MBMBaM 801: Bad Idea Blanket

Summary

---

My Brother, My Brother and Me Ep. 801: "Bad Idea Blanket"

Podcast: My Brother, My Brother and Me
Hosts: Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy
Date: February 16, 2026
Episode Description: The McElroy brothers dole out their usual, decidedly unqualified advice, riff about current events, and discuss everything from moon landing conspiracies to penguin validation—and of course, "bad idea people" and Buffalo Wild Wings mascots.

---

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode plays with the idea of "bad ideas"—whether harmless conspiracies or questionable brand marketing—and the place those ideas hold in modern life. The brothers dispense their signature tongue-in-cheek advice to listener questions while weaving in spontaneous bits, pop culture detours, and plenty of riffing about everything from Valentine's Day to penguin personalities and "moonwind." The “bad idea blanket” serves as a metaphor for how easily one strange belief can unravel into many, and how the line between harmless quirks and dangerous crankery has blurred.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

---

1. Opening Riff: Impressions, Valentine's Day, and John Mellencamp

Time: 01:09–05:33

• Failed John Mellencamp Bit

  • Griffin attempts (and quickly aborts) a John Mellencamp impression, admitting:
    “I can’t fucking do it, guys.” – Griffin [02:16]
  • Leads to bemused discussion of inserting animal nicknames into your own name, à la “John Cougar Mellencamp.”

• Brotherly Love & Valentine’s Day

  • Travis expresses love for his brothers in a platonic context, despite the proximity to Valentine's.
  • Griffin quips that expressions like “Merry Christmas” or “I love you” feel weird when attached to expected holidays:
    “It’s like, why aren’t you saying this shit in April?” – Griffin [05:22]

---

2. Justin’s Surgery Story & Social Media Reflections

Time: 05:33–08:28

• Justin shares his experience with a recent carpal/cubital tunnel surgery (“to open up all the tunnels”).
• Jokes about not being able to game as hard; references to gaming marathons (“poop sock through Fallout; I used to be Master Chief’s number one guy” – Justin [07:12])
• Griffin playfully laments his tired appearance in fan comments, comparing how each brother is received online:
  “For Juice, it’s always like, ‘someone get me my bib, big bro’s looking like a snack, yum yum’…” – Griffin [07:39]

---

3. Advice #1: The Moon Landing Denier Dad Friend

Time: 08:28–19:48

• Listener asks how to gently educate a neighbor (in Austin) convinced the moon landing was faked.

• Brothers riff on classic moon landing conspiracies—flag “waving” without “moonwind,” etc.

  • “Have you ever heard of moonwind?” – Griffin [09:30]

• They agree the moon landing is real, but empathize with why some might doubt it:

  “It sucks so hard that, like, eight guys went. That sucks, right? It would be better if nobody went.” – Justin [19:30]

• Reflections on why “bad idea people” (those with harmless crackpot theories) are viewed with more suspicion now:

  • “It used to be okay to have bad ideas. Used to people enjoy them.” – Justin [16:14]
  • The “bad idea blanket” metaphor emerges: “This one little thread, you pull at this one bad idea thread, and then a whole bad idea blanket falls out.” – Travis [18:42]

• The difference between “harmless” and “harmful” conspiracy beliefs is discussed.

---

4. Advice #2: How to Get Chosen by Penguins

Time: 19:48–28:16

• Listener asks how to be a penguin’s favorite at an “interact with penguins” event.
• Griffin’s first suggestion:
  “Other than touch 100 sardines... Touch 100 sardines.” [20:17]
• Warnings against over-eagerness or trying too hard (“don’t seem like you’re making fun of the penguins” – Travis [21:41]).
• Discussion of penguin movies (Happy Feet, Surf’s Up) and whether to reference them to the penguins.
• Humorous observations about penguin families all having stories about relatives in March of the Penguins.
• Griffin offers another—perhaps more radical—approach: “Lay down on the ground on your stomach… If I was a penguin and a bunch of humans walked in the room, I would be like, what the fuck is going on?” – Griffin [24:51]
• Extended jokes about the size of sardines relative to penguin expectations and social situations.

---

5. “Munch Squad” – Buffalo Wild Wings & T-Pain Collab

Time: 34:16–53:15

• Justin presents the latest brand marketing sensation: Buffalo Wild Wings and T-Pain have dropped a six-track “Love Album” promoting the “Pick Six Meal for Two.”
• The crew listens to and reacts to the actual BWW/T-Pain song:
  “‘Let’s go Buffalo Wild, let’s get a big six meal for two…’ T-Pain is laying out for you exactly what the deal is…there is no art here.” – Justin [37:32]
• Excitement and confusion over the involvement of mascot “Hank the Buffalo”:
  • Hopes for a Hank verse in the video (“What I’m hoping for is a Hank verse, that’s where I… that’s what I’m hoping for.” – Justin [40:50])
  • Dissection of Hank’s contribution: “He’s a flavor freak…He be the flavor freak, I believe is what he said.” – Justin [43:15]
• Commentary on whether brand mascots should guest on podcasts:
  • Justin: “I don’t want Beck Bennett on the show. I am interested in having Hank from BW3s on the show. He plays the role.” [45:23]

---

6. Bit: Brand Mascots and Podcasting

Time: 45:00–50:07

• Griffin points out that “commercial mascots don’t do podcast appearances.”
• Longer debate about whether they’d want Beck Bennett, Hank’s voice actor, on as opposed to Hank himself; reflects on the brothers’ lack of “celebrity guest” culture.
• “Anytime we’ve had a famous person on the show, it’s a very nice conversation. But we’re much more concerned with them liking us than making something funny…with Hank from BW3s…we have something in common.” – Justin [48:43]

---

7. Closing Bits: Munch Squad, BWW Sauce Vinyl & Wrap-Up

Time: 51:23–54:59

• Joking wish to play every song from the Buffalo Wild Wings “love album.”
• Amusement at the limited-edition “sauce-filled” BWW vinyl.
• Some shout-outs for their YouTube streams and charity merch.
• The episode ends with absurdity: Griffin attempts to throw and stick a giant pencil into the wall [55:13–55:43].

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:16] Griffin (failing Mellencamp impression):

  “I can’t fucking do it.”

• [09:35] Travis (on moonwind):

  “Oh, fuck.”

• [14:54] Justin (on bad ideas):

  “If you have a bad idea, you shouldn’t tell people about it.”

• [18:42] Travis (metaphor):

  “...a whole bad idea blanket falls out.”

• [20:17] Griffin (penguins):

  “Other than touch 100 sardines... Touch 100 sardines.”

• [37:32] Justin (on T-Pain’s BWW collab):

  “He is laying out for you exactly what the deal is…”

• [43:15] Justin (on Hank):

  “He’s a flavor freak. He be the flavor freak, I believe is what he said.”

• [45:23] Justin (on mascots):

  “I am interested in having Hank from BW3s on the show. He plays the role.”

• [48:43] Justin (on guests):

  “We’re much more concerned with them liking us than making something funny.”

• [55:13] Griffin (giant pencil):

  “I got a big pencil. Yeah, look at the size of this fucking…look at the size of this fucking pencil.”

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Mellencamp bit: 01:09–05:33
• Post-surgery story: 05:33–08:28
• Moon landing denier advice: 08:28–19:48
• Penguin personality/validation advice: 19:48–28:16
• Munch Squad/BWW x T-Pain: 34:16–53:15
• Brand mascots & podcast crossover debate: 45:00–50:07
• Episode wrap-up/giant pencil: 55:13–55:43

---

Original Tone and Language

The tone remains characteristically irreverent, off-the-wall, and affectionate. The brothers riff and bicker in good-natured, often absurd ways, flipping smoothly between pop culture tangents and advice requests. The humor is a mix of absurdist, referential, and occasionally heartfelt reflection on how the world (and their audience) has changed.

---

Summary Takeaway

This episode humorously explores why people hold on to strange but (mostly) harmless beliefs, and whether there's still cultural space for “fun cranks” (moon landing deniers, penguin whisperers, brand mascot obsessives) in a world where “bad ideas” often go viral and cause real harm. The “bad idea blanket” emerges as a sharp metaphor—sometimes quirks are just quirks, but sometimes pulling on one thread unravels a whole lot more.

As always, the brothers deliver their advice with a heap of chaotic energy, pop culture riffing, and an endless appetite for the absurd (and also Buffalo Wild Wings).

Transcript

[Griffin McElroy]

The McElroy brothers are not experts, and their advice should never be followed. Travis insists he's a sexpert, but if there's a degree on his wall, I haven't seen it. Also, this show isn't for kids, which I mention only so the babies out there will know how cool they are for listening. What's up, you cool baby?

[Chorus/Singer]

It's the start of something beautiful A.

[Justin McElroy]

Small acquaintance has blossomed it's ripened into.

[Chorus/Singer]

A precious friends I could have never seen what was coming for me Hangs at the skate park Hangs by the beach My life, it feels like. It's better it's better with you My life ah, it's better it's better with you this is who you are it's better it's better with two. What's better with you?

[Justin McElroy]

Hello and welcome to My Brother, My Brother Me, an advice show for the modern era. I'm your oldest brother, Justin McElroy.

[Travis McElroy]

Love is in the air Whoa. Everywhere I look around what's up, Trave Nation? It's me, your middle's brother, Travis. Big dog.

[Justin McElroy]

Wolf, Wolf.

[Travis McElroy]

Vroom, vroom. The heater, Cupid McElroy.

[Griffin McElroy]

Everybody's kissing on their dates, huh? Going to the hot dog restaurant to kiss my girl.

[Travis McElroy]

John Mellencamp.

[Griffin McElroy]

So, hi, everybody. I'm Griffin Macaroni. Oh, the youngest brother. And John. And also John Mellencamp. Sorry, do you guys want to do a bit where I'm John Mellencamp? I don't know. I'm super good.

[Travis McElroy]

Have you always been John Mellencamp?

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Travis McElroy]

I've never seen you and John Mellencamp in the same room at the same time.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, I don't know much about him except the middle name thing. So if you guys want me to be him for a bit, I can try. Like, for a bit, I can try, but I don't think I would do a very good job of it.

[Travis McElroy]

Well, let's try. John, what kind of stuff goes through your head when you're writing a song about America?

[Griffin McElroy]

I can't fucking do it.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

I can't fucking do it.

[Justin McElroy]

Hey, Mr. Mellencamp, what's your. What is Griffin getting up to today?

[Travis McElroy]

Well.

[Justin McElroy]

Well, Justin.

[Griffin McElroy]

I can't fucking do it, guys.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't know how to fuck. I can't fucking.

[Travis McElroy]

You can't even talk about yourself as.

[Griffin McElroy]

No. Cause, like, what's he sound. What's he do? What's he sound like? I know he had the. I know he had cougar, but I don't want to do a joke about.

[Justin McElroy]

In your head when you go to do an impression like that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

What I see is, and this is true, I see the person who I'm doing the impression of seated in an uncomfortable stool in front of me, staring at me, blank faced like, well, what have you got? What do I sound like in that instance?

[Travis McElroy]

Little Diddy Mountain chapter.

[Griffin McElroy]

In that instance, it felt a little bit more like it was my birthday and I had been anticipating that my friends and loved ones were gonna throw me a surprise party.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

When I got home. And then I opened the door to my front house. To my front door to my house, and then there's no one there. And that's what it feels like when I try to do an impression like, John Cougar Mellencamper. I don't know him. I don't know anything about the guy.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I don't know either. I think he prefers John Mellencamp. I don't think he does the cougar thing anymore.

[Griffin McElroy]

No. I think that's, again, the only thing.

[Travis McElroy]

It's an implied cougar after the Mellencamp. I think at this point, I think he kicks ass.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a silent cougar in the middle. It's a silent cougar.

[Griffin McElroy]

All cougars are silent. I don't think it's particularly funny because.

[Justin McElroy]

Again, it's like a thing.

[Griffin McElroy]

Like, he did this in, like, 1999. But I do want to say, like, now it's 2026. Like, it kicks ass that you can just put the name of, like, a. A big mountain cat.

[Travis McElroy]

I've been doing it. I put Big dog right in the middle of my name. And no one said that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, just toss him in. Toss it in there.

[Justin McElroy]

I just feel like with our audience, eventually, if someone hasn't done something in 20 years, we should stop talking about them.

[Griffin McElroy]

Absolutely.

[Justin McElroy]

You know what I'm saying? Like, it's Nothing personal against Mr. Mullenkamp. I know he has his fans, but I just feel like we're not the melon ballers. Right. This should be about Bad Bunny.

[Griffin McElroy]

Super Bowl. Super bowl commercial with John Cougar Mellen camper. He's like, and we're bringing back the cougar. And maybe it's for Cougar Town reboot. That is the coming to ABC's Cougar Country. Was Cougar Town the name of the real show, or was that the parody?

[Justin McElroy]

That community was that Cougar Town was the real.

[Travis McElroy]

Hey, Griffin. Those were the same thing. They talked about the real show, Cougar Town on Community.

[Justin McElroy]

I get it.

[Griffin McElroy]

I get it again. It's all gets mixed up in there. Empty. Surprise party.

[Justin McElroy]

I. I love you guys. I had.

[Travis McElroy]

I just wanted to say I love you guys. We're recording this the day before Valentine's Day, and.

[Justin McElroy]

Happy Val.

[Griffin McElroy]

I don't feel that kind of love for you guys. I have so much love for you guys. Obviously. I built my entire. I built my life around you guys. There's a huge amount of love there, but not this kind.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't think it has to be a romantic love to say I love you to my brothers.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, but you tied it to Valentine's Day, which is the romance holiday.

[Travis McElroy]

I would get Valentine's presents for my kids.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's like when people wish me Merry Christmas on Christmas. It's like, yeah, obviously. Why aren't you saying this shit in April?

[Travis McElroy]

Well, no one says Merry Christmas anymore. You know what I mean? Have you guys noticed that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Justin, spin me a yarn. Cause it feels like you're ready. You've got the yarn sort of tangled up in your hands, and you're ready to present it like a kitty ca. Like a kid.

[Justin McElroy]

What are you talking about?

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, it felt like you were about to launch into a story, and then.

[Justin McElroy]

We started talking about, what is it that people. What is it that people keep doing with me? You know, it's very confusing.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, here we go.

[Justin McElroy]

People have been doing this with me the whole time. Why is everybody trying to guess? Why is nobody just ask. You know, Sydney was talking about going to the store earlier, and I was like, yeah, sounds good. And she's like, well, you're not going to. Cause I had my arm thing. And it's like, why don't you ask? See if I want to go to the store, you know? And then you're like, tell me about this yarn you got spinning. I don't make. I don't do that to you. I don't say, do your best John Cougar Mellon game impression. You know what I mean?

[Griffin McElroy]

You did explicitly fucking say that there.

[Justin McElroy]

Have been mood switches.

[Griffin McElroy]

You completely interpreted almost those exact words in that sequence.

[Justin McElroy]

As a result, there's been light memory loss as a result of some of the painkillers that were used. There's been light memory loss and mood swings. I cannot be held accountable.

[Travis McElroy]

Wait, do people know what you're talking about? You can't just talk about the arms.

[Justin McElroy]

This is not a big deal. I had a carpal tunnel surgery. It's a mild carpal tunnel release and a cubital tunnel release. I had a Surgery on my. On my arm and my elbow so that my body would work the way.

[Travis McElroy]

It did before to open up all the tunnels.

[Justin McElroy]

What?

[Travis McElroy]

To open up your tunnels?

[Griffin McElroy]

To widen them out?

[Justin McElroy]

Yes, my tunnels are open. Honestly, I haven't been able to game. I haven't been able to game in the way that I need to. If I game for more than 10 minutes, my hands fall asleep.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, you used to do 48 hour sessions.

[Justin McElroy]

I used to poop sock through fallout. I used to be the master Chief's number one guy.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

But not anymore.

[Justin McElroy]

But so now I'm rebuilding like a lot of the great E athletes. I hit the showers, I'm taking some time to recuperate physically, and then I'm gonna be back out there like rookie of the year. I am currently healing.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm excited for you. I'm happy you've had this done and I hope you have a quick healing and great results.

[Justin McElroy]

What a normal thing to say. Thank you, Griffin.

[Griffin McElroy]

I am a bit grateful that maybe this will spread out some of the comments that I largely get in our social media posts and video contributions to culture where, you know, for juice, it's always like, someone get me my bib. Big bro's looking like a snack. Yum, yum. And Travis's is like another great bit goes unappreciated by his brothers. And mine are like, doesn't he look so tired?

[Justin McElroy]

Look at his old gray.

[Griffin McElroy]

Look at his old gray hair. If he has old gray hair, that must mean that I am also becoming older. So maybe we can. I just have heard from some people that we should spread those around.

[Travis McElroy]

So Justin reminds people of their sensuality, I remind people of their humanity and you remind people of their mortality is what you're saying.

[Griffin McElroy]

Exactly. And I'm hoping again, we can do.

[Justin McElroy]

There should be. There should be a cycling, there should be a cycle, a shuffling of the roles. Let's, let's, let's help somebody. I've recently gotten to know another dad in my neighborhood because our children play together outside. While our children play, we stand in our driveways and just BS about random topics. Recently we got on the topic of aliens, cryptids and conspiracy theories. And while on this topic, he let me know he isn't fully convinced we walked on the moon. And there's a lot of interesting points suggesting it's all fake. Brothers, how do I convince this guy the moon landing definitely happened without him realizing I'm trying to educate him on one of mankind's greatest accomplishments, and that's from Neil to Gat. A lot of this guy in Austin.

[Griffin McElroy]

In Austin fills in a lot of blanks for me that I do feel like maybe the per capita moon landing denier rate is slightly. Slightly higher there.

[Travis McElroy]

Well, what are these good points? I want to know. Like what kind of interesting points? Yeah, I want to hear the evidence. I want to hear what this guy has to say.

[Griffin McElroy]

The flag waving. I've never heard of moonwind, have you, Travis? And there's no explanation.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, fuck.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. So there's no explanation for why the flag could be up because there simply is no moonwind.

[Justin McElroy]

Let's put some parameters.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

We definitely walk to the moon.

[Griffin McElroy]

The moon landing, I mean, we did.

[Justin McElroy]

There's no question about that from the three of us. Right? We definitely walk to the moon.

[Griffin McElroy]

I will say.

[Justin McElroy]

No, see, I do want to.

[Griffin McElroy]

I will say.

[Justin McElroy]

Let me get these guard rails in place. If you just let me get these guardrails.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, go and get the guardrails.

[Justin McElroy]

Definitely walk to the moon. There's no question about that from.

[Griffin McElroy]

No question for sure.

[Travis McElroy]

I mean, that's assuming the moon's even real.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, okay, that's obviously. That's very. That's very silly and I do appreciate. Oh, really?

[Travis McElroy]

Have you seen Truman show where Ed Harris is up in the moon and he's watching Truman? Oh, and what movie was Ed Harris Also in? Apollo 13? The clues are all there, Griffin.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, no, you got a good point. Westworld.

[Travis McElroy]

Westworld, thank you.

[Griffin McElroy]

What a storied career.

[Travis McElroy]

That means Truman show, true moon. The truth of the moon, True moon, real.

[Griffin McElroy]

And Paris up watching us, jerking it. Always.

[Justin McElroy]

Pervert.

[Travis McElroy]

That's the mnemonic device I used to remember.

[Griffin McElroy]

We absolutely landed on the moon. When I go to the Air and Space Museum here in Washington, D.C. a tear comes to my eye every time I even think about the moon. It's a little weird. We haven't gone back in like 50 fucking years.

[Travis McElroy]

Nothing's changed there, though. Like, if I went to a movie theater and saw a movie, in 50 years, the movie theater was showing the same movie. I'm not like, dying to go.

[Griffin McElroy]

Folks, you don't have to hit. I know the reason. I know there's reasons why, but it's a little suspect, don't you. 50 years, don't you think someone would have accidentally landed on the moon at some point?

[Justin McElroy]

I think it is. The only thing that I think is weird is that. Is that every. Especially now, all the other countries just kind of trusted us to say, what's up there? I would want to go up there. Myself not see you didn't source. But I want my own butchers up there, look around for rocks. Maybe get one huge rock that I'll name after myself.

[Travis McElroy]

Do we know what the moon smells like?

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, there's no. There's no air.

[Travis McElroy]

Right.

[Griffin McElroy]

But I do. But we have brought the moon back to Earth and probably huffed it good. Like, you know, there was probably a lot of experiments.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, yeah. What is. What does moon smell like?

[Griffin McElroy]

They were probably like, let's see if we can get fucked up.

[Justin McElroy]

This is going to take so long to Google because I only have one hand, so be patient.

[Travis McElroy]

Here's my thing. Even if I didn't know any of the science or history about the moon landing. Yeah, I can tell you it's real because it's been like 50 years. And that would be an exhausting conspiracy to have to keep denying and explaining 50 years. Especially as you passed it to different generations of people. Now it's your job to keep lying about this thing we did. Please don't tell anyone.

[Justin McElroy]

It's acrid, like ashes in a fireplace. Whoa.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's cool. I wouldn't think that. Cause I would think the moon is cold and so I wouldn't think fireplace, but I love that smell.

[Travis McElroy]

That's awesome.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it's cool.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sounds cool. It'd be cool to have a piece of the moon, I think.

[Travis McElroy]

Well, yeah. A glowing piece of that. Radical rock.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, I think, like, it's obviously probably not ethical. Cause it's like, you're not supposed to pick up rocks in nature and bring them home. And the moon is. Ethics.

[Justin McElroy]

Live only memories, that kind of thing.

[Griffin McElroy]

The moon is like the most natural thing that there is. Cause, like, only two dudes have been on it. I think the moon landing's real because of how mad Buzz Aldrin gets when you say it is not.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

I don't think that anger could come from such a pure place. If he knew it was all soundstage, no moonwind phony baloney bullshit.

[Justin McElroy]

He really didn't have the guts.

[Griffin McElroy]

He beats ass. He's beated ass before. And I don't know if he's alive or not alive. Juice, can you Google that for me real quick? Buzz Aldrin, alive or not. But he gets so mad and he's like, it's absolutely.

[Justin McElroy]

Two Z's next to each other are a big help because I don't have to go there.

[Travis McElroy]

He's old enough now that if it was like, he'd be like, yeah, fuck it, whatever, yeah, who cares?

[Griffin McElroy]

Sure. Who gives a Shit, man. We were in Pasadena, the moon of the earth.

[Justin McElroy]

California. He's alive right now. 1930 until question mark.

[Travis McElroy]

Ooh, there's like a fun party.

[Justin McElroy]

No, that's, like, implied. He's 96.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, okay. I thought Wikipedia said tell question mark, which had this sort of enigmatic.

[Justin McElroy]

No, that's implied. It's an implied question mark that we all. Yeah, I mean, I think that it's. You know, this is why I wanted to put these guardrails on here, because I do think it's okay for everybody to have a little something for this.

[Griffin McElroy]

Kind of stuff specifically. This is borderline not anything. Don't you think this is about as far as it should go?

[Travis McElroy]

Well, because.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I can see they're not out there. They're not out there crowing about it. They don't wear a shirt about it. I think. I think we need to have in our hearts room for that. Because I think that everybody there shouldn't be forced into group think just because it makes other people uncomfortable. Right. But you also, if you have a bad idea, you shouldn't tell people about it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Should not tell people about it.

[Justin McElroy]

But I think you have the right to hold this person, let you get several conversations in before they showed you their one little thing that they know isn't.

[Travis McElroy]

They know it's wrong. Like, I know it's wrong. Like, anybody who brings it up has never said it with the confidence of a fact.

[Griffin McElroy]

They're like.

[Travis McElroy]

And I think. And I guess what I'm saying is.

[Justin McElroy]

The door open too. Yeah. You know.

[Griffin McElroy]

It'S cute. It's not.

[Justin McElroy]

Everybody can have a little one. I don't know about it a little.

[Griffin McElroy]

Not anymore. Again, I must stress, don't have a little one that's worse than this.

[Travis McElroy]

No. I have feelings about ghosts that maybe aren't mainstream, but it's fine.

[Justin McElroy]

Let me talk about the problem with the government. Sure.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, okay.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Do I have to? Can I turn my camera off while you do it?

[Justin McElroy]

No, it is fine for you to have these bad ideas. What we have done accidentally here, like, this person, it says, I don't know about the moon thing. What our current government presupposes is, what if we take that person and put him in charge of moon shit? And this is where the breakdown is. Right. Because there's all these bad idea people that are in charge of things now, which has turned us all against bad idea people.

[Griffin McElroy]

You know, All I'm saying is you.

[Justin McElroy]

Used to be able to enjoy bad idea people for their bad ideas because there Wasn't some worry that someone would be like, yeah, I'm not sure vaccines work. And someone would be like, hey, I heard that you would be in charge of vaccines. Like that's the world we live in now. It used to be okay to have bad ideas. Used to people enjoy them.

[Travis McElroy]

Used to be people were just cranks, you know?

[Griffin McElroy]

Wrong. You could just be harmless, strong headed.

[Travis McElroy]

Todd, he doesn't believe we landed on the moon. Ha ha ha. What a character.

[Justin McElroy]

It doesn't have to. Yeah, it didn't have to be. And he doesn't believe vaccines are real. And he's also in charge of the dhhr. And it's like, why? That's not the fun part.

[Griffin McElroy]

There used to be a decent dragnet that would catch bad idea folks from running the organizations, but now they just have hearings for him. And it's like, I saw you say this bad idea on X the Everything website that is specifically about this thing you're going to be running. Do you feel that? And then they'd be like, nope. And then all of us would be like, sounds good. You're in charge now. And then they're like pranked, Pranked.

[Justin McElroy]

I just think it's a bummer that people can't have bad wrong ideas anymore just because those have gotten us into such hot water, you know what I mean?

[Travis McElroy]

Like just quiet.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a shame.

[Travis McElroy]

Harmless bad idea.

[Griffin McElroy]

Harmless bad idea.

[Travis McElroy]

They submit to themselves and it's like you get a drink in them and they're like, yeah, but the moon thing. And you're like, todd, Todd, Todd.

[Griffin McElroy]

I feel like moon landing is a kind of bad idea that you can have that then isn't necessarily a gateway drug to like 50 other bad ideas that I suddenly now know that you have. Flat earth is one where that's interesting. Cause you would think it's about the same thing. But when I hear that you have that bad idea, I'm immediately like, oh, I know. Nine other bad ideas.

[Travis McElroy]

You got four more sorted.

[Justin McElroy]

You are sorted away. That's very true, Griffin. That's a good, that's a good point. And there are lines and there are borders. I am just saying it is the bat. The fact that this person has a wrong idea doesn't intrinsically hurt you. What's hard is that we've been so hurt by so many bad ideas lately that we're all so gun shy about people who possess them. It should be okay for people to hold and treasure bad ideas that they do not act on. That's very sad that we don't have room for that anymore. But I understand it, right? Because as you say, Griffin, there is the fear that this one little thread, you pull at this one bad idea thread, and then a whole bad idea.

[Travis McElroy]

Blanket that falls out. Oh, no.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, boy.

[Travis McElroy]

It's weighted, too. Oh, man.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, no.

[Griffin McElroy]

Send them to me. Send them to the Air and Space Museum with me for a day trip.

[Justin McElroy]

Sent him, right?

[Griffin McElroy]

I'll set him fucking right. I'll teach him all about the Wright Brothers.

[Travis McElroy]

Griffin will make him smoke a whole pack of the moon. You know what I mean?

[Griffin McElroy]

I'll make him smoke a fucking fat blunt with me in the bathroom at the Air and Space Museum.

[Justin McElroy]

They are bad.

[Travis McElroy]

I didn't buzz Aldrin smoking a huge blunt, getting buzzed.

[Griffin McElroy]

Aldrin'd in the bathroom of the Air and Space Museum. It's the one museum they let you fucking blaze. It's the one museum where they let you blaze portraits.

[Travis McElroy]

Now have some air.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. You know, Absolutely.

[Justin McElroy]

You know why people get that way about the moon landing? Really, though, right? Because they're not allowed to go. Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

It sucks.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. It's fair if you're mad. You want to think. You want to decide that nobody went because it sucks so hard that, like, eight guys went. That sucks, right? It would be better if nobody went. That's more fair. But I'm sorry. It just didn't shake out that way. Apologies. How about another question? She like that?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I would have liked a little bit more enthusiasm. Yep. I have gotten the opportunity in a few weeks to go meet some penguins. The event description says that penguins have personalities and will choose who in your group to interact with independently. Brothers, I desperately crave validation, especially from our animal friends. How can I become the favorite human of these waddly little guys over my friends and family? And that's flightless in February.

[Griffin McElroy]

Other than touch a hundred sardines. Like, that one's pretty obvious. Touch 100 sardines.

[Justin McElroy]

Sardines in your pocket is good.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sardines in your pocket.

[Travis McElroy]

Search for that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. Cause they will check you. If you already got the stink on your hands, there's nothing they can do about that. But they will check you for small things.

[Travis McElroy]

And you don't want to get swarmed either. Like, suddenly the penguins eat your pants off. Oh, my God.

[Griffin McElroy]

Rock hoppers falls off.

[Travis McElroy]

Have you guys seen the videos that pop up on my for you, Paige. Cause I love aminals of, like, we had an adoption event where the dogs chose the people they would go and they let a dog into, like, the lobby of the aud. And there's like people sitting around and the dog like they go up and they get excited about one person and they go home. And I always think about. They never show the opposite side of that. Where there's like one guy left at the end of the event and no dog chose.

[Justin McElroy]

And he's like, Well, I guess Mr.

[Griffin McElroy]

Beast will get him. MrBeast won't let him go home hungry.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't think that Griffin.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't think it's a stick. He can race. Make him have a pet rock.

[Griffin McElroy]

And also there must be something wrong with that guy. If 100 dogs decided they didn't want to go home with them. They could probably sense.

[Justin McElroy]

Just sense danger.

[Travis McElroy]

I put 100 dogs and 100 perverts into one circle. Is there an attitude that one could project? Because you don't want to be too eager for it, obviously.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, right.

[Travis McElroy]

And you don't wanna seem like you're making fun of the penguins. Cause they can smell that on you. Just like sardines. Yeah, but you also don't wanna be too aloof.

[Justin McElroy]

That's their thing.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, they're among our most aloof birds.

[Justin McElroy]

That's why everybody likes em so much. They don't need us. Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

If they were hungry for it. If pigeons were constantly trying to get your attention, you don't want that. Right.

[Griffin McElroy]

You also don't want one of those crazy looking penguins to come for you with big eyebrows. Oh, what is that?

[Travis McElroy]

A rockhopper penguin?

[Griffin McElroy]

Rockhopper penguin. Is that the emperor? I thought the emperor was just sort of the thick lad. The big, thick, tough lad.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh.

[Travis McElroy]

If you have a kid, bring the kid with you and like kind of sit on top of your kid. And then the penguin sees that and they're like, that's what we do too.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's my jam.

[Travis McElroy]

I love that we got something to talk about.

[Griffin McElroy]

I do it like this.

[Travis McElroy]

Show me how you use it on your kid.

[Justin McElroy]

We have eggs.

[Griffin McElroy]

You seen Surf's Up. We didn't like that one. We thought that that was bullshit.

[Chorus/Singer]

Actually.

[Griffin McElroy]

For Happy Feet, that's Happy Feet rules. We do do that in real life. But Surf's up is fucking Hollywood bullshit.

[Travis McElroy]

I understand. If I was a penguin and you showed me Happy Feet and you showed me Surf's up. And Happy Feet results in a penguin dancing to make human beings happy, versus a movie where a penguin from the Arctic follows his surfing dreams. Yeah, Griffin, I think you've got history wrong here. I think I know exactly as a penguin which film I would support.

[Justin McElroy]

I Bet every fucking penguin has a story about a relative who is in March of the Penguins, right?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Every penguin's like, oh yeah. My brother Dave, you know, the one guy falls off the ice floe at one point and then comes back up and everybody's like, yeah, all right. That's my cousin Dave, actually.

[Griffin McElroy]

The one that dropped the egg and was like, oh, fuck, that's Dave.

[Justin McElroy]

That was my. That was actually my uncle Dave.

[Griffin McElroy]

That was my brother in law Dave.

[Justin McElroy]

You seen that flick?

[Travis McElroy]

When you meet the penguins. If you said, and I mean, I watched March of the Penguins. Do you think the penguins like that or not? It just seems too hungry.

[Justin McElroy]

You're trying, you're trying to understand their culture, but it's like you did it in the most lazy, spoon fed way possible. They don't know if they're in March of the Penguins. They don't have movie theaters. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, that's our thing.

[Travis McElroy]

Talk to him about severance. I bet penguins love that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Now that's cool.

[Justin McElroy]

They haven't.

[Griffin McElroy]

You guys haven't seen this. So like, I'm not gonna tell you about some movie that's like about you and your life. Yeah, you don't wanna hear that, like surfs up. But there's this kick ass show on Apple tv. Stars Ellie Scott.

[Justin McElroy]

I feel like though, if you. It's gotta be a show that's done, it's gotta be a full arc. Cause if you get to like where they're at in Severance right now.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

They're gonna be like.

[Travis McElroy]

And.

[Griffin McElroy]

And then what?

[Justin McElroy]

I don't actually know.

[Travis McElroy]

I have to come back and don't start with supernatural. That's 15 seasons. There's no way you're getting through that.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, you went two tops. In and out. One of them Netflix dramas that they didn't give much of a shot after that. Just get in and out. Penguins love that shit.

[Travis McElroy]

I think you could do Walking Dead and then that's fun. Cause there's like spinoffs of that, that if they're into that, you're like, and I'll be back. If you guys want, I can come back.

[Justin McElroy]

There's more we can produce.

[Travis McElroy]

I can tell you more about the Walking Dead universe.

[Griffin McElroy]

Lay down on the ground on your stomach.

[Justin McElroy]

Hmm.

[Griffin McElroy]

Lay down on the ground on your stomach and look down at the ground. If I was a penguin and a bunch of humans, anytime a bunch of humans walked in the room, I would be like, what the fuck is going on? These giants who are six to 10 times bigger than I am. What do they fucking want from me?

[Travis McElroy]

So I love that they.

[Griffin McElroy]

The small fish they bring me. He kicks ass. But, like, I don't see him.

[Justin McElroy]

By the way. The penguin may not think of it that way.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, they want big fish.

[Justin McElroy]

Well, they don't see it as a small fish.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh. To them, a sardine is like a big fish. That's wonderful.

[Justin McElroy]

It's not a big fish. It's just like a fish.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, shit.

[Travis McElroy]

You know what I mean?

[Justin McElroy]

Like, it's just like, to them. Cause they're so much smaller. That's like a good fish. If you brought out a normal fish to us, to them, that would be giant and ridiculous.

[Griffin McElroy]

To them, it's like a sardine is like a tilapia fish. Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

You don't have to like. I feel like by introducing that comparison, you're inviting a lot of, like, flavor and texture stuff. But it's just like a size thing. It's just like, to them, it's a.

[Travis McElroy]

Regular size fish and it's reductive.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

I think you could bring in a video of you, like, beating up a walrus or an orca or something. And I think that penguins are gonna love that. Right?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Like, I'll tell you, Travis, the first half of that sentence, I could not remember what this question was. I was on pins and needles.

[Griffin McElroy]

Awesome.

[Justin McElroy]

It's crazy, man.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's cool.

[Justin McElroy]

You really pulled it out, though.

[Travis McElroy]

To be fair, I couldn't imagine where.

[Justin McElroy]

You were going for a second.

[Travis McElroy]

It would work in a lot of social situations to make at least very interesting to people.

[Griffin McElroy]

I kicked this walrus. Yeah. The only situation it would do bad for is if you are trying to impress a walrus.

[Justin McElroy]

Although even a walrus.

[Griffin McElroy]

I think if you beat the shit out of a walrus and you show that video to a walrus, they'll probably be like, whoa, Damn.

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, pocket full of sardines is probably going to make you some friends in most crowds.

[Travis McElroy]

Right?

[Justin McElroy]

Like, that's a good one to have.

[Griffin McElroy]

No matter what. They will check you for. We did say, we did establish at the top that.

[Travis McElroy]

No, Justin's saying in a variety of social situations.

[Justin McElroy]

There's a lot of social situations outside of penguins where a pocket full of sardines, if it was just your natural sort of like, it's sort of like Tom Baker did with Jelly Babies. Just like having them as like a. Well, some people call it a whatsit. Just like a. Something that'll get the conversation going.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. But you don't want a stinky you don't want a stinky. What's it. You don't want a stinky soggy. What's it? Tom Baker wasn't walking around with one bulging, stinky rotten pocket. And people are like, what's your fucking deal? He's like, I'm an immortal time space traveler. And they're like, that's cool, but man. Holy fuck.

[Justin McElroy]

Do you like a sardine?

[Travis McElroy]

No.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, is that what that is?

[Griffin McElroy]

Jesus Christ. Why do you ask? Do you need those?

[Travis McElroy]

I got your saheds at the dawn of time.

[Justin McElroy]

Gross.

[Griffin McElroy]

That sucks, dude. That's gross.

[Justin McElroy]

They're all the rage on Gorblon 5.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's fine.

[Justin McElroy]

This is Earth.

[Griffin McElroy]

I have an Earth nose. That sucks. Dude, if you're telling me that, like, in space it's so topsy turvy that.

[Justin McElroy]

Like, no one is clocking your basically just on borblon5.

[Griffin McElroy]

Actually, I don't want to go to space. I don't think if people are cool with your stinky.

[Justin McElroy]

Whatever.

[Travis McElroy]

This is the tardis. It's stinkier on the inside.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it would have to be.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, I believe it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Wow.

[Justin McElroy]

He had to store these somewhere, presumably on ship. You're not flash freezing them or something?

[Travis McElroy]

I should get a refrigerator for the tardis. Yeah, man. You don't have that.

[Justin McElroy]

Why of all the things you don't have.

[Travis McElroy]

I have a big closet full of whimsical clothing, but you don't have a refrigerator.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's crazy. That's wild, man.

[Travis McElroy]

Weight limit issues.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, okay. Can we go to the Money Zone?

[Justin McElroy]

I would love nothing more.

[Chorus/Singer]

It's better. It's better with you.

[Griffin McElroy]

Money.

[Travis McElroy]

No one knows how it works. Where does it come from? Where does it go? Nobody knows. Money. It's blessing.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's a haiku, Trav.

[Travis McElroy]

Thank you. The money flows away.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's five.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, Good start. But Rocket Money can help sign up.

[Justin McElroy]

Today.

[Griffin McElroy]

You're not going to get the URL? No, you can't get the URL in a haiku, unfortunately.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, that's fair. But Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. I've been using it this year as I try to be a responsible adult for the first time in my entire life. I've used it previously too, Trav. What?

[Justin McElroy]

That's not fair.

[Travis McElroy]

No, I'm trying to be a consistently responsible adult instead of a sporadically responsible.

[Griffin McElroy]

Adult when you absolutely have to become a responsible adult immediately. Yeah, no, for sure. That's the way I do it. And it's not advised. It's very stressful.

[Justin McElroy]

No.

[Travis McElroy]

So I'm trying to be responsible. And Mandis Rocket money make that a lot easier because they'll be like, hey, this thing's coming up. Do you really want to do that?

[Justin McElroy]

You really want to do this?

[Travis McElroy]

And it's incredibly useful. And the fact that they will take care of canceling things, which oftentimes I'm aware of the expense coming up. But the idea of having to go through a process where I might accidentally have to talk to a human being and tell them I don't wanna use their services anymore terrifies me in such a way that I cannot describe with words. And that's what Rocket Money's for. So how can I get it? Well, that's a great question, Griffin, and I'm gonna tell you. Let Rocket money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] MyBrother that's RocketMoney.com MyBrother Rocket Money.com.

[Griffin McElroy]

MyBrother I've got so much Wayfair in my room. I can see just from spinning around like six different Wayfair items in my office, a lot of which is new, brand new stuff. For the latest office Reno that I've done. I cannot vouch for this service enough. They've got furniture, decorations, they've got everything. Wayfair is your one stop shop for everything your home needs.

[Travis McElroy]

Did Jeremy Renner do a renovation show? And if so, was it called Jeremy Reno?

[Griffin McElroy]

I have, I think it. Or Rennervations.

[Justin McElroy]

Rennervations is the name better.

[Griffin McElroy]

I think.

[Travis McElroy]

Rennervations Chairman Reno, if you're working on.

[Griffin McElroy]

Some renovations yourself and you need to fill an area with furniture that fits your fucking exact specifications.

[Justin McElroy]

Trav. It's called renovations. It's on.

[Travis McElroy]

That's better actually.

[Griffin McElroy]

Wait, is that real?

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it's on.

[Travis McElroy]

I knew that it was something.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, I don't like that. I didn't remember that it existed. And I thought that that was like a clever thing that I like. We ginned up and then it was real. And that made me feel small.

[Justin McElroy]

It follows Jeremy Renner who travels across the world to help communities by reimagining purpose built vehicles. So it's not Jeremy Renner doing your house.

[Travis McElroy]

This is still Jeremy Renner.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it's still. This is still. There's still meat on this bone.

[Griffin McElroy]

Great.

[Travis McElroy]

Well, we have to put a little.

[Justin McElroy]

Bit of meat on this mutton.

[Griffin McElroy]

For real. This thing behind me, this stand, I needed something at an exact height and an exact depth and an exact width. And I was like, and I want it to look nice and I want it to be open, and I want it to have three different shelves. Boom, bang, boom. They got me. Wayfair got me. And they got me there. They got this. For me, it's the easiest way to furnish a space, get organized, refreshed, and back on track this new year. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W A Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every home.

[Jordan Crucciola]

Hi, I am Jordan Crucciola, and I host Feeling Seen. I'm here with Maximum Fun member of the month, Khalil Goodman. Hi, Khalil.

[Khalil Goodman]

Hi, Jordan. Thank you for having me. So great to see you.

[Jordan Crucciola]

I gotta know what's made you feel seen if you. I figure you've thought about this if you've listened to the show a bunch.

[Khalil Goodman]

I read X Men when I was. When you're a kid who makes art, which I am, and you're a queer kid, like, there's this feeling of, like, something is different, but you don't know what it is. You can be different, but it can be a superpower.

[Jordan Crucciola]

What would you say to others who might be considering supporting the show? What would be your sales pitch to them?

[Khalil Goodman]

If you love this thing, if you are getting all of this joy and comfort from this thing, make sure that this thing that you like will continue.

[Jordan Crucciola]

Thank you so much, Khalil, for taking the time to talk to me today and for listening to the show. My God, you thank. It means a lot to just know people are really listening and valuing what they're hearing.

[Khalil Goodman]

Thank you so much.

[Griffin McElroy]

Become a Maximum Fun member [e-mail] join.

[Justin McElroy]

If you want to know what's going on in the world of movies, you should be listening to maximum Film so we can tell you all about it. Okay, but what if you already know what's going on in the world of movies? What if you're kind of obsessed with movies? Like, maybe you have a problem? Well, then you should definitely be listening. Listening to maximum Film, because we, too, have that problem. And it's important you know you're not alone. We're talking indies. You'll want to seek out blockbusters and blockbusting wannabes, classics we can't get enough of. I'm comedian and writer Kevin Avery. I'm film critic Alonzo Duraldi. I'm festival programmer and producer Drea Clark. Together we're maximum film smart about movies in Hollywood. So you don't have to be. But if you already are, that's also great. And hey, we see you new episodes Every week on MaximumFun.org.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I want a munch.

[Travis McElroy]

Let's go wide boy.

[Justin McElroy]

I want to munch squad. Welcome to Munch Squad. It's a podcast with NMP Podcast profile. The latest and greatest in brand eating. I watched most of the super bowl and I just want to tell you people I'm not going to talk about your weird Duncan Justin bait with all these freaking 90s people in it that you aired in a Super bowl with Ted Danson and Jasmine Guy and Jaleel White and Alfonso Ribiera and Jason Alexander and Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck. All those people. I'm not gonna talk about that.

[Griffin McElroy]

But Justin. But I remember them. I remember all of them.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I remember them too. And the whole thing's about demons.

[Travis McElroy]

Can I tell you what's weird? I don't like? I think guys, this might be a Mandela thing where you think those people existed. They never did.

[Griffin McElroy]

No. We never landed on the moon. And there wasn't Jaleel White.

[Travis McElroy]

Jaleel White never landed on the moon.

[Justin McElroy]

Simply didn't. But this is what they think of you. Just in case you're curious what they think of you. The campaign connects two kinds of 90s comfort. The sitcoms people rewatched and the Duncan runs people counted on. The result is a long buried origin story that feels almost real, punctuated by a surprise Tom Brady cameo and designed to evoke nostalgia, curiosity, and the hope that the sitcom was real. What? So it's like a. Yeah. It's like they're turning.

[Griffin McElroy]

This is what football Tom was doing instead of leading his team to victory.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. When the Patriots needed Tom the most.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

And I tell you guys, I don't know who won the Super Bowl.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

It was the Seahawks in a game that was a largely, from what I understand, kicking based affair. Mostly kick. Mostly kicks. Not a lot of throws in this one. And a lot of people were disappointed in that.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm not gonna talk to you. I didn't watch it.

[Justin McElroy]

It's cold football.

[Travis McElroy]

I was watching Curdling.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes. I'm not gonna talk about that.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

Because I have to keep talking about. It's hard when we started talking about the terrible buffalo Hank and his terrible voice and the terrible way he looks.

[Griffin McElroy]

Voice is cool. I love. I love the voice.

[Justin McElroy]

The voice Is actually great too. I feel like we kind of entered into this bargain where I have to keep covering all of his comings and goings and this one is honestly pretty monumental. So Buffalo Wild Wings and T Pain drop a love song to level up your next date night, huh?

[Griffin McElroy]

Awesome.

[Justin McElroy]

So just in case, let me. I got it on a tab, so I'll show you.

[Griffin McElroy]

I hope he sings show it to you guys. Do you suffer from need?

[T Pain]

Let's go Buffalo Wild let's get a big six meal for two. You know I'm a big deal, baby. Do I have a deal for you? I'm talking about two drinks, two sides, two entrees, and it cute smile. So much love.

[Justin McElroy]

What I like about this is that.

[Travis McElroy]

A lot of please want to do songs.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, you must pause it.

[Justin McElroy]

What I like is a lot of people when they do songs, they're like, we did a collaboration with this person.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Then usually it's like they did a song and they'll maybe like mention the product in the song. T Pain is like, he is laying out for you. There is no art here. He is laying out for you exactly what the deal is like. He's like completely just. Here's what it is. It's like, this is exactly how much meat you get with the number of Pepsis included in the deal.

[Griffin McElroy]

With an enthusiasm that suggests that maybe he had already written this song and he was like, this is embarrassing. But sometimes as practice till my skills don't dull, I'll do like jingles or whatever and Buffalo Wild Wings. You actually need to hear this one. It's called let's go Buffalo Wild and it fucking hits.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it's actually. I wrote it for you guys. Let's see if he continues to do tails.

[Travis McElroy]

Can I just send a message?

[Justin McElroy]

You can send anything you want.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay, thank you. Buffalo Wild Wings. The amount of money that you had to pay T Pain to be this enthusiastic about your product, you could have paid me so much less and I would have been enthusiastic about it too.

[Griffin McElroy]

And you would not have been able to write a stick.

[Travis McElroy]

No, absolutely not. But I just. I see this and I think I'd like to sell out.

[Griffin McElroy]

Can I please sell out for to B Dubs?

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, this much money. Oh, please, please, please, please.

[Justin McElroy]

B Dubs has launched a limited edition six track love album featuring a hit single with T Pain. Just in time for Valentine's Day, Buffalo Wild Wings is teaming up with Grammy award winning artist, producer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and global cultural icon T Pain to release let's Go Buffalo Wild. A Pick six love song, the catchy new anthem is designed to be the soundtrack for your next Buffalo Wild Wings date night.

[Travis McElroy]

Can you imagine?

[Griffin McElroy]

Can you imagine my wife taking my lady love to Buffalo Wild Wings?

[Travis McElroy]

But not just that, Griffin, but like saying like, baby on the way there. Have I got the soundtrack for us. The date night soundtrack.

[Justin McElroy]

If you're curious about what the specials are right now, don't worry because I have my friend T. Pain here to lay them out for you in detail.

[Griffin McElroy]

You don't want to embarrass yourself. When you get up to the counter.

[Travis McElroy]

You get there and your wife picks up the menu and you're like, what are you doing?

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. The feature song. Okay. The track is so catchy, you'll find yourself craving a pick six meal for two.

[Travis McElroy]

Yes, of course I do.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. I mean that. I would feel that regardless of if I heard a song or not, but.

[Travis McElroy]

Also for one, I want to eat it. Oh, yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Fans can view the full music video for let's Go Buffalo Wild, a pick six love song here.

[Travis McElroy]

Does the buffalo appear in the video? Just.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

Wait a minute.

[Justin McElroy]

Let's keep. And then we'll return to the.

[T Pain]

Even though your lips on fire you know them hips don't lie God damn wings with something spicy on the side. Believe me, though, I beat us both for 19.99. I'm talking about a box like this. Knock it out. Everything doubling down. Let's go Buffalo wild Let's do our things Buffalo wild make us stop Wild, let's go Buffalo wild.

[Justin McElroy]

They actually, to be clear, they would prefer you not do wild things at Buffalo Wild wings. Despite what Mr. Payne is encouraging here. Okay, here's what I'm hoping for. We're at 120 of a 2:30 video. Okay, guys.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

What I'm hoping for is a Hank verse. That's where I. That's what I'm hoping for. The other thing I want to mention is that the video is T. Pain and his, I'm assuming, wife Paramore. They're sitting at a table enjoying the meal and they are being encircled by what appear to be real cars driving in real circles.

[Griffin McElroy]

Absolutely whipping shitties around.

[T Pain]

So close, so close.

[Justin McElroy]

All I can think about the entire time I watch this, it's like, for the love of God, don't let us lose T. Pain in B dubs commercial tragedy.

[Travis McElroy]

It also please God, what it proposes.

[Justin McElroy]

Is that the perfect. Or his wife.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. No, please.

[Travis McElroy]

Or the Pepsis. The best way to enjoy a fine meal is in a hangar filled with exhaust Fumes and burning dire smell.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. I'm really hoping for this Hank verse, guys. Let's keep digging. Can I say okay? Okay.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm going to.

[Justin McElroy]

One last thing. I'm dripping in sauce. I'm a B dubs boss.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's really good.

[Chorus/Singer]

It's good.

[Justin McElroy]

It's good, man.

[Travis McElroy]

It's good. Shot right here.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, That's a lot, man.

[Justin McElroy]

That's a lot, man.

[Chorus/Singer]

Hold on.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Travis McElroy]

Right off the bat.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay, okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

Does he start. Does he start out with ola, It's Hank.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I think you might have said ola. It's Hank. But we are going to back up and just hear Hank's verse.

[Travis McElroy]

This looks like Hank is dead. And this is only people who know.

[Justin McElroy]

He is going to be on the podcast eventually. We have to be a little bit polite.

[Travis McElroy]

This seems like there's going to be a reveal that they spent $100 million to holographically get dead Hank into this.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Like, Hank is Josie, and we just brought his spirit back for one last verse.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

So that's awesome.

[T Pain]

Oh, boy.

[Justin McElroy]

So here's what Hank does.

[Griffin McElroy]

He.

[Justin McElroy]

He manages to drop Spanish. Yeah. And then flips it around with. With a little ave. A little slang for everybody. Because he's Hank. He's a. He's a equal opportunity flavor freak. He's a flavor freak. He be the flavor freak, I believe is what he said, Trav. Okay.

[Travis McElroy]

And also tasty.

[Justin McElroy]

Me hungry Watch me stuff my face Amaze me.

[Travis McElroy]

Stop, stop, stop. Me hungry. Me hungry.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't me hungy. So that's somebody else. That is not. I don't think that's another good thing, Hank. I think you're doing a lot of bad ones right in a row, pal. Baby, keep it mild.

[Griffin McElroy]

Do the balls with that parmesan garlic sauce. Desert heat, smoky, sweet in your mouth. Nashville hot sauce like me in the south. Thai curry. We ain't got a hurry Picking six.

[T Pain]

And somebody bring this up.

[Griffin McElroy]

I mean, you know, everyone has to start somewhere, right? So many artists launch their careers off of the back of a guest verse on a track. And I do think that Hank's craft could use some work. Could use a little bit more practice. But this is how you get it. This is how. This is how. And under the tutelage of someone like T. Pain who, like, has been all over every, you know, part of this business. It's invaluable. It's just wild that we're seeing kind of the work take place.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, it is interesting. The tonal quality that Hank Brings as if someone asked Josh Groban to do a guest verse in therapy song.

[Griffin McElroy]

A lot of interrogative kind of pitch shift upwards. Like, can I get a drip and.

[Travis McElroy]

A lot more vibrato than one normally hears in a guest.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, that's a good point. Travel a lot of tremolo coming out of those pipes.

[Justin McElroy]

Has Beck Bennett always voiced Hank? I feel like at first it was a. It was a Beck Bennett alike. Is he always been the man behind the horns?

[Griffin McElroy]

It's possible that they had a Beck Bennett impersonator. And then I feel like at first quarter. And then paid for the first.

[Justin McElroy]

Well, maybe not. I love. I love Hank, and I would love to get Hank on the show.

[Travis McElroy]

Sure.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's a buffalo character. It's a buffalo character.

[Travis McElroy]

It's a buffalo character.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

But, Graham, here's what we're doing with T Pain.

[Griffin McElroy]

So how would you say. But do you want Beck Bennett to come on the show? Because that would be really fun.

[Justin McElroy]

I think that would be a great spot. I don't. I am not interested in having Beck Bennett on the show. I am interested in having Hank from PW3s on the show. He plays the role.

[Travis McElroy]

Can you imagine a duet dropped by Hanka Buffalo and MC Scat Cat together?

[Griffin McElroy]

That would be good.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, my God.

[Justin McElroy]

Partnering with T Pain to create. Can I read the quote?

[Griffin McElroy]

You can. I just like you said something so wild and I said Buffalo Wild.

[Justin McElroy]

Griffin, what did I say that was so Buffalo wild?

[Griffin McElroy]

Commercial mascots don't do podcast appearance. Like Mr. Peanut never went on. Fucking doughboys. Hey, Traffic.

[Justin McElroy]

Hey, Trav. Hey, Trav. How many seasons has the Grinches podcast been going?

[Travis McElroy]

A lot. I don't know.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, like three seasons. You sound so stupid.

[Griffin McElroy]

So that's the Grinch.

[Justin McElroy]

That's the Grinch. So the Grinch can have his own podcast, but I can't have Hank from BDubs on my podcast?

[Travis McElroy]

And what about the prime spokesperson, Logan Paul and his podcast, Griffin?

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, that's different. Neither of those things are like mascots in the way that Hank is a mascot.

[Justin McElroy]

What? It's not.

[Griffin McElroy]

What are you.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. But yellow.

[Griffin McElroy]

They didn't bring the yellow Eminem on. Fucking wtf.

[Travis McElroy]

So you're telling me you think Logan Paul is a real person?

[Justin McElroy]

No, I'm not saying. I am saying Beck Bennett would. I would love to have Beck Bennett on the show. We don't really have a lot of celebrity guests, and that's by design. It's because we don't really know how to be funny with them. Usually Right?

[Travis McElroy]

Yes.

[Justin McElroy]

Can we all agree on that? Hey, audience, you agree? Everyone's nodding at home.

[Travis McElroy]

Ok, So I don't necessarily want Beck.

[Justin McElroy]

Bennett on the show. Even though I would love to meet Beck Bennett. I'm a big fan of his work. I'm realistic in that that's not where our skill set is. Right. It's not in getting celebrities on the show and cutting up with him. Otherwise I think we would have climbed a little bit higher up that proverbial mountain than we would have.

[Travis McElroy]

We would have done it by now.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, we would have done it for sure.

[Justin McElroy]

Hank from BW Threes is a riot and we talk about him a lot on the show. And I'd love to know. I would love to talk about BW threes. I don't think about BW3 is a joke. I'll. I go there, I took Tim bat there II go. Like I'm a fan. Okay. I'd like to have Hank on the show.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't want.

[Justin McElroy]

Beg Ben on the show.

[Travis McElroy]

We don't know how to make. Don't say you don't want. I think maybe this is Griffin's hang up. It sounds like you draw the line that having Beckman hit on the show.

[Justin McElroy]

I am saying this is what I'm fucking saying, man. Like who is that Skype call even.

[Griffin McElroy]

Going to fucking come from?

[Justin McElroy]

I wouldn't give it a mask, but like.

[Travis McElroy]

Or a V2. It could be a Vtube.

[Justin McElroy]

What I'm saying is I would have loved it. I would have loved it if we had made the sort of show that had celebrity pop ins that it would feel funny and natural. Right? Where it would be like part of the show I enjoy is that their famous friends pop in and it's a cut up and they talk all the celebrities they know together. Yeah, that's not the show that I would have loved that like, Right. Travis moved to LA for a couple of years. Right. That would have been our moment to be like, this is the show.

[Travis McElroy]

Don't you pin this on me, Justin.

[Justin McElroy]

It's not your fault. You were trying. Griffin and I didn't even try.

[Griffin McElroy]

I didn't fucking do anything, dude.

[Justin McElroy]

But what I'm saying is this is not a show you remember. Like anytime we've had a famous person on the show, it's a very nice conversation. But we're much more concerned with them liking us than making something funny. Right? And back then it would be the same deal. So I don't want Beck Bennett on show even though I'm sure he's a great person. Now, Hank. Cheers from BW3s.

[Travis McElroy]

You're not concerned with making Hank like you?

[Justin McElroy]

I'm not going to be concerned about Hank liking me because I really like his product. We have something common.

[Griffin McElroy]

Ok.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't think Hank makes the Buffalo Wild Wings, Justin.

[Griffin McElroy]

I don't think Hank has ever said one unscripted word in his entire life.

[Justin McElroy]

You think Beck Bennett isn't talented enough to handle it? Now you're being hurtful.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm saying that now you're being mean. The only reason they would let him out to be in something is if it would get more people to eat Buffalo Wild Wings and whack and it would. I don't think that we could promise them that or deliver them that.

[Justin McElroy]

And so I just gotta take. You got to think beyond some of these, like the limiting factors that you're putting up for yourself. Griffin. I'm just saying it would be a great interview. Right? Can we agree on that?

[Griffin McElroy]

We would have to do it straight up. Like no Buffalo jokes. I would be so embarrassed.

[Justin McElroy]

Can we finish T Pain song?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

It seems like the energy of the video has gone on long enough that it's shifted where his wife is done eating and she is now sitting on.

[Travis McElroy]

A nearby car and watching him continue.

[Justin McElroy]

To talk about how excited he was ready to go.

[Travis McElroy]

It gives me like we're out in the parking lot. We finished eating.

[Justin McElroy]

We've left. We're going to be late for the movie tv. We got to go.

[Travis McElroy]

Go. I would use that hood ornament, by the way, if I could get, if I could get a Hank hood ornament, I would affix it to my vehicle.

[Justin McElroy]

So partnering with T Pain to create a love song devoted to the Pick Six Meal for Two felt like an unexpected way to celebrate date night, the B dubs way, said Tristan Bellin, the brand president of Buffalo Wild Wings. Whether you're in a relationship or you're just really committed to wings, the Pick Six Meal for Two is more than just a deal. It's a love language and I can't seem to get out of my head. The album also features five original and this is interesting mixed genre songs. Mixed genre. You know, they're not even like this is not like one sound.

[Griffin McElroy]

They're kind of like how weird Al.

[Justin McElroy]

It's like a world beat.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah. You can't quantify these rhythms of labels.

[Justin McElroy]

To celebrate its release, the album is also getting the collectible treatment with a limited run of sauce free filled vinyl records, each swirling with B dub sauce as it spins, each song is accompanied by its own Social Forward video.

[Griffin McElroy]

Awesome. I'm a human being and I love when people talk about that.

[Justin McElroy]

I love when stuff is Social Forward. This is can. I'll show you guys.

[Travis McElroy]

The Buffalo Wild Wings is listed on Doordash as a gastropub and I don't know how to feel about that.

[Justin McElroy]

It's accurate.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's cool. Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

That's a sauce filled record.

[Justin McElroy]

It's like a very thin layer of sauce in there. It looks cool.

[Travis McElroy]

That's nice.

[Justin McElroy]

I've tried to reset my account password so I can buy it, but they're saying I don't have an account with BW Threes, which we all know is bullshit.

[Griffin McElroy]

I find that hard to believe.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Yeah. The playlist is on Spotify on Buffalo Wild Wings page that they have. The songs include let's Go Buffalo Wild, of course. Rinse me with.

[Travis McElroy]

Go ahead. Rinse me with a ranch.

[Griffin McElroy]

Rinse me with a ranch.

[Travis McElroy]

Rinse me with a ranch.

[Justin McElroy]

I want to pick six tonight. Buff Dub Dub. That one's probably good. Buff Dub picking six with the boys.

[Travis McElroy]

Hell yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

And chewing my life with you.

[Griffin McElroy]

I lost all my money in a cantina playing pazaak with Dub Jub Jub.

[Justin McElroy]

What's hard is if I obviously think it would be very good content for our podcast.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sure.

[Justin McElroy]

To play all of these. Like, I think every single second of all this record would be very good. But I do think that the audience, maybe they're not craving that they wouldn't like it. We are like, I want to, but do they? I don't know.

[Griffin McElroy]

We could have gotten away with that on episode 800 probably to be like to have some fun.

[Justin McElroy]

A listening party. Now listen, if BW Threes wants to sponsor a listening party for this record, I'd love to do that for them. I would love to have Hank on the show for that. That seems like a great crossover.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's not gonna happen.

[Justin McElroy]

Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. My brother. My brother and me.

[Travis McElroy]

Thank you to Montaigne for the use of our theme song, My life is better with you. Go listen. Support, Enjoy, Thrive.

[Justin McElroy]

Now, normally Griffin says that, but he's not. You know why? Cause he's going off to get ready for one of the many streams we're now doing every single week.

[Travis McElroy]

That's true. Yeah. On YouTube. On our YouTube channel. McElroy family. We do Clubhouse the last Tuesday of every month. And the other Tuesdays are Super McElroy Brothers with us doing gaming content all those at noon Eastern time. We also do solo streams throughout the week, each one of us. And if you want to see more of our gaming content, you can follow McElroy Entertainment System on Instagram.

[Justin McElroy]

We've got a 20 make it stick sticker designed by Lucas Hespenheim on Instagram. And you can still get the Candle Nights video on demand. You pay what you want. All proceeds go to Harmony House. It's a really fun show. I hope you'll check it out. Also, 10% of all merch proceeds this month are going to be donated to the Immigrant Law center of Minnesota which provides free immigration legal representation to low income immigrants and refugees in Minnesota and North Dakota. So that is a wonderful cause. We hope you want to support all that and check out all that stuff and buy the merch and see the shows and follow everything and absorb our brand. Please. Absorb our brand.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, I got a miggy here that I'm gonna throw.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, you're not on video.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh fuck. Yeah, good point.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's gotta be me cause Justin's injured.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I'm on the DL.

[Griffin McElroy]

I got a big pencil. Yeah, look at the size of this fucking. Look at the size of this fucking pencil.

[Travis McElroy]

Give it a whirl, bud.

[Griffin McElroy]

Big old. It's a. My first Ticonderoga.

[Travis McElroy]

Throw that and see if you can stick it in the wal like point.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm gonna stick it in the fucking wall. Watch this shit. Give me like five seconds.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a good noise. My name is Justin McElroy.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm Travis McElroy.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm Griffin McElroy. That had a nice bounce. It did.

[Justin McElroy]

My brother, My brother me Kiss your dad square on the lips.

[Chorus/Singer]

Is it better with you? My life, it's better it's better with you My life it's better, it's better with you. Is it who you are? It's better, it's better with you.

[Justin McElroy]

Maximum Fun.

[Griffin McElroy]

A worker owned network of artist owned shows supported directly by you.