New Rory & MAL — BONUS EPISODE: The Spelling Bee

Release Date: January 1, 2026
Hosts: Rory, Mal (Mall), Baby D (Damaris), Peach
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

Episode Overview

In this special bonus episode, the New Rory & MAL crew stage their first-ever “2025 RO All Patreon Spelling Bee Palooza,” blending good-natured competition with the show’s signature wit and hilarious chemistry. The gang takes on spelling challenges sent in by fans, crowd-sourced from their Patreon, Twitter, and Discord communities. This auditory spelling battle brings a mix of pop culture references, inside jokes, frequent rule debates, and some truly challenging words—plus plenty of humiliation for Rory, whose spelling woes are a running gag.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Spelling Bee Setup & Rules (02:42–09:50)

• Baby D and Peach announce the spelling bee and jokingly introduce the contestants, poking fun at each other’s literacy.
• Rules are loosely defined, debated, and frequently changed mid-game, including how stealing works and point tallies.
• The spelling bee uses a point system instead of elimination, aiming to prevent a too-quick ending as “none of us can spell” (08:00).

Notable Quote

• “We can’t do elimination. That’d be like a two-minute competition; we’re all out in the first round.” — Rory (07:45)

2. Spelling Challenges Begin – Music Category (09:54–16:00)

• Words: "rhythm", "cipher", “entendre” (each with inside jokes and cultural references).
• Rory promptly crashes on “rhythm”; rules for stealing are hotly contested; debates on alternate/slang spellings ensue.

Memorable Lines

• “I spelled it like vibes. Cartel.” — Rory (11:16)
• “Cypher is slang... this isn’t a slang spelling bee!” — Rory (13:37)

3. Difficult Everyday Words & Embarrassments (16:01–22:00)

• Group shares “easy” words that always trip them up (e.g., “schedule”, “probably”).
• Rory: “I just put SCD and continue on with my day. I’m not trying to spell schedule.” (15:34)

4. Politics Category (17:08–22:50)

• Words: “inauguration”, “constituent”, “filibuster”.
• More rule wrangling—can you backtrack while spelling?—and quick-fire heckling.
• The group's inability to spell “filibuster” correctly leads to mounting confusion.

5. Taylor's "Freaky" Round (23:12–26:44)

• Taylor (friend of the show) submits “freaky” and commonly misspelled words.
• Words: “cunnilingus”, “privilege”, “handkerchief”, “February”, “restaurant”, “sphincter”.
• Much laughter and “freak shaming” over “cunnilingus”:
  • “Only a freak knows how to spell that.” — Rory (25:15)
• Handkerchief stumps everyone:
  • “There’s a D in handkerchief?” — Rory (31:59)

6. Community-Sourced & Hard Words (41:39–43:45, 61:24–65:52)

• Discord & Patreon fans deliver killer words: “receipt”, “quizzaciously”, “phlegm”, “amalgamation”, “foreboding”, “arachnophobia”, “ambidextrous”, “conspicuous”, “quagmire”, “luminescent”, “fascism”, “incumbent”.
• Discussion about silent letters (“receipt”), double-z’s (“quizzaciously”), and English-language absurdities.

Quote

• “This isn’t a reflection of me; it’s a reflection of how poorly put together the English language is.” — Rory (41:31)

Memorable Exchanges

• “Quizzaciously. Can you use that in a sentence?”
  “...It means in a mocking manner.” — Baby D & Mall (42:10)
• “Phlegm... There’s no way you spell it like this.” — Baby D, as the word trips up everyone (44:28)

7. Proper Noun Round (80:13–83:59)

• Moves to city/town names: “Jamaica,” “Cortlandt,” “Schenectady.”
• Emphasis on how autocorrect has ruined real-world spelling abilities.
• Rory nearly derails on “Jamaica”:
  • “Spelling things out without writing them down is very tough.” — Rory (80:33)

8. Competition Wrap-Up & Scores (84:01–86:09)

• Mall clinches the win by spelling “Schenectady” correctly after Peach and Rory fumble it.
• Baby D gives a shoutout to New York public schools.
• Final score tally: Mall wins by a wide margin; Rory barely escapes the dreaded donut (zero score), mostly by spelling “Jamaica” and “negus” correctly.

Final Score Announcement (Approx 85:00)

• “I’d like to thank everybody at the public school system of New York City. They tried to say we are the worst– we are not.” — Baby D

Notable Quotes & Funniest Moments

• “Who is going around spelling [cunnilingus]? That’s some freaky shit.” — Rory (25:20)
• “There’s a D in handkerchief?” — Rory (31:59)
• “This isn’t a reflection of me; it’s a reflection of how poorly put together the English language is.” — Rory (41:31)
• “You can't blame me for filibuster, that's a word nobody uses.” — Peach (21:07)
• “This is a legendary cheating dawg!” — Baby D (72:45), accusing Peach of laptop-assisted spelling.

Structure & Flow

Tone: Playful, highly improvisational, full of classic New Rory & Mal sarcasm, with everyone roasting each other’s spelling and general intelligence. The episode is energetic and interactive throughout, with rules enforced more by whim than by strict competition standards.

Listener Takeaway:
Even words ordinary adults use daily can be spelling nightmares when put on the spot—especially when your friends are waiting to clown you. The show delivers laughs, relatable humility, and a reminder that everyone, even podcast hosts, have their spelling Achilles’ heel.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:42 – Introduction of show & contestants
• 09:54 – Spelling Bee “Music Category” begins
• 17:08 – Politics round
• 23:12 – Taylor’s “freaky” round
• 41:39 – Community-sourced words; words get hard
• 61:24 – Lightning (proper noun) round
• 84:01 – “Schenectady” for the win; scores and outro banter

Standout Game Exchanges

The “Rhythm” Saga

• Rory botches “rhythm,” blaming his lack of rhythm in both dancing and spelling (09:54–11:12).

The Slang Spelling Bee Debate:

• Massive back-and-forth about alternate spellings and slang versus the dictionary (13:37).

Steal Rule Chaos

• Half the fun is everyone rewriting the rules (“if you miss a steal, you go down on points!”), with frequent mid-match arguments about fairness (21:48, 22:12, 26:09).

Giving Up on Tough Words

• “Quizzaciously” stumps the entire crew, with everyone laughing at the absurdity:
  “Never even heard that word in my life!” — Baby D (44:00)

Closing Thoughts

The Spelling Bee Palooza is classic New Rory & MAL—hilarious, self-deprecating, off-the-cuff, and somehow revelatory about how tricky the English language is. Mall dominates, but the real winners are the listeners, who get a full hour of comic banter and spelling fails.

For Further Listening

If you enjoyed the creative chaos, this episode’s humor and group dynamic are representative of the podcast’s spirit: quick-witted, participatory, and always ready to laugh at themselves.

Final Scores (Approx. 85:00)

• Mall: 15 (Winner)
• Baby D (Damaris/Peach): 10
• Rory: 2

(All segment and quote times approximate; skip advertising blocks for pure content!)