#4376 Taters Gonna Tate

Summary

Podcast Summary: TBTL Episode #4376 - "Taters Gonna Tate"

Release Date: January 8, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh

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Introduction

In episode #4376 of Too Beautiful To Live (TBTL), titled "Taters Gonna Tate," hosts Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh navigate through a blend of personal anecdotes, media critiques, and listener interactions. The episode, released on January 8, 2025, showcases the duo's characteristic banter and insightful discussions on a variety of topics ranging from hockey adventures to ethical consumerism.

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Random Audio Segment

Random Audio was introduced as a new segment where Luke shares three unsolicited audio clips for entertainment.

Luke Burbank [02:23]: "Random Audio. Louie, what is that?"

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [02:47]: "Very best friends are dope to be."

The segment sets a light-hearted tone, emphasizing the hosts' camaraderie and playful interaction.

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Hockey Game and Ice Skating Adventure

A significant portion of the episode delves into Luke and Andrew's experiences at a Seattle Kraken hockey game, particularly focusing on a hazardous ice skating rink set up during the Enchantment at T-Mobile Park light display.

Key Points:

• Ice Skating Risks: The rink was deemed dangerously unregulated, with over 400 inexperienced skaters, leading to numerous falls and injuries.

  Andrew Walsh [07:08]: "It's so dangerous to everybody involved."

• Mascot Antics: The Kraken's troll mascot participated in entertaining yet chaotic activities like musical chairs on ice, illustrating the blend of fun and risk.

  Luke Burbank [07:18]: "I'm really shocked at how dangerous it is."

• Personal Reflections: Both hosts shared their mixed feelings about the event, balancing the enjoyment of the spectacle with concerns over safety and corporate influence.

  Luke Burbank [16:00]: "He has very conflicted emotions... it's been a tough go."

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [07:18]: "I have very, I have, I wouldn't say complicated feelings about Amazon."

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Media and Public Radio Critique

The hosts venture into a critical analysis of public radio's current state, expressing frustration over its handling of political narratives and corporate influences.

Key Points:

• Normalization of Controversial Figures: Luke criticizes how public radio normalizes figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, diluting their controversial actions.

  Luke Burbank [10:07]: "I cannot tolerate public radio right now because it is just so brutal."

• Media Pressure: Andrew echoes similar sentiments, highlighting the media's overcorrection in fact-checking and its impact on public perception.

  Andrew Walsh [11:33]: "I'm at this hockey game... sucking up Amazon propaganda."

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [13:52]: "It's going to be a challenge these next four years. We're going to get through it together."

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Ethical Consumerism and Amazon

Luke and Andrew discuss their strained relationships with Amazon, stemming from ethical concerns and corporate practices.

Key Points:

• Amazon's Influence: Both hosts express disdain for Amazon's pervasive presence and questionable business practices.

  Andrew Walsh [07:08]: "Any time I buy something off of Amazon... my head almost exploded."

• Personal Conflicts: Their personal experiences at the hockey rink, where Amazon branding was omnipresent, fueled their negative perceptions.

  Luke Burbank [16:01]: "Cramming this Amazon propaganda down my throat."

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [07:18]: "I'm not anti-American, but... listening to public radio is just so brutal."

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Cooking and Culinary Anecdotes

The episode takes a culinary twist as Luke humorously recounts his failed attempt to bake a perfect potato, juxtaposed with Andrew's experiences with mashed potatoes during holidays.

Key Points:

• Baked Potato Fail: Luke shares his overcooked, mushy baked potato mishap, laughing at his own naivety.

  Luke Burbank [34:16]: "It turns out you apply heat to it in the oven until it's done being cooked."

• Mashed Potato Frenzy: Andrew narrates a family crisis over leftover mashed potatoes, highlighting relatable family dynamics.

  Andrew Walsh [42:17]: "I got rid of so many mashed potatoes."

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [40:16]: "I can not believe how much my core was engaged."

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Grocery Store Experiences

The hosts delve into the evolution of grocery stores, particularly focusing on QFC's transition from a high-end local store to its current state under Kroger's ownership.

Key Points:

• QFC's Legacy: Andrew reflects on QFC's reputation as a premium grocery store before its acquisition and subsequent homogenization.

  Andrew Walsh [58:07]: "I think I made 31,000 at my ultimate first job at KVI."

• Consumer Impact: They discuss how mergers and acquisitions have diluted the unique qualities of local grocery chains, affecting consumer choices.

  Andrew Walsh [59:26]: "People still thought of Fred Meyer as the place you go for the discounts."

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [60:21]: "Quality food center... my life had finally come together."

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Listener Emails and Stories

Engaging with their audience, Luke and Andrew read and respond to emails from listeners, sharing personal stories that resonate with the show's themes.

Key Points:

• Gene Shepherd Tribute: A heartfelt email from listener Jeannie details her formative experiences with Gene Shepherd's radio storytelling, highlighting the show's impact on her career in journalism.

  Jeannie [66:38]: "Gene was an incomparable storyteller, a humorist, a political commentator..."

• Community Connection: The hosts appreciate how personal anecdotes shared on the show foster a sense of community among listeners.

  Andrew Walsh [63:22]: "There's something about private jokes becoming public resonates deeply."

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [71:02]: "I have such fond memories of him, this experience and my nightly devotional."

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Reflections on Radio Shows

The hosts reflect nostalgically on classic radio shows like Sally Jesse Raphael’s and discuss their enduring influence on their appreciation for storytelling and broadcasting.

Key Points:

• Influence of Classic Radio: Andrew shares memories of influential radio shows that shaped his understanding of media and storytelling.

  Andrew Walsh [73:18]: "Gene shepherd was a radio guy... great influence on my life."

• Modern Radio vs. Classic Tales: They contrast contemporary podcasting with traditional radio's storytelling prowess, emphasizing the latter's impact.

  Luke Burbank [74:46]: "I love that she opens the segment just by going... that's good radio."

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [71:32]: "Talking about idiomine or something."

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Conclusion

Wrapping up the episode, Luke and Andrew express gratitude towards their listeners and donors, emphasizing the community-driven nature of TBTL. They encourage continued engagement and hint at future topics, maintaining their signature blend of humor and heartfelt discussion.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [76:08]: "No mountain too tall. Good luck to all."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Luke Burbank [02:23]: "Random Audio. Louie, what is that?"
• Andrew Walsh [02:47]: "Very best friends are dope to be."
• Andrew Walsh [07:08]: "It's so dangerous to everybody involved."
• Andrew Walsh [10:07]: "I cannot tolerate public radio right now because it is just so brutal."
• Luke Burbank [13:52]: "It's going to be a challenge these next four years. We're going to get through it together."
• Luke Burbank [16:00]: "He has very conflicted emotions... it's been a tough go."
• Andrew Walsh [16:01]: "Cramming this Amazon propaganda down my throat."
• Luke Burbank [34:16]: "It turns out you apply heat to it in the oven until it's done being cooked."
• Andrew Walsh [42:17]: "I got rid of so many mashed potatoes."
• Luke Burbank [40:16]: "I cannot believe how much my core was engaged."
• Andrew Walsh [58:07]: "I think I made 31,000 at my ultimate first job at KVI."
• Andrew Walsh [59:26]: "People still thought of Fred Meyer as the place you go for the discounts."
• Jeannie [66:38]: "Gene was an incomparable storyteller, a humorist, a political commentator..."
• Andrew Walsh [63:22]: "There's something about private jokes becoming public resonates deeply."
• Andrew Walsh [71:02]: "I have such fond memories of him, this experience and my nightly devotional."
• Luke Burbank [71:32]: "Talking about idiomine or something."
• Andrew Walsh [73:18]: "Gene shepherd was a radio guy... great influence on my life."
• Luke Burbank [74:46]: "I love that she opens the segment just by going... that's good radio."
• Luke Burbank [76:08]: "No mountain too tall. Good luck to all."

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Episode #4376 "Taters Gonna Tate" delivers a rich tapestry of conversations that highlight Luke and Andrew's diverse interests and deep connections with their audience. From navigating the perils of amateur ice skating to dissecting the complexities of modern media, the hosts offer a relatable and entertaining experience for both long-time listeners and newcomers.

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, class, settle down. I know it's the first day, but we've got a lot to get through. The earth is flat. The devil is real. The sun is crazy. And that is everything that we know. Congratulations, graduates. That's it? Well, no, you still owe tuition.

[Andrew Walsh]

Tbtf.

[Luke Burbank]

It's not great. It's fantastic. You totally undersold it. The pageantry, the costumes. Wow.

[Andrew Walsh]

I can't do that much jokes because nobody laughs at me. Targets. Targets.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, my God.

[Andrew Walsh]

Aha.

[Luke Burbank]

Ha. Oh, my God. That is a terrible feeling of coldness.

[Andrew Walsh]

Actually, you know what?

[Luke Burbank]

I could email you or, you know, you can email me at splat2splitnet.net Splat1's my father. It'll be sad to see him go, but it'll be nice to get my hands on that handle. Well, all right. Hello, good morning, and welcome, everyone, to a Wednesday edition of tbtl, the show that just might be too beautiful to live.

[Andrew Walsh]

Everything you're about to see is my real voice.

[Luke Burbank]

My name is Luke Burbank. I'm your host. I don't know who that is, and I don't care to find out. Coming to you from the Madrona Hill studio, perched high above the mighty Columbia, AKA Hummingbird Central, baby. Oh, ma pa. It's just beautiful. It is an absolutely gorgeous day. I saw. I mentioned this on the show, I think, on Monday, which was the first day around here, and I want to be clear. I know people are dealing with all kinds of weather situations that are actually dangerous and really awful. So a little rain here in the PNW isn't that big of a deal. But I said on Monday that I didn't realize how much I needed it to stop raining around here. And I saw somebody else online who said the same thing. They were like. Like, I didn't know that I needed it, but I sure did, and I'm sure happy that it continues. You didn't know that you needed episode 4376 in a collector series, let the fun begin. But you do. And it's here, my friends. And we are gonna get to this new segment called Random Audio. Louie, what is that?

[Andrew Walsh]

What is.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm like, I don't know. I don't. What is it? Roundup, where? And I play three random clips of audio for Andrew for his enjoyment and hopefully yours too. You, the tens of listeners speaking of Andrew Walsh, the longest running co bro of the show, maybe best known for his depictions of the tall ships. We are friends, dare I say, I don't know if I'm his best Friend I would like to think I am.

[Unknown]

Best friends are very cool to be.

[Andrew Walsh]

Very best friends are dope to be.

[Luke Burbank]

He is Andrew Walsh. He is joining me right now. Good morning, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

Good morning, Luke. You know, I heard a little.

[Luke Burbank]

Would you say we're best friends? I mean, this is actually kind of a serious question.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm talking about Sam Richardson at the top of the show now. I feel a lot of pressure.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I don't. I don't mean in terms of like, voluntarily being best friends, but in terms of just the amount of time that we spend talking to each other. I don't think that there could be any other way to describe this other than a best friend situation or at least a most time spent together friend situation.

[Andrew Walsh]

I like the way you're, like, not a voluntary best friend.

[Luke Burbank]

No.

[Andrew Walsh]

Compulsory. Am I being rendered. No, you're being friendered in the way.

[Luke Burbank]

My version of Friend of Veep, which.

[Andrew Walsh]

Also goes back to Sam Richardson. Yes, possibly. I guess I don't think about best friends in that way. You and I rarely see each other socially, though, these days, because you do live in a different part of the state. But certainly we checked in.

[Luke Burbank]

I've taken a vow of basement chastity.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I've taken a vow of basement chastity, that is for sure. And of course, Luke, Genevieve is my best friend.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, sure, of course. And I guess this raises the question, can you have multiple best friends? I'm just thinking of, like, people that aren't, you know, my girlfriend or my daughter or, you know, people like that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah, they're my best friends, certainly.

[Luke Burbank]

How dare you? Certainly. You are the person I talk to the most in the world. And I don't know what that means, but I'm gonna choose to put it in the category of very good friends.

[Andrew Walsh]

Of best friend Ism.

[Luke Burbank]

Best friend adjacent.

[Andrew Walsh]

Best friend adjacent. I did. But I am curious, truly, if you are familiar with a show called the After Party, which I was just hipped to recently starring, I believe, actually like starring. Starring in a starring role. Sam Richardson, one of our favorite best friends from the Detroiters, and take a.

[Luke Burbank]

Couple of Boston Coolers.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I don't remember that reference. What is that?

[Luke Burbank]

They go to some kind of an event and they just are ordering tons of a drink called the Boston Cooler, which I don't even think is a real thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I think I do vaguely remember.

[Luke Burbank]

That they got like 10 Boston coolers on their, like, tray going back. I think it's like a charity auction.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God. Anyway, have you heard of this show because I just feel like this. Like, what's that drop we play from workaholics? How did all these buff dudes escape my radar?

[Luke Burbank]

Like, yeah, we should know every time Sam Richardson does anything. We should be aware.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, exactly. And so. And this has been around since 2022. Oh, it looks like it's an Apple TV thing. Or is it Apple Plus? Or I don't know what you call that shit. Which. That would kind of explain why it's not on my radar. But I feel like that might be something that we as best friends should be looking into potentially, as. As our next viewing obsession. I'm a huge Sam Richardson fan.

[Luke Burbank]

Do you know anything about the premise of the show?

[Andrew Walsh]

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't love the name. I'm gonna be honest with you, as your best friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

I would just like to clarify.

[Luke Burbank]

I think you deserve my honest opinion. I don't like the name.

[Andrew Walsh]

Here's what I will tell you. And I'm gonna read to you directly from Wikipedia. My buddy was telling. Telling me about this the other day at the Kraken game, by the way. I went to a. Did I tell you one to a crackin. No, I just cracked my first Kraken game the other day. It was. It was fun. I never. I'd never been before was a release the Cracker. That's the local hockey team, by the way. I think they're in their fourth season now. For folks who don't follow that, and I'm not somebody who follows the NHL either. There was this. Why would I focus on the negative? I will say the one part that, like, really made me cringe. And, like, they have a whole bunch of, like, fun, you know? I don't know if you know this, Luke, but hockey is in three periods, which gives you two intermissions. I'm just helping you to some of the hipping you. I'm hipping you to some of the language that goes. I don't want you to embarrass yourself at your first crack in game, which I assume you have been at. Right.

[Luke Burbank]

When I see the Zamboni.

[Andrew Walsh]

When you see the Zamboni. Call it a Zamboni. You call the jersey sweaters, I believe.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, right, right, right.

[Andrew Walsh]

They are games, not matches, apparently. I was surprised to hear that. I think it's a soccer match, right? But a hockey game, that's important. And they're not in halves or quarters. They're in periods.

[Luke Burbank]

Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, they call them thirds. I don't want you to embarrass you. No, no, they're periods. So there are these two. You know, like, I, I fully believed you, by the way.

[Luke Burbank]

That tells you my level. I tried to become a hockey guy when I lived in Portland because I started betting on the Kraken games in the first season. They also had a weirdly auspicious, I think first season.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, first season they were, they were terrible.

[Luke Burbank]

Maybe it was their second season, second season they got. But actually kind of better than maybe they were expected to be. And towards the end of the season, out of just sheer boredom and not wanting to feel my feelings, I started just laying some heavy bets on the Kraken and it sort of shaped up. And so I was a real hockey guy. And then I moved to a state where they don't let me bet on my phone, so I lost track of the team.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now that you say that, you did talk about that on tbtl. You were, you're. You went through your, like, I think three weeks of just intense hockey things.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, it was really. I was like, yep, that's icing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that's right.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, I went from. Are these called thirds? To I'm better than the coach telling.

[Andrew Walsh]

These guys what to do. Right, Exactly. You're just so angry at the decisions being made. But they did have. So during these intermissions.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way, on the subject of Zambonis, can we come back to something during my holiday break involving a Zamboni when you're.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, of course. They have these various games. Their. Their mascot, which I'm sort of on the fence about, is a troll. It's like literally like a troll character. And I remember when they kind of unve it. But I guess he's kind of a. In the, in the modern tradition of fun mascots, I guess he is kind of a bit of a hoot in on social media or whatever. People seem to like this, this scamp. I can't remember. No, certainly not. But anyway, like they played musical chairs on the ice with these like blow up chairs. At one point is like, you know, between period entertainment. It was funny. One of the, one of the, you know, one of the fans who was out there playing musical chairs on ice ended up popping. He went and sat as hard and quickly on the chair as possible. Ended up blowing up on him. I thought that was pretty funny. I don't think that was planned. Anyway, these little, these little events were fun, but then, but they're so, so tied to marketing in some way in a lot of cases. And then There I am. You know, I have very, I have, I wouldn't say complicated feelings about Amazon. I have negative feelings about Jeff Bezos and Amazon and, you know, just, we don't have to get into all of the things that are in the news lately that make me feel even worse about my relationship. Anytime I buy something off of Amazon or supporting Jeff Bezos or any of these rich tech guys, my, I, I broke a little bit yesterday and listened to some NPR and my head almost exploded by the end of the Mark Zuckerberg piece. I'm just like, how, how can I ever get back into paying attention to the world again? When I listen to three to five minutes of the radio and my eyes are bleeding, I do not know how I'm going to do this. We're not even talking about especially bad.

[Luke Burbank]

Week with, you know, January 6th and everything, the certification of things. But like, it has been rough out there for a news consumer, a person who tends to listen to public radio. I have been, I will turn it on and then I will just, it's like I walk into a room and then I just do a 180 and walk right out of it. Like, I cannot tolerate public radio right now because it is just so brutal. And they've made the calculated decision that they have to cover the news of the world. That is their job. But it's like, I don't know, I don't know how I'm, I'm with you. I don't know how I'm going to get through the next four years of listening to this coverage of what this guy is doing and what his hench people are doing. Like, and I feel like it's getting normalized in some weird way. Like this is the latest, like the latest sort of spin of this wheel is, well, now we have to treat him like a real president as opposed to, you know, actually, Chris Hayes had a really, really great episode of why is this Happening? This Week? Where he talked to somebody about basically ways that the Democrats can push back against the Trump administration. And I was telling him over text that I thought it was like, very realistic, but also it gave me some hope. Like, I'm into those conversations, but this, this, this other thing that's happening where we're just like, a lot of Democrats are going, well, we got to work with the guy. And then the media seems to be following suit where they're just treating stuff that he's doing like, it's not bananas. It's just, it's, it's, it's, it's crushing my spirit.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I don't know if you were following the Zuckerberg stuff yesterday, but like that too, like you mentioned the word normalization. I mean, that's it too. Like, it's almost like the like, you know, these, these tech guys, Bezos, Zuckerberg, whoever else you want to group in there. Like this idea of them ditching any kind of fact checking, them partnering up with nonprofit news organizations to do general fact checking to try to stem the tide of misinformation, which is a huge scourge in our society, but not just saying, hey, we're going to low key that, but then taking the opportunity to just basically say the fact that we've been fact checking has been a huge overcorrection towards the liberal liberalization of society or whatever. You know, I'm paraphrasing, exaggerating, I'm exaggerating a tiny bit there from. It's almost like Zuckerberg has been holding his breath, just getting through the quote unquote woke era so that he could just take this deep breath and inhale all of the just conservative MAGA bullshit where he can swim in these waters so much more freely. It just like I, I almost like, listen, I'm not even joking. I listened to one Q&A and All Things Considered yesterday with some tape of him and his announcement and like I almost deleted. I came very, very close to at least like kind of turning off my Instagram for a while. I'm like, some of these tech businesses, we need like, you know, like Google, you know, web TV, web Google, web TV. These are the services I need. Cosmo.com and what was the pet, the pet website, I can't remember anyway, but like I don't need Instagram, you know, like that's just a toy and this guy is disgusting. And so all that is to say I'm at this hockey game, by the way, on January 6th. I'm there with my buddy and like, you know, we can we just say.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way, this whole thing of like, excuse me, they've stepped up Security for January 6th for the certification. It's like, give me a flipping bark. This kayfabe of. We got to pretend like January 6th is now a really, really controversial and dangerous day. Yeah, it's like there's one group of people who made it that and another group, people who have literally never done that. And the way that they were covering it, like, you know, extra security and can't be too careful. It's like, stop embarrassing all of us with this Play acting.

[Andrew Walsh]

And so I'm there on January6, and then I realize, oh, of course, the Capitol.

[Luke Burbank]

Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Right, yeah. At Climate Pledge Arena. Luke. And then so I'm already like, I hate calling it that. And then, oh, it's rise for the national anthem. And I'm like, oh, God. And I, like, I lean over to my buddy who, like, and I wanted to be somewhat careful. He's, you know, he served in the Army. Like, he's like, you know, like, I want to be respectful of that. But, you know, he also is, know he's not, you know, he's not a conservative man. He shares a lot of the same concerns in the world that I do. But I don't want to be, like, super disrespectful during the anthem, but I did lean over to him like, this is. I said, Happy January 6th or something. Like, this feels odd on January 6th or whatever. Like, home of the. Home of the brave. Right? Land of the free. Home of the brave. I'm going to switch those up anyway. Like, there's something about, like, standing and being reverent and maybe I'm just getting into like, plain old, like, the lock me up territory for being anti American. But, like, I don't think I'm anti American. But I'll tell you what, it's really hard to stand, to be forced to stand societally forced to stand for that and listen to those words and pretend like that actually represents the country that we live in. Like, it's just, it's. It's really tough. All of that is to say one of the little games was like, can. Can a fan on the ice deliver all the Amazon packages that are supposed to be delivered to the various. Like, and it begins with this, like, this big. They show on the Jumbotron, like maybe five, or let's say like five actual Kraken players. And they say what they've ordered and they start by saying, sorry if this is going to trigger your home devices, but they say, alexa, order me some baby diapers because I just had a baby. And then somebody else says, order me one of these things. So, like, literally, the Kraken players on the Jumbotron are saying, alexa, order me this or that. And then the guy down on the ice, the fan who has like this Amazon delivery hand truck has to.

[Luke Burbank]

If he delivers all the packages, he gets health care.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, he doesn't.

[Luke Burbank]

He's not an employee. Why would a guy wearing an Amazon uniform for 30 years driving an Amazon truck? Why would you ever think that was an Employee of Amazon.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my.

[Luke Burbank]

Are you crazy?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, God. Anyway, and so I'm just, like, watching, and it's one of those things where it's. I was, like, trying to examine my feelings. I have so much hatred for that company and the Bezos and myself for being there. So I didn't hate myself for being there. I had a nice night. I doubt my buddies listening, but I don't want to portray. Portray it like that. But, like, I just have all these conflicted emotions. And again, on that particular day, in this particular year, it's just. It's just been a tough go. But I was, like, thinking, like, if this was a. If this was an Alberto promo, like, I'd be totally into that if it was something like, you know, I was going to say local company. Amazon is technically a local company, but, like, there are certain brands. I wouldn't even. Not only would I not blink at them, but I would actually appreciate it. You know what I mean? I mean, honestly, sprinkle some EQC on that ice. That's fine, honestly. But, like, there's something about Citizen their.

[Luke Burbank]

Sinbad. How is it grandma's always got money, they ain't got no job?

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm just like. They're just cramming this Amazon propaganda down my throat like they're f. Gring me on Amazon. Well, the shit. While I sit there in Climate pledge arena on January 6th singing the national anthem, it's.

[Luke Burbank]

It's a. It's going to be a. It's going to be a challenge these next four years. We're going to get through it together. I really mean that. You know, we were. We were really talking about that a lot right after the election. I feel like we've kind of. You and I have sort of shifted into just, you know, our normal life and TBTL being its normal, meaningless self and everything. But I just want to remind everyone we can get through this together. We really can. I do not think it will be the darkest timeline. It doesn't mean that we should, you know, relax or take our eyes off of things, but I just don't think it's going to be the darkest timeline. I think something's going to happen. There's going to be an. An exogenous event that we can't perceive, and. And things are not going to go the way that we thought they were going to go. And I'm hoping that is for the better. Now, back to the subject of Zambonis and ice. Addy and I on Christmas in Seattle in your hometown. Andrew went to something called, like, Enchantment at T Mobile Park. T Mobile Field, where they just go crazy on the Christmas lights. It's like a Christmas experience. And one of the things.

[Andrew Walsh]

Does it raise money for a second baseman? Well, I got. I got you.

[Luke Burbank]

Sorry. That's what happens when daddy doesn't use the cough button, everyone.

[Andrew Walsh]

The good news is I got you to laugh. The bad news is you have about one week before we have to say goodbye. How's that cough doing?

[Luke Burbank]

It's. I was telling you before the show, I sound worse, but I actually feel better, if that makes any sense. So, yeah, I think I'm on the mend. I have the consumption. Is that bad? Yeah, they wrote a song about me. Ring around the Rosie. Anyway, I sent you. I actually sent the criminals a video from the light display out in, like, left field. And then I zoomed my phone up to, like, Julio Rodriguez's like, number. It was a. It was an odd kind of collision of things, one being Christmassy stuff and the other being, like, oh, this is also where Julio Rodriguez will be playing in the. In the spring, and I sure hope he has a good season or whatever. But one of the things they had was this ice skating rink. And we got, you know, ice skates and. And did it. And I was shocked that that is legal. Like, just from a liability standpoint. I cannot believe you are legally allowed to let a bunch of people who have never been on the ice before. We're not, like, we don't live in Minnesota. This is. We don't. We're not a culture where people are, you know, skating in their backyard from a young age. This was, I would say, roughly 400 people who had never ice skated before, strapping literal blades to their feet and then wading out onto a slippery as snot surface that also is not only slippery, but extremely hard when you fall on it. And people were just eating shit left and right and trying to take me and Addie down with them.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did you fall at all?

[Luke Burbank]

I did not, I am proud to say. Nor did Addie, but. But the whole time we were just, like, looking around and it ended up being fun. But it was like, how, like, who thought this was a good idea? Like, because of. Again, because of these sort of. It's one thing if it's an ice skating rink and, you know, people are going there purposefully and maybe they've done some ice skating or whatever to just throw this up as a pop up experience. It is so dangerous to everybody involved. I can't get the sound out of my head of, like, the human skull connecting with the ice at the Enchantment experience AT T Mobile field. Like, there is a certain sound that a human body makes when it is completely defenseless hitting the ice, and you can't get it out of your head. And it haunts me to this day.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God. I'm just having a. I'm just trying to recover a memory that probably happened sometime over the holidays. I literally, you know that I think there's a. Maybe a far side cartoon where two people bend over and they bonk their heads together, and it sounds like a coconut. I did that to somebody. Me and somebody dropped something at some point, and me and somebody bent over to pick something up at the exact same time. And I swear the reverberation of the sound of two coconuts hitting is still. Is still reverberating out into space somewhere. We both just looked at each other like, are we in a Three Stooges show right now?

[Luke Burbank]

Did you begin to think that you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Were a chicken with my.

[Luke Burbank]

Because I feel like on Gilligan's island, you would bonk, and then you were a chicken until you re bonked.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, but I did forget who I was. And then they had to bonk me in the head again. And then. And then I remembered, but. Oh, I did want. I just had some questions for you. Like, how so if you're picturing a baseball diamond and then obviously the outfield and everything, like, how big was this rink and where was it position it would have been?

[Luke Burbank]

It took up, like, let's just say all of left field.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Although you can't see any of the Mariner stuff. It's like, you know, there's a floor down, and there's, like, a million of these lights and things, But I would say it was roughly the size of maybe left field, but. And they sold way too many, like, tickets because it was just teeming with people.

[Andrew Walsh]

To the whole thing or just the ice skating part specific?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, the ice skating was the most dangerous, so that was where I noted it the most. But, yeah, mostly the ice skating. They should not have. They should have, like, you know, staggered it a little bit. They should not have let everyone out at the same time. The thing that did help was eventually the herd thinned itself. There was a lot of people who did one lap and were like, okay, no more. So that helped. They kind of got out of there. And then some people got better, me and Addie included. So by the end, it was really fun. But, boy, the first couple of laps I was just like, this is a menace to everyone here.

[Andrew Walsh]

And how did you get out into the field? What was your entryway? I'm just kind of curious because I'm at that ballpark a lot. In, like, one time I was there, my buddy had an extra ticket to, like, the. The fireworks on the field or whatever. So I think it was last season. Maybe I, like, waited in this tunnel and got to actually go out in the field, which I always. I want to be more aloof about those kinds of things, but then when you're actually on the field, it's kind of hard. It's kind of like, oh, my God. This is kind of. This is kind of awesome. So how did. What was your. Was it, like, kind of a cool way to get out there?

[Luke Burbank]

Do you remember you just went down the stairs. Like you were going. Like you had good seats to the Mariners.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay.

[Luke Burbank]

So you just went down and. But then, you know, instead of the. Whatever, the fence would be at the very edge between the stadium and the seats in the field. There was just, like, a walkway, a gate.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, interesting. Okay. I didn't know that, but.

[Luke Burbank]

But it's. It's actually kind of funny because it was pitched as a maze, and Addie and I were kind of laughing because, you know, we were in there walking around, and it was. The gimmick was you're collecting eight stars that, like, Christmas needs or Santa needs or some shit, and you go around with these scratch tickets and you like, whatever. It was a MacGuffin.

[Andrew Walsh]

But did you do that part?

[Luke Burbank]

We didn't. We walked around and we saw the things we didn't do. The scratch ticket.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, that's why Santa didn't come to my house this year. Thank you.

[Luke Burbank]

We got fully lost in the maze.

[Andrew Walsh]

You literally are laughing at the ridiculousness of the maze.

[Luke Burbank]

We started out laughing at the ridiculous of the maze, and then we were in the friggin Shining, I was gonna say, right? I mean, there's creatures chasing. There's nothing more humbling than laughing off the Enchantment Experience maze and then literally having to open an emergency exit that we thought was going to make a sound to get out of there. We. That's how we got out of there was. We opened a thing that we were not supposed to open. Addie did it. She's a rule breaker like her old man. And because we were. We were late for our ice skating appointment, and so we were like, we got to get out of here. And we just kept getting actually legitimately trapped in this maze, which Was.

[Andrew Walsh]

And you find yourself in Ichiro's office and he's like in uniform, sitting behind a desk at like 10:00 on a Saturday night, two days before Christmas, just like still like going over like rosters and pouring over like pitchers and catchers. I would not be surprised.

[Luke Burbank]

I would absolutely have believed that. That would have been amazing. But no, anyway, just, yeah, the ice skating thing, I was, I was shocked at how dangerous it is and I was very happy that I managed to survive it.

[Andrew Walsh]

My dad used to ice skate a lot. There's an ice skating rink in Cleveland, Ohio, called Winterhurst, I think. And it is kind of like, you know, it's just like a. It's just like a roller rink, only it's an ice skating rink. And again, Midwest, probably a little bit more experience with, with ice skates. And I think I went, I think I went a couple of times when I lived in Cleveland to Winterhurst. That is one thing about watching Hock. You know, obviously I really don't know anything about hockey. That's the first hockey game I think I've ever gone to. But I know something about trying to rollerblade because I did that during the pandemic. And it's so hard. It's like, and I know we've talked about this on the show, it's one of the only things that I've really tried at and just said I failed. Like, I can't. And it's just a hobby. So it's not like I'm not super bummed about it. Although there are not a lot. Like, there are very few hobbies where it's like, no, I tried and I went out there and I gave it. Not the 10,000 hours. How much hours? How many hours am I supposed to give it?

[Luke Burbank]

I think it's 10,000 hours.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

But by the way, I've been listening to a lot of Pushkin lately. Pushkin Industries or whatever it's called. That's Gladwell's podcasting. He's gonna kill his child in one of those Mercedes ads. Dude, have you listened to anything on Pushkin?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, No, I don't listen to those.

[Luke Burbank]

First of all, the entire thing is just a high end car ad. All of the ads are for expensive cars with Malcolm Gladwell driving them with his kid in the car punching it like. And the kid going, faster, daddy. Oh, they're good ads, but I'm like, the kid is in danger. Malcolm Gladwell is out there just racing around the Hudson Valley in a super fast Mercedes to make these ads. For Pushkin Industries.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I mean. But I can't tell if you're. To what degree you're joking here. Is it they're actually in a car? You think they're in a car together? I thought you were just.

[Luke Burbank]

No, no, there's like. He's literally like in a car. No, he's in a car. Unless they're tricking me. It sounds like he's in a car with his actual kid. His kid is named Speedy, by the way.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, well, then I think they know what they're doing.

[Luke Burbank]

And. And it's him driving this kid speedy around in the Hudson Valley. But going. He literally says, like, should we floor it or something? I'm like, you shouldn't floor Malcolm.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, no.

[Luke Burbank]

How about you obey the very dangerous?

[Andrew Walsh]

But I was going to say, like.

[Luke Burbank]

You were doing your 10,000 hours of roll.

[Andrew Walsh]

Anyway. Point is. And I just. Eventually I just like, it's not getting easier. It literally was physically painful in my legs. I'm just like. I guess I just have a body type and a balance type and everything type. That makes me the type of person who just cannot like, kind of get comfortable on rollerblades. I was never comfortable on those things. So all of that is to say one of the things that was the most exciting part of the game was when the referee had to jump up to miss the puck and just lands on his feet again or on his ice skates again. I'm just like, that is. That is a miracle. I mean, just forget about everything else. And then they're putting all these like crazy, like designs and animations on the rink, on the ice itself, which is, you know, I gotta say, it's such a cool spectacle to see that. To see the entire rink basically become like a. Become like a movie theater screen, essentially, or a hundred of them put together. But all that is to say the most exciting thing is just like the referees didn't fall down. Like they just like can just jump on.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Take that, Angel Hernandez, right? These people are elite level ice skaters.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's right. He's gone now, Right. I think, I think finally, finally rousted him out of the league. But anyway, that was my experience at the game.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I don't think anyone's comfortable on rollerblades. For the record, Andrew, they're not like roller skates make sense. There's, you know, four of them.

[Andrew Walsh]

Four wheels stable four wheels.

[Luke Burbank]

It's kind of a spread out, stable kind of thing. Relatively stable. I mean, rollerblades are. I mean, they're very awkward to Be on. I just want you to. I want you to know. I don't think it's you. I think it's the Rollerblade.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I've seen people comfortable on Rollerblades. I see it on social media all the time. And anyway, I mean, that's the thing about what you guys were doing. You guys stayed up. But, like, I do think that the casually ice skating once every couple of years is such an interesting thing, because it is so. It's so difficult. I find it incredibly difficult to do, like you said. And it is like you're used. In most cases, you're using muscles that you don't usually use, you know, so can be very.

[Luke Burbank]

I was sore for, like four days, I believe it. And. And I'm, you know, in a pretty regular jogging habit. I could not believe how much my core was engaged.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. And by the way, trying to balance.

[Luke Burbank]

How little core strength I have. Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. I'm like. I was rather like a slinky. Thank you for being a t.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what the core strength of TBTL is, Andrew?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, see what I did there? My comedy chops. No, can't be that.

[Luke Burbank]

It is the donors. It is the. It's the folks that voluntarily donate their hard earned money so that this thing can happen five days a week. This steamy podcast can happen five days a week.

[Andrew Walsh]

How do I forget about our new branding? The sultry sounds of TBTL.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, exactly. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Eleanor McNeil specifically requested, Andrew, that you do that voice. Eleanor is in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you, Eleanor, for keeping this thing going.

[Luke Burbank]

Thanks also to Lloyd Christensen in Bellingham, Washington. One of my very favorite places to be from.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, indeed.

[Luke Burbank]

Thanks, Lloyd. Thanks to Lisa Arboleda in. Oh, Camas, Washington. I know where that is. That's just down the interstate from me.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, it is? Okay, cool. Your neck of the woods, kind of.

[Luke Burbank]

It's down. You go down to Vancouver and you hang a left. You hang a left at Albuquerque.

[Andrew Walsh]

But then where. But where does Lisa live, specifically the address? Well, just keep on telling us.

[Luke Burbank]

1, 2, 3, 4. Mockingbird Lane.

[Andrew Walsh]

What is your go to if you.

[Luke Burbank]

Have to make up an address? Is it Mockingbird?

[Andrew Walsh]

It's still that. Why do. What is that from? Why do we say that? Mockingbird.

[Luke Burbank]

Somehow we were raised on that.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know what I don't like, by the way? And I'm saying this quietly so that I don't offend anybody. I really hate the Mockingbird song. I was listening to some records. You mean over the week?

[Luke Burbank]

No, that's Bird.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that is the one that Jim.

[Luke Burbank]

Carrey sings in Dumb and Dumber.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't. I've never seen Dumb and Dumber. I don't know if he sings it, but it's an. You know, it's an old song. I'm trying to think. I have a not Carly sign. Yeah. Yeah, I think I have a Carly Simon record I was listening to. Genevieve brought home a Carly Simon record recently. When you hear the most annoying sound in the world. And there's this. The Carly Simon songs that are good are so good. And the ones that aren't good are not for me, my friend. And I've never been a fan of that. You know this song I'm talking about. Talking about. Right. Mock. Yeah, Bird.

[Luke Burbank]

I literally only know it from Jim Carrey's character singing it in Dumb and Dumb.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

And I've never. I think maybe I thought he made that up or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I didn't realize.

[Luke Burbank]

It's a pre existing condition anyway.

[Andrew Walsh]

But luckily that is not actually where Lisa lives.

[Luke Burbank]

It is not. Lisa lives in a place known as Camas, Washington, which is, I would say a good maybe two hours from Auburn, Washington, which is where Kyle Burroughs is. Kyle.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. Thank you both.

[Luke Burbank]

And then Petrinka Selland is in, oh, Portland, Oregon. Another place I love to be from There.

[Andrew Walsh]

Another place I love to be from.

[Luke Burbank]

So many places I love to be from.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, thank you, Patrinka. Appreciate that. And what is the. Is it the jolly Roger that we should be sending Patrinka to for some fun?

[Luke Burbank]

I believe they shuttered that place.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh.

[Luke Burbank]

And not a minute too soon.

[Andrew Walsh]

You were there.

[Luke Burbank]

You and John were there.

[Andrew Walsh]

It sounds like I shouldn't be sending Petrinka there. Actually.

[Luke Burbank]

No, I don't think that the health department, I think, finally had had enough. That was one of those places that had had one of those notice of proposed land use action like forever things on it for the entire time I lived in Portland.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And every time I would come in, I'd be like, this is still happening. They're like, yeah, we don't know. Finally.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And then thanks to Gabriel Hung in New London, Connecticut. You know, I'm going to Old London in February. Did I tell you that, Andrew?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, why?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, I've been meaning to tell you. I'm going to London for a TV job.

[Andrew Walsh]

Or did you mention that in February? Is Becca going with you for part of it or something?

[Luke Burbank]

No, I'm taking Gabrielle Hung.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, Gabrielle, I hope you New London to Old London.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I hope. I hope Gabrielle realized that.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I'm going out there for a TV story. It will not affect TBTL other than we'll have good hashtag content and I'll be doing the show at like 6:00 at night.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was gonna say it won't affect TBT other than you have to do it at 3am, Andrew.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, yeah, that's the other thing I needed to do.

[Andrew Walsh]

But it won't, it won't affect the show.

[Luke Burbank]

It won't affect the show, but I need you to get up at 2am and rollerblade into the studio, sir.

[Andrew Walsh]

Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

Thanks, Gabrielle. Thanks to all of our donors today for making TBTL possible. We just could not do this without you. Thank you. Hello and welcome to Top Story. All right, quickly, this is not the Top Story that I had promoted, but I just want to mention that I got really humbled last night by the Internet, Andrew. And it was when I googled how to make the perfect baked potato and I printed out the recipe and the recipe was.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wait, can I guess? Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

32 pages, one page.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay, okay.

[Luke Burbank]

And it said wash the potato, poke some holes in it with a fork, throw a little salt on there and put it in the oven at 425 until it's cooked.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right. All you needed was the time and the heat, probably.

[Luke Burbank]

I, I don't know what I was thinking. I just, I, I, I don't think I've made a baked potato in my adult life. We used to eat them when we were kids fairly frequently. And actually, like Becca was saying, they're actually, they're not bad for you. I mean, you know, people talk a lot about carbs and things like that, but the thing about potatoes is they do have a lot of carbs and a lot of starch, but they have a lot of good stuff as well. So it's better than some of the alternatives. So I'm trying to become a potato guy. First step was Google how to bake the perfect baked potato. And it turns out you apply heat to it in the oven until it's done being cooked.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, you needed the time and I mean, you needed the time and the temperature. But it's, I guess it's maybe funny that you printed it out, whereas you could have just probably scanned it. I'm usually, I mean, scanned it with your eyes and just like applied it. But you know why I thought it was going to be 32 pages, though? Not out of the complications of the recipe, but because any recipe online, I mean, I feel hacky even mentioning this because people have already joked and complained about this for years and years and years now. But, like, every recipe that I find online, you have to scroll until your thumb hurts to get past all of, like, the background of, like.

[Luke Burbank]

Do you know that Some sort of an SEO thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know that there are reasons for it, yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Some. I don't exactly understand it, but basically because I kind of made an offhanded joke about that last night on the ascendant social media platform Blue Sky. I said something like, just, yes, we're skipping to the recipe. All of us novice cooks who are asking, you know, the Internet for cooking advice. And I made that again. It was a very. It's a pretty hacky joke.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I'm sorry, I really, I did not know that you made that. And I was just thinking in the back of my head, I could have set that up.

[Luke Burbank]

I know it was hacky when I did it. I regretted it as I was hitting send. But, yeah, I. I do know that. Yeah, there's something about. You have to write all of that so that the Internet somehow presents your, like, recipe up there with all the other ones. Somehow. If you don't do that, you. You don't get the clicks or whatever.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I mean, I guess the more words you use, the more words that are keywords, I guess, in a search as well. And I thought I had heard another explanation for it as well, but, yeah, it is. It is kind of ridiculous and it was kind of funny. A friend of mine who's very much like, kind of into food culture and stuff, it's somebody that you know and the. Who has actually been on TBT before, but I'm not going to name him because I'm going to shame him. Instead, he wrote, like, this very earnest thing on Blue sky, like, over the holidays, saying, like, if you're not respecting, like the. If you're not respecting the lead into the recipe, you're not respecting the recipe or the person. Right. I'm just like, whoa. Like.

[Luke Burbank]

And they were being serious.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I think so. And I was kind of like. But I think that that's mostly just bullshit for, like, reasons like, you say, like, very practical, very just like internety, not bots. Kind of knocking on the door of Internet bot bullshit. Kind of like, it's a. It seemed like kind of a strange. Kind of a strange hot take. Maybe it was just a reaction to everybody just like, sort of making the same complaint year in and year out.

[Luke Burbank]

I've somehow ended up on the corner of Blue Sky. That's a lot of authors or aspiring Authors gassing each other up about writing. It's odd. And it's not, you know, people that I necessarily am familiar with their writing. It's a bunch of like authors who I'm unfamiliar with who are like writing these long things about writing. And I don't understand how that's what Blue sky is delivering me or.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, the interesting thing about Blue sky is Blue sky should not be give sending you anything that you aren't literally subscribed to. Right. Like there's, that's why I like Blue sky as opposed to Threads or any of the other things. It's like that you don't get like a lot of like promoted posts or anything. Everything that you see, I get a.

[Luke Burbank]

Lot of posts from people I'm not following.

[Andrew Walsh]

But is it, is it, are people retweet, Are people you're following kind of reposting them? Or sometimes is it a, is it a, is it a reply? Because I will see that sometimes I'll see a post from somebody I don't know. I'm like, why am I seeing this? And I realize, oh, it's because Chris Hayes replied to it. And so the thing is, it'll show me the original. It's not that you're just getting your.

[Luke Burbank]

Totally random, yeah, totally random posts from people I'm not following that are not being reposted, that are just like people being like, you know, kind of clapping back at haters in the writing world. It's like a very weird corner of Blue Sky.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ah, let me ask you this. And again, this is not interesting at all. And you might not even be asking for advice here, but I'm just very curious about this and maybe I'm realizing what's going on. I'm looking at Blue sky right now. Now I'm looking at it on my computer, not my phone. But I think it's the same thing. There are three tabs at the top. One is you can click on Following. Those are just the people you follow. One tab is for Discover and that's where you'll see things that are curated for you. And then Popular with Friends is another curation thing. I only follow the one that says following. Maybe that's a difference in the way we, we peruse these things. Because I do, I have a very knee jerk reaction to things being put in my feed just based on algorithms. Like I want to follow who I want to follow. I'm very old school Internet in that way.

[Luke Burbank]

I am following somebody called more Mr. Nice Guy. Oh yeah, who's in he's really in the. He's in the style of old friend 99. He's got some. He's got some really great. Let me see if I can find a couple of this. Let's see. This is great radio. Forget it. I was gonna try to. This guy comes up on my feed and he writes very funny stuff, but now that I'm scrolling through, it's all too weird. And without extremely online. If I read it out of context, it'll just seem crazy. Okay, so I'm saving you all having to read someone's life story regarding baked potatoes. 425, 30 minutes and check on it. Throw some olive oil and some salt on there. Okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

And you're not wrapping it in. And you don't have to wrap it in tin foil or anything like that. Right? That's if you're cooking it in a fire or in coals.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I did not put it in. I put it on some parchment and that was. That was it. And it was pretty good. I actually overcooked the potato, Andrew. I managed to screw that up.

[Andrew Walsh]

How was it overcooked? Cooked?

[Luke Burbank]

It was. Believe it. And I was a little mushy.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, interesting.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, which you think is what you're going for with the baked potatoes. Somehow it was just not quite. I'm still, I'm still dialing it in.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I mean, you got it. You want to chew it. It's got a. It's got to. It's got a yield. But you still, you still need to kind of use your teeth. I actually do find this interesting because I'm with you on that. Like, I feel like we. I feel like I baked potatoes sort of on the reg growing up and like I remember at some age discovering that like eating the skin is actually a treat. Like, I don't know if you were like that or if you took the same journey as a young person. But like, I feel like they were served at dinner a lot. They were cut in half. Started by just scooping out the. The insides and leaving the, the skins. And then at one point I'm like, oh my God, the skins. There's so much like good flavor in that. And then eating that, it just sort of seems like that was a regular part of life. And you're right. Like, I just do not eat very many potatoes as an adult. I made some mashed potatoes for our. Genevieve and I just had a very low key Christmas here and we made a nice meal. We made some prime rib for the first time. Genevieve made that in our New oven. It was good. And I made some mashed potatoes. And you know, for Thanksgiving we make mashed potatoes and then you have tons of leftovers from a Thanksgiving meal. And mashed potatoes will work its way into your leftover meals. Right? But with Thanksgiving, we didn't have a whole spread. We just had a few things. And little by little we ate the leftover prime rib and broccoli or whatever, but I just ended up with this big thing of mashed potatoes that I had one. Maybe I had one small bowl the next day or something, but I'm like, I'm just eating mashed potatoes. Like, I can't explain it. Like, I love mashed potatoes, but I was just too highly indexed on them. I end up throwing away this huge thing of mashed potatoes because, dude, we.

[Luke Burbank]

Could have used you over at our house. Because at my parents house after Thanksgiving there was a, like an inquisition regarding what happened to the leftover master.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh no. I wish I could have faxed these to you guys. I got rid of so many. I got rid of so many mashed potatoes.

[Luke Burbank]

My brother in law, Josh, my sister's husband, they run Pollo Bravo in Portland. Please go check it out. He is the mashed potato maker for our Thanksgiving and he is so good at it. So incredibly delicious. But like that's the whole thing for me is the mashed potatoes and then the Hawaiian rolls, but mostly the mashed potatoes. And the day after Thanksgiving there was like four of these kind of restaurant style little plastic canisters.

[Andrew Walsh]

Containers.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I put down at least one of them. And then maybe Addie had one or something. And then like eventually my mom comes down and she's looking around for the mashed potatoes and she's like, what happened to the mashed potato? She's calling my other sisters who've already left. It was, it was a whole situation. She was like, like absolutely gobsmacked that what she thought was a bounty of mashed potatoes had been harvested by 11am and was now gone. And then she got my dad involved. It was, it was a whole federal case.

[Andrew Walsh]

And does a lot of this play out on the family text chain? The Hawk thing, The Hawk squad text chain.

[Luke Burbank]

I do think it made its way on the Hawk squad because my mom was like, you know, everybody except like me and Addie had already left their house. And so I think she was trying to reach out to the other people being like, like, who left with the mashed potatoes? What is going on with the mashed potatoes? And I was just Telling her mom, I ate the mashed potatoes. If you want more, go to Andrew's house.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that's right. I have plenty of them. All right. I'm shipping some over to your mom's.

[Luke Burbank]

House, so I want to play you some audio. Andrew, I don't know if this is going to work, but there were just three pieces of audio that came into my life recently that I thought might be kind of interesting in one way or the other. The first one is actually from a listener, and I think it's our friend Cheryl and Corvallis.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah, I saw this.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, this is some tape of Bob Herzog, who is a meteorologist at the station in Cincinnati, wkrc.

[Andrew Walsh]

So close.

[Luke Burbank]

So close. If they start throwing turkeys, they do a turkey drop at Thanksgiving. We know that they're stealing someone's ip. He is. I think he hosts, like, Good Morning Cincinnati. But then when it snows, like it has been lately, they send him out into the field. And I have to say, like, I started off kind of being a little bit like, all right, we get it, this guy's, you know, he's being a little over the top or whatever, but then he kind of won me over. This is a super cut. Just imagine this is the meteorologist in Cincinnati just running around in the snow, just vamping. Basically. This is one of these morning shows. It's probably four hours long, and he's just got to figure out how to fill 20 minutes of every hour out in the snow. And this is what it sounds like.

[Unknown]

I assume that guy is probably in a ditch. I don't know what it is. All I know is it's hitting me in the face.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Luke Burbank]

I ran every red light.

[Unknown]

Oh, oh, you just heard that. Don't look at her license plate. She just admitted to some kind of crime. I'm having trouble breathing right now because it's both cold and I'm out of shape. And I'll throw in a third thing. Also, I'm old. Is it great snowman snow? No, man, no. I don't know where I'm gonna go when we get all this snow. So you're either gonna give yourself cardiac arrest or you're gonna throw out your back. And by the way, it's sled riding and not sledding. The station, always looking for non traditional rest.

[Luke Burbank]

How do you feel about that, by the way? Sled riding versus sledding.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's why I rang the bell. That's what stood out to me to this video from this Video. Was that because.

[Luke Burbank]

Is that an Ohio thing?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know, dude. All I know is at some point in my adult life living outside of Ohio, probably when I was in, you know, living in New Hampshire or whatever, I referred to it as sled riding, as I always have and never thought about it. And Genevieve and some friends thought it was funny and cute that I called it sled riding. They said, don't you just mean sledding? And I'd say it's sled riding. I, for, I don't know, 15, 20 years have thought that that was an Andrewism, something that I said that was goofy. And it got in my head at some point, at a young age, hearing him say sled riding and also make a point as if it is like a debate in the culture that is shocking to me. I didn't know there were dozens of them. Us.

[Luke Burbank]

Dozens.

[Andrew Walsh]

Dozens.

[Luke Burbank]

I do think it's slightly wrong though, right? We don't call it like ski riding, we call it skiing.

[Andrew Walsh]

But apparently again, two days ago, before I saw this tape, if you had said, it's not sled riding, Andrew, it's sledding, I'd be like, yeah, I know, I'm a dork. I don't know why I say it that way. I just always have, and it comes naturally to me. But knowing that this is actually. I mean, I don't know if there's a right or wrong. I don't know if that's. I don't know if that's the right framework for this. But knowing that not only is there a sled writing culture out there, but the fact that clearly this guy is saying, by the way, it's sled writing, not sledding, means that he's gotten into this conversation, which means people around Cincinnati and as you indicate, maybe all around Ohio are having this conversation. I'm intrigued.

[Luke Burbank]

You are not insane. Is the takeaway from that?

[Andrew Walsh]

I guess so. Or at least there's a reason why I say that. Maybe it's an Ohio thing. Maybe.

[Unknown]

Always looking for non traditional revenue sources. So I think TR and Bob Snow Shovel Removal Service is probably next on the agenda. This fence right here, this fence didn't exist. I think my insurance company paid for this fence. If you've been playing a drinking game this morning, based on how many times we told you not to go out, you are completely wasted at this point. Many local reporters, when they measure snow, they have. They have a yardstick and old to go, oh, is that much snow? I'm not going to do that. If you happen to have a rubber chicken and you walk outside and you with great force throw the rubber chicken into the snow and it disappears, that means it's a lot of snow. That's how my people used to do it. I'm just kidding. That's not what my people used to do. I don't even know who my people are now.

[Luke Burbank]

That, that was when he won me over by the way.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think I made it that far.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't even know who my people are. A moment of honesty from Bob Herzog out there in the wilds of the greater Cincinnati area. Hope everybody is doing all right by the way, both in the the places that are freezing and also down in California where the winds and the fires are really awful today. Now speaking of wind and fire, Andrew, I want to play you something that I somehow I have like become or I've stumbled into like astronomy. Tick tock. And by the way, apologies to our friend Summer Ash, our in house astronomer. I'm gonna do a terrible ashtronomer. I'm gonna do a bad job with this. But somehow I think I just like followed started following NASA. There was a cool thing from. Is it the Discovery rover? The whichever one is on Mars.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

It is eerie man.

[Andrew Walsh]

It is the images that are being sent back.

[Luke Burbank]

Footage.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Not just, you know, not even just still photos but just like there's audio and this thing is just, it's real, a kind of wall e vibrations. It's just going and it's just like it's just scanning you know, the various topography of Mars and stuff. But it is just so unbelievably desolate and remote. It's kind of of intriguing and also slightly terrifying. But in following NASA I then ended up on getting all of this like kind of astronomy stuff including this thing that I had no idea was happening which is something called the Palmer Probe. Have you heard anything about the Palmer Probe?

[Andrew Walsh]

The kids gave me a Palmer Probe once when I think I was in sixth grade or something.

[Luke Burbank]

It was, it was pretty schooled after that.

[Andrew Walsh]

I had to. And my name.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, the Palmer Probe is something. It is, it's. First of all it is the fastest object ever created by humans. It is currently it's near the sun. It got within 3 million miles of the sun which is the closest we've ever gotten with a man made object. And it's traveling I think at like maybe almost 500,000 miles an hour. And it got within like I said, 3 million miles of the sun which is the closest we've ever been. And this is the audio. Now this is better with the video.

[Andrew Walsh]

The Parker probe. Maybe there's a Parker solar probe. I'm not getting any. That's got to be Palmer. Okay, gotcha. I'm looking this up here.

[Luke Burbank]

I was thinking of the Robert Palmer probe, which is a whole other thing. Yeah, sorry, The Parker probe. Thanks. In here it is. Just imagine the visual of this, which is blackness with sparks just going past. And this is the sound, Andrew, of being 3 million miles from the sun's corona. Okay, how about that?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. How about not that? Isn't that like.

[Luke Burbank]

Isn't that. It's freaky. Plus, when you're watching the video, it's literally just sparks. This thing is going a half million miles an hour. It's. It's covered in. In some kind of carbon material that allows it to withstand the heat of the sun, at least being 3 million miles from the sun.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, they didn't use wax wings this time.

[Luke Burbank]

They decided not to.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

They decided to not do what the Polish space agency was planning on doing, which was going at night. Remember that joke?

[Andrew Walsh]

I do. I had a drop. I don't know if I think it was yesterday's show, like, of some, like, person being interviewed. He said they were being called Pollocks. They were being ridiculed online. And I always worry about somebody being offended. I just want to remind everybody that I come from a strong Polish tradition. And so you have a cha. I have chaos. Multiple chaos. I feel like we're covered on that stuff.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, here's the last piece of tape. And this one is truly random. It is just a guy in a giant eagle the grocery store, which I think is an Ohio thing as well, by the way. Did you ever shop at Giant Eagle as a kid?

[Andrew Walsh]

I did. And I feel like it was a somewhat newer store that kind of rolled into town maybe at some point in my life, because I sort of feel like I remember a pre giant eagle existence in my corner of the world and then a post Giant Eagle. But I did a show, maybe. I already told you this. I did a show, you know, an episode of after these messages with Genevieve. I think it was around Halloween. It might have even been on Halloween day or something. And I was trying to think what would be something that's kind of a Halloween theme, but not like just, you know, like vampires and commercials or whatever. And so I did was I put together a top 10 list of. Of brand names that sound way too scary. And Giant Eagle is on that list.

[Luke Burbank]

Good point.

[Andrew Walsh]

Why Are we going to a giant eagle to go grocery shopping? It sounds intimidating.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, it's a beautiful. It's a beautiful, handsome bird. But if it's giant now we're all in danger.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now it sounds like those things from the sun that you were just playing from the Parker probe.

[Luke Burbank]

From the Parker probes.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's a giant eagle.

[Luke Burbank]

That's the mating call of the giant eagle.

[Andrew Walsh]

Welcome to Giant Eagle.

[Luke Burbank]

This audio is just a guy. I don't know anything about this dude's backstory. I'd say he's probably maybe 70s or something. He's just a guy in a giant eagle who got a deal on a ham.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Great.

[Luke Burbank]

And he is friggin psyched. I don't understand who's filming him. I don't know what is going on. He's just standing by himself next to a shopping cart and giant eagle and he is friggin stoked. The best.

[Andrew Walsh]

I got a ham that I paid that was for $50 and I only paid $8.95. Where else you're gonna get a good deal like that?

[Luke Burbank]

Giant eagles. The best.

[Andrew Walsh]

He sounds like he's like doing a commercial, like a cheap local commercial. Like screaming in a parking lot with a bunch of used cars.

[Luke Burbank]

I just want to introduce Oi Yoyo Yoyoi into the Canon Garon eagles. The best.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's pretty great.

[Luke Burbank]

I want whatever that. I'll have what he's having. Whatever is going on for that guy, I want some of it.

[Andrew Walsh]

It. He's just ham, Luke. It's what you want.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what? It's the only thing I can't have, actually.

[Andrew Walsh]

You're like, I don't know what this guy's got.

[Luke Burbank]

Google.

[Andrew Walsh]

How do I know what.

[Luke Burbank]

He's perfect ham.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's got the perfect. He's got the perfect.

[Luke Burbank]

He's got high levels of sodium.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Anyway. Yeah, I love that.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, by the way, that I have been New Year, new me. I'm thinking about getting back into eating some amount of red meat, but only, and I'm not saying this to. To be, I don't know, highfalutin or anything, but like trying to find extremely ethically sourced.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Red meat.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, like grass fed. There's a term called grass finished. Are you familiar with this?

[Andrew Walsh]

No.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I don't even know what that means. But it turns out a lot of the places that you might want to get this stuff from, they are always clarifying that they're grass fed and grass finished. But there's actually a place up in, like, Elma, Washington, which is kind of near Olympia. It's like an hour from me. I might go to the farm and just, like, look around and make sure I think the cows are okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, you can actually go to the farm. Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, well, they have a farm store. But I'm planning on going rogue when I'm there and. And kind of snooping around a little bit to see if, you know, everything's on the up and up. But, yeah, because a lot of the stuff. First of all, I need to get more protein in my diet and I need to eat less garbage. Like, famously, I've said this before, but, like, you know, technically, if you're not being vegan, pizza is vegetarian. But it's not great for me. So I'm trying to think about higher protein, leaner things that I can have. And turns out red meat is in that category. But I just want to make sure that I'm. If I'm doing that, I'm getting it from the most ethical place you can. So.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, no, that. That makes sense. And I. I'm not doing that. Although when you do go to, like. And I'm not even talking about going to a. Like a farm like you're talking about, but even just going to a. A local butcher shop, it feels a lot better than just, like, going to like, know the qfc, which is owned by what? I kind of forget. I was just reading, I think over the. I think it's Kroger. There's an actual really interesting piece in the Seattle Times somewhat recently that kind of talked. Because there was supposed to be this big grocery store merger, and luckily it fell apart. And I think that's good for the industry because you look at what happened with the mergers of all of these drugstores. Like, there's mergers and then. And these companies just bought up all these stores, and then they just slowly went out of business. I just can't believe what is happening in the marketplace right now. I was pretty worried about this consolidation of grocery stores. And there was this Seattle Times article that talked about what happened with the deal, why it went down, and then also. Or why it kind of, I guess, didn't go down, why it kind of fell apart. And then also kind of a backgrounder of the reputation of QFC and the roots of QFC here in the Pacific Northwest or here specifically in the Seattle area. And then how it sort of mer merged with Fred Meyer, and then Kroger bought Fred Meyer and thus the QFC brand. And then, like, I didn't Realize, and I know you did, and maybe you've even explained this to me before. And obviously I'm just sort of. I guess I'm just at an age where I'm just sort of obsessed with grocery stores. But like, I didn't kind of realize that QFC used to have this reputation of being almost like a prototype of a kind of a whole foodsy kind of.

[Luke Burbank]

It was definitely the fancy place when I was.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was the fancy place and it was like, and it was like locally run. And then they kind of expanded and kind of funny, it's like, at what point do things break down in the capitalistic society, right? Because I'm not against a local company being successful, serving its community, expanding out, becoming more popular, continuing to expand. But then eventually what happened was you expand, you get bought, that gets bought. Then investors like faceless investment companies start switching things around, you know, and next thing you know, people are like, why am I going into a qfc? It's all the same products. Like basically qfc, they leveled out the quality of the stuff they sell compared to their brethren at Fred Meyer, but they never changed the prices. Like, people still thought of Fred Meyer as the place you go for the discounts and QFC as the place with the good cheeses and wines and whatever. But at some point they were all just owned by Kroger and they all have the same products. But for people who've lived. For me, I've never differentiated really between brand names of grocery stores around here as far as that mid tier level, qfc, Safeway, maybe just those two. Because I did think of Fred Meyer as being the place that you're supposed to go to.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, if it's not sars, you won't go fars. Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

So anyway, like, I do know that there are different tiers, but I didn't. I never thought of a difference between QFC and Safeway. And now I'm kind of like, oh, now I kind of understand the roots of all of this. Why people who grew up here would see QFC as the, as the place that used to be more like a. What are the other. PCC is a, is another like kind of higher end grocery store.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, and that it's also a co op.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, is that one a co op? Oh, okay. Oh, that's the C, right, yeah, okay.

[Luke Burbank]

But like, yeah, qfc. When I was a kid, first of all, we didn't shop there. And then when I became an adult and I lived on Capitol Hill around the corner from one, I would shop at the QFC on Capitol Hill. And I. It felt like my life had finally come together. Yeah, because that was like that. Yeah, Quality food center. It was like. That was like Albertsons was kind of like the, The. The bottom of the barrel in terms of like, this is before there was a Winco or like Walmart or even before Fred Meyer sold food. I still think of Fred Meyer as the place you go to get electronics.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, right.

[Luke Burbank]

Fred Meyer in Greenwood. Like, I'm still like, the Fred Meyer in my town has like a Murray's cheese counter now, which is like, I can't process that because it's like Fred Meyer was the, you know, place you went to get like Trapper Keepers and stuff. But yeah, definitely. QFC was like, was high futin and, And. And going there. We were talking the other day about how, like, you know, you want your house to be a blanket. You want to run the heat at the temperature. You want it to be just to be comfortable as an adult who pays your bills. That was me going to qfc. I was like, I am going to be the kind of person who shops at quality food set.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is just an aside that is kind of changing the topic a little bit, but I gotta say, there is something about. There is a lot to love about this job that you and I have doing tbtl. And would you say.

[Luke Burbank]

Would you say, oh, no, sorry, I was gonna try to play Oi, oi.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oi for you, but you can do it in the clear and I can. Here, do you want to do it in the clear? And I can edit it and it'll be super smooth.

[Luke Burbank]

No, I think the listeners actually find it more interesting, what you just said.

[Andrew Walsh]

I would agree, but I was going to say there's a lot to love about this job and there's a lot to love. Obviously, we just thank the donors. Right. About the people who allow us to do this. We say this a lot. But I just want to give another example of how sometimes I'm just like, what a world we live in and how tickled I am, I guess. Was it yesterday on the show we were talking about? Oh, yeah. I was not very proud of my performance in yesterday's show. I was telling somebody who was like, I just felt like I was just maybe starting to warm up. And then all of a sudden I looked down and we'd been talking for almost two hours and the show was over. I was like, well, I guess we're just putting that out in the universe. But we did get on the really heady topic of thermostat maintenance in our respective homes and where we keep our heat levels or whatever. And I mentioned in passing that a good friend of mine who lives in LA right now, and I hope she's doing all right with the fires down there. But a really close friend of Genevieve's and a friend of mine used to say a house is not a blanket. You just mentioned that, like, you're not supposed to keep the temperature up that much. And, you know, she probably said that because her dad or uncle or mom or somebody said that when she was growing up in Dayton, you know, and it's just like this weird thing that I associate with my friend Jessica. Never heard anybody else say that. And I just saw on social media today, I think on the Slack page, like, and I'm sorry, I don't remember who it was. I was just scrolling quickly, but it just. One of our listeners is like, oh, I'm so glad to have this phrase now, because now I can say that to my kids because I. I used to say something else. And, like, there's just, like, the ripple effect of that, like, tickles me. There are other. There are so many things that are just been, like, private jokes just between me and Genevieve. Like, nobody in the world would get these jokes that we've been banding about for 20 years. And then I'll tell them to you on the show, and then next thing you know, the listeners are in on that joke or even sending me, like, DVDs of. What is that. What is that movie that we make fun of the trailer about?

[Luke Burbank]

The.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm blanking.

[Luke Burbank]

Wide World.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wide World. Yeah. Good for you. Thank you for bailing me out there. But I don't know, like.

[Luke Burbank]

Or you saying, let me slip into something more upsetting.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, just like, there's something like that is so special to me about. It never feels. It never feels like I'm giving something up. It feels more like, oh, my God, like this. This silly little thing that has been like, just literally an inside joke for years or something. I just associate with one person in my life. We just say that as an aside, and you kind of realize, oh, wow, now other people are kind of using that and sharing that joke in their families. That just gives me a feeling that I guess I will just describe as unprecedented for me because I can't think of anything else that sort of gives me that feeling.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I'll give you an example. Speaking of the Palmer probe, the Palmer family out there in Utah, I was not, as I mentioned yesterday, really up on my email for the last couple of weeks. But I did check it yesterday, and. And if the Palmer family of Utah did not take the most adorable photo I've ever seen of the whole family decked out in tbtl tall ship hoodies.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, incredible, incredibly adorable behavior by these folks. I immediately sent it to Becca. Like, I don't know what she's supposed to do with this information, but I was just like, this is my job that me and my buddy chat with each other. And then these wonderful people in Utah buy these sweatshirts and wear them out to Christmas dinner where the server is like, what's going on with the shirt?

[Andrew Walsh]

Right, Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, I mean, we are so unbelievably lucky to get to do this and to have folks like that out there in the world taking part in it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yep, exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

Oi, yoyoi, yoyoi, Here I go once.

[Andrew Walsh]

Again with the email. Every week. I hope that it's from a female.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, man.

[Andrew Walsh]

Not from a female.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, Lee, what do you have?

[Andrew Walsh]

I wanted to share with you an email regarding. Here it is. Could you tell that for a second? I couldn't find it. I got a couple of very passionate emails from folks who love Gene Shepherd. We talked about Gene Shepherd. He's an old radio guy who. Yeah, it was his story that was adapted. His. A collection of his stories that I believe were written in a book and some adapted for radio that ended up becoming the movie, the basis of the movie A Christmas Story, and heard from a couple of people who are like, boy, as guys who love radio, and me especially, who love sort of classic radio, kind of surprised that we were not more hip to the Gene shepherd backstory. This is a backstory that pops up from time to time. People tell me about it. And like I said, I think I even helped produce a.

[Luke Burbank]

Because he's the narrator of the film, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

He's the narrator of the film, and it's his stories. But he was like a, you know, a longtime radio guy, and he would just tell these very, you know, like, kind of calming, old timey stories. And our friend Mellie in New York sent us some clips, and she's like, I'm obsessed with it. I used to listen to him. Like, I would. I would sneak and listen to him with, like one earbud in to go to sleep at night. And I got this great email from listener Genie. This is a little bit of a long email, but I thought it was really great. So if you'll. If you'll allow it, Jeannie Says I wanted to comment on Luke and your discussion about Gene shepherd, who wrote and narrated A Christmas Story. Gene was a radio guy from WO R A M in New York. And I lived.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, I almost got a job at wor.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, really?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, Producing the Joey Reynolds Show. It was an overnight show from like midnight to 5am oh, that sounds. It was like five hours of live radio overnight. I believe it paid $31,000 a year.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's not bad for early on in your career.

[Luke Burbank]

It was not enough for a parking space in Manhattan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, that's true. This is New York. Yeah. My first job in radio paid me $25,000 a year. Very.

[Luke Burbank]

I think I made 31,000 at my ultimate first job at KVI. It was just. That was. That worked in Seattle. It would not have worked in Manhattan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. And my 25 was in New Hampshire in 2001. So. Anyway, back to Jeanne's email. Gene shepherd was a radio guy in Worm in New York. I lived in Connecticut. I became a daily devoted listener in 1968. His show was broadcast from 9 to midnight on weeknights. I'd put. Oh, this is another one. I would put my little white transistor radio under my pillow with its one earphone in my left ear so my parents wouldn't know that I wasn't sleeping when they checked. Gene was an incomparable storyteller, a humor incomparable, I guess you would say, their storyteller. A humorist, a political commentator, a kazoo zoo player, and had a huge following of young and old folks. He introduced me to Robert Service poetry. He had a big influence on my life. This is where things get really interesting. I was editor of my high school newspapers as Jeannie my senior year and wrote a column for my town's weekly newspaper. One night, Gene said he was planning to hold a news conference in New York City for senior editors of school newspapers in the Tri county area. I lived in Connecticut and really wanted to attend. I plan to pursue a career in journaling journalism, and this would be my first big presser experience. A friend who is also a Shep fan asked his dad to drive us into Manhattan and he agreed. I applied for press credentials for us and I had the school principal sign the document stating that I was in fact the editor. We scored an excused absence. The event drew 150 kids to a midtown hotel ballroom, the name of which escapes me. Gene told us about questioning authority, what makes a good story, how to pose the right questions to get the best answers, and how to write an impactful lead. Jeanne spells lead correctly here, Luke. I thought you'd appreciate that. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

So Jeannie did become a journalist.

[Andrew Walsh]

Exactly. He took questions from the audience. After about two hours, he made sure we all had our official press packets and shook each of our hands. I gave him a hug. He was polite and seemed really interested in what we all had to say. This experience greatly impacted me. I had a career in journalism, then moved into creative work for ad agencies as a writer. I have such fond memories of him, this experience and my nightly devotional. I love the kazoo to this day. So, anyway, I mean, just like this goes on with more interesting details about Gene Shepard, but like, I love that story that he held. He held an event specifically for like a conference, you know, like you and I going to the PRPD or something. But it was a conference. A presser for a just high school newspaper editor. That's so cool.

[Luke Burbank]

I think you need to delve into the Gene shepherd verse when you're done listening.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think I will.

[Luke Burbank]

I. Johnny, expense report or whatever for people.

[Andrew Walsh]

I have not. Sorry, I was only half listening there. Johnny Dollar, the man with the action packed expense report. I do listen. It's so goddamn good. I am going to not. Not to try. I mean, his stories are kind of long and you know what I mean, we're not going to play a whole story here, but if people are kind of curious of the tone. Mellie sent in some clips. These were kind of, I think, coordinated by Hearing Voices. Remember Hearing Voices, Luke? Kind of NPR related project. Anyway, and here's just sort of a random sample. This is an hour long file that Mellie sent us, and she said about halfway through is a story she likes. I have no idea what this is. I'm needle dropping in the middle here. I'm hoping this will actually be Jean shepherd. Not like the host. I think Harry Shearer introduces this. So hopefully this is actually Jean shepherd here.

[Luke Burbank]

And believe it or not, it got to the point with me. You know, I'll tell you, there's a funny thing in human beings where I began to feel special myself because they talked to me. Yes, this is the kind of nuttiness that must have created a Hitler. Must have felt good to a guy, you know, to walk in and have Mr. Hitler say, oh, hello.

[Andrew Walsh]

I also, I sort of. And I mean, again, I should have previewed that. Maybe I should have found a better piece of tape because I think of him as talking in a radio studio. And that sounds like.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I sort of imagine him like, yeah, just in the Top of a, you know, a skyscraper in Manhattan Broadcasting.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, so that was northeast. That's on me. That's not a new Melly. I should. I should have identified like maybe a piece of tape that better represents kind of the vibe, which is where he's.

[Luke Burbank]

Talking about idiomine or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right, exactly. Pol Pot, where he's talking about Coney 2012.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, my God, I forgot about that. What a time. Coney 2012.

[Andrew Walsh]

What a time indeed. All right. So anyway, sorry about my kind of misfiring of the audience.

[Luke Burbank]

No, not at all.

[Andrew Walsh]

We'll leave it all in to folks.

[Luke Burbank]

For sending in those Gene shepherd memories. I might check it out too. I'm sure it's all on YouTube. And. Yeah, and yeah, I mean, my version of that was, of course, like, well, listening to Larry King in the middle of the night and also Sally Jesse Raphael and then critically, a show called this.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sally Jesse Raphael had a radio show or you were just listening to tv?

[Luke Burbank]

She had a radio show?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I didn't know.

[Luke Burbank]

Like in the 80s. Yeah, I think maybe before she even had her TV show, you know, with some sort of like, I don't know, it was like a advice call in show. It was whatever they played on, like King 1090 in Seattle when I was a kid. Kid. So they would. It would be. I would listen to Sally Jesse Raphael, they would do a simulcast of Larry King, meaning it was just his TV show. And I remember listening to an interview with the Wayans brothers. And I had never seen In Living Color. I had no context for them. And I remember just listening, like, totally fascinated, but having no idea what was going on on this interview because it was a TV interview that they just played on the radio. And then this show called Talk Net with Bruce Williams, which probably more than anything else formed my whole idea of radio. And it was like a financial advice show. And I had absolutely no need for any of the financial advice. But I still think about it this day. His advice to everyone was get a second job flipping burgers. Whenever anyone would call in with money problems, he would just be like, get a second job flipping burgers.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know that I have not done a good job of firing audio in this segment, but I will say I just looked up Sally Jesse Raphael talking about Stalin Radio. And the thing that popped up, and I think this is interesting, is it sounds like the show you listen to is called Talk Net, but did it also become a network? Is that what Net meant? Because I have here Sally Jesse Raphael's Talk net Radio Show, 1987 and it says here.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, she must have been part of the. I don't think I put that together, but there. Yeah. Bruce Williams must have expanded, or somebody must have expanded it into multiple shows, including one from her, which would have totally made sense.

[Andrew Walsh]

Should we just try to see? Definitely. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

This is the theme.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Tune in. Turn on Talk Net. We care.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hi, welcome to Talk Net.

[Luke Burbank]

Hi, Sally.

[Andrew Walsh]

How are you? Fine, I think.

[Luke Burbank]

What's wrong?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I have a very bad problem.

[Luke Burbank]

All right.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm 15 years old and I.

[Luke Burbank]

15, like, 15. Five weeks pregnant. Oh, dear. With Hitler's baby. What happened?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I went out on a date.

[Luke Burbank]

With my boyfriend and, well, we parked.

[Andrew Walsh]

All night, and then I had a.

[Luke Burbank]

Home pregnancy test and ba. Ba. I was pregnant. Is this a taxi cab confession?

[Andrew Walsh]

I know, right? This kind of got into some serious stuff pretty early. Early in the tape as well. Although I will say, the sound quality.

[Luke Burbank]

Welcome to my world.

[Andrew Walsh]

That, I gotta say, had me on the edge of my se. Beat. Like, it was good radio. Dude, that kid's voice. Now I'm kind of sad, but that is good. I love that she opens the segment just by going, yeah, that's great.

[Luke Burbank]

Bruce Williams used to have this. This. I mean, serious like this. He would say this patter at the top of the show, which I'm sure influenced me with doing this, but he would say, like, we'll cut up a couple of jackpots.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, I don't know what the hell that even means, but. But, like, he just had his whole rap going, and I just absolutely loved it and loved Sally Jesse Raphael as well. So.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Well, it looks like there's a lot of the Sally Jesse Raphael audio. Like, the radio show is available on YouTube if you're interested in doing that late at night. Luke, with your one earbud in.

[Luke Burbank]

I said, just as long as my parents don't know.

[Andrew Walsh]

Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

As long as Walt doesn't know that I'm listening to the radio at night.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, well, that's going to wrap up today's radio broadcast. Well, podcast, whatever it is. Thank you, everybody, for spending the time with us. We are going to be right back here tomorrow with more imaginary. We'll cut up a couple of jackpots. Tomorrow we'll talk about all the things that make you that very special person that you are now. I'm just directly doing Bruce Williams. Thanks, everybody. Have a great Wednesday. Hope you're doing all right, depending on which part of the country you're in. And please remember, no mountain too tall.

[Andrew Walsh]

And good luck to all. Power out.