How We Didn't Move | S2E18 "Moving Day"

Summary

How We Made Your Mother – Season 2, Episode 18: "How We Didn't Move" (A Deep Dive into "Moving Day")

Podcast Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Josh Radnor & Craig Thomas
Producer: Alec Lev
Main Topic: Dissecting HIMYM episode "Moving Day", the intricacies of friendship, fear of change, and what it means to grow up and move forward… or backward.

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

"How We Didn't Move" sees Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) and Craig Thomas (series co-creator) break down Season 2, Episode 18 of How I Met Your Mother, "Moving Day." The discussion spans relationships in your 20s, the comedic heart and melancholy undercurrent that defines HIMYM, and how both the episode and the show capture that bittersweet push-pull of moving on, growing up, and holding on to your closest friends.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. The Episode's Core: Symbiosis and Hesitation

• Episode Summary [08:18]:
  • Ted and Robin attempt to move in together after a previous episode’s decision, Barney schemes to stop Ted from making a “grave error” (as Craig dubs it), and Marshall and Lily realize how crucial Ted is to their lives upon his exit.
  • Craig: “Marshall and Lily… they can’t survive without Ted, and they miss him so desperately. That parental-ish relationship Marshall and Lily have to Ted is… one of my favorite things on the show.”

2. Real-Life Roots & Emotional Resonance

• Friendship Chemistry [09:59]:
  • Craig shares parallels with his own twenties—rooming with Carter Bays and realizing, belatedly, “I owned nothing” after a move. Real-life helplessness finds its way into the script.
• Role Division in Relationships [11:54]:
  • Josh observes how unspoken domestic roles naturally evolve and how this destabilizes a group when one person leaves—the “external hard drive” metaphor: “If your spouse is gone… the anchor to the world is gone.”

3. Nostalgia and the Lure of the ‘Simpler Time’

• Cultural Retrospective [06:01]:
  • Josh discusses how every era feels tumultuous in its moment, but “now it looks like Leave it to Beaver. Like, it looks like a golden age… It’s crazy.”
  • The show itself is a meditation on nostalgia and time—what it means to look back through older Ted’s eyes.

4. The Ted-Marshall-Lily Dynamic

• Mutual Dependency [13:09]:
  • Craig: “Ted’s a fucking architect… he makes shit happen. They’re reacting to Ted. They’re analyzing Ted. And then he leaves and they’re like, fuck. He was the glue holding civilization together.”
• Josh: “It’s not like Ted is a parasite. He’s giving back to the environment.”

5. Barney’s True Colors and Fear of Change

• Fear of Abandonment [16:33]:
  • Josh: “Barney… has to paint an apocalyptic wasteland of cohabitation because it so threatens his… he can’t be alone. He’s desperate to keep the gang together and to, you know, to stop the clock.”
• Barney as Trickster/Fool [44:12]:
  • Josh: “Barney is in a grand tradition… mythic characters who are initially comic relief… actually carry a lot of the wisdom. They know the protagonist better than he knows himself.”

6. The Relationship’s Pace – Clinical Take

• Jordana’s (Josh’s wife, a psychologist) Text [23:06]:
  • “Relationships going at their own pace… Couples avoiding doing something just because it’s the ‘next right step’. What’s more important is whether or not we have alignment with our partner. And Ted and Robin, at least in this episode, do.”
  • Josh: “I like that they don’t break up.”

7. Physical Comedy & Set Pieces

• Staging & Performance [24:11]:
  • The moving van as a “liminal space,” a metaphor for your 20s: “All your possessions when you’re 28 are in a room… and it can fit into the back of a U-Haul.”
• Neil Patrick Harris' Physicality [29:42]:
  • “Neil had an ability to do physical comedy in a way that looked kind of dangerous… he never was hurt.”

8. Nostalgic Tech & Pop Culture References

• Flip Phones & Old Tech [31:29]:
  • Frequent flip-phone use stands out, as does a now-cringe-worthy Bill Cosby shoutout—“Not sure the high praise run for Bill Cosby holds up great.” [27:57]
• Letterman Homage [35:02]:
  • Neil’s spot-on Letterman impression closes the episode with a HIMYM-style Top 10 list: “He even does…the little wave.” [36:52]
  • Craig: “Neil would be great as Letterman… and the sound effect when he throws the card—just like Letterman.”

9. Running Jokes and Fan Observations

• Marshall’s “Amazonian tree” speech [39:20] is highlighted as a hilarious, on-brand Marshall moment.
• The “boob-shaped boobs” and “Royal Douchery” turn of phrase are called out as favorite lines [31:10 / 39:16].
• Barney’s penchant for ransom calls—a funny recurring bit [28:54].

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NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• On Nostalgia ("Simpler Times") [06:08]:
  • Josh: “I really have this theory… we always think we’re at the worst time.”
• On Friendship Roles [13:15]:
  • Craig: “You think that's grown-up age…but you haven’t really figured it all out. They’ve never lived without [Ted] in adult life.”
• On Barney’s Motivations [16:33]:
  • Josh: “He has to shit-talk coupledom… because it so threatens his [fear of abandonment]… he can't be alone.”
• On Relationship Timing (Jordana’s text) [23:06]:
  • Jordana: “What’s more important is whether or not we have alignment with our partner. And Ted and Robin, at least in this episode, do.”
• On Barney as Trickster [44:12]:
  • Josh: “Barney is… mythic… comic relief who actually carries a lot of the wisdom.”
• On Neil Patrick Harris’s Physical Comedy [29:42]:
  • Josh: “He could have punctured an eye…It was always…he never was hurt.”
• On the Power of Fan Stories [48:19]:
  • Craig (reading Luke's letter): “It was the first story I ever watched that gave me hope… faith that patience really does pay off.”
  • Craig: “The idea that my little book made its way to Australia… it’s a dream come true for me.”

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TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [08:18] – Full episode recap and deep-dive into Ted/Robin/Barney/Marshall-Lily triangle
• [13:09] – Ted as the glue: Group dynamics and dependency
• [15:16] – The “Ted, get in here” moment: Parental longing and empty-nest feels
• [16:33] – Barney’s true motivation: Fear of abandonment and change
• [23:06] – Jordana’s (clinical psychologist) take on healthy relationship pacing
• [24:11] – The symbolism of the moving van and what your 20s feel like
• [27:57] – Pop culture references that didn’t age well (Cosby mention)
• [29:42] – Neil Patrick Harris’ physical comedy and dangerous stunts
• [35:02] – THE Letterman homage: Behind the top-10 list gag
• [39:08] – All the jokes come from character: Maturity of the series
• [43:18] – Barney’s hidden wisdom & new angles on the bar set
• [48:19] – Listener letter (Luke from Australia): The show’s legacy and Craig’s novel’s impact

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LISTENER LETTERS & FAN ENGAGEMENT

• Amanda Capito’s story [01:48]: From campus TV parties to running trivia on cruise ships—how HIMYM built real communities.
• Luke from Sydney’s letter [46:33 & 48:19]: The show’s impact on hope, sibling relationships, and feeling seen as a “middle child.” Also, how Craig’s novel resonated personally.

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FINAL REFLECTIONS & TAKEAWAYS

• HIMYM’s staying power lies in its emotional depth beneath its sitcom laughs—“It’s funny, it’s joyful, and then… this is real. This is like, real missing of him.” [16:01]
• The show was ahead of its time in normalizing non-linear, non-traditional paths in relationships and adulthood.
• The group’s dynamic—roles, dependencies, fears—is why the show’s comedy stings with a little truth.
• Fan stories reinforce the show’s reach: “Ambassadors” for the series build community both on land and at sea.

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SUMMARY FLOW

The episode moves from fan letters into a thoughtful, self-effacing look at how the sitcom captured the uncertainty, awkwardness, and warmth of growing up—and why, even in “failed” moves like Ted and Robin’s, there’s a kind of triumph in listening to your gut rather than social scripts. Barney is dissected as the wounded trickster, Marshall and Lily as both parental and lost, Ted as the “load-bearing” center, and Robin as stubbornly independent. Through humor, honesty, and the occasional nostalgia for flip phones, the team demonstrates why How I Met Your Mother remains both a comfort show and a mirror for so many.

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End of Summary

(For information on recurring bits, production details, or to submit your own story, visit howwemadeyourmother.com or check out Craig’s novel, That’s Not How It Happened.)

Transcript

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[Craig Thomas]

Pancetta Mushroom tortellini you can eat smart

[Josh Radnor]

still fit in your bikini.

[Craig Thomas]

I ordered Blue Apron. I've been happy ever since they sent pre portioned meals. I don't make no measurements. Saute the pancet then I add the mushrooms Large skillet cause you can't have too much room Garlic pesto tomato paste Calabrian chili season to taste Order Blue Apron today.

[Amanda Capito]

Hi, my name is Amanda Capito and I am recording this from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. And I have to say that How I Met yout Mother was an incredible community bonding experience for me. The show was airing while I was in university and I was studying journalism, so naturally I connected a lot with Robyn. But we didn't have access to a TV in our dorm rooms and then we'd have a shared tv but it was always up for grabs and I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to watch the latest episode of How I Met yout Mother. So I would rent out a party room in the local campus pub that had a TV that was meant for sports viewing activities and maybe like finales of shows. But I had a standing reservation every weekday night when the show was airing and I would always have an open invite for whoever wanted to watch How I Met yout Mother that week. And so every single week for the entire year I had groups of people coming together to either be newly exposed to the show or Die Hard fans who came every week with me. So it was basically an in inverted How I Met yout Mother club. Following that, I went to work on a cruise ship and I launched How I Met yout Mother trivia on the cruise ship that I just made up myself from watching the show. So, as you could see, I brought a lot of people together because of the show, and it's always been such a great joy. It's been great listening to your podcast. Thanks for making it. And all the best for the rest of the episodes.

[Josh Radnor]

I'm alone. What a pity I won't be soon in New York City when I see you. Please permit me to tell you everything in New York City. Alec keeps surprising me with these remixes.

[Craig Thomas]

I'm loving it.

[Josh Radnor]

Thanks.

[Craig Thomas]

It's great.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. What a great letter. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you were able to build so much community on. On land and at sea over How

[Craig Thomas]

I met your mother.

[Josh Radnor]

That's so wonderful. Hey.

[Craig Thomas]

Then I became a NASA astronaut.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. I started a discussion group.

[Josh Radnor]

The first ever.

[Craig Thomas]

I think we owe her. We may owe her money. Yeah, I think we. I think she's made us some serious.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, it's got. It's like, what's the Malcolm Gladwell book? The Tipping Point. Like, there's. There's like, connectors and seed planter. Like, there's people like. Yeah, if something's going to go big, you need ambassadors for it.

[Craig Thomas]

You need her. You need her. Yeah, It's.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

So thank you. Thank you. That was an amazing message. But more importantly, thank you for doing all of that. That's amazing. Yeah, it's like an evangelist for the show. Just like a missionary.

[Josh Radnor]

I bet you if I went to one of those How I Met yout Mother trivia nights, I would not win.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my God. I don't know that. I don't think I would either. I don't know that I'd be in, like, the top three.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. Yeah. Craig, you up for a surprise right now?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, man.

[Josh Radnor]

All right, Well, I figured I always do the introduction. Why don't you introduce this podcast, say who we are and what we're doing here.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, man. I'm here with my good friends. I am. Oh, my God. It's our first record of the new year. That's a. That's exhibit A, B. Here's my friends that I'm here with. Alec Lev, producer. I'm starting with Alec this year. I'm mixing things up. That's my remix producer extraordinaire and dear friend and TV's Josh Radner, ladies and gentlemen. He played ted Mosby from 2005 to 2014. I'm trying to say it like you say it on a little show called How I Met yout Mother, created by Carter Bayes and me, Craig Thomas. Welcome to the show.

[Josh Radnor]

We don't know when this will drop, but we are in the early days of 2026. How's your year going so far?

[Craig Thomas]

It's pretty good. Yeah. No, it's good. It's good. I got no complaints. I mean, you know, the world's.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

The world.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. We won't get into that. Let's talk about a fun TV episode.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. A simpler time.

[Craig Thomas]

A simpler time. Yeah. Remember, Simpler Times.

[Josh Radnor]

I really have this theory, and I think there's something in the human psyche, collectively and individually, that we always think we're at the worst time.

[Craig Thomas]

Right. Except we now are.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. No, I look back like the Chiron in either Bachelor Party or Moving Day, and It was like 2007.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

And I was like, that seemed dark. Like, that seemed hard.

[Craig Thomas]

That did stand.

[Josh Radnor]

And now it looks like. It looks like Leave it to Beaver.

[Craig Thomas]

Like, it looks like a golden age. I know.

[Josh Radnor]

It looks like a simpler time, you know?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

It's crazy.

[Craig Thomas]

We. It. It's in the nature of this show to think that way. Right. There's. There. What will. Future us. You know, we are becoming future us. We have become almost 2030 level Ted Mosby. Future Ted.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

But. Right. What will we look 25 years on? What are we going to think about right now?

[Josh Radnor]

But I go back to what you and Carter used to say. I remember first season, like, the idea of a narrator in 2000. What, 30, 35. I can never remember when. 2030 is the biggest sign of optimism we can give that we're still here and having kids and telling stories about our youth.

[Craig Thomas]

Although, in retrospect, Future Ted left some really important shit out that was going to happen in the 2000s. Why didn't he mention any of this? This was irresponsible. Why is he telling his kids about.

[Josh Radnor]

No warning about the pandemic?

[Craig Thomas]

There was some really salient information he could have put in there. Yeah, yeah, he was editing it. He was editing out the really gruesome stuff so he could talk about dating to his children.

[Josh Radnor]

So today we are talking about an episode called Moving Day. Is that right? Yeah, episode 18 of season two. And we like to know, just to situate ourselves in time. Alec, when did this episode air?

[Alec Lev]

Sure. This aired on March 19, 2007. I should say that it is in theory, today. If this is drop day. If you're listening to this on Monday, it is, I believe, March 2nd.

[Craig Thomas]

Ah, so close.

[Alec Lev]

17 days. So close. Written, I believe, Craig's this right. By Maria Ferrari.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. Who was our writer's assistant at the time. And it was, I believe, her first TV script. No.

[Josh Radnor]

Hadn't she written Atlantic City?

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, no, she would. Atlanta State. Sorry. So her second. Her second script. Yeah. It's always cool how much. Mother. We're very proud that we have a grand tradition of making sure our awesome writer's assistants got chances to do that. So.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. So, Craig, just bring us up to speed, like a little armchair summary of what happens in this episode.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. This is picking up on Ted and Robin moving in together, which was established two episodes prior and not mentioned at all in the episode in between, which I found confusing. Ted and Robin, during a fight two episodes prior to this, decide to move in together. And we come back to that here. I think Arriva Dirce Fierro happens in between, and just. We dropped that like a hot potato for some reason. That was the first thing I said when I started watching it. I was like, oh, we could have kept that idea alive a little bit in between. But here we are, they're moving in together, and Barney will stop at nothing to prevent Ted from making this grave error of moving in with a woman when he's in his 20s and he should be out there still being single. And Marshall and Lily, meanwhile, once Ted leaves, learn that their entire lives were dependent on the structural support of Ted Mosby, and they fall to pieces without him. Which I love. And I texted Josh this after I watched this episode. It reminded me what a crucial component of the entire series that is Marshall and Lily as kind of Ted's parents, but also kind of like, they can't survive without Ted, and they miss him so desperately. That parental. Ish relationship that Marshall and Lily have to Ted is so. It's one of my favorite things on the show.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, it's the Amazonian trees. You know, it's the Amazonian trees, the symbiotic relationship. And I think, you know, when I've early, like, I remember my first, like, very big breakup for. With a woman in my 20s I was with for three years. And I remember this feeling of, like, almost confusion about how to live life, like, with, like, it felt like I had a limb amputated. And I was just like, wait, what? Where? Because you get. I mean, I think as you get older, you get a little More boundary. But any long term relationship is going to have this woven in kind of thing. And they've done, you know, they've done studies like, like long term couples will have. Like, it's almost like you have an external hard drive in the form of this person. Right?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

So like, yeah, if you're not good with names and faces, let's say your, your, your. Your spouse is. And someone approaches you say, who is that? And they say, that's Jim from.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

And you're like, jim, hi. You know, like they hold. And the other person might hold, I don't know, directions or like stocking the pantry or whatever. And then if they pass away, that this is why, like, it's so moving, you know, when, when long term couples, when one dies and the other one dies soon after.

[Craig Thomas]

Right.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, it's like, yeah, it. And they'll often say like that, that this external hard drive left them, like, I don't know anyone's name anymore because my spouse has my like, anchor to

[Craig Thomas]

the world is gone. Yeah, it's, it's, it's really true. The thing where part of this is based on real life. Carter and I live together in our twenties for a little while while we were writing for Dave Letterman. And we moved out from each other at one point and he moved out and I moved to a new apartment. And I arrived at the apartment and realized I owned nothing. And there was like, no. Like, it didn't occur to me until I like got there with the moving van. But I basically. I didn't have like a couch. Like, I was. It was so, like such a, like helpless, like 20s, some mid-20s, early 20s, maybe, like male, like, helplessness. And it was. So when we. There's a little bit of that in this.

[Josh Radnor]

Where did he bring. He brought Shocky the coffee pot.

[Craig Thomas]

He had. Yeah, Shocky the coffee pot was the real thing. That was Carter's. He just had more crap than me. He just was smart enough to have bought like, he had a couch.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

He just had crucial components that somehow was like, oh, right. So that stuff where Marshall and Lilly are realizing, like, what Ted. That Ted had all the useful shit. Yeah, kind of. From.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, I also think so much of it is like, unspoken that these roles just emerge and you don't even, you don't even have to divvy up the work. It's just like. Yeah, I know. I noticed, I noticed this from. Well, I noticed this from like raising a baby for now, you know, 11 weeks. Right. Like, there's certain things My wife does really well and just naturally, like breastfeeding. She's much better at it than I am. No, I'm kidding. No. There's certain things that she just does and then I take other things and it's like, I don't know. Some of it was agreed upon, but I'd say like 75% of it was. Just like we fell into these pockets where we were like, this is my skill set. I'll handle this. And it can be destabilizing when you, you know, like there's this idea that Ted is the helpless, hopeless one because he's emotionally getting twisted all the time. And Marshall and Lily are there for him. But the truth is Marshall and Lily can only be these great in house psychologist for him because they have toilet paper and the pantry is stacked. And food. And food.

[Craig Thomas]

The idea that Ted bought all the groceries really made me laugh. Like Lily, it never occurred to Lily. It's really. We've seen her cook and stuff. So she's just using all this shit Ted buys. Is she paying him back for that? Like, what's happening?

[Josh Radnor]

No, I mean, but it is like, it's not like Ted is a parasite. Like he's giving back to the environment.

[Craig Thomas]

Ted's a fucking architect. That was what came across. And is Ted like plans their life. Ted is like an engine. Ted makes shit happen. They're reacting to Ted, they're analyzing to Ted. They're back in their cushy relationship armchairs going, ah. Ted's such a lost soul out there, not knowing what he's doing. And then he leaves and they're like, fuck. He was the glue. He was the glue holding civilization together. I love that because it reminds you that as much as they do fancy, I love the parent. The parent trope. And as much as they fancy themselves, Ted's parents, these are still people in their mid, late 20s. Mid to late 20s, right. And it's still that thing of you're not actually a grown up. You think you are. You think that's the age that grown ups are. And it just, you're not really, you haven't really figured it all out. They've never lived without him. They've never lived without him in adult life.

[Josh Radnor]

Right? Right. And I wrote you this little ditty to sing to you in New York City. We'll be right back

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[Josh Radnor]

Why have I asked my electrician I found on Angie.com to bury my pet hamster? I was so moved by how carefully he buried my electrical wires. I knew I could trust him to bury my sweet nibbles after his untimely end.

[Craig Thomas]

This is very strange, Angie. The one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home [e-mail].

[Josh Radnor]

And now back to the show. There was something so, like. I don't know, I found it so moving when they were. They were watching something on TV and they were like, ted, get in here.

[Craig Thomas]

Like, yeah, I, like, got almost choked up in that moment. Ted, get in here. My son has recently just gone away and is at a school away from us. He's 18. He's at a school away from us in Cape Cod. It's kind of far away from New York. It's going well. But I am so having that moment three times a day. Elliot, get in here. I'm so having that moment.

[Josh Radnor]

Listen to the. Listen to this song. Let's try to play this.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, listen to that. Yeah, look what you. Yeah, come here. Listen to that song. Come here. I pick up the guitar. Hey, Elliot. And he's not there. He's not down the hall. And I may burst into tears even as I'm talking about this, but I think that moment in watching that episode really got me. Cause I'm like, that's me. That's me. I'm about to call down the hall to Elliot all the time.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. And it's kind of a perfect How I Met yout Mother switcheroo where it's like, it's funny, it's joyful. And then there's just this moment of like, oh, this is real. This is like, real missing of him.

[Craig Thomas]

They miss him and they need him. They really love him.

[Josh Radnor]

They grew up together.

[Craig Thomas]

They, like, they're still growing up together. They still are.

[Josh Radnor]

And it's kind of like, you know, it's salt, pepper, cumin, man. Like, they're.

[Craig Thomas]

They're like, can't have salt and pepper.

[Josh Radnor]

You can't have salt and pepper without cumin.

[Craig Thomas]

That's just common sense.

[Josh Radnor]

And also, you know, and Ted would

[Craig Thomas]

have bought all the salt. Pepper and cumin is the other thing.

[Josh Radnor]

So it's also like even thinking about Barney on some Level you could go, well, Barney just wants a wingman. He just wants. But the truth is he is terrified of abandonment. He's terrified of, you know, he has to shit talk coupledom and cohabitation and suburban. You know, he has to paint an apocalyptic wasteland kind of image of it because it so threatens his. You know, I mean, this is a guy who clearly, even though he lives alone, he can't be alone. You know, he's desperate to keep the gang together and to, you know, to. To stop the clock, you know, for a show that's so much about people growing up. It's also about the. The urge to not.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes. Which lasts a long time. Lasts forever, maybe. Yeah, yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

But that's always a struggle, you know, like. Like life. Life moves on, you know, and we get older, presuming we don't die young, which is great to not die. You know, we prefer to keep going, but we do. You know, your friends start, like, moving on. Right. And you can't. Like, at some point, if you're a Barney, like, you're gonna be the only dude in the bar on a Wednesday night. You know, like, at some point, people are gonna be like, yeah, either I got work in the morning, I got kids, I got, you know, other things.

[Craig Thomas]

Right. If Barney really wanted to be alone, he would do what he does at the end of this episode, which is just go to a bar near his apartment. Right, right, right. Ted said. I like that line where Ted's like, he went to a place. He said he just went to a place right downstairs from his apartment. Somehow that thought had never occurred to him.

[Josh Radnor]

Where does Barney live, by the way? So the guys and Lily live on the Upper west side. Robin lives in Brooklyn. Implausibly Upper East.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I think we thought Upper east for Barney. I think we thought like a really. Yeah, I think. I think we thought some, like, big high rise on the Upper east, like, fancy. But. But yeah, we. He would. If he wanted to be alone, he would just do that. No, he comes to the bar beneath Ted, Marshall and Lily's place because he doesn't want to. Actually. He's so lonely that he needs to only go to the bar where he might see his friends every night. And that's great. And it was cool to play. It was cool to. Everyone's thing came into play here. Right. Barney didn't want to lose Ted and be alone. Marshall and Lily realize they need Ted. Ted's trying to do that thing of, I'm gonna move forward to the outcome. I wanted the outcome. I stated in the pilot, that is my entire series goal. I want to get married and have kids, and it's going to be Robin. And Robin is absolutely balking and bristling at every single moment that Ted tries to even slightly be at home in, quote, their apartment that she is not ready to be their apartment. It's a good episode to sort of to show where everyone is at in this point in the series. And we also got to play the emotions of the end of an era. Ted's gone. Ted has moved out. And you get the power of that in the story. And then you get to reset it at the end of just like, psych. We're not really doing that yet, but it was. It was great to play. Like, it was really emotional to think of that's the end of an era.

[Josh Radnor]

It's kind of the two steps forward, one step back. Of, like, growing up and your 20s especially. One of the things that made me laugh the hardest in this episode was Kobi's like, that inhale she does over everything. Her also trying to cancel her subscription to Guns and Ammo magazine, and she

[Craig Thomas]

gets sucked back in by a hand grenade phone that she's going to have sent to her work. So she'll still get it, but Ted won't see it.

[Josh Radnor]

Once you guys discovered gun nut Shcherbatsky, I feel like you really leaned into that.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, it was a funny speed, her playing, like. No, no, no, I love it. I mean, you've published three of my letters. Like, I have a very engaged reader. You guys are doing a brilliant business there at Guns and Ammo. I just. My boyfriend's not gonna like it.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Really funny and surprising. She's hilarious in this one.

[Josh Radnor]

So funny and so. Yeah. Hey, I know we're not doing this season. Questions and observations from a clinical psychologist who has never seen how I met your mother and also happens to be married to Josh, if you remember the segment.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, no, I remember that segment.

[Josh Radnor]

You remember that segment, right? What was the acronym again? Say it fast.

[Craig Thomas]

She went one by one.

[Josh Radnor]

But I did get a text from my wife, and I said, can I read this? Because I thought it was really smart. Ready?

[Craig Thomas]

Do it.

[Josh Radnor]

So just to spoil it, I think. I assume everyone's seen the episode. Who's listening? But at the end, Robin and Ted decide not to move in together. And the runner is that Robin. She literally. She doesn't have space for Ted. She won't either emotional or physical. He has one box of stuff because Barney has stolen the rest of his stuff. And she. You Know, everything is, like, kind of placed where she wants it. I love the thing about, like. Do you have any movies that weren't directed by John Woo? Do you.

[Craig Thomas]

Why would. Are there other movies?

[Josh Radnor]

Are there other movies?

[Craig Thomas]

It's the guns and ammo of movies.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. Yeah, but he. He. He's not made to feel particularly welcome from the moment he steps in, you know, and through a series of twists and turns, he. They. They. They kind of. What is it? Pull an audible. Is that what it's called? Like, they.

[Craig Thomas]

They call an audible?

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. Yeah. And they say, maybe this wasn't right. Maybe. Maybe we're moving too fast. And. And I. And I like that they don't break up.

[Craig Thomas]

Me, too. They don't want to break up.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

But they did decide to move in at the end of a big fight, and that's not the best way to make that decision.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, they were in a bit of an altered state. Right?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

But I. I wanted to read this because I thought it was great. This is from Jordana, my wife. She says, an interesting point about the episode that I really loved is how Ted and Robin decided not to move in together and agreed on it. This points to something I see with a lot of patients. The importance of relationships going at their own pace. Couples avoiding doing something just because it's what they think they should do or because it's the next right step. Some couples are ready to get married after just a few months, some only after decades. Years. Some chose not to marry. Some couples have kids before marrying. Some couples decide not to have them, et cetera. My point is, we don't need to take relational development leaps in order or on a specific timeline. What's more important is whether or not we have alignment with our partner. And Ted and Robin, at least in this episode, do. Thanks, Jordan.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, that's really.

[Josh Radnor]

She just wrote, sorry for the typos.

[Craig Thomas]

She should do this for a living. She's texting you from the other apartment she lives in. You guys don't live in this apartment?

[Josh Radnor]

No, no, we don't live here. No.

[Craig Thomas]

She did not want to move any of her stuff. That is. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And I think that is a really important thing. They do not break up. That's not the end of them. They just forced. They were forcing a move that they didn't need to force.

[Josh Radnor]

Right.

[Craig Thomas]

And nobody was ready for it. Marshall and Lily weren't ready for it. Barney sure as hell wasn't ready for it. The image of Ted's entire room and life, like all of his possessions in the world in the back of a moving van. That's a great image that I. And that's a really fun set, like our. And, you know, that had to be built in such a way that it could be moved and tipped. And it was. Again, our production team did an amazing job there. But just that metaphor of, like. It's sort of a metaphor for what your 20s feel like. Like, I've got all my stuff in this liminal space.

[Josh Radnor]

Right.

[Craig Thomas]

Right. I'm not really landed yet.

[Josh Radnor]

And it's not enough that it can't be somewhat portable. Like, it's.

[Craig Thomas]

It has to be portable. Yeah. You don't have a whole house worth of stuff. It's kind of a room. All of your possessions when you're 28 are in a room, basically. And it can fit into the back of a U Haul, basically. And the idea. I remember that was the image that made us think we had an episode in the writers room. The image of everything he owns in

[Josh Radnor]

that we just rewatched Mike Birbiglia's the new one. Do you remember that one he did about having his first kid or his kid. Yeah. And he has that thing about like, I'm gonna buy a couch. I'm a grown man in my 20s. I'm gonna buy a couch.

[Craig Thomas]

That's great.

[Josh Radnor]

And he's like, I'd like to scout it. Oh, my God. How. It was like, $2,000. Is there going to be a sale soon? This is the sale. Are you going to be going out of business? You are going out of business. It's just like, it's expensive to furnish a life.

[Craig Thomas]

You know, it's really expensive, and it's a huge leap forward. You really have to be ready for it in every way, including financially. And they're not. I mean, they're trying to make a leap they can't make yet. That's what's happening.

[Josh Radnor]

One other thing that Jordana pointed out when we were watching this episode was the conflict. They get around on whether Ted can put his TV in the bedroom. And Jordana said, that's a real. You're either a TV in the bedroom person or you're not a TV in the bedroom. It's kind of like the olive theory for television.

[Craig Thomas]

That's true.

[Josh Radnor]

Right.

[Craig Thomas]

People have very strong takes on that, and it seems like it could be like a make or break issue.

[Josh Radnor]

We both have a very strong feeling about not having a TV in the bedroom. However, we watch television on our computer in our bedroom constantly like, for some reason, it's a. Like, that's fine.

[Craig Thomas]

I'll see you that, and I'll raise you this. I have a TV in my bedroom and never turn it on. It's on the wall like a fucking painting. I don't like if my TV's broken in the living room. I will sometimes go watch something in the. Or if you're sick, that's it. Yeah, if I'm sick. If I'm sick, that's the whole reason I have it. Especially if you have kids. You want to go be sick and have the flu in some other room or Covid or something, and you want to have it. That's probably why there's a TV there.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Three times a year, I turn that on.

[Josh Radnor]

I really like people. I had one in LA that was like, a picture frame tv and it would have, like, kind of digital paintings. So it would.

[Craig Thomas]

Clearly. That's what I should have.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. I think you gotta mask it. Like, I've seen people who put, you know, like, blankets or murals kind of over the. To disguise it, because I actually find TVs aesthetically, like, kind of. I have a big pet peeve about restaurants that aren't sports bars who have TVs going. I hate it so much.

[Craig Thomas]

No, I'm with you.

[Josh Radnor]

I feel like you should not be eating with a TV kind of flickering.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes, yes. Except for my entire childhood, which is why I'm a sitcom writer. Me watching Three's Company alone, eating dinner every night when my parents then ate dinner alone from each other separately at different times. There's three people in my family, and they all ate dinner at different times.

[Josh Radnor]

So what was the moment in the Moving Day episode of How We Made youe Mother where things got really sad. I felt like it was when Craig was talking about his latchkey childhood.

[Craig Thomas]

Long Island. I'm saying it was great. I'm saying it is sad to eat dinner watching tv. But it is what happened, and it may have. It may be why I did what I did. Yeah, professionally. That sounded like I murdered people. I'm going to move on. A couple other fun facts, a couple other notes. I have a stupid one. Well, here's a couple of stupid things. We can go through our notes now. I'm not sure. The high praise run for Bill Cosby holds up. Great.

[Josh Radnor]

You didn't think that aged well?

[Craig Thomas]

The episode really starts off with that.

[Josh Radnor]

I was like, whoa, wait, what's wrong with the.

[Craig Thomas]

Kaz, have you been following the news lately? And by lately, I mean eight years ago, no.

[Josh Radnor]

What happened?

[Craig Thomas]

So that didn't. That's not great.

[Josh Radnor]

That didn't land.

[Craig Thomas]

That's old tech.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. I thought the series of girls in the cabs with Barney where. What does it take him 23, 21 minutes to get home? And sometimes it's just he needs something closer. I thought that was really funny.

[Craig Thomas]

That was really funny. And I love how it comes back around at the end and it solves the mystery again. This was another episode that a mini mystery within the larger series. Mystery. Where's Ted's stuff? Where did the van go? There's, like, a Mosby Boys mystery to be solved in this episode. And I love that. And I loved that. The beginning with Barney is what tells Ted, you know, is what allows Ted to unlock. Where, of course, it's in the alley behind the bar to solve that problem.

[Josh Radnor]

Do you know what I think's funny? A funny runner about Barney? He loves ransom calls. He has a bunch of ransom calls throughout. And he's always.

[Craig Thomas]

It's all great observation. Clearly him.

[Josh Radnor]

And he's.

[Craig Thomas]

I look a lot like Barney. Ted doing that to him. When Ted's kidnapping the van is very satisfying and funny. You looked like you were having a lot of fun in that scene. That was a great.

[Josh Radnor]

Oh, he said, this isn't Ted. But I hear that guy's awesome.

[Craig Thomas]

I hear that guy's awesome. That was a very satisfying ending to that whole story. It paid off the setup of Barney not liking how far he has to go from the bar. Ted got to turn the screw back on Barney.

[Josh Radnor]

I thought that was Barney gets to be Barney, but only up to a point. And then he gets his comeuppance, and

[Craig Thomas]

then he gets to get.

[Josh Radnor]

I thought Neil had an incredible physical, like when the van starts or the.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my God.

[Josh Radnor]

I looked at. It was like There was like a coat rack. I was like, he could have punctured an eye.

[Craig Thomas]

I thought he. I was like, did he put his shoulder out in that move? It was so hard.

[Josh Radnor]

Neil had an ability to do physical comedy in a way that looked kind of dangerous, like he would throw himself all over. And it was always. He never was hurt.

[Craig Thomas]

He was just never got hurt or never said. Never said anything about it.

[Josh Radnor]

If he did, unlike me, I drop a bowl on my foot.

[Craig Thomas]

We'll get to that episode. I think we couldn't remember what episode that was. Right, Josh? We still don't.

[Josh Radnor]

Oh, that's another. No, no. It's related because it's when Ted finally lives alone and he decides to walk around naked. Everyone Everyone wants to be naked when they live alone.

[Craig Thomas]

I did.

[Josh Radnor]

That was really funny on his.

[Craig Thomas]

That's right. Everyone wants to be naked. And then it goes very poorly for them once they do it. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

I remember Tammy Sager coming in saying, I think you need to drop the bowl. And then I drop the bowl and I look down. Pool of blood. My foot cracked.

[Craig Thomas]

That's why it's good to think of that joke ahead of time and get a bowl that's plastic.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, exactly.

[Craig Thomas]

That's why that would have been the best way to come up with that.

[Josh Radnor]

I thought it was sweet that Lily boxed Ted's stuff up. Very, like, maternal.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes.

[Josh Radnor]

Yes.

[Craig Thomas]

I like that a lot.

[Josh Radnor]

But I like when Robin said. He said it's from an actual, you know, a quiz or something. He says it's not from old Yellow Legal Pad magazine. And I really thought of a phrase that is so funny. Is your boob shaped boobs. Your boob shaped boobs.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, that's a great line.

[Josh Radnor]

Also, I'm not wearing any makeup. Holy crap.

[Craig Thomas]

You're beautiful. You're beautiful. Which is a great early seed being planted.

[Josh Radnor]

Totally.

[Craig Thomas]

Later what's gonna happen. Yeah, we have some of those along the way. I don't know how intentional they were. If we just started realizing we're writing that we're picking up on something that we should write towards eventually.

[Josh Radnor]

Totally. There were a lot of speaking of old text. For some reason, the flip phone was very present in this episode.

[Craig Thomas]

It was a lot of very accentuated flipping of phones and flipping closed phones. Old tech.

[Josh Radnor]

And this old man, he must admit he fell in love with you. New York City.

[Craig Thomas]

And now commercials.

[Josh Radnor]

Ryan Reynolds here from Itmobile.

[Craig Thomas]

I don't know if you knew this,

[Josh Radnor]

but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying.

[Craig Thomas]

It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today.

[Josh Radnor]

I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail]

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Craig Thomas]

See full [e-mail] your little one grew 3 inches overnight.

[Josh Radnor]

Also expensive. Sell their pint sized pieces on depop and list them in minutes with no selling fees because somewhere a dad refuses to pay full price for the clothes his kids will outgrow tomorrow.

[Alec Lev]

And he's ready to buy your son's

[Josh Radnor]

entire Wardrobe right now. Consider your future growth Bird budget secured. Start selling on depop, where taste recognizes taste. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details.

[Craig Thomas]

End of commercials back to show.

[Alec Lev]

One thing that maybe doesn't age too well is Barney needs to get the incredibly drunk girl home to his house very quickly.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, that doesn't age great. That's definitely very creepy. And that's why it's important, as Josh said, that Barney gets smacked down and things fail. Barney's schemes need to fail in order to puncture the balloon of it being, like, if it gets past a certain creepy point, he has to be the coyote. The coyote is not that threatening in the end because he's never really catching the roadrunner. He needs to fail. And I think that that's. And deep down, again, Barney's just this lonely, kind of broken guy. He talks a big game, but he's not really doing a lot of that stuff.

[Josh Radnor]

So this is actually. There's many layers of stories being told. So Ted, older Ted, is telling this story to his younger kids. Barney is telling a story within this story. Three separate stories of taking girls home. But, like, again, how much of this is true? Like, Barney is such a mythologizer of his life. He is a. He's a fabulist. Is that the word? Like, someone who just.

[Craig Thomas]

That is the word. That. Good word. Good word alone.

[Josh Radnor]

He just inflates his own adventures, you know?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. I think, like, I think at one point we imply that 83% of it didn't happen. Right. I mean, I think we explicitly say that at some point. I think he's just making stuff up to create this bravado to cover up frailty and, you know, insecurity and loneliness and. Yeah. And ultimately, that's what it's about. He doesn't want Ted to move in with Robin because he doesn't want to lose Ted. Essentially, like, everyone's drive in this episode beyond Ted and Robin is we don't want to lose Ted. That's everybody else's shared drive in the episode. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

For how much shit Ted gets, the people sure depend on him as, like, the glue of this, like, family constellation.

[Craig Thomas]

Load bearing support, architecturally speaking. Pun very much intended. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

He's the Jenga penny that is, like,

[Craig Thomas]

holding it all together for their whole lives. Absolutely. Yeah. I loved Neil doing Letterman at the end.

[Josh Radnor]

Oh, my God. I was gonna ask about that. It was so good. And also the, like, the Letterman laugh, I mean.

[Craig Thomas]

And I was trying desperately to remember if we wrote that in or if Neil just did it, certainly if we wrote it in, he did it so perfectly that it was better than we could have imagined. But yeah, for you young kids watching the podcast. Do kids watch the podcast? No, the Letterman. Dave letterman retired in 2015, but is a legend and is one of those impressions that kind of everyone knew for a while. I hope that people.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, the top 10 list was like a cultural institution because it'd been going for decades.

[Craig Thomas]

Going for decades. Yeah. A list every night of 10 jokes under a topic. In case people don't know that. If you're a youngin. And Rebecca turned to me, we were watching my wife, and she's like, why did. Why is the end of this episode a top 10 list? And I was like, a, because Carter Knight used to write for Letterman. And we just thought Neil would be great as Letterman. But B, I think we just. We got on a run in the writers room of pitching, like, probably for some other scene earlier in the episode. Oh, Barney will come up with three funny names for what he would call the van. You know, the moving van. And I think we came up with so many that we liked that we said, shouldn't this just be a top 10 list? And then we thought the tag of this episode will just be we will just present it. And again, for you kids who don't know this, Letterman would always do a thing where when you finish the top 10 list, he would throw the blue card that had the 10 jokes on it, and it would go back into the city skyline set behind him in the talk show set. And the sound effects guy would hit a button that would make it sound like the glass was breaking as shattered glass, like through the window. And so the joke of it really does break. Barney throws in and it knocks over a tray of glasses. So it's like everything in that scene is basically just. Just the. The Late show with David Letterman.

[Alec Lev]

He even does. He does a great wave. He does the little wave.

[Craig Thomas]

Is Dave Letterman wave. Yeah. Like at the end of. At the end of the show. Yeah. At the end of every Late show episode, Dave would do this weird little wave. It was picture perfect. Pitch perfect Letterman.

[Josh Radnor]

I also like it just as a tag where this is not advancing plot. This is five friends drinking beer. One of them's really making everyone else laugh.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

And everyone's just enjoying it. It was.

[Craig Thomas]

It was exactly that moment that you talk about that you. You guys licensed your group to really laugh if people were being funny. And I thought Jason had a really good, very natural laugh to one of the jokes in there. I'm forgetting which one. But just. He found it funny. He found it really. Maybe the he, the Dave laugh. Like, something really got Jason. And he just did a Jason Seagull laugh. That was just so natural.

[Josh Radnor]

You didn't believe my laugh.

[Craig Thomas]

Your laugh was great, too.

[Josh Radnor]

Okay, just going back a tiny bit. During Barney's ransom call when he wants him to look at the suit, and he said that suit. And he's like, I'm not at the door yet. He's like, okay, let me know when you get there. That thing was really funny.

[Craig Thomas]

That was very funny.

[Josh Radnor]

Robin's bubble bath with the cigarette. So funny.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, great. Yeah. She's talking of cigarettes. Could be. Or less. Terra. Yeah, I love.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, that actually is. We hadn't done the cigarette episode yet, which revealed Ted wouldn't be that put out by cigarettes.

[Alec Lev]

Cigarettes.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. Right. There might be a little series inconsistency. Yeah, yeah. Because everybody had their moment of cigarettes.

[Josh Radnor]

I love Marshall's line. Everything that was useful in this apartment was Ted's. Everything that was a fog hat poster we bought in college was mine.

[Craig Thomas]

We are ironically bought, I think. Yeah. That's a great. This episode had a lot of really good jokes in it. I, I, I'll confess, I. We got up to this one now in the year 2026, and I thought, I don't remember if that one was. That was a kind of funny one of filler. But it's actually a really strong episode. There's actually, like, a lot of, like, real, like, everyone, every character is very much in character in this episode in a way that kind of resets them.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. Well, I think we're deep enough in the series that the quirks and the little. What would so and so say in this moment? Those have been finely etched at this point. You're not still finding the character. You're deepening what you know about them. Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

And all the jokes come from character and what they want and what they're afraid of and what they. Yeah, like, it's better than I remember it.

[Josh Radnor]

Even Ted saying, because you're Admiral Jerk of the Royal Douchery.

[Craig Thomas]

The Royal Douchery is a hell of

[Josh Radnor]

a turn of phrase, a Ted joke. But what made me and Jordana laugh the hardest was Marshall's Amazonian tree speech was so funny. And it's so Marshall. Right. Like, he's the one. I mean, Ted has obscure facts, but Marshall has, like, strange late night National Geographic facts because he wants to save the world.

[Craig Thomas]

He wants to be an environmental lawyer. That's what I mean. Everybody is in their fucking pocket in this episode. Everybody's coming from character in this one. I really like that. It's like a good spec script for the show.

[Josh Radnor]

There was something so smart about. Ted comes in and he almost feels like, oh, I'm really. This is, like, humiliating. I'm gonna have to convince them to let me back. And the embrace that they pull him

[Craig Thomas]

into, oh, my God. And it gets so, like, creepy and, like they're just rocking back and forth.

[Josh Radnor]

I like those moments where I just got to do face. That was just face acting.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, pure face acting.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes, pure face acting. It was really. I'm kind of pushing in on you and you're just in between them and, dude, you're the tree. It's literally enact. Physically enacting the Amazonian tree.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, but I didn't know it. I just was roped into their creepy metaphor, the literalization of their metaphor.

[Craig Thomas]

He's just being. He's just wondering if a three way is about to happen.

[Josh Radnor]

Welcome back to How We Made youe Mother. We're talking about episode called Moving Day from season two. And we are in an era. No, we are in a segment that we like to call General Questions.

[Craig Thomas]

General questions. How long is this? Is this general questions going to be that long to be an era, an epoch? This is.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, this is what that segment is. So what do you have for us, Alec?

[Alec Lev]

So, you know, I usually do leave out all of the logic breaks that happen throughout the many questions, obviously, from our fans who are. Who are watching, who know this show. As you were saying, Josh, who would

[Josh Radnor]

win the trivia nights over us?

[Alec Lev]

Who would win the trivia Nights? Exactly. This is an internal logic, one that I just enjoyed adulting. Mommy Asks asks, why did Marshall and Lily put their clothes back on before making out on the couch?

[Craig Thomas]

Because they were cold and itchy and it was awkward. It was. I think. No, I call bullshit, Craig. It was established.

[Josh Radnor]

If you explain that it's the end of show business.

[Craig Thomas]

It's the end of show business. Got to read my book to catch that reference. But please. Yeah, please do. Available now.

[Alec Lev]

Okay, here's a bigger one. And Shay Gibbons. This is all from Instagram. A lot of people talked about the fact that Barney, for all of the wildness and craziness, Barney just keeps being right. Right. About Ted and Robin not being ready to be together.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alec Lev]

Right. Earlier about stuff that we don't realize he's. He's actually doing. Shay Gibbons says not a question, but an observation I love to hear you all discuss. It seems like when Barney is the most unhinged and over the top is in moments when he's actually the most caring towards the gang and proves that he knows each of them a little better than they know themselves before it was even an issue. He knew from the beginning that Ted was not going to end up wanting to move in with Robin and caught himself saying it was Robin's place. And then the very next episode, which we'll get to soon, it's revealed that he cared about Marshall and Lily and their relationship by flying to San Francisco to get them back together.

[Craig Thomas]

Spoilers. Jesus.

[Alec Lev]

But unlike his constant need to be the best and brag about his accomplishments, he hardly boasts about these moments or even admits to them.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I, I, I'm glad that it's a great observation. And I was thinking of the very next episode as well, Bachelor Party, where it's even more pronounced. But I, in this episode, Moving Day, I really loved that little bar scene with Barney and Ted in a bunch of ways. One way was I loved how it was shot. It was shot kind of from behind the bar and then kind of the over from Barney towards Ted. We bothered to put in the fourth wall. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

It was like an angle of the bar that you don't see a lot, you never see.

[Craig Thomas]

And I really liked seeing it. And it sort of like, added a dimension to their conversation. And it was because we wanted to see that it was registering on Ted's face that Barney was right. Exactly what this person just said in this comment. Like, Barney was right. Barney caught something astute. Ted didn't refer to the apartment as theirs. It's Robin's apartment still. And Barney, yeah, he has an emotional intuition about the people he loves that is actually fairly accurate a lot of the time.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, one could argue that his initial reasons are born of his wound and his panic and fear of abandonment. But he is sensing, like, I don't think he would be able to articulate why Ted and Robin ultimately agreed not to move in together. I don't think he would articulate it well, but he did have a sense that it was too soon or not. Right?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

And maybe some of this is, like, the dawning feelings about Robin or whatever, but I also think Barney is in, like, a grand tradition of kind of like, the fool or the trickster. Like the characters, mythic characters who are initially looked at as just, like, comic relief or silliness, but actually carry a lot of the wisdom of the story. And they know the protagonist Better than the. You know, it's like the fool, you know, telling lir things about himself and about life that he wasn't able to articulate. So I think there's, like. I think that's part of Barney's job on the show, is to be the fool or the trickster.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I think it gives so much dimension to him that he's. There are moments where. And he's also the guy who will say the thing that no one else will say.

[Josh Radnor]

Right. Well, he's the ID of. He's the ID of the group, too.

[Craig Thomas]

He's unvarnished. He's absolutely. He's not trying to put any pleasant spin on it. He will just tell you the truth as he sees it. And if he's right, he's the only one that's gonna be that honest to you.

[Josh Radnor]

Right. It's almost like I watch Caleb Herron's HBO standup special called Model Comedian. It's really funny.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Oh, co.

[Josh Radnor]

He talks about his dad who passed away was like, a rabid conspiracy theorist. And he would say, like, I'm not getting one of those phones. That's how the government tracks you. And then he was like, oh, we thought he was crazy for saying that. And he was like, conspiracy theorists are like a broken clock. Like, they are right twice a day. You know, sometimes. Sometimes they'll hit. And I feel like Barney, for, like, he. I mean, he has endless theories, and some of them are right, you know, Some of them are right. But he's playing the volume game.

[Craig Thomas]

It's a volume business. Let's quote Rob Greenberg when his jokes would bomb. Yeah, it's a volume business. Rob would really bomb on a joke, and he'd go, it's a volume business. What do you want from me? And he's right. And he was right. It is a fucking volume business. That's. You need to be able to bomb in a comedy writers room. But Barney was a volume business for sure.

[Alec Lev]

All right, we have a great letter here, and I'm gonna ask. We're gonna ask Craig to read this one for what will be obvious reasons. And Craig has not pre.

[Craig Thomas]

Read this. I have not.

[Alec Lev]

I think he'll just. He'll enjoy it cold. And.

[Craig Thomas]

And.

[Alec Lev]

And here we go. And. And please, please take note of the. The. The name of the. The. The writer as well.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes, Luke, this is perfect synergy. The name of Ted's son. Here we go. Spoilers. Okay, okay. I have not read this yet. I just wanted to let you know how much How I Met yout Mother means to me. I'm a 40 year old from Sydney, Australia, and Him has genuinely had a huge impact on my life. It was the first story I ever watched that gave me hope, hope in the universe and faith that patience really does pay off. As a single 40 year old, I sometimes catch myself thinking, is this as good as it gets? But him has always reminded me that my person is still out there and that I just need to keep showing up up and keep believing. On another level, I have Himyum to thank for the close relationship I now have with my younger siblings. There's 10 and 12 years between us and honestly, when they were kids, I was a bit of a jerk. But discovering our shared love for Himyum brought us together in a way I never expected, and I'll always be grateful for that. I've also just finished reading while listening to that's Not How It Happened. That's the name of my novel. And listening to it means that Josh Ratner was reading the audiobook and Cobie Smulders back to the letter. While I don't have any relatives with special needs, I connected deeply with the character of Darcy. As one of six kids and a middle child, I often felt lost in the sea of everyone else. With three older siblings needing attention and two younger ones needing attention, I often went unnoticed and overlooked. The book captured that feeling so perfectly. Beyond that, the book is filled with so much raw emotion, honesty and real life truth. Thank you, Craig, for writing something so powerful. And thank you to Josh and Koby for bringing those words to life in a strange and wonderful way. It felt like an alternate version of Ted and Robin speaking directly to me. Himyim and the podcast mean more to me than I can really put into words. And I know this book will stay with me just as much. Much love from Australia, Luke.

[Josh Radnor]

Thanks, Luke.

[Craig Thomas]

I get choked up reading that. That's really nice, Luke. That means the world to me. On so many different levels. That means the world to me. I can't list them all, it'll take too long. But thank you. The idea that my little book, it made its way to Australia, into your ears with Josh and Kobi there. Australia, it's just. It's a. That's a dream come true for me. That's why I wrote the book. So thank you so much.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, it's easy to like get things. Everything's very fast and digital and automated. Right.

[Craig Thomas]

I know. You can just download it. It doesn't really. It doesn't. Didn't get physically shipped to Australia.

[Josh Radnor]

I realized in a bottle it made it washed up on shore.

[Craig Thomas]

It was a little digital file in a bottle.

[Josh Radnor]

Just one more plug for Craig's fantastic book. Whether you read it or listen to it, you won't be it's time very well spent. It's such a good book.

[Craig Thomas]

Thank you buddy. And you guys are. You guys killed it. You and Coby and two other amazing actors, Kevin Iannucci and as Darcy who's mentioned is Marlee Watson. And just like four for four or four different voice performances that just elevate the entire book beyond what I could have dreamt. So thank you guys.

[Josh Radnor]

I am guilty. Please acquit me. All sins are forgiven In New York

[Alec Lev]

City How We Made youe Mother is hosted, an executive produced by Josh Radner and Craig Thomas and is presented and distributed by the Office Ladies Network and Odyssey. This episode is also executive produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. The show is produced and edited by me, Alec Lev and our co producer is Doug. Our audio producer and mixer is Alex Reeves at Point of Blue Studios. Our digital content producer, AKA Gen Z Master is Emily Blumberg. Artwork by John Morrow. Please follow rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player of choice. It really does help the show. Our theme song is New York City by our own Josh Radner with additional music by Craig Thompson Thomas and Andrew Majewski. Special thanks to Lola Kennedy and Elliot Connors. Visit how we madeyourmother.com to learn more and click on the contact page to send us an email or a voice message. Your stories and questions are an important part of the show. Subscribe to Josh Radner's Muse Letters on Substack and check out his music and everything [e-mail] Order Craig Thomas Debut Novel Novel that's Not How It Happened, wherever books are sold and check out his other published [e-mail] and you can subscribe to My own Dead Fathers Society also on Substack to learn more about how you make a difference. This show's ongoing campaign to raise money for congenital pediatric heart disease research. Check out the Make a Difference tab at the top of our website. People will in fact dance

[Craig Thomas]

the real

[Josh Radnor]

question it just hit me. Am I in love with you or just New York City.