How We Made This Podcast

Summary

Summary of "How We Made Your Mother" Podcast Episode: "How We Made This Podcast"

Released on March 10, 2025

Introduction

In the inaugural episode of "How We Made Your Mother," hosts Josh Radner and Craig Thomas embark on an introspective journey to explore the enduring legacy of the beloved sitcom How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Drawing from their personal experiences and the show's profound impact on fans worldwide, Radner and Thomas aim to dissect each episode, uncovering the elements that have cemented HIMYM’s place in pop culture.

Background on HIMYM’s Impact

Josh Radner shares his first encounter with HIMYM during the initial wave of COVID-19, highlighting how the show served as a comforting solace during isolation. “Every night I watched some episodes to, let's say, overcome such difficult time” ([00:26]). Similarly, Craig Thomas recounts discovering the series as a college student in New York, emphasizing the universal appeal that makes HIMYM the perfect companion regardless of one’s mood. The hosts acknowledge the show's unique ability to resonate deeply with audiences, often becoming “medicine for the soul in hard times” ([00:22]).

Personal Reflections on Playing Ted Mosby

Radner delves into the complexities of embodying Ted Mosby, the show’s central character. He discusses the challenges of being constantly recognized and having Ted’s persona intertwined with his own identity. “My face was this, like, social... It gave me a common language with people” ([09:55]). This blending of identities has had lasting effects on Radner’s personal life, influencing his relationships and self-perception. He reflects on the emotional weight of portraying a character with such depth and vulnerability, stating, “Ted, which is the eyes and ears, he's also his own really flawed, dimensional character” ([15:06]).

The Creation and Purpose of the Podcast

Radner and Thomas reveal their motivation behind launching "How We Made Your Mother." They aim to revisit HIMYM’s episodes with fresh perspectives, both for longtime fans and new listeners. The podcast serves as a platform to explore how the show influenced their lives, transformed their friendships, and impacted cultural narratives around love, friendship, and personal growth. Craig Thomas remarks, “We're trying to figure out, what did we do there? We made this thing” ([04:48]), emphasizing the introspective nature of their endeavor.

Anecdotes and Stories

The hosts share memorable experiences from their time on HIMYM, offering behind-the-scenes insights and personal anecdotes. One poignant story involves Radner’s interactions with fans abroad, illustrating the global reach and emotional connection fostered by the show. “How I Met your mother has taught me that what's happening now will be my memories one day” ([11:43]). These narratives underscore the show’s role in shaping personal and collective memories, reinforcing its lasting significance.

Plans for Future Episodes

Looking ahead, Radner and Thomas outline their plans for the podcast’s progression. Future episodes will involve episode-by-episode analyses, guest appearances from key figures like co-creator Carter Bays, and deep dives into specific themes and storylines. They intend to balance detailed discussions for superfans with broader reflections that resonate with a wider audience. “Some episodes will be more very specifically about the episode... Others might just inspire another talk” ([43:38]).

Engaging with the Audience

A significant aspect of the podcast is its interactive nature. Radner and Thomas encourage listeners to share their own HIMYM stories and experiences, creating a communal archive of the show’s impact. They emphasize the importance of audience participation, stating, “We really want to hear from you” ([51:51]). This engagement fosters a sense of community among fans, allowing for diverse perspectives and shared reflections on the show’s themes.

Closing Thoughts

In wrapping up the first episode, Radner and Thomas express their excitement for the journey ahead. They reflect on the profound influence HIMYM has had on their lives and express gratitude for the opportunity to revisit and celebrate the show’s enduring legacy. “It feels like psychologically healthy for me to do this... Let’s do it” ([55:48]).

Notable Quotes

• Josh Radner: “Every night I watched some episodes to, let's say, overcome such difficult time” ([00:26]).
• Craig Thomas: “We're trying to figure out, what did we do there? We made this thing” ([04:48]).
• Josh Radner: “Ted, which is the eyes and ears, he's also his own really flawed, dimensional character” ([15:06]).
• Josh Radner: “How I Met your mother has taught me that what's happening now will be my memories one day” ([11:43]).
• Craig Thomas: “Some episodes will be more very specifically about the episode... Others might just inspire another talk” ([43:38]).
• Josh Radner: “We really want to hear from you” ([51:51]).
• Craig Thomas: “Let’s do it” ([55:48]).

Conclusion

"How We Made Your Mother" sets the stage for a heartfelt exploration of HIMYM’s legacy through the voices of its creators. By weaving personal narratives with analytical discussions, Josh Radner and Craig Thomas offer listeners a comprehensive and engaging retrospective on a show that continues to inspire and comfort audiences worldwide. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the series, this podcast promises insightful reflections and meaningful conversations that honor the spirit of HIMYM.

Transcript

[Josh Radner]

Hi, it's Paola from Italy. The first time I watched How Met yout Mother was during the first wave of COVID back in March 2020. My name is Josh.

[Craig Thomas]

I first watched the show as a.

[Josh Radner]

College student in New York. My name is Anna.

[Craig Thomas]

I am in Los Angeles, Planet Earth.

[Josh Radner]

How I Met yout Mother is special because whether I've had a fantastic day.

[Craig Thomas]

Or a terrible day, watching that show is always the right move for the mood.

[Josh Radner]

My friend told me to watch the show and just said, I'm Ted Mosby. I had no idea what he's talking about. And I watched it and I came back to him and I said, mm, I'm Ted Mosby. You remember, it was hard time with strict lockdowns, isolation after a very tough day. Every night I watched some episodes to, let's say, overcome such difficult time.

[Craig Thomas]

It feels right, regardless, to go spend time with those characters, those candid, stumbling, hilarious, raunchy, relentlessly themselves people. And that gives the same feeling, the same quality of what good friendship is. And being between junior and senior year of college, I was terrified of what was coming next and how to make it happen the way I wanted. Then there was this wonderful show that.

[Josh Radner]

Was all about how the randomness of life is what gets you exactly where you need to be. I'm alone. 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. Well, hello. Hello. This is Josh Radner. I am here with my friend Craig Thomas.

[Craig Thomas]

Hi, Josh.

[Josh Radner]

Hey. It's great to be here with you. Welcome to the first episode of How We Made youe Mother. Are we calling it Whim Yim?

[Craig Thomas]

I was wondering about that. Whimyim.

[Josh Radner]

I think it's whimyim.

[Craig Thomas]

Does it work?

[Josh Radner]

I think it does work. Yeah. So How I Met yout Mother, which is the show under discussion, is a show that ran on CBS from 2005 to 2014. Is that right, Craig?

[Craig Thomas]

That is correct. Nine seasons.

[Josh Radner]

Nine seasons. So almost a decade of our lives. I played the I in How I Met yout Mother. I played the character of Ted Mosby for nine seasons. And Craig, tell us what you did on the show.

[Craig Thomas]

I was Barney.

[Josh Radner]

No, that's right. I remember that.

[Craig Thomas]

I have not aged well, if you're watching on the YouTube. No, I'm the co creator of the show along with my very brilliant writing partner, Carter Bayes, who will be a guest on here to discuss in future episodes. And we were lucky enough to create the show that found our way to the likes of you, Mr. Ratner.

[Josh Radner]

Oh, thanks. Well, Craig and I have obviously been friends now for coming on two decades, which is astonishing. We both now live in New York about once a year, I would say. We have a habit of grabbing a meal or some drinks and talk inevitably turns to How I Met yout Mother, as well as other things that are happening in our lives. But I so enjoy talking about How I Met yout Mother with you and unpacking this thing we made that is. Has been the biggest gift and has carried a lot of shadow with it. And it's. It's just like all things is a very complicated thing, but also a very beautiful thing. And you're the person I love talking about this show with the most. So when this idea struck me like, you know what? It's actually time for me to turn around and revisit How I Met yout Mother, but also watch it a lot of the episodes for the first time. I only watched about half the episodes when it was on. So I will be rewatching the show along with you and our listeners, some of whom, I assume will be coming to the show for the first time. Other ones will have watched it many times and are just looking for the. The backstage notes here. But I. I figured if I'm going to do this, why don't we. Why don't we put it on the record and actually just walk through the show together? And much like the older, wiser narrator, Ted, which we are now around that age, let's look back and see who we were, who we are now, where we're going and. Yeah. What. What else would you say about what we're doing here?

[Craig Thomas]

Well, first of all, I can't believe you only watched half of the episodes. I'm deeply offended. I think I'm just going to walk off. I'm walking off the project. No, the truth is, I haven't rewatched the show door to Door since it went off. I've seen episodes, but I haven't watched it door to door. And so I think what we're doing here is excavating back into our past. It was almost a decade of our lives, and we're trying to figure out, what did we do there? We made this thing.

[Josh Radner]

It's like the Pineapple episode. You're like, what? We have to piece it together.

[Craig Thomas]

We're doing the Pineapple Incident, but for the entire series. What happened? We woke up. We woke up. We've awakened and we're almost 50. Or. Or I think you're there. And I'm almost there. And we're kind of going, wait. We are closer to the age of future Ted. We are closer to 2030 than we were to 2005 when the show launched. And it is just. It is strange. I was thinking about the sort of symmetry of it. We are something like, I think 20 years since the premiere. I think this September will be 20 years since the premiere. Oh, my God. We are just past 10 years of it, of the finale airing of it finishing airing. So there's a lot of round numbers. There's a 20 and there's a 10, and here we are. And it just seems like a good moment to kind of look back and take stock of it.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. Another thing that I. When I called you to talk about this, that I really wanted to talk about, I said, I am astonished, one at the kind of long tail of the show. You know, a lot of shows go off the air, and they go off the air, they go away, you know, and maybe they come up randomly in a. I don't know, trivia night or, you know, remember that a moment. We'll come back to you. But there's something about how I met your mother one, it keeps minting new fans. So people that were babies, children, or even in their teens when it was on have now discovered it. I also think there's a really sweet thing. I think parents are showing it to their teenage kids now. They're like, oh, yeah, this show taught me a lot about being an adult or a young adult, navigating all these things. But also, I'm. I'm astonished at a number of things. But. But one of the ones that. That strikes me about when I hear from how I met your mother fans, something I hear so consistently that it's not just anecdotal. It has to be. There has to be something there, which is that people say, I got turned onto the show or I started watching the show when I was in a really hard moment of my life. Whether it's, you know, I was going through a divorce or a sickness or my parent was. Had died. I was having a personal kind of moment of crisis. And. And. And there seems to be that this thing. I've noticed that how I met your mother is like soul medicine for people going through hard times.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And I don't know that it was conceived of that exactly. I don't think you and Carter sat down in 2004 and said, I know what we'll do. We'll do a soul panacea for people. But it seems like that's what it does for people. And I hear it so consistently that it strikes me as something worth exploring.

[Craig Thomas]

It's such an honor. People come up to us all the time and to you, Josh, and say the show got them through something really hard and that getting that. Or they say I married my wife. Because we realize we're both. How much mother fans or they met at an event or something. It's just the ways the show has been crucial in people's lives. Like the opening words from the fans. We have the greatest fans of any fans. How much mother fans shout out to the fans. Huge shout out to the fans. If you were listening to this, you are an amazing person. And we. I find such an openness, Josh, to come talk to us about stuff. Do you get this a lot? I get this a little bit because I'm a writer and people. I have to go around telling people I wear a little shirt that says I created how much mother and just I'm that needy.

[Josh Radner]

But I have it tattooed on my face.

[Craig Thomas]

You have Ted Mosby tattooed on your face. And I've been dying for years to ask you this sort of two part question. What was it like being Ted when the show was on and blowing up and not being able to escape Ted's face? Your face is Ted's face, although you are not Ted. And then what has that felt like? Kind of in the long 10 years since it went off the air. What has that felt like? The reason I thought of that is that you just said people come up to you and they share these things with you. That seems like a real gift. I'm sure there's also enormous weird downsides to it too. It's such an interesting.

[Josh Radner]

Let's do an entire episode on being Ted Mosby. I think. I think there's a lot to unpack that I wouldn't be able to unpack here. But I'll do a little bit. I will say this. I remember I was writing liberal arts for the second film I wrote and directed. And it was 2009 or I think it was 2010, and I went to Spain for a month, kicked around Spain, went to about five or six cities, wrote during the day and kind of just got into trouble at night on some level. I mean, it was just really fun. And my friend Harula introduced me to all her friends who were living in Spain. So I had like these line friend dates everywhere I went. But I would leave my hotel or wherever I was staying and I would people I was just getting recognized in Spain. And people would want a picture. They want to say hi. But then they'd so say, do you want to come to a flamenco show in a couple hours? And I'd say, yes. And it was like my face was this, like, social. I don't know. Like, the fact that they were familiar with me gave them permission. It. Like, it was just this weird social lubricant that I was. I was accepted everywhere I went. It.

[C]

It.

[Josh Radner]

One of the things I really loved about it made the world feel much smaller.

[Craig Thomas]

Right.

[Josh Radner]

You know, I've always wanted to. Not. I don't want to talk to every person I meet, but I do like the feeling that the world is not so big and filled with anonymous, scary people. Because I find people are. Most people are quite lovely once you get to know them. Once you get over that, kind of like, you're strange in different. I don't know who you are or where you're from.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

So it gave me, like, a common language with people. I think I've told you this, but this. In Spain, I went to this little town called Deya, and I got really sick. I got food poisoning for the first 24 hours. And I. I crawled out of the place I was staying, and I had a hooded sweatshirt on that I think was, like, tied. And I was just trying to get, like, some ginger Alex or something and some crackers because I was so. I was such a mess. And there were. There were, like, 10 or 12, like, young college students. They were hotel management interns from, like, all over the world. And they recognized me, like, through my hoodie with a sickness. And they were like, is that Ted.

[Craig Thomas]

Mosby vomiting in a bush?

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, exactly. And they invited me the next night to either come to lunch or dinner. I forget. But I ended up hanging out with these hotel management interns for, like, three or four days. And they were incredible. But this one guy owned the bar in. We were in Mallorca, and he owned the bar.

[Craig Thomas]

To be clear, not the bar. Not the bar that gave you food poisoning.

[Josh Radner]

No, no, no, it wasn't. I got food poisoning in another town. He was 23 years old. His dad had just died, and so he inherited this bar. He had never been off the island of Mallorca. One night, he hands me a drink, and he says, no can double, baby doll. And he knew every single line of how I met your mother.

[Craig Thomas]

That's so amazing.

[Josh Radner]

And the thing he told me that I thought was so spectacular was he said, how I met your mother has taught me that. What's Happening now will be my memories one day.

[Craig Thomas]

Right.

[Josh Radner]

So make sure that the present moment is great, that you're making good memories for yourself in the present moment, you know, so beautiful. And then these hotel management interns, for some reason, like, you know, they would. They would have a few drinks in them, but they would tell me, like, their deepest, darkest secrets, like some shocking stuff.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And I think there was something about they knew me. They felt comfortable.

[Craig Thomas]

They felt comfortable with. Yeah, that's it.

[Josh Radner]

This is not an invitation, by the way, if you're hearing this, to come up to me and tell me about your child.

[Craig Thomas]

Tell you really weird.

[Josh Radner]

So let's be judicious. Let's have boundaries. But there is something about. This is the kind of stuff I really love, is it gave me, like, access to people in a way that made the world feel friendly.

[Craig Thomas]

That's a beautiful story. That is a key. You have, like, the skeleton key to let you into doors that would not have been open.

[Josh Radner]

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

[C]

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[Craig Thomas]

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[C]

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[Craig Thomas]

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[C]

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[Josh Radner]

Greg as the great American filmmaker David lynch once hauntingly said, I am searching for a good pair of pants. I never found a pair of pants that I just love. I like comfortable pants and clothes I can work in that I feel comfortable in. I don't really like to get dressed up. I like to wear the same thing every day and feel comfortable. It's a fit. It's a certain kind of feeling. And if they're not right, which they never are, it's a sadness, you know, it interrupts the flow of happiness. I'm working on it, believe me.

[Craig Thomas]

That's amazing. Is that an actual quote?

[Josh Radner]

An actual 100% verifiable quote from David Lynch? If only David lynch knew about Quince. Am I right, Craig?

[Craig Thomas]

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[Josh Radner]

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[Craig Thomas]

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[Josh Radner]

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[Craig Thomas]

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[Josh Radner]

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[Craig Thomas]

Quince.comyourmother I also got my mother a sweater.

[Josh Radner]

And now back to the show. Ted is a complicated character. He's a complicated character to have played because he's the eyes and ears, he's the center of the show. He's the person that kind of welcomes the audience in, but he was also his own really flawed, dimensional character. And I have found the people who relate to Ted are unbelievably fascinating to me. Just as many women come up to me and say, I'm like Ted as men.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, I love that.

[Josh Radner]

Which is really incredible. Yeah. But just like people who are worried, they feel a little too much, you know, Ted was probably a hsp. Is that a highly sensitive person?

[Craig Thomas]

I think that's fair to say.

[Josh Radner]

You know, and he just had a big heart and it sometimes got in the way of social, you know, what was expected of him. But I just, you know, it's an honor to have played someone that kind of raw. Right. Whose nerve endings were so exposed. And it helped me, you know, it helped me become more vulnerable and, you know, disclose parts of myself that maybe I was embarrassed about that I, that you guys were demanding that they be front and center and to also, like, be even at that time, you know, 2005, like, to be a Publicly vulnerable male. Yeah, it still carries risks.

[Craig Thomas]

How about now? How about now too? I mean, it's.

[Josh Radner]

It carries risks, but it was like a big brave thing you guys asked of me. And I'm grateful and I'm glad that it resonates with people and continues to.

[Craig Thomas]

And it's funny what you said about being vulnerable because it was vulnerable to write too. Carter and I are these super emo. We are highly sensitive people. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. We, you know, we have big dreams. Like Ted, the creation of the show when we were 30 years old. That was a far fetched, impossible dream to create this show. That was us, Ted, Mose, being all over the place, coming up with some big far fetched plan that should never have worked.

[Josh Radner]

Rain.

[Craig Thomas]

But somehow it did. Demanding that it rain. And somehow it worked out. Not in all the ways we thought it would, which is the same story for Ted. It never goes exactly how you plan, but it becomes beautiful in some different way than you ever could have imagined. That was the show. What's funny is Carter and I are very much like that. Marshall's a really sweet, emotional, open hearted, warm softy of a guy. He's basically had one girlfriend who became his wife. And we would get these notes early on sometimes from well meaning executives, early before the show was launched, right before we even cast it. But also maybe early in the run where we'd get these notes. The characters were so based on us at first, right. And then it became like creating it with you guys. But at first it really was us. And we would get these notes from executives. That would be the effect of like, these guys are just such fucking wimps. That's how it felt. It was just like we get notes to the effect of like no man.

[Josh Radner]

Would ever, no man who would call.

[Craig Thomas]

Himself a man, self respecting man, man, would ever behave in this way. We're like, well, that's based on something that I did. And it was really, really weird. And I think it was my little glimpse at probably how it felt to you in literally your body embodying the character. And you had to sort of carry that. The MTV show Jackass. You were doing that with your heart on CBS every Monday night. You were just like, what happens if we push Ted's heart off a cliff in a shopping cart? Let's see what happens. And it's just like there was kind of a stunt, an emotional stuntman quality to that. And you were kind of doing your own stunts.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. Especially when there's so much confusion between, you know, you know, you play a character, and especially if it's the first introduction to you. You know, I didn't have a lot of public things, but I mean, I had pilots in series that didn't go anywhere. And so this was where people kind of met me. So they thought, well, this is who this is. You know, I do remember at the beginning of, I think, second or third season, but I don't remember which one. But no, no, it was the beginning of third season and you guys wanted to really send Ted and Barney out on a lot of adventures and you started writing Ted as a little more Barney ish in terms of, like, he was open to like, one night stands and all this stuff. And I remember Pam told me that you guys got a note that said, you know, there's a lot of Barneys on tv, but there's only one Ted. Let's keep him. Let's preserve his Ted ness or his Mosby ness.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, totally. And we had a lot of really smart, strong female voices from the studio and the network who really got the emotion behind the show and were kind of guardians of that. And that doesn't always happen. And that was really nice. And it's not like that fit in with every other show on the network at the time. And that was preserved. And it was what was beautiful about the show. And thank God. Yeah, I wanted to do a quick little pause and just say, our producer, Alec Love, our wonderful and heroic producer, without whom we wouldn't be doing this show. Will chime in from time to time with a question or guidance.

[C]

Thank you guys for bringing me into this and I'm excited to be on the journey with you. And yeah, you might hear some questions from me. My first one here, if I could just throw one in, Josh, is why now?

[Josh Radner]

Why now?

[C]

You've had 10 years. Podcasts have been around, you've been thinking about this show, and then all of a sudden, Craig got the call and then I got the call. You'd like to think about this now.

[Craig Thomas]

And I'm wondering what this answer will, will include your, your lovely new wife. Because I'm eager to talk about that spark of it all too.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, well, I did get married a year ago, almost exactly a year ago.

[Craig Thomas]

Congrats.

[Josh Radner]

And you know, I, I got married at 49. I mean, I, I, I, it took me a while to both meet my wife and, and to, to almost be ready to get married. And I had, without going too much into it, I had challenges in relationships. They were never, I found them easy to get into. I I found them hard to sustain, let's just say that. And a lot of that's between me and my therapist. But the. The journey of kind of becoming the man who could stand in front of my wife and make that kind of commitment was quite a journey. And I felt. And it was different. Like I said, my challenges in relationships were different. I used to joke with people. They say Ted has to be careful not to get married on the first date, but I had to be careful not to get divorced on the first date. I was always looking for the person problem kind of thing. Not like falling in love so quickly, but. But I. I think there's something about turning 50, having gotten married and just done some work around some of the shadowy aspects of playing Ted, being thought of as a person that you're not. You know, some of that was really hard for me. It was really hard to navigate just. Just in the realm of, like, identity. Like, yeah, who. Who am I? Who do I self conceive of? Who do I think I am versus, like, all these people are telling me, you know, that's not your name. Your name is not Josh. You have. You have to be rolling around New York City with Ted and Varney, and you are Marshall and Barney, and you are. You know, and it felt like this almost theft of my sense of self. Like, it was really a challenge. But as the years have gone by, the. The people who say, I had a guy from Turkey yesterday or two days ago, stop me. Came running out of coffee shop to stop me, and he said, thank you so much for teaching us to believe in love, to believe in ourselves.

[Craig Thomas]

That's an amazing thing to hear on a Tuesday morning. Eleven in the morning. Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And Jordana, my wife, is really good at making me kind of pinch myself in those moments when she's with me to say, like, do you see that you were a part of something that really moved people? So. So the people who. It's outweighed by, you know, any of that shadowy stuff is outweighed by the people who just say, like, you know, like Rob Delaney in his book saying, my wife and I needed to laugh, and we watched how I met your mother when our son was sick in the hospital. Like, yeah, things like that. It's made me almost in like a. Like a Jungian way, like to say, all right, there's part of Ted that is. I. I wrote pretty extensively about this in my newsletter, but maybe a year or two ago, but about. Ted's a part of me. He's literally a part I played. But he's not all of me.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And I think for a long time I was, like, trying to be like, that's not me. That's not me. Like, I was in rejection of him, and I would not take roles that evoked him. And I was really fighting him. Him. And I think there's something about the time in my life right now, and maybe it's just literally the mercy of time that has allowed me to say, all right, you know, let's turn around and look at this guy. Let's look at this character you played. Let's look at who you were when you played this character. And look, I was a different person in 2005 than I was in 2014. And so were you.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, big time.

[Josh Radner]

You know, a lot changed, and I'm a lot different now than I was in 2014.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

So I think it was just something allowed me the space and the grace and the patience with myself to go, let's stop running away. Let's. Actually, this is a part. It's gonna be in my obituary. A lot of people recognize me from it and still want to talk about it. So I was just. I wanted to drop whatever war I had with it and just say, like, all right, How I met your mother. All right, Ted, let. Let's take a. Let's. Let's bring it in. You know, bring it in. Let's see what we. Let's see what's there.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, it's. And I hope that will make this little exploration, this experiment we're doing of this podcast sort of universal to people, even if it's not like, himeam super fans. And like, I love that the him superfans will listen. But it's also kind of a podcast about figuring out who you were in another chapter and how does it fit in with who you are now.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, I mean, all the grand.

[Craig Thomas]

Which is kind of a life question.

[Josh Radner]

All the grand themes of How I Met yout Mother are at play right now in this podcast. And they will be as long as we do it. You know, I do hope that there's people who've never watched the show who tune into this podcast and watch it.

[Craig Thomas]

Okay, well, that brings me to my. That brings me to a question.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

So Josh and I just played this wonderful chair. And another thing that's emerged since How Much yout Mother? Is that Josh Radner has become an amazing musician, singer, songwriter. And I have had the privilege a few times now of playing music with him at these fan based fundraisers. We do for a really important Cause that I will talk about at some other point. And we just did it. We just did it at Powerballroom and it sold out a month early because how much are Mother Fans are the best, as I said. And two different people there afterwards, two different fans told me they had just watched the series 13 times over.

[Josh Radner]

They watched it 13 times over 208 episodes.

[Craig Thomas]

13 times. 208 and failing. I'm an English major, but it's a lot. And thank you for watching it that much. I haven't seen it that many times. I haven't done a rewatch in a long time. Here's my question. Tell the fans. Tell the people listening. How many times over. Has your wife, Jordana, seen How I met your mother?

[Josh Radner]

Wow. So, yeah, Jordana, my wife, has seen How I met your mother zero times. She's never seen the show, which was probably a help in our courtship.

[Craig Thomas]

I find this. I just want to say I find this so fascinating. So what's happening here? I just want to lay it out for people. Part of the reason we're doing this podcast is that you were talking to Jordana about this and saying, there's this crazy chapter of my life you don't know anything about. You were thrilled, I think, that she didn't know anything about it because she just met you. Everything you just said about carrying Ted and wearing Ted on your face, she fell in love with you. She did not know what the hell how much a mother was. She still does. Not right. You haven't started the reboot.

[Josh Radner]

And it's also crazy because she is a TV fan. She watches a lot of shows. This one just changes.

[Craig Thomas]

One of the experiments of this too is Josh will now sit down and eerily like How I Met yout Mother in the episode where Ted is dating Stella shows her Star Wars. Stella has not seen Star wars and Ted is terrified. What if she watches Star Wars? One of my. Go to one of my core movies and doesn't like it. Do I have to break up with her? Forget that. Felt like high stakes in the moment when we were writing that as Star wars nerds. But can you imagine? You're gonna sit and watch How I Met yout Mother a decade of your life, you're gonna sit and watch that with your wife. Is there pressure? Will that be a fun watch? Or will you be sort of side eyeing her going like, is she liking this?

[Josh Radner]

I mean, I will. I'm so fascinated by probably watch her watch it quite a bit. I will say our relationship could withstand her not liking it, but I don't. I suspect she's not going to not like it does. Is that right? Is that what I mean to say?

[Craig Thomas]

Yes.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. She's a psychologist. She's. She's incredibly, obviously, psychologically attuned, so she will understand the deeper aspects of the show for sure. But we are going to have a section. We haven't worked out exactly how to do it, but we have a section called Questions and Observations From a Clinical Psychologist Relationship Expert who's Never seen How I Met yout Mother, who also Happens to Be Married to Josh.

[Craig Thomas]

Is that title too catchy? Because that's just.

[Josh Radner]

Well, we should get an acronym for it. Let's just get an acronym for it and we'll be able to.

[Craig Thomas]

It's almost as good as Whim.

[Josh Radner]

Yum, yum.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I love that. I mean, my. Like, my wife Rebecca, who. And I guess I should have said this sooner. The two of us are kind of like Marshall and Lily. Right? We met at Wesleyan University. We've been together that whole time. And we were like the old married couple in our late 20s. And that was part of the impetus of How I Met yout Mother and the characters, the creation of those characters. She is so annoyed because she only ever watched every episode once. And she said, here's how I watched every episode. It would be Monday night. It would be airing. You'd be sitting next to me, staring at me, seeing if I laughed at the right spots. You would say, did we sound mix that wrong? You didn't hear. I think you didn't hear that line. Cause you didn't laugh. And she'd be like, I didn't laugh because it wasn't that great. It's not all gold. It's not all gold, dude. And I'd ask her, like, is the music too hot there compared to the dialogue? And she'd be like, I don't care. I just want to watch it. Stop it. So that was her. Great. She watched for nine years like that and has basically never seen episodes besides that. And she has been asking for years, like, can we dive back in? Can we do the rewatch? And I don't know. For whatever reason, I just didn't. I didn't do it. I don't know why. Maybe I was waiting for a round number. I was waiting for these tens and twentys.

[Josh Radner]

I know this from watching, you know, films I made. Like, you stop thinking about the mix ten years later.

[Craig Thomas]

Right?

[Josh Radner]

You know, you'll just.

[Craig Thomas]

The bad joke. You're like, that joke. That joke could have been funnier. And then you see it later and you're like, that was a good joke. What the fuck was I talking about?

[Josh Radner]

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

[Craig Thomas]

And now commercials.

[Josh Radner]

This show is sponsored by Better Help. Craig.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes, Josh.

[Josh Radner]

Real talk here.

[Craig Thomas]

I'm here for it.

[Josh Radner]

You a therapy guy? You in therapy?

[Craig Thomas]

I am very much so. In therapy. I have been in therapy for years and years. If I could go back in time, I would just start it sooner than I did.

[Josh Radner]

Like at 3, 4 years old, I.

[Craig Thomas]

Would start it in utero. I would literally be talking to somebody.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, yeah, I love therap. I. My life has been up, up, up leveled by therapy. I'm married to a therapist, as we've discussed. So we're a pro. This is a pro therapy podcast, right?

[Craig Thomas]

Very pro therapy. I. Yeah, like I said I would, if I go back in time, I would start it as a teenager for sure. That would be my target area. And if I could, how, how I met your mother, flashback in time, I would go there and start, start therapy. And the question, the question of this little ad is who's your support system and how have they changed your life? Was there a particular time in your life when asking for support from a therapist or from your community was helpful to you?

[Josh Radner]

No. Think about your favorite leaders, mentors, idols like me and Craig. They don't have. We don't have all the answers.

[Craig Thomas]

We don't me more than you, but.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, but we do know when to ask questions or seek support from our community, which is all the time. In a society that glorifies hyper independence, it's easy to forget that we're all better when we have a support system behind us.

[Craig Thomas]

I do it every week. It is. It's such a necessary support. I do it on Mondays. It starts off my week. Right. Therapy can be a source of support for any area of your life. It's time to shift the focus from doing it all to knowing that we're better when we ask for help.

[Josh Radner]

I thought you were going to give us the appointment name and place and doctor's name so we could all come with you.

[Craig Thomas]

I actually just wander around just talking to people on the street. I don't technically have a therapist, but I just make people, whoever.

[Josh Radner]

Whoever will listen.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, a lot of people are really helpful, though.

[Josh Radner]

Better help is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide. That's fantastic.

[Craig Thomas]

Access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties. Easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost.

[Josh Radner]

Build your support system with better help. Visit betterhelp.com your mother to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp. H-E-L-P.com yourmother so you don't have to blame your mother. Let's talk about something we all need. Online privacy and security. Whether you're working remotely, traveling, or just browsing from your favorite cafe, your data should stay yours. And that's where Surfshark comes in.

[Craig Thomas]

Surfshark is a VPN that keeps your Internet activity private and secure, protecting you from hackers, trackers and prying eyes. Plus, it lets you access content from anywhere in the world by changing your virtual location. Want to stream shows that aren't available in your country? No problem. Need to bypass restrictions when you travel. Done.

[Josh Radner]

Craig, I have a question. What's a vpn?

[Craig Thomas]

I haven't understood any of these words. Okay, so far.

[Josh Radner]

What's the Internet?

[Craig Thomas]

I'm also, I'm like when a dog learns how to say I love you and it doesn't really mean it.

[Josh Radner]

We've read two paragraphs where I think.

[Craig Thomas]

The second half, we're going to get.

[Josh Radner]

What it is because we're ancient. We don't. We're too old. We don't.

[Craig Thomas]

But that's why we need this, Josh.

[Josh Radner]

That's why we need this Service. Surfshark has 24. 7 customer support for old tech phobic late adopters like us. Oh, and also this. This is great. One account covers unlimited devices so we can protect our phones, our laptops, our tablets.

[Craig Thomas]

I know what those are. I know two of those three.

[Josh Radner]

Whatever you use to stake connected. I think because we don't understand this means we need this.

[Craig Thomas]

I think we very much need this. I might call 247 customer support just to chat, just because I get lonely at night.

[Josh Radner]

But, but, but, but we don't understand exactly what this does, which I think makes us a ripe target for hackers.

[Craig Thomas]

They're weird. We're walking targets, so why wait? Take control of your online experience today. Head to surfshark.com your mother to sign up and get four extra months of Surfshark. Give it a try. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so you've got nothing to lose.

[Josh Radner]

Great job, Craig. I'm going to go out and yell at some kids on my lawn.

[Craig Thomas]

End of commercials back to show.

[Josh Radner]

But here, here's the thing that we were. We were starting to unpack in a, in a talk, but we said, ah, let's. Let's save it for the show. And we can also dip into this with Carter. But it's so fascinating to me that you guys were the age of the characters you were writing, essentially.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And yet it was framed as a flashback from an older, wiser man who was offering this kind of wisdom and perspective born of his years of being farther along and being able to look back and contextualize it. And so you were having to. From. From inside of the experience. You were having to almost beam your consciousness forward 20 or 25 years.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And reflect back on the moment you were in. Which is like a heroic amount to ask, I think, of anyone, much less, you know, young kids running their first TV show. Like, were you conscious of the weirdness of that?

[Craig Thomas]

It was. It seems weirder now, in a way. It almost didn't seem that weird at the time. And I think it's because we fancied ourselves older and wiser than our years, I think. Yeah. We were like. We were like 32, writing 52 or something.

[Josh Radner]

Right.

[Craig Thomas]

When we were.

[Josh Radner]

Right.

[Craig Thomas]

Thinking about future Ted's perspective, or he's in his mid-50s, whatever he is, is. We're now far closer to that. And I look back at it, and I do think it had something to do with wanting. Being drawn to the idea of reassurance of the future. There's a future you. Because you feel so lost when you're 30. Right. You just. You're not. You're not actually quite an adult. Right. We all felt like frauds. We were all the same age. We're all these little kids. We somehow fooled our way into having a TV show. And we. I think we were just imagining our future selves telling us what we wanted to hear now in this moment. Because we felt lost, because we felt scared, because we felt daunted. And that idea of that future Ted gave us so much confidence. It sort of lifted us up to be looking through that lens. And by pretending to be that thing, we sort of became that thing that's so great. Now we're sort of the age, almost the age of the oh, future Ted. And I still feel just about as confused as I ever did about life, but I feel a little older and a little wiser. And I think another big part of it was we were aware. Carter and I were big thinkers. We're overthinkers. And we were very aware that a chapter of our lives had ended. The 20s in New York part had ended. We were writers for David Letterman, and we made this Leap. And this will be a very heavy thing to bring up and talking about a sitcom. But 911 happened a little bit before. Like that happened right before we moved to la. And there was just this feeling in New York City sort of writ large that something had ended, some era had ended, something had changed that was not going to change back. And then we found ourselves living in Los Angeles, trying to think of a pilot idea to write. And we wrote about this nostalgia for our 20s in New York when we were like 30 and one day old. We were nostalgic for our 20s in New York immediately, but nostalgic for a time before this horrible tragedy hadn't happened. We were still writing for Letterman when 911 happened. And then we left to move to LA the spring after that, like the spring of 2002. And I just think the sort of gravitas and the instant requirement to become more of a grownup from living through 911 in New York. And the instant nostalgia and the desire to sort of have things make sense or be back in some simpler time, inhabit a different time in your brain and your memories when things didn't feel the way they felt after 9 11. And I think that weirdly, really informed the show. It made us like maybe a little older than our years and it made us a little more reflective, a little more nostalgic. And I think part of that is how we accessed writing from that future perspective. Even when we were in our 30s and we're pretending to be the old wise guy, but somehow we could sort of fake our way into being that, at least on paper. And. And sometimes people will quote lines from future Ted to me and say that got them through a really hard time. Thank you for those wise words. And I'm thinking we were like 31, wishing we had that wisdom and sort of like play acting it. But it worked somehow, right? It worked for those people.

[Josh Radner]

It feels to me like Kenneth Branagh at 31 playing Lear. And you're like, what are you doing? Right? But also it's like he's good at it, right? And you sort of.

[Craig Thomas]

And does it. Does it elevate you? It's sort of that idea of like the fake it till you make it thing. Like somehow it elevated us and made us feel like we really were that older, wiser.

[Josh Radner]

You know, speaking of. Of Jordana, who it seems like we'll be talking about a bit, she has a thing which she'll sometimes say to her patients if someone's really confused, really tied in knots about something, she'll say, what does your 85 year old self.

[Craig Thomas]

Say she's going to like him? Yeah, him. She's gonna like the show.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, but it's a great question. And she said, if you ask yourself, what is my 85 year old self? It all. The answer comes real fast and it's real certain.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Josh Radner]

And I think, you know, I mentioned this in that piece I wrote about Ted for my muse letters, but Dick Schwartz has this thing, internal family systems, ifs, which is like, really, it's called parts work. And you're locating these parts of yourself that are sometimes at odds with each other, but they're all in you. And it strikes me that you and Carter, like, like, and me too, we have an elder in us, right? We have an older. I don't know if it's ancestral or just an a wise old. Something connected more towards the bigger picture, the perennial kind of wisdom. And we can go there. We can, we can access it at 31 or 30. Whenever you guys were writing, the other thing that. I don't know if it was you or Carter, but first season, what year was older Ted narrating? 2030.

[Craig Thomas]

2030.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, 2030. So one of you guys said it's actually the most optimistic show in the world because it's saying the world will still be here in 2030. They'll still be fathers talking to their kids in 2030.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. And we would make the joke because it is inspiring to think of. And then we'd make the joke. But also we could end the series where you realize, like, Ted is telling. Future Ted is telling his kids that story like a mile underground, the surface of the earth. And, like, he's gonna get sheltered and it's just. It's just like the machines have risen up and killed us. But, yeah, like that idea. There will always be future you there to tell your story. There's a future version of you to whom this all makes more sense. And that is just so much more generous and has such gratitude for even the low moments looking back.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. I think the thing you're describing that I think opened my heart the most to the series, and I don't know how much I sense from the pilot, but I think it's all there. The DNA of the whole show is in the pilot, which we'll be unpacking. But it's a fundamentally optimistic show at its core. It is not a nihilistic, cynical show. It's a show about decentralized people and even Barney, who's like somewhat of a sociopathic criminal based on Whatever episode he's in has a core of sweetness about him. And the way Neil played it kind of with a wink, that made him. Helped him get away. You guys all get away with a lot, but it's a fundamentally optimistic show. And I liked being both for professional reasons, but more almost for personal reasons. I'm really conscious of what I'm putting into the collective. Like, I want and, you know, How I Met yout Mother made some missteps and stumbles, and we're gonna unpack all of those.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Radner]

But generally, I felt like its feet were pointed in a really good direction and its heart was in the right place. Also, how narratively inventive it was. You know, there was something like 40 to 60 scenes in an average How I Make It Mother episode.

[Craig Thomas]

The record was 83 in 21 minutes, 21 and a half minutes. Basically, you're doing 81 scenes or 60 scenes or 50 scenes. Like, it's a lot. Alec, you have a question, by the way, I will say, Alec Lev is chiming in with a little comment. Alec worked on the show multiple seasons as our new media coordinator. He did the In Production podcast, which we did for a few years on the show. And he did all the sort of Internet presence and DVD extras and all this stuff. So Alec is also a Himyum alum, which I failed to say. Alec, what do you want to say?

[C]

And you and I also shared a cat.

[Craig Thomas]

We went to college and lived together all four years. And one time I was hanging out with Alec and a bunch of people, and he said. Said he introduced me, forgetting that we went to college together. He started explaining what Wesleyan is. He said to other people that we're standing with that went to Wesleyan. He's like, we all went to college together at Wesleyan. I'm like, yeah, asshole, I lived in Paris. You don't have to tell me that. Anyway, Alec, go ahead.

[C]

Well, no, I just want to. So this podcast, I want to hear a little bit as we wrap up this first episode of what people can expect from this version of a Rewatch podcast. If you've heard other ones where people go episode by episode, we are going to do that next week. You're going to hear Carter Bayes. We've talked a lot about Carter. Carter's gonna join us to talk about the creation of How I Met yout Mother and all these questions that you guys have been asking. And then from there, we'll be going episode by episode. But can you talk a little bit about what people are gonna hear that you know of. Because of course, we don't. We don't quite know where we're going exactly. But. Josh, talk a little bit about what's coming up.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, I know this is a big fun trend that people are really liking these, these rewatch podcasts. I have to confess, I've never listened to a single one of them. I don't know. I know it's happening. I don't know what other people are doing. I just know what I like to talk about with Craig. I have. And Craig has some special insight into this particular show. I think that some episodes will be more very specifically about the episode, I imagine, you know, when we get to. Drumroll, please. Right. We'll like talk very deeply about that episode. It's a pretty iconic one. I remember. I think this is true that they could analyze the data like once it went up, maybe on Netflix and drumroll, please. Was the one that was like the hookiest episode, like it was the one that made people want to watch more or something? I don't know. That's right. But then there are other ones that maybe are a little less dense that. That might just inspire another talk. So, like, if you're tuning in with us, you're going to hear a lot of talk about how. I mean, but you're also going to hear us muse about different things, you know, different. We. I want us to be open to talk about our own lives, to talk about. It's not going to be super current affairsy because I think, like, one of the things I love about how I made Other Mother is the part of it that ages well in terms of, you know, it wasn't. There wasn't a lot of tech in how I met. I mean, it was things that. That will be perennially relevant. Right. So I think we. If you want to watch along or re. Watch along with us, there's gonna be a lot of talk about certain episodes, certain jokes where it came to funny offstage anecdotes, anecdotes inside baseball stuff that will be really fun for the superfan. But also I hope it's just a fun, you know, getting to spend some time with us, you know, in a way that feels nourishing and insightful and just like a breezy good time, you know?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. And I think there's going to be some looking back with different eyes. I think there'll be some owning of some moments that didn't age as well. Even though I hope the show is timeless, I think there's going to be some. A few like Apologies to people whose stories we stole without asking. I was terrible at that. I would just take people's life stories and be like, that's funny. Put it on tv. And then I wouldn't tell the person they'd see on TV until they saw it. What the hell's going on here?

[C]

So I think if you're wondering where he got the idea for a married couple sharing a toothbrush, just tune in. We'll dive in on that one.

[Craig Thomas]

Spoilers. It's Alec and his wife.

[Josh Radner]

I mean, let's just.

[Craig Thomas]

Let's just go there. Why are we gonna wait?

[Josh Radner]

Someone watched it and said it's pronounced chameleon.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my God. I definitely want to talk about that one. But, yeah, I think it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun to look back on it. And sometimes it'll be very much about the episode. Sometimes it'll just be us. Like, what did the topic of that episode make us think about at the time and now and how do we look at it now and how much, you know, I wanna talk also about, like, what of our lives at the time made it onto the show and what was happening in our own personal lives that informed the show? Like, I. Yeah, I went through a lot during How I Met yout Mother, as did we all. In nine years, you go through a lot of stuff. And basically 10 years. Door. Yeah, I want to talk about that stuff.

[Josh Radner]

And also how you as writers start paying attention very keenly to us as actors and how that changes how you write the character.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

You know, there were certain things I remember. Like sometimes you'll get a big laugh at a run through, like a network run through, and I'll just be like, oh, they're going to. And I remember when I walked in, return of the shirt, which for some reason I have very, very big fondness for. But when I walked in and Marshall said, hot top, bro. Do you remember that one?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Josh Radner]

And I just said, right, right. And for some reason, right, right became a kind of.

[Craig Thomas]

It was a low key catchphrase.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah, yeah. And I think that was one of the first times I said it. But I remember people just. Courtney Kang just like, laughed so hard. I was like, right, right.

[Craig Thomas]

We did that all the time. Time. That is like, if that. That's a low key.

[Josh Radner]

Him.

[Craig Thomas]

Gats race. That's. I'm glad you put it. That one out. I. I definitely still say that. And that was. That was your. Did you improvise that? I don't feel like we wrote. Did we write.

[Josh Radner]

I I don't remember.

[Craig Thomas]

I, I have, we might have written it, but I have one in my.

[Josh Radner]

Mind where people say, did you ever write on the show? And I said one line and it was, I dropped. What was the thing where I had to climb in the mailbox and I got stuck in the mailbox. What was that?

[Craig Thomas]

I'm literally blanking on what the context of the mail.

[Josh Radner]

It was on the New York street and I dropped in a letter to the mailbox. And then I realized I needed to get it out. I shouldn't have mailed it. But I, I remember. I, I, I, I did the rehearsal and I went up to either you or Carter, whoever was on set, and I said, can I drop it in and say mailed it?

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my God.

[Josh Radner]

That was my one big improv that made it.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my go. I feel like there were many more than that, but that's a good one.

[Josh Radner]

Oh, maybe, Maybe. Yeah.

[C]

So I just want to add here about all the ways that listeners can interact with the show, because from the very beginning, you've both been saying you want this very much to be a show for not just for the fans, but sort of by them as well. And if you go to our website, How We Made your mother Dot com, you're going to find a way that you can send us a message and tell us your story. And you can tell us a story just about How I Met yout Mother in general. Or there's even ways for you to talk about specific episodes. Send in an audio message to us like you heard at the beginning of this show. You can also write us a message and we'll read a lot of those. Like, a lot of them. Like, we really want to hear from you. Also, the home of this show online is really going to be on Substack, and you can find a link to that on our website. Josh is on Substack, and you can read his newsletters. And then you'll also be able to read about the show. Josh and Craig are going to write a little bit about each episode. You'll get the show notes there and maybe other ways to interact. And then, of course, we're all over social media. So if you just go over to how we made your mother dot com, you're going to find all of those ways to be a part of how we made your mother.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. And we really want to encourage people to kind of like, join the community of this thing and kind of collect an archive of, like, this is what the show is and was and remains to us. But we Love the idea of you guys feeling like it's us doing this, but you're with us, you know? So participate, join us, tell your friends. We're really excited. We're soliciting kind of testimonials about How I Met yout Mother and what it's meant to people and that we really want this to be a feature of the show. We want to hear from, from you out there how you discovered the show, what it's meant to you. So I'm just going to read one because maybe we'll make this a regular feature. But this one says, hey, Josh, I'm sending you this message from France. I don't know if you really love being recognized as Ted Mosby, but today I want to talk to you about it. I need to talk to you about it because tonight, for the third time, I finished How I Met yout Mother and for the third time, I cried a lot. I'm 17 and I really grew up watching this series and I mean in every way possible. I went through a lot of very bad times and you were always there to make me laugh and believe again. You were there to instruct me really important things about life. Every episode had something to teach me. Like, I just like your character, believe a lot in destiny. Maybe too much. I love too much. I do everything too much. And sometimes I'm worrying if I shouldn't just stop. But thanks to How I Met your mother, I'll never worry again because this is me and I'm never going to change. I'll still be me forever. So what I want to say is a big thank you, Josh, for everything. By the way, listen to your songs and they are legend. Wait for it. Dairy. So that's awesome. Yeah, Alec picked that one. I didn't want it to seem like I was like, let's pick the one where they mentioned my music. I am guilty. Please acquit me. All sins are forgiven. In New York City, How We Made.

[C]

Youe Mother is hosted and executive produced by Josh Radner and Craig Thomas. The show was produced by me, Alec Lev, and our co producer is Doug Matica. Our audio producer and mixer is Alex Reeves at Point of Blue Studios. 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 NYC by our own Josh Radner. Special thanks to Lowland Kennedy and Elliot Connors. Visit how we madeyourmother.com to sign up for our substack mailing list and for links to our social media. You can also 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. Read Craig Thomas's published [e-mail] and you can subscribe to My Dead Father Society, also on Substack, to learn about how you make a difference. This show's ongoing campaign to raise money for congenital heart disease research. Check out the Make a Difference tab at the top of our website. This episode was made possible by the support of Backyard Ventures marketing provided by Tink Media. People will, in fact, dance the real question.

[Josh Radner]

It just hit me. Am I in love with you or just New York City? Well, Craig, Josh, thank you for.

[Craig Thomas]

Thank you for chatting with me, my friend. This is a delay. This is a delay if not one person listens. I'm still having a really good time.

[Josh Radner]

But I hope let's do it 220 more times.

[Craig Thomas]

Let's do it at least third times. Thirteen.

[Josh Radner]

Yeah. But it's a delight to spend time with you and Alec, and I'm excited to unpack this stuff. Stuff. And it feels, honestly, it feels like psychologically healthy for me to do this. You know, it feels like, are you ready to go back to the Titanic? It's got a kind of quality of that. But I, I, I am. You know, let's do it.