My Brother, My Brother and Me Ep. 786: "Flatman"

October 27, 2025
Hosts: Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy

Overview

In this episode, the McElroy brothers—Justin, Travis, and Griffin—deliver their characteristic blend of comedic banter and occasionally sincere life advice, fielding listener questions that range from philosophical hypotheticals (“Will Batman get to heaven?”) to practical life conundrums (stealing herbs from children, yo-yo frustrations, crying in a drive-thru, and Grinch-related performance anxiety). The episode is rich in sibling ribbing, personal anecdotes, and unexpectedly poignant thoughts on creativity, hyperfixation, and kindness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Studio & Visual Bits (00:54–04:43)

• Video Podcasting Setup: The brothers riff about their new studio camera angles, with Justin looking like a field reporter and the others commenting on the plant-filled backgrounds and visible equipment.
• Travis’s Shirt Antics: Travis discusses wearing a shirt with his face on it (inside out), leading to meta-commentary on self-image in remote recording.
• Vibes and Technical Quality: Griffin jokes about "broadcasting in 8K" and the "high bitrate king," poking fun at the increasingly high-definition video feeds.

Question 1: "Will Batman Get to Heaven?" (04:43–14:47)

Theological Breakdown & Bat-morality

• Starter Question: Travis launches with the question—"Will Batman get to heaven?"—causing confusion for being so philosophical so early.
  • Justin: “A boiled down, like, hey, do you want to get to the heart of morality in one simple question, in a few words—would Batman get into heaven?” (05:19)
• Batman’s Virtues/Vices: The brothers debate comic-book morality, with references to Batman's refusal to kill, his run-ins with lust (Catwoman/Poison Ivy), and contrasts to the Punisher.
• Religious Upbringing: Travis comments, “Only Christ knows the contents of Batman’s heart… I can’t sit here and tell you authoritatively if Batman will get into heaven because that is such a deep and personal connection between him and Jesus Christ.” (08:35)
• Heaven or Hell for Batman?:
  • Justin: “I don’t think Batman would go to heaven because he would request to go to hell to beat more ass.” (09:39)
  • Travis and Griffin riff on the concept of a Batman who returns from Hell even more fearsome.
• Comic Book In-jokes: Allusions to Batman lore, Lazarus Pits, and Alan Moore comics pepper the discussion.
• Resolution: Ultimately, the brothers half-ironically suggest that tithing is the true key—"That's why [Joker] kept robbing banks to afford his tithes." (14:36)

Question 2: Is Yo-Yoing Actually Hard, or Am I Just Bad at It? (14:47–26:23)

Yo-Yo Culture, Frustration, and Hyperfixation

• Listener Struggles: "Yo Knope in Charlotte" expresses yo-yo insecurity, wanting to impress their boyfriend but failing to pick up tricks from tutorials.
• The Yo-Yo Ball Rant: Griffin rails against the yo-yo ball (“a toy invented by Satan to challenge us…” (16:29)), claiming it’s just a plastic missile destined for children’s mouths.
• Weapon History: Travis offers the dubious historical fact that yo-yos began as weapons, with a callback to the NES game Startropics.
• Hyperfixations & Hobbies:
  • Travis: “...the kind of brain that has—is gonna make me hyper fixate on stuff…should not be humbled in my older age…” (20:37)
  • Justin: “All of my hobbies. Live fast, die young… I have the James Dean of hobbies.” (21:29)
• Practical Advice:
  • Use ‘sleeping’ tricks as a base for most yo-yo maneuvers.
  • The world would be better (and sillier) if the right to bear arms were replaced with the right to bear Yo-Yos.
• Synergistic Hyperfixation Gadget: Griffin proposes a yo-yo with a Gigapet inside, teetering between joke and serious interest.

Notable Quote

• Griffin (re: failing at yo-yoing):
  “...after you do it once or twice and you fail, you feel like the world’s biggest asshole. Piano I can sit down at…but you drop a ball, the yo yo don’t come back up…and you have to spend like 15 seconds winding it…I’m simply never going to get better at it.” (22:59)

Yo-Yo Tricks Live! (33:35–36:05)

• Post-break, Travis retrieves a yo-yo and demonstrates tricks (sleeping, cradle, “runaway dog”), with Griffin providing visual play-by-play.
• Perennial joke: “Justin, you’re ready to start telling kids not to do drugs?”—an allusion to the classic yo-yo assembly motif.

Question 3: Accidentally Giving a Husband’s Drawing as a Child’s Gift (36:11–40:17)

• Listener Mishap: A mother accidentally gifts her marathon-running friend a crayon drawing made by her husband (34) rather than her child (4).
• Parental Drawing Dilemmas:
  • Travis tries to "keep his light under a bushel" to avoid discouraging his kids.
  • Justin recounts feeling proud of his drawing of the Bluey family.
• Art Technique Advice:
  • Justin: “Draw it upside down. It removes the subconscious bias of what things look like.” (38:29)
• Deep Down: The brothers admit their own sub-par artistic abilities and the childishness of their art.

Question 4: Stealing Cilantro from a School Herb Garden (40:56–45:02)

• Moral Complexity: Listener confesses to taking herbs from a “poorly-tended” elementary school garden.
• Philosophy of Property:
  • Travis: “Nobody owns the sun, nobody owns the dirt. If it’s growing in the land…it’s all of ours.” (42:03)
  • This is swiftly shot down by Griffin and Justin: “It’s absolutely deranged, what you said.” (42:13)
• Point of the Fence: The presence of a fence is the real marker; if you have to reach through it, you’re probably stealing.
• Who’s Tending the Garden?: Most school garden tending is done by adults; the theft is from them, not the kids.

Notable Quote

• Griffin: “When you see produce in the garden that is like a class project…it’s mostly an adult…I want to make something clear: you are not stealing from children, you are stealing from some adult.” (44:19)

Question 5: Crying at the Fast Food Drive-Thru (45:21–50:57)

• The Emotional Transaction: Listener wonders if crying can/should earn one free nuggets from fast food workers, or which chain is most likely to be generous.
• Ethical Tensions:
  • Griffin: “It makes me so deeply uncomfortable when someone leverages some kind of personal difficulty…into free nuggies for crying in the car.” (46:13)
  • Travis: “You can’t institutionalize kindness like this. It has to be spontaneous.” (46:46)
• Softest Fast Food Brand?:
  • Justin: “My first gut is White Castle.” (49:24)
  • All: Jack in the Box and Arby’s are deemed most likely to hand out “extras,” while Taco Bell is “where you go for self-care when there’s nowhere else to turn.”
• Drive-Thru Anxiety: Personal tales of car-based order stress, speed-pressured ordering, and family members with “clean slate” menu amnesia.

Question 6: How to Be a Better Grinch at Halloween (51:29–54:18)

• Performance Anxiety: Listener seeks tips on embodying the Grinch for an expensive Halloween costume.
• Childhood Grinch Trauma: The brothers recall a hyper-realistic Grinch at a party that scared everyone, child and adult alike.
• Advice: Remember, there are two sides to the Grinch—the grumpy and the reformed (heart-grown-three-sizes) versions. Embrace the positive afterglow.
• Post-Redemption Grinch:
  • Griffin imagines a sequel where the Grinch, after a day of Christmas joy, “just wants to sleep,” only to be driven mad by Whoville’s cacophonous festivities.

Other Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Travis: “If you could decide what you hyper fixate on, we’d be rich, man.” (20:28)
• Griffin, on yo-yos as weapons: “The right to bear Yo-Yos.” (17:56)
• Justin, on giving up on paddle-ball: “If something doesn’t immediately bring me joy, I don’t have to care about it anymore. That’s what Marie Kondo says.” (24:29)
• Griffin, on art: “If you asked me to draw an apple, the result would be humiliating, and that's one of God's most basic fruits.” (38:13)

Timestamps

• 00:54–04:43: Studio setup banter and visual gags
• 04:43–14:47: Batman in the afterlife
• 14:47–26:23: Yo-yo struggles, hyperfixation brain, and toy grievances
• 33:35–36:05: Yo-yo tricks live demonstration
• 36:11–40:17: Drawing mishap—accidentally gifting dad’s art as child’s
• 40:56–45:02: Herb theft from an elementary school garden
• 45:21–50:57: Crying in the drive-thru (pitiful enough for free food?)
• 51:29–54:18: Grinch costume, performance anxiety, and the two natures of the Grinch

Tone & Style

• Casual, playful, and tangential: The McElroys meander between the questions at their own pace, with tangents about childhood, personal quirks, and fast food.
• Lots of meta-commentary: About how the show feels, how their video setup impacts their energy, and poking fun at their own aging and interests.
• Affectionate sibling ribbing: Everyone gets roasted, especially for hyperfixations and embarrassing hobbies.
• Self-deprecating: Frequent jokes about their abilities, attention spans, and the fleeting nature of their passions.

Conclusion

“Flatman” is classic MBMBaM: what starts as a joke or quick advice question spirals into elaborate world-building, philosophical musing, or sibling confessions. The brothers blend insight with absurdity, laugh at themselves, and somehow—amid all the riffs—reassure listeners: if your life is weird or you mess up, you're not alone.

Notable Final Quote:

"I want to be faster than my fear of the ghost woman in the movie Talk to Me who sucks on a guy's toes in his sleep." (58:26)

Episode Highlight Reel

• Justin’s “field reporter” vibe and plant situation (02:22)
• Theological analysis of Batman’s soul (08:35)
• The yo-yo ball: “a toy invented by Satan to challenge us…” (16:29)
• Accidentally gifting dad’s crayon artwork (36:11)
• Griffin’s upside down apple-drawing breakthrough (38:29)
• “Nobody owns the sun, nobody owns the dirt…” (42:03)
• Fast food chains ranked by soft-heartedness (49:24)
• Grinch roleplay anxiety and how not to traumatize children (52:03)