have hit a full-grown elk. It is particles now.” (03:44)
• Adal: “We're developing waddlewear to let other birds look more like penguins… waddle like a penguin.” (04:21)
• GPC (on corporate DNA science): “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. We did it purely for the wrong reasons.” (01:51)
• Adal (as a news anchor): “Back to you guys. Back to me on the Zoom call.” (02:21)
• GPC: “What do you mean? That was per your request in hiring…” (06:04)
• JPC (improvised threat): “Otherwise, we’ll have you killed.” (05:49)
• Adal: “We have the opportunity to mix it [old baseball penguin DNA] with other DNA and bring them back to life... to have them join us this penguin baseball season.” (12:14)
• GPC (absurdly): “Must steal second base. 1, 2, 3, 4.” (14:03)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:04 – 01:13: Tech chaos, "Tech Toby" intro, Maserati running gag
• 01:15 – 02:15: Founders in-character banter about success and wealth
• 03:14 – 04:53: “Penguin Baseball” season plans — tech, beaks, growth hormone, waddlewear, AI
• 05:00 – 05:25: “Scientists” relationship status bit
• 06:44 – 07:29: Freefall action sequence, Ludacris cameo
• 07:37 – 09:22: The mystery of the “JPC Tax”
• 11:20 – 12:53: “1930s Baseball Penguin” DNA cloning plot
• 13:13 – 14:03: Monster baseball team revealed, surrealist horror ending

Overall Tone & Style

This episode fully embraces the surreal, improv-heavy humor that defines "Hey Riddle Riddle." The trio riff off each other at breakneck speed, lacing every corporate parody with outlandish world-building and running gags, creating an absurd, sitcom-style alternate universe. It’s delightfully unhinged while still poking fun at tech culture, corporate ambition, and themselves.

For fans of the show, it’s a perfect showcase of the podcast’s blend of character-driven nonsense and sharp, off-the-cuff improvisational comedy. For new listeners: buckle up. The riddles are scarce, but the laughs are abundant.

Listen to the rest by joining the Clue Crew at Patreon.com/heyriddleriddle!