My Brother, My Brother And Me #793: Fruit of the Loam
Date: December 15, 2025
Hosts: Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy

Episode Overview

In this lively and meandering episode, the McElroy brothers gather for their patented brand of comedic advice, veering from Hollywood controversies and the defense of Paul Dano to the weird cultural spaces of gift-giving, underwear reclamation, and the existential horror of “realistic” Grinches. This episode is full of the brothers’ signature improvisational riffs and running inside jokes, with memorable detours into the social taboos of underwear, strategies for dealing with surplus Skittles, breakup etiquette for lost property, and an extended (and unsettling) meditation on why nobody needs to see a real-life Grinch ever again.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Paul Dano Defense League (00:10–08:15)

• The episode opens with spirited banter about recent comments by Quentin Tarantino purportedly disparaging Paul Dano (and, oddly, Matthew Lillard and Owen Wilson).
• Griffin draws a “line in the sand” to support Paul Dano, lampooning the arbitrary venom slung at various actors:
  • “You can’t talk shit about Paul Dano unless it’s in kind of a funny way... but to say he can’t hang in There Will Be Blood? He acts the roof off that motherfucker.” (Griffin, 02:57)
• The brothers riff on how Dano achieved “real guy” status in their minds, with Justin joking about the effort it took to remember his name.
• Hypotheticals abound—what if Tarantino backtracked with, “I guess I was speaking from a place of jealousy. I wanted to be the Riddler”? (Travis, 05:20)

Memorable Quote:

“Paul Dano acts the roof off that motherfucker.” — Griffin (02:57)

2. Underwear in the Wild: How to Reclaim Your Drawers (08:08–14:10)

• A listener’s dilemma: What do you do if you see a pair of underwear in the gym parking lot that looks just like your missing favorite pair?
• The brothers parse the risks and social etiquette of retrieving “parking lot underwear.” Travis suggests letting them go, noting, “They’ve been outside for some time... I think it’s time to let them go.” (10:32)
• Griffin pushes back, minimizing the taboo: “It’s just clothes. It’s inside pants. There’s nothing bad or wrong about them...” (12:44)
• They riff on the embarrassment factor, nature’s claim over lost underwear ("That’s nature’s underwear! Let them return to the loam," Justin, 11:18), and the possibility of being spotted in the act.

Memorable Quote:

“That’s nature’s underwear! Let them return to the loam.” — Justin (11:18)

3. Too Many Skittles: A Gift Dilemma (15:39–24:11)

• A listener shares that after once offhandedly naming Skittles as their favorite candy to an office manager, they now receive Skittles as gifts constantly.
• The brothers debate how to get off the Skittle train. Justin suggests using bad PR: “Did you hear, with the food dye stuff, they say you’re not supposed to be eating Skittles anymore...” (20:13)
• The conversation derails delightfully into the ethics of favorite-candy declarations, the specificity of jelly bean preference, and Travis’s confession: “I like a minty jelly bean... I don’t like jelly beans.” (19:57)
• Stories of giving Skittles to teachers and absurdly cutting them in half for “manageable” sweetness.

Memorable Quote:

“Imagine this woman... got a knife and cut Skittles in half because the rush of a single Skittle was too much.” — Justin (22:40)

4. Heirlooms, Breakups, and the Poster Problem (35:37–41:00)

• A listener discovers their mom has hung up a poster originally owned by their ex, left behind after a breakup. Must it be returned?
• The consensus: “Scot free. Don’t even worry about it.” (36:24)
• The brothers formalize the “Savanto Principle”—each breakup entitles both parties to one “fine steal,” something of sentimental but negligible value.
  • “Every breakup, I think you should get one little gift. Both teams in the breakup gets savanto... It’s a fine steal.”—Griffin (38:08–39:43)
• They explore what’s off-limits (“don’t steal a social security number…that’s bad, Trav,” 39:34) and when property is legally “forgotten.”

Memorable Quote:

“It’s a fine steal.” — Griffin (39:44)

5. The Horror of Real-Life Grinches (41:52–50:00)

• Justin shares his dread of the “Grinch Meal” at McDonald’s, leading to a wider cultural critique of hyper-realistic Grinch costumes in ads and entertainment.
• The brothers agree: “I don’t want to see a real Grinch ever again.” (44:44)
• Comparing various Grinch incarnations (Jim Carrey, Matthew Morrison, animated Cumberbatch), they analyze why seeing the Grinch outside cartoon form is so viscerally wrong.
• They extend this aversion to other Seussian characters (“same rules for Cat in the Hat!”), and ironically pitch Paul Dano as a theoretical “real life Lorax.”
• The bit climaxes with Griffin labeling the cartoon Grinch “a little sinner guy,” emphasizing that safety comes from his unrealness.

Memorable Quotes:

“Anytime you see the Grinch as a real man... it's terrible.” — Justin (49:51)
“He’s scary because he’s not supposed to be real.” — Griffin (45:59)

Notable Bits & Banter

• Candy Museum Heists—The brothers imagine a dystopian “KenDtobia” where Skittle art costs $42,000 and children are scammed by docents. (24:00)
• Sponsor Bits with Sauce—Their ad transitions are comedic in themselves, debating the folksy charm of fake company names (“Three Folksy Guys") and bemoaning lost podcast titles. (31:01)
• Banksy Home Invasions—The trio riff on pranks from the fictitious “Banksy,” ranging from giant butt murals to painting a moving GIF on the wall. (25:12–28:38)

Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

• Defending Paul Dano from Tarantino: 01:39–08:15
• Underwear in the Parking Lot - To Reclaim or Not: 08:08–14:10
• Drowning in Skittles at Work: 15:39–24:11
• Ownership after Breakups—The Poster Problem: 35:37–41:00
• The Very Real (and Horrible) Grinch: 41:52–50:00

Tone & Style

The episode is as irreverent and loose as ever, the brothers riding their comedic tangent train from pop culture nonsense to genuine listener dilemmas. It’s full of good-natured exasperation, gentle social heresy, and a refusal to treat the minor embarrassments of adulthood with too much seriousness. Signature bits—Griffin’s playful antagonizing, Travis’s offbeat hypotheticals, and Justin’s dry final word—make for an episode that’s equal parts silly, surreal, and sneakily wise.

Concluding Thoughts

“Fruit of the Loam” is a classic MBMBaM episode: bizarre yet relatable, brimming with inside jokes, and underscored by the brothers’ ironic sense of life’s small dramas. If you want to know how to gracefully lose a pair of underwear, eat Skittles in moderation, or why humanity must never again attempt to realize the Grinch in flesh and blood, this episode is a must-listen.

Final Memorable Quote

“Don't ever show me the real Grinch again. That's the lesson of the holidays this season. I don't want to see the Grinch.”—Justin (49:56)