#4395 Little Free Login

Summary

Podcast Summary: TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live – Episode #4395 "Little Free Login"

Release Date: February 4, 2025

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1. Opening Banter and Shawshank Redemption References

The episode opens with Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh engaging in playful banter about their mutual love for the film The Shawshank Redemption. Their animated discussion highlights their camaraderie and sets a lighthearted tone for the show.

• Luke Burbank [00:00]: "I got the idea from the Shawshank Redemption."
• Andrew Walsh [00:03]: "Oh, my God, that's my favorite movie."
• Luke Burbank [00:22]: "What's your favorite part of Shawshankville? ... 'get busy living or get busy dying.'"

Their conversation underscores the film's enduring impact and their personal connection to it, illustrating their tendency to intertwine personal anecdotes with broader discussions.

2. Corporate Pressures: CBS and 60 Minutes

The hosts delve into a critical discussion about the corporate dynamics affecting major media outlets. Andrew Walsh explains the potential merger between CBS (under Paramount, owned by Sherri Redstone) and Skydance, owned by Larry Ellison's son. He highlights the federal approval hurdles and the administration's pressure on 60 Minutes over a controversial interview with Kamala Harris.

• Andrew Walsh [05:00]: "CBS... wants to merge with Skydance... they need federal approval... the current administration is turning the screws on 60 Minutes..."
• John Skloroff [05:00]: "I didn't expect to hate the world so much right now."

The conversation reflects their skepticism about corporate maneuvers in media and the implications for journalistic integrity.

3. NBA Trade Analysis

Transitioning to sports, Luke and Andrew discuss a significant NBA trade involving the Lakers and Mavericks. Andrew admits his limited knowledge of the NBA but expresses enthusiasm about the developments.

• Andrew Walsh [10:17]: "I am dying to see what that looks like tonight."
• Luke Burbank [09:42]: "You do end yesterday's show by saying I don't even know anything about this trade."

Their dialogue showcases their casual approach to sports commentary, blending personal interest with listener engagement.

4. Super Bowl Viewing Solutions

Luke shares his dilemma about watching the Super Bowl while hosting the podcast, grappling with missed commercials and the halftime show. He initially considers using a device called "Stad Impale" but later discovers he can watch the game legally through streaming services, alleviating his concerns.

• Luke Burbank [11:56]: "I'm getting something called Stad Impale that I will be strapping to my leg pal."
• Luke Burbank [12:06]: "But I did not. I now realize I can get the game for free on Tubi."

This segment reflects their resourcefulness and commitment to balancing personal interests with their podcast responsibilities.

5. Little Free Login Project and Billboard Announcement

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to launching the "Little Free Login" initiative. The hosts discuss their attempts to rent billboard space to promote TBTL, sharing insights into the high costs and logistical challenges.

• Andrew Walsh [25:19]: "There is a billboard location that we can afford, that we are able to afford... somewhere in the United States."
• Luke Burbank [17:58]: "I love the idea of little free login."

They invite listeners to participate by submitting ideas for the billboard's design, emphasizing community involvement and creativity.

• Andrew Walsh [26:14]: "We would love your suggestions... email JonBtl.net."
• John Skloroff [26:57]: "It's 10ft and 6 inches by 22ft and 9 inches."

This initiative aims to strengthen listener engagement and expand TBTL's presence beyond the digital realm.

6. Donor and Listener Acknowledgements

The hosts take time to thank their listeners and donors, highlighting the show's community-driven nature. They express gratitude towards individuals from various states, emphasizing the nationwide support for TBTL.

• Andrew Walsh [37:30]: "Thanks to Danielle Robbins in SeaTac... Haley Detweiler McDonald in Irvine... Ian Webster in Starkville..."
• Luke Burbank [41:05]: "Josh, we love you."

These acknowledgments reinforce the show's appreciation for its dedicated audience, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual support.

7. Dream Interpretation Discussion

In an introspective segment, Luke and Andrew explore the concept of dreams, debating whether they symbolize stress and anxiety or broader emotional states. They reference comedic elements and personal anecdotes to illustrate their points.

• Andrew Walsh [73:23]: "Every dream is our brain chewing on big fat problems."
• Luke Burbank [73:50]: "We are going to keep reminding you guys how much better it is with just me and you guys than it was with apm."

Their dialogue blends humor with philosophical inquiry, inviting listeners to ponder the subconscious mind's workings.

8. Listener Voicemail: Tens in the Wild

The episode features a voicemail from Mariah in Chicago, who shares an exciting coincidence of meeting another TBTL listener while both were engaged with the podcast. This segment celebrates the show's reach and the serendipitous connections it fosters.

• Mariah [56:48]: "We saw another dad picking up his son... he recognized the logo on the iPod catcher."
• Andrew Walsh [58:19]: "That is amazing."

This heartfelt moment underscores the unique community TBTL has built, transcending geographical boundaries.

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Concluding Remarks

The episode wraps up with final thoughts on the upcoming event at Town Hall featuring Chris Hayes, reflections on personal experiences, and continued gratitude towards their listeners. The hosts maintain their signature blend of humor, sincerity, and engagement, leaving listeners anticipating future episodes and projects.

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Key Takeaways:

• Community Engagement: The "Little Free Login" project exemplifies TBTL's commitment to involving listeners in creative initiatives.

• Industry Insights: Discussions about CBS and 60 Minutes reveal the hosts' awareness of media industry dynamics and their stance on journalistic integrity.

• Personal Connections: Acknowledging donors and sharing listener stories highlights the show's strong, supportive community.

• Introspective Dialogues: Conversations about dreams add a reflective dimension to the episode, encouraging listeners to explore deeper psychological themes.

Notable Quotes:

• Andrew Walsh [05:00]: "CBS... wants to merge with Skydance... they need federal approval... the current administration is turning the screws on 60 Minutes..."

• Andrew Walsh [25:19]: "There is a billboard location that we can afford, that we are able to afford... somewhere in the United States."

• Andrew Walsh [73:23]: "Every dream is our brain chewing on big fat problems."

This episode of TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live effectively combines humor, personal anecdotes, and insightful discussions, making it an engaging listen for both regular followers and newcomers.

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

I got the idea from the Shawshank Redemption.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God, that's my favorite movie.

[John Skloroff]

No way.

[Luke Burbank]

It's my favorite movie, too. I've seen it like a hundred times. Melissa. It's just one of those movies if you turn on the TV and it happens to be on you just. Melissa. You just have to finish it. Melissa. Melissa. It's my favorite movie, too. Big shank head here. Yeah, it's Tom Hanks at his finest, Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Tom Hanks.

[Luke Burbank]

What's your favorite part of Shaw Shankville? You know, so many parts. So many parts to choose from and to pick from, probably. You know, the part where the Shawshank is redeemed is like, you know, Hanks does something. Well, I've never seen it. Well, you gotta see it. You know, as they say in the movie, get busy living or get busy dying.

[Andrew Walsh]

Dying, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Truly was a Shawshank Redemption. Tbtf. That is totally absurd.

[Andrew Walsh]

People ask me, were you.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, were you.

[Andrew Walsh]

You must have been the class clown. And I say, no, I wasn't. But I sat beside the class clown and I. I studied him.

[Luke Burbank]

I feel like I'm watching regional theater, you guys. God, am I in the Cleveland Playhouse or something? Are you taking my duplication investigation seriously or are you disrespecting my duplication investigation?

[Andrew Walsh]

Let's get to the jokes. All right. Hello, good morning and welcome, everyone, to a Tuesday edition of TBT all the show that just might be too beautiful to live.

[Luke Burbank]

The vibes will be the illest and the jams. NARRA Dick.

[Andrew Walsh]

My name's Luke Burbank. I'm your host, Mimi, coming to you from. From the Madrona Hill Studio, perched high above the mighty and frigid Columbia. We've got snow everywhere here. Check the death count from the killer.

[Luke Burbank]

Storm bearing down on us like a.

[Andrew Walsh]

Shotgun full of snow. It snowed overnight. The good news is that the roads appear to be passable, although maybe a bit icy. I will not let anything stand in the way of getting to town hall tonight. I'm so excited about this show in Seattle where we will all be gathering together with our pal, television's Chris Hayes to do a little event there. Maybe we shall see some of you out there tonight. We know for a fact that we'll be interacting with you by way of this program, which is episode 4395 in a collector series, Let the fun Begin. That's the episode of TBTL we're on and we've got some. A cool project that we're embarking on.

[Luke Burbank]

Attention, Everybody. Madams and Ms. Waz.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know why I said project. Like Christopher Walken. We've got some cool projects. Like a person who'd only experienced Christopher Walken through other people doing impressions of him. Maybe that's more like what that was. Anyway, we got an announcement coming up, and we've got this guy, longest running cobra of the show, maybe best known for his depictions of the tall ship.

[John Skloroff]

Got it.

[Andrew Walsh]

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

[Luke Burbank]

It truly was a Shawshank Redemption. I haven't heard that in a while. Man, that got me. I used to play that all the time. I'm over here cry, laughing at that intro.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, that's. You know, a lot of ink has been spilled about the. No, you don't, Oprah.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

And, like, what a great kind of the density, the layers of the comedy in that arrest or, excuse me, that 30 rock scene. But there are just. Maybe it's not even that. It's so layered, but there's just so many really great jokes in that intro that we played from Last man on Earth, which I always have to be very clear, is not the Tim Allen Show. Last Man Standing. I know similar names. Very different levels of comedy.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly. And very different. I'm thinking worldviews by the men behind those characters.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm assuming the only gig I've turned down for ethical reasons was the. They wanted me to do a TV profile of Tim Allen. I said, no, thank you.

[Luke Burbank]

You could have taken him down, though. Is that what they try to do on CBS with those profiles? Like, just take him down?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, yeah. The way that 60 Minutes tried to take Trump down by airing an interview with Kamala Harris. Sure. Are you. Are you up on that?

[Luke Burbank]

I am not. I was going to ask you to explain, but I don't know if I want you to explain. Everything is pain.

[Andrew Walsh]

Maybe John Skloroff knows. He's TBTL employee, numero uno.

[Luke Burbank]

Call it friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

And is also joining us today. Hello, my friend.

[John Skloroff]

Hey. I can't explain anything like that. I'm sorry.

[Andrew Walsh]

As. As. As our colleague and as the person in charge of Too Beautiful to Biz, how do you feel our official corporate policy should be on if we are asked to essentially apologize to the current administration over doing our jobs normally? Because that's what's happening to 60 Minutes right now. Will you.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh.

[Andrew Walsh]

What if it means that we will be allowed to combine with Sky Dance with Larry Ellison's Kids company, Would you then consider us issuing an apology for no reason. Because that's also what's happening with cbs, Paramount, Redstone.

[John Skloroff]

You know, I didn't expect to hate the world so much right now.

[Andrew Walsh]

None of us.

[John Skloroff]

This is just making it way worse. So I'd rather, for, for professional and political reasons, I'd rather say no comment.

[Luke Burbank]

On what you would do.

[Andrew Walsh]

The coward's way out.

[Luke Burbank]

Sure.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, here's the short version of it, is that cbs, or I should say the parent company, which is Paramount, which is owned by Sherri Redstone, the widow of Sumner Redstone, they want to merge with a company called Skydance, which is owned by Larry Ellison's kid, but. And they need federal approval for it. And right now the current administration is turning the screws on 60 minutes because they played an interview with then candidate Kamala Harris, wherein they basically, they were in a promo. In a promo for the segment, they played one answer from her to a question. And then in the actual segment, they, they, they, I think, I believe they allowed an extended version of that answer. And this was seen by the current administration as somehow un journalistic of them. And they are demanding an apology and some sort of monetary thing. And the thought is CBS in 60 Minutes might be brought to bear to do this so that then this big deal will go through and you've got, as you might imagine, some pushback from the journalists at cbs. Luckily, my stories are mostly about teriyaki, so I don't see any of my content as being in the crosshairs on this one.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, is there a chance. And I never saw this coming. I want to be clear about that. I never saw this coming. And I don't even know if I want to wear this crown, to be honest with you. But what if it turns out, when all said and done, the TBTL is the last remaining independent journalistic outfit in America because we don't call this journalism. Well, I think we might have to do some more journalism.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, here's what I will say. There are many times on this show when I say things with a level of honesty that I did not intend. And I wonder, huh, what are the repercussions beyond that? And the good news is, because we have such a limited number of listeners, it's usually nothing. But I will say I will put our, I will put our truth telling on this show up against anyone else's. I mean, for what that's worth, again, I'm not saying it's generally interesting, but we definitely are speaking our minds.

[John Skloroff]

I like the idea of you guys going to testify in front of Congress. Like Mr. Walsh goes to Washington or something like that, you know.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

And tells them what it is.

[Luke Burbank]

Am I going to have to get a suit?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

That's one of the congressional hearings. Huh.

[Andrew Walsh]

Major downsides of. Or. Or just a T shirt that has a drawing of a suit on it.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, that's what.

[John Skloroff]

But not Tuxia. Too fancy.

[Luke Burbank]

That's what Zuckerberger would wear. Right. And then put a hoodie over it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. With some kind of a, some kind of an ill fitting T shirt that's actually like fifteen hundred dollars. And then a chain would be Zuckerberg's way of signaling that he's a masculine man and is, you know, not gonna take this wokeness anymore. Now what a start to the show.

[Luke Burbank]

No, here's how I'm gonna turn things around. And by the way, I don't want you guys to take the bait on this and turn this into a sports conversation, but I do have a conversation for you about sports conversations, which is this. I dialed up today and I dialed up, I thought right on time. I thought I dialed up right at 10 o'clock sharp. You guys were already like deep into a conversation about that NBA trade that we mentioned at the end of. Yes, buried. Buried at the end of yesterday' and then I just sort of muted my mic and hung out for a while. I was sort of like doing some other work and not really listening to you guys. How long do you guys think you did a pre show show just based on that NBA trade? Like were you talking for 40 minutes? What was it?

[Andrew Walsh]

I would say maybe 10 minutes total. We both got here. I would say a minute or two before. And Andrew, as I say to you in every TBTL meeting and as you continue to ignore, early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable.

[Luke Burbank]

Can I ask you, why do you keep telling me that if I have time to lean, I have time to clean that even play into the business model?

[Andrew Walsh]

That's true.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm confused about.

[Andrew Walsh]

But probably 10 minutes. But it was, it was a 10 minutes that really reminded me of how little I know about the NBA and how much John Sklaroff does know as a Knicks fan and a person who's plugged in like. Although as I mentioned to John, I did, I. I don't let my lack of knowledge about the NBA dampen my. How strident I am about my theories.

[Luke Burbank]

You did end yesterday's show by saying I don't even know anything about this trade. I'm so in the dark about it. And then today I Just hear you saying, like, this is how I see it. Like, well, here's.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'll, I'll you the, I'll tell you, the progression is. I couldn't have named four Lakers or four Mavs. Yes. You know, two days ago, whenever, before this trade went down, I mean, I would have known that LeBron and Bronnie were on the Lakers. And what I would, I would have vaguely remembered the Mavs have a European guy who's not Jokic. That would have been. And this morning I texted our friend, television's Chris Hayes and asked him if we can move the event back by three and a half hours tonight because it coincides with the Laker game.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, yeah, you never miss him.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I, like, I'm dying to see what that looks like tonight. So I will give the NBA credit. Not that this is a league wide thing in that, you know, this is between a few teams, but it has certainly engaged me with the product for at least a week or two. Well, you're going to be watching with great anticipation out there in Minnesota, John.

[John Skloroff]

Oh, absolutely.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

No, Luca's first appearance with the Lakers, assuming he's healthy, because I don't think he's played in a little bit in Dallas.

[Andrew Walsh]

Really? His body's a temple. How's.

[John Skloroff]

Yeah, he and I both. He and I both. But I, I think it'll be interesting to see.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was, I was pleasantly surprised. So last night I, I, I jumped on my FUBO TV to see if what NBA games were on and in fact the Lakers weren't playing. But I was very glad to see that as part of my FUBO package. I get NBA TV as well. I, I mean, that's, I can't, I, I get, can't give these folks enough free plugs.

[Luke Burbank]

I got, I gotta tell a story here and I gotta hope that Genevieve doesn't overhear me because I, I, I don't know, I don't, I don't even, I don't think she's embarrassed about this, but this was such a, such a Genevieve and Andrews story, so I did not know how I was going to be watching the super bowl this year. It's always a little bit of a sticky wicket with me because I do like super bowl parties, but I take the responsibility of doing the podcast about commercials pretty seriously, so. And I also like to see the game, which really presents a problem. Like when you're watching a football game, you can go use the restroom or get snacks during commercials during the super bowl, if you want to see the game. And the commercials, you're not. And the halftime show, you're not left with a lot of options. So I'm getting something called Stad Impale that I will be strapping to my leg pal.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's trying to say pal, John.

[Luke Burbank]

How did I say it?

[Andrew Walsh]

You said pale. The way. The way that you sometimes. John. The look of confusion on John's face told me that maybe the last part of that was a bit confusing.

[John Skloroff]

Living in the Midwest now, I'm accustomed to a lot of different accents.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. So you are considering getting a sort of aftermarket catheter type device, right?

[Luke Burbank]

No, I just threw that out there. But. But I did not. I now realize I'm trying to skip. I'll skip ahead and say I now realize that I can get the game for free on Tubi. It's on Fox this year. Last year it was on cbs, so I was able to stream it on the Paramount Network or whatever, the streaming Paramount service which we have. So I was like, oh, that works out great. But this year, I'm like, oh, we don't have some equivalent for Fox, because whatever Fox is selling, I buy in. Except they're giving away to be. And I'm like, oh, that's a Fox property. So the. The game will be streaming here in the home legally. So I will be able to watch with commercials and all that. But before I realized that, I was like, you know what I'm gonna do? You said it's about 80 bucks a month for Fubo. I'm just gonna get Fubo for a month. Maybe I've never done that before. I don't usually fall for, like, signing up for Apple just to watch one Mariners game that they take off of the local broadcast or whatever.

[Andrew Walsh]

But didn't you hear Jerry Depot said we're gonna be good this year?

[Luke Burbank]

I was. Yeah. The reason I didn't respond to that text chain is because I just. All I can do is draw comparisons between the Mariners ownership and what's happening in the country right now. And what I was gonna respond to the text just even sadder than. But it turns out I don't know how we're set because I always thought you needed to man second base. Maybe that's overrated. Maybe the Doge department has learned that you don't exactly.

[Andrew Walsh]

Andrew, second base. One of the main inefficiencies on a typical baseball team is having a second baseman. By the way, John, just to bring you in on this, I forwarded a little clip from the paper today to the sports chain. Despite Quiet Mariners off season. Jerry Depot confident quote. We have a good team.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, yeah, sure, Jerry.

[Andrew Walsh]

Least comforting thing I've ever.

[John Skloroff]

Can I just say it's not to make too much sports talk, but Andrew, here's something comfort you. We know in sports so often when so many teams zig, it's good to zag. So maybe if you don't man somebody at second base, that's actually a benefit. Think about that way.

[Luke Burbank]

No, you don't need a second baseman. You don't need a department of education. These are things I'm learning.

[John Skloroff]

This, those are two. Those two things are correlated.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, exactly. So, okay, moving off of all of those things, that gives me agita. But I was just going to say that I thought, you know what, I'm just going to go ahead and maybe buy Fubo for one month, pay the 80 bucks, or maybe it'll be a three month trial or something. And so I mentioned this to Genevieve, who tends to be a little bit parsimonious, especially about certain things, you know what I mean? And for some reason, like cable related stuff and paying because we pay for a lot of streaming services. And I think a lot of households have a lot of frustration around that.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I'm guessing also that again, I don't want to gender this, but the idea that, oh, I can watch, like, you're like, I could maybe watch the Seahawks. While that pop up, it's low on Genevieve's list of priorities.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, it wasn't even that. It was really about just having a way to watch the Super Bowl. But then I said to her, I'm like, hey, it's about 80 bucks a month. I'm probably just going to sign up for that. She's like, yeah, okay. And I'm like, yeah, maybe we could even have people over. Because I was like, oh, that's. That was a pretty chill response there. She's like, oh, okay, yeah, that's. Oh, look at you. And then. And then I was like, wow, you're so chill about that. And I mentioned it again later. I'm like, you know, if we end up liking this FUBO thing, maybe I'll just let it roll for a while and maybe just kind of watch some baseball games this summer too. She's like, yeah, okay, that sounds good. I'm like, I'm just in the back of my head and this is sort of a slow.

[Andrew Walsh]

Were things quiet? A little too quiet?

[Luke Burbank]

I'm going to say maybe I raised it a week ago and then brought it up again just sort of casually and she's so chill about it. I'm just like, who is this Genevieve who is so chill about adding $80 a month? And then I didn't underscore it, but I just sort of mentioned. Once again, I'm like, yeah, you know, I might keep it for the. Let's just see how it goes. I'm gonna go sign up downstairs. It's only $80 a month. And for some reason, that was the time Genevieve heard a month. I don't know what she thought it was, but her eyes got so big. She's back, baby.

[Andrew Walsh]

A month. Well, the good news is. Are you crazy?

[Luke Burbank]

A month. Turns out we are not getting FuboTV.

[Andrew Walsh]

The good news is that your partner has not been replaced by some sort of extremely convincing AI product.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, I did say to her later, I'm like, I was wondering, where did my Genevieve go? And can she stay there? Because she was so chill about the whole thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Let me see, Andrew, because you're sharing your high network. Your high network login with me, which I have yet to use. Maybe. I don't know. How many FUBO logins can we have? If that's. If that's something I can. Again, this is the show that is all about radical honesty and trademark and copyright violation and violating terms and conditions. If I can share it with you, I will.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, thanks. I appreciate that. That's not a fair trade. I do like the idea of trading. The reason we have Paramount Plus. That's the word I was trying to look for before or trying to find before, is because. And this was a side deal that Genevieve had with a friend of ours who remained nameless. But she gave us her login for Paramount plus and she has our login for H. And I feel like that's a good. That's a pretty good trade. You know, work for FUBO is not even. That's David and Goliath stuff right there.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I don't know. I mean, I. I do like the fubo, but I do like the. On cinema. At the cinema. I will say I see a future of. Instead of those little free libraries out in front of people's houses, little free logins. A little cutesy, little gingerbread house. Got various. You leave some, you take some.

[Luke Burbank]

I love it. Little free login.

[Andrew Walsh]

I only feel comfortable doing this because this show, as John knows better than anyone, no login required. Like, on the one hand, I don't want to. I don't want to be on the record encouraging people to not pay for content in this way. But on the other hand, we're already, the doors are already wide open to this thing and we are so thankful that people donate. But we don't have. There's. There aren't any kind of logins that are needed.

[John Skloroff]

It should be. We should go on record though, Luke, that you. Your annual salary is higher than David Zaslav. So, so I want people that is, that is part of our budget and that's.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that's. I will. I believe that the Analys describe that as creating drag on the Too Beautiful to Biz business model. Hey, speaking of Too Beautiful to Biz and its ancillary company, Too Beautiful to Live, we have a kind of a fun project that we are going to be embarking on. Based on a conversation from, I think a few months ago, maybe around this billboard, Andrew, that you were really fascinated by for the. Speaking of free plugs, the Seattle pizza enterprise, Spiros, what was it? Spiros? Always in love or what?

[Luke Burbank]

So there's a, there's a billboard that pops up occasionally very near my house that I pass when I'm like just walking home from the store or something that says, is it in a relationship with Spiros always? Is that what it said or did it say? Yeah, I think that's what it said. And it was, it's a bit like. So this is like a. Just a down home, like old school Greek pizza shop. It's not even a pizza shop. It's like a restaurant. You'd go there like the one time I went there. They're like. It like seemed like the type of place you might take your, you know, grandparents and grandkids or something, you know what I mean? Family style, little place. But like it's not some huge conglomerate. And it just seemed like such a strange, it seems strange for them even to buy billboards, like full on billboards. But then this was a very strange minimalist approach to advertising pizza. There was, there was no pizza in sight on the billboard. It was just a plain white background. And as a fan of minimalism, like I really, I thought it was interesting, but deeply, deeply confusing. It said in a relationship with Spiros. Always, I believe is what it said. Then it disappeared for a while, then it popped back up again. And so this has been an ongoing conversation of me trying to understand what that billboard means.

[Andrew Walsh]

And it got us thinking in one of our TBTB meetings. Wouldn't it be great and funny if we actually just went out and did something similar? If maybe we rented that same space to do some sort of A funny TBTL thing. And then, John, we put you on the case. And what did you find out about us renting a billboard near Andrew's house?

[John Skloroff]

Financially, it made no sense for the business, and it just would have been a total major disaster.

[Andrew Walsh]

I believe it was out of our price range. Right. Like, it was shockingly expensive. I guess the pizza game's been good to Spiros because, like, I was. I was absolutely shocked at what it actually cost to get a billboard in that part of Seattle.

[John Skloroff]

Here I am thinking print media is dead, apparently. Billboard. Print media, very much alive and very expensive.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I also, as has been well documented on the show, I live in a pretty high cotton part of town, too.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, that was billboards around town. I don't want it. Listen. And you know what, Andrew? That's kind of woven into this. I don't want to sound like I'm being in some way dismissive. I feel like yesterday was a really bad show for me where I kept trying to declare which places had high culture people and which places had low culture people. That always ends well. But I will be honest with you. And having grown up on Aurora Avenue myself, I mean, literally the street that I probably have spent the most time walking up and down to this point in my life, even still, I assumed that because there is a certain rough and tumble aspect to that part of town. You know, it's one banana, Michael. How much could it be? I kind of assumed it would be on the more affordable side, but really not like thousands and thousands of dollars to get one of these billboards.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, it is. I mean, it's a very high traffic area. You know what I mean? Billboards aren't more valuable.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, just the police. Just the number of police officers you'll.

[Luke Burbank]

Reach, but the like, you know what I mean? A billboard isn't going to be high value if it's tucked away in a beautiful neighborhood with great views.

[Andrew Walsh]

I got one in Wallhurst.

[Luke Burbank]

When you have like, you know, four lanes of traffic whizzing by, kind of near where a mall used to be, in a lot of commerce, I guess that's where the billboards are. One thing, and I don't know if I'm getting us here, but one thing that I. In our attempts to temporarily purchase that billboard space, John was pricing it out and sort of accidentally solved one part of this mystery for me, which was, why does Spiros keep going back to that message and reposting that billboard? Like, it'll go away for a while, then it'll Come back. Like disappearing ink when you hold it over a candle. I don't know how disappearing ink works, but.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did you ever try that with lemon juice as a kid?

[Luke Burbank]

No, I bought special.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did you ever try that, John?

[John Skloroff]

No.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, that was like a. Like a. You know, one of those. You could read about it in, like, a spy book for kids. You could write in lemon juice, and then you couldn't see it on the page, but if you held it up to candlelight or something, you could see it. But having said that, we didn't have invisible ink money. Where I grew up in trying to say we weren't all rich, the ones.

[Luke Burbank]

That I bought had, like. It had the pen with the invisible ink, and then you had. Maybe it came with, like, something that looked like a highlighter that also had something invisible in it, but you would probably activate it. Activate it, yeah. It's all about chemicals, Luke. But all of that is to say we now understand why that bill. I think we understand better why that that spiros billboard disappears and then comes back in between other people advertising things, which is. We even tried to get that billboard at a major cut rate, but even the cut rate was too rich for our.

[Andrew Walsh]

We offered to paint it ourselves.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right. You were going to tie a rope around me and hang.

[Andrew Walsh]

We're going to be like some chick fil a cows.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right.

[John Skloroff]

You know, it was weird, though, that famous sign maker, Walt Burbank, was charging us more than the company we were trying to work with.

[Andrew Walsh]

He was like, well, I do these billboards for the annons. I'm gonna charge you $5 an hour more.

[Luke Burbank]

Right?

[John Skloroff]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, my dad did paint this huge mural when I. Right. When we moved to Seattle, and I was very young. He painted this huge mural downtown. It took a whole summer, he and his business partner, Jerry Lee, on the warshell sporting goods. And it was a cool, abstract thing. I was very proud of it as a kid. It was like I was. I would point it out as we would go by and be like, my dad did that. So we. We could have. I mean, we couldn't have used him for this billboard service. But if we. We do need big signs, I think Walt could do it for us.

[Luke Burbank]

But I did just want to say that the reason I now realize that the sign was disappearing and going away is there's a special deal you can get on these things. And again, it was still too expensive for us, even with our poor coffers. But, like, basically, they're like, well, you can buy It. But then if, like, at a, like almost was almost half price. Not quite. But if somebody else comes along and wants to buy it at full price, we can bump you to a different part of town or just defer it and then bring you back later on that billboard.

[Andrew Walsh]

They call this the Alexander Payne business model, AKA the Leftovers. You just, you just. If there's holdovers.

[Luke Burbank]

Holdovers.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh.

[John Skloroff]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

Is there a movie called the Leftovers?

[Luke Burbank]

A TV show called the Leftovers? TV show?

[John Skloroff]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

Is that one made by Alexander Payne?

[Luke Burbank]

I don't think so.

[John Skloroff]

I don't think so.

[Luke Burbank]

The joke was painful, if that means anything to you.

[Andrew Walsh]

The Leins. You make a movie called the Leins.

[Luke Burbank]

But anyway, that sort of saw getting all. My point of all this is to say I feel like we're in the billboard business, boys. Like, now I understand how the billboard business works a little bit more.

[Andrew Walsh]

And what we have learned is that there is a billboard location that we can afford, that we are able to afford. It is somewhere in the United States. It is not on Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington. And so we are going to move forward with a plan to have a TBTL billboard somewhere in these United States. And we're not going to reveal exactly where that is because that's going to be tied into some other fun stuff down the road. But in the meantime, we would love your suggestions. I'm talking to you, the tens of listeners now for what should go on the TBTL billboard. We've got some ideas. We've mocked a few things up, but we know that the TENS are endlessly creative. And so we would love to get some suggestions to sort of zero in on a fun thing to put on a TBTL billboard somewhere in this fine, fine country.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. What do you guys think about this? I mean, I know that often when we talk about this kind of stuff, we get listeners who will just like send us in fully made drawings or concepts and send them to us. But other people might just have an idea that they just want to like, you know, have us think about and then, you know, have somebody else do the kind of creative part of it. I'm not sure. Should we just have people. Can we have people email John about this? Yes, with any.

[Andrew Walsh]

Actually, John, how do you feel about that?

[John Skloroff]

I'd be happy to, as long as people email Jon and not Johan.

[Luke Burbank]

What happens if they. If they type in Jo N?

[John Skloroff]

I assume it goes into the ether. Just doesn't hit.

[Andrew Walsh]

It goes right to Luka Doncic's.

[John Skloroff]

So, yeah, so I would love to get people's submissions. JonBtl.net and I actually.

[Andrew Walsh]

Andrew, that's really. That's a good looking out and a good clarification because I am a non. I am a non graphically inclined person.

[John Skloroff]

I think I say non email reader person.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm also that. But the idea is like just a suggestion, just a. Hey, it could be. This could actually be very useful. And then we could find somebody who could execute it. So. Yeah, I like the fact that those of us who don't know how to do anything with graphic design are not left out of this process, potentially.

[John Skloroff]

Can I also just real quick, for people that are graphically inclined who are interested, if you're wondering the dimensions of this thing, I feel like that could be. Probably be helpful. It's 10ft.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's a rhombus. That's how we were able to afford it.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, right.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's a parallelogram.

[John Skloroff]

It's 10ft.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did Alexander Payne make a movie called Parallelogram?

[Luke Burbank]

It was really good. It was black and white, slow, but like emotionally impactful.

[John Skloroff]

Emotionally impactful? Yeah. So it's. The actual size is 10ft and 6 inches by 22ft and 9 inches.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, I thought it was 10 inches by 22 inches. So we're going for the full size billboard.

[John Skloroff]

We're going for, like a real billboard.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay, so one that you can see with the naked eye.

[Luke Burbank]

I see. I thought it was gonna be one. I don't want no one on my desk.

[Andrew Walsh]

That explains why it was expensive.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, right. Sorry, John. I talked over that. So what is it, like 10.

[John Skloroff]

No, so 10 and a half feet, basically by 22ft, 9 inches.

[Luke Burbank]

That's.

[John Skloroff]

That's the width and the length or the height and the.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's a rectangle.

[John Skloroff]

That's. So dimensions work. Yeah, I think so.

[Andrew Walsh]

So, you know, but again, I'm. I've already established that I am not a person who understands graphic design or geometry or the work of Alexander Payne. So I think the more information, the better. Probably. So. Yeah. What do we think? What's the. Do we need to establish a timeline on this? It's just kind of an open call. We're just. We're just, you know, crowdsourcing here, folks. We're just. I mean, honestly, what we're doing is giving us all something to think about. That isn't the news.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Put all your energy into this.

[Andrew Walsh]

And by the way, please miss us with any political statements.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is not. This is not. This is not the place. We're trying to speak that truth to that power.

[Luke Burbank]

Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

But. But, yeah, you know, like, I guess we'll just. We'll just accept submissions until we get closer to an idea that we. That we lock in on, I guess is probably the plan for this.

[Luke Burbank]

You guys already rejected my idea of just a big billboard that says who's on second? With the Mariners logo.

[John Skloroff]

Only because of copyright issues.

[Luke Burbank]

Right? Sure. Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

We can do Abbott and Costello, but not the spinach part. We can do Abbott and Costello, but not who's on third. So that's the plan. That's the big announcement. TBTL billboard coming to a place somewhere in America at some time. How's that for specifics? How is that for really whetting the appetites of the tens of listeners?

[Luke Burbank]

I'm excited. We've talked about this for a while, and now. I mean, the wheels are in motion, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I want to give you credit, John, for keeping this thing going, because what tends to happen is we tend to throw out a lot of ideas both on the air and off the air, maybe in our meetings, and then they tend to whiff right out of my brain or I move on to some other bright, shiny thing. And this. You really kept on this and kept doing research and stuff. And. And now it's gonna be a real thing. So this is gonna be awesome. Good work, man.

[John Skloroff]

Thank you.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

I know you guys talked. We talked about off air, and I know you guys talked about on air how you wanted to do this since you were the apm and it was something that got kicked around and just fizzled at that. At that place.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

If there's one thing I'd like to do is keep reminding you guys how much better it is with just me and you guys than it was with apm. I feel like that's throwing unnecessary dirt.

[Luke Burbank]

And shade maybe, but we're still in their lobby television.

[Andrew Walsh]

If you were still there, John, they. You would have at least had the. Had the common sense to remove us from the slideshow in the lobby. Continue to reside.

[John Skloroff]

Can I do a little behind the scenes on, please. So I know the person who's responsible for managing that thing, and I won't.

[Andrew Walsh]

Say their name because please have them leave us. Are they leaving us in there intentionally?

[John Skloroff]

Well, no. They're not good at their job. And so there was like, they.

[Luke Burbank]

So you're close to this person?

[John Skloroff]

Well, it's just somebody like I. I worked in the same building with them as a few years or virtually because of COVID or whatever, but, like, long after. Nor our friend Nora McInerney.

[Luke Burbank]

Left.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[John Skloroff]

APM. TTFA was still up there. Like, they would, they would just leave things up there. And I said to this individual, like, once I found out who it was, I would like slack them and be like, hey, this is. It's weird that's there. It's like an independent show. And I think there was like another show or two that came and went in my time with apm and they never removed them. And so I like, was freaking like, hey, I work with the fundraising. Like I fundraised for this show. It's weird that's still there.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

And they were like, oh, yeah, we'll take care of that. And clearly to this day, I mean.

[Andrew Walsh]

Who has the time to go into some kind of deck and literally hit delete? Yeah, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

But might be more complicated than that because it is a 4x4 grid and they don't have new. And now I'm getting into shade territory potentially. But, like, what are they going to replace us with? Like, I don't think that they're. I could be wrong. I don't think they're creating a lot of new shows over there.

[John Skloroff]

I think, Andrew, at this point, there's at least four shows that are on there have left, so they could just rearrange.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I mean, I will say this.

[Luke Burbank]

Just one big picture of Molly Bloom and that's it. That's actually.

[Andrew Walsh]

That'd be a lot better. As I like to often brag, I feel like I am an incredible ex husband, actual husband, pretty low success rate ex husband. I am. I'm phenomenal. I am friendly. You get all of the fun text interactions and all of the. And the warm wishes and everything, minus any of the having to deal with me. And in the same way, I feel like I'm a great ex employee, like horrible employee, great former podcaster at apm. And so I love that we're on. I wouldn't say good terms with them, but the fact that we're still in the lobby, it fills me with warm feelings. I like to be on reasonably good terms with both people and places after we've departed. And after I've departed.

[Luke Burbank]

I know we're not allowed to say.

[Andrew Walsh]

But just like that Alexander Payne movie, the Departed.

[Luke Burbank]

Just answer. Just answer me. This is our billboard going to be directly across the street from apa.

[John Skloroff]

There is a parking garage. I can inquire if they're interested.

[Andrew Walsh]

The thing is, we've actually already kind of really started the process of where we want to put this billboard, but man, that's a good idea. Andrew. I can't believe I didn't think of that. That's a sick idea. We're not, it's not gonna be there also, by the way, probably not cheap. Yeah, it'd be us and then whatever St. Paul's version of Spiros is rotating through the leftover stuff.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[John Skloroff]

Two, two quick things. One, I still want to say we have some, I know former colleagues that listen to the show still and donate to the show and we love them and there's some really good people there.

[Andrew Walsh]

So I don't want like 100.

[John Skloroff]

I want to shade on it too much. No, but we, we can't put a billboard across the street. But I am like seven minutes from that location. I could just like stand outside with a sign or something like that. You want me just do that?

[Andrew Walsh]

Like that would be amazing.

[Luke Burbank]

Something or other just screaming it's BO for some reason.

[Andrew Walsh]

It is both, honestly. Like the, the only people in our experience, I think the only people at APM who kind of rubbed us the wrong way are long gone from APM and might have even been long gone when we found out that they were kind of, let's just say not, not bending over backwards to try to help the long term success of this show such as sending emails saying we are absolutely putting $0 into promoting TBTL. Which, you know, kind of stung to hear about. About. But, but we also made some really great friends indeed. And there's when I see names on this list of our list of donors who are people that we used to work with who are just voluntarily supporting this thing years later. Including our one time boss, El Ro, Steve Nelson, our friend Sally Moog from the sales team and others.

[Luke Burbank]

Annie still out?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, Annie. Like it's just such a, it's, it's such an incredibly kind and humbling thing. So, so I have really good memories about apm. Honestly. There were just like a couple of, a couple of, you know, nerf herders who came through and wanted to try to put their stamp on the show while doing nothing to help the show that, you know, I could take or leave.

[Luke Burbank]

Where are we on putting their names in the credits or have we.

[Andrew Walsh]

I've added them to today's show.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, good. I'm looking forward to that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. Anyway, okay, so that's the plan. Operation TBTL Billboard. Also, we'll come up with a better name for the operation. But email john, that's jonbtl.net with your ideas for billboards. And I guess we'll just kind of, we'll check back Here in the not too distant future when we've got a list of some kind of some things that are intriguing.

[Luke Burbank]

Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Does that sound like a plan?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. And if you have ideas for better names than Operation Billboard, you can email lukebtl.net for that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. That's L U K. That's L U C at tbtl. That's the French spelling. Hey, John, thanks, man.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, yeah, thank you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Appreciate it. All right, Go Nicks.

[John Skloroff]

Yeah, thanks.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you for being a tam.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right. Speaking of listener supported podcasting and how we're able to afford what is. I'm gonna be honest with you, one of the cheaper billboard options available in the United States.

[Luke Burbank]

In America. I was gonna say that's what we should call it, the cheapest billboard in America.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's if you want to understand the kind of. The financial fortunes of tbtl. It's. We have enough money in our ad budget for a billboard, but it has to be the cheapest billboard in America. That's kind of where we're at. So good news, bad news.

[Luke Burbank]

It does raise a question. And maybe I should have saved this conversation for when John. You know what? Maybe when John comes on again and kind of goes through some of the submissions for people's ideas for a billboard, we should have the conversation. What. What are we trying to achieve with this billboard? Are we trying to turn people into TBTL listeners? Are we just sort of like trying to spread the brand? Generally speaking, brand reinforcement, is it just to make us laugh?

[Andrew Walsh]

I think these are all questions we should have asked before we embarked on this project.

[Luke Burbank]

Probably we haven't before we cut the checks.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, thanks to Danielle Robbins in SeaTac, Washington for supporting TBTL today.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you.

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel like I'm following Danielle on some kind of a social media somewhere. That name is so familiar.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Danielle. Yeah. Longtime listener and contributor and emails in quite a bit, I think.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thanks, Danielle. Thanks also to Haley Detweiler McDonald, who's down there in Irvine. Beautiful Irvine, California.

[Luke Burbank]

Nice. Thank you very much, Haley.

[Andrew Walsh]

Gateway to Anaheim.

[Luke Burbank]

True.

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel like I've driven when I used to live in la, when I was going down south, if I was going to San Diego or anywhere down in the kind of south of la. I feel like I would often pass through Irvine. And Irvine was a very lovely, lovely town there. Made more lovely by Haley Detwiler McDonald being there. Thanks, Haley. Also thanks to Ian Webster, who's in Starkville, Mississippi.

[Luke Burbank]

Starkville. No frills in Starkville. Just straightforward. What you see is what you get.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm not gonna Candy coat it for you in Starkville.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right. Thank you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Giving it to you straight and honestly, that's because we respect you, Ian Webster. We would not. We're not gonna, you know, we're not gonna try to get too fancy with this. We're gonna keep it Starkville. And we're going to thank Megan Kelso, our friend Megan Kelso in Seattle, Washington.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you, Megan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Not just a place near my house, but the last name of our friend Megan, the. Of course, the fine artist and illustrator. And. And again, my mind was fully blown when I found out that Megan was a part of that public art piece that's down at the Seattle Center.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Very cool stuff.

[Luke Burbank]

It's very cool. I got to see Megan at a comic book show a couple of months ago. That was really cool. Thank you, Megan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did you know that there was a period of time. I know this from reading Chris Hayes fine book, the Sirens Call. That kind of the way that we write about or the way that we maybe wring our hands about phones and children in particular and their digital elements, that. That was once how they talked about.

[Luke Burbank]

Comic books and books themselves, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like written word. The written word at one point and then later, you know, many years later, comic books as they related to children, because all children were going to become so obsessed with comic books that they were going to socially withdraw, which weren't there.

[Luke Burbank]

Congressional. There were congressional hearings about the comic book epidemic, I think in the 1940s or 50s or probably. Probably early 50s. Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think Chris's. And Chris's point in the book is. Okay, that was a little overwrought. But you know what else that there were initially people were really worried about was smoking.

[Luke Burbank]

Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

And that was legit.

[Luke Burbank]

And that was legit.

[Andrew Walsh]

The question is, are our phones. Are we worried about them in the way we were worried about comic books, or are we worried about them in the way that we were rightfully worried about smoking? That's the thing. We don't know yet.

[Luke Burbank]

Here's what I'm going to do.

[Andrew Walsh]

Or maybe we do know.

[Luke Burbank]

I am going to start reading more comic books and I'm going to start smoking again. That's.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's where you've left. Honestly, that's the only logical approach.

[Luke Burbank]

Seems like it makes sense.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. I don't know how Elizabeth Tuckle of Seattle, Washington feels about that.

[Luke Burbank]

Probably not great.

[Andrew Walsh]

We'll have to ask. But we do know Elizabeth is supporting the show. Thank you, Elizabeth.

[Luke Burbank]

Thanks, Elizabeth.

[Andrew Walsh]

And then it wouldn't be a Tuesday on tbtl. If we weren't thanking Ross Smith of Dedham, Massachusetts. I feel like we've been getting a lot of Massachusetts.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I agree. And that's a really good sign when it comes.

[Andrew Walsh]

It really is. It's a cool state for of cool, smart people. It's very far away from us, too. There's something about people being very far away from this but also listening to it that all these years later, all these thousands of episodes later, kind of blows my mind.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what I'm feeling bad about right now? While we're thanking people for donating to the show, this isn't a daily donor today, but we were listing a bunch of colleagues who still listen to tbtl and I believe our former colleague Josh is a big listener to the show as well. Nice. And it just occurred to me that as we were listing all of our friends at 8pm Josh was probably like, well, this is where they're going to mention me. And we didn't in the last segment. And it's breaking my damn heart. I'm sorry. Josh, we love you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you for being a Josh. Thank you for being a Josh. Is he still listening?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, that's the thing. He probably ditched us at the break.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did he turn the radio dial with a snarl and didn't get to listen? We were talking about him.

[Luke Burbank]

We weren't, it turns out we weren't talking.

[Andrew Walsh]

But then later we did, but it was too late. He'd already sworn up. Sorry, Josh, but thank you. And thank you to all of our donors for making TBTL possible today. Hello and welcome to Top Story. Well, tonight's a big night. We're going to be getting together at Town Hall. My parents are coming and I think I told you this off air, but it's very cute to me that how actually psyched my dad is about this. Like, because, you know, with my sort of job stuff, I feel like I get to to do some pretty interesting things and have some fairly well known people on Livewire or maybe go interview them. And I can't remember a time I've ever told my dad about a thing I'm doing where he has seemed like stoked about it. He's always like, oh, that should be fun, or whatever. First of all, my dad's not a pop culture dude. So if I was interviewing someone who is notable in the pop culture, there's a very good likelihood that he doesn't know who they are. I've said on the show before he seemed unfamiliar with the work of Fleetwood Mac and I found out. Out the other day, was unfamiliar with the work of Otis Redding, who's playing Otis Redding on the stereo. And I was like, I love Otis Redding. Said, who's that? I said, this guy singing right now. So when he heard that Chris Hayes was coming to town and that he wrote a book, and I said, well, if you and mom want to come, he was so stoked about it. It was actually very, very endearing.

[Luke Burbank]

And you said, it's not because he watches a lot of msnbc. Because they don't have.

[Andrew Walsh]

They don't watch any of that at their. Because they don't. They. I don't know what kind of cable they have. Cable that's one step up from whatever the hell you have. Like, they get. Like, I think they get the local channels. They watch a lot of Jeopardy is the. Is the main. And then. And then they get Channel nine. They get kcts, the public television station in Seattle, and that's kind of their main go tos.

[Luke Burbank]

How does your mom feel about this Little House on the Prairie reboot?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I'll ask her tonight. I don't know if she even knows it. Is that on pbs?

[Luke Burbank]

No, No, I don't. Little House is never a PBS thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, that's a good point.

[Luke Burbank]

No, I think that was just broadcast television. I am. I'm not sure what the. What the network or the platform is, but, yeah, there's a lot of talk about a new Little House on the Prairie.

[Andrew Walsh]

I wonder how this Laura Ingalls Wilder escaped my radar. I knew everything about that. But anyway, so they're very excited. And I know my dad's excited because, well, he did the thing last night that my parents always do, and, like, it's. It's fine. But, like, they asked me what my dad texted me. He's like, well, what time is the. Like, what time is the event tomorrow night? And I'm always like, when people ask me stuff like that, whether it's Livewire or other things, I'm like, I don't know. Do the thing that I'm gonna do right now, which is Google it.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, oh, is that what you were. Are you thinking about the conversation I had with you right before the show where I said, what time does Chris.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I forgot. No, I wasn't having that.

[Luke Burbank]

Back of your head.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, it actually really wasn't, in fact.

[Luke Burbank]

Because I didn't mean to Google it. But then you got. You know, we were all dialed up, so it was just easier to say no.

[Andrew Walsh]

I actually forgot that. That we had the interaction I didn't feel that way because you and I were talking about a specific thing, which is some other stuff we're doing in Seattle today. So, like, that, that. That didn't feel. That didn't feel the way to me that it felt last night when my dad, like, put down his. His iPad or maybe picked up his iPad, but then texted me me, what time is the thing tomorrow night? And I was, you know, I was like, it's like 7:30 or whatever. And then he said, like, what's the parking situation? I said, I don't know. It is what it is. And then he goes, is it upstairs or downstairs at Town hall? And I picked up the phone and I called him and I go, dad, what are you gonna do if you go downstairs at Town hall and it's upstairs at town hall?

[Luke Burbank]

That will sort itself out once you're there?

[Andrew Walsh]

I was like, I feel like this is gonna be. This is gonna be something that you'll be able to solve. On the. By the way, it's upstairs.

[Luke Burbank]

Does he have some social anxiety?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, not that I know of. I mean, I, you know, I guess I didn't think of it that way or, you know, I don't think so. I mean, that's a very, like, you know, how do I put this? That reminds me a little bit, you're right. Of like how you talked about sometimes maybe Google street viewing something just so you kind of know what you're getting into.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I mean, I know that you're. You're, you know, your folks are city folks, you know, before they. They moved out. But. But formally. But you know what I mean. In other words, there are some people who, like, in fact, there are some people in Olympia. There's some lawmakers in Olympia who are like, crotchety. And I don't like to go to Seattle because it's already too hard to drive. It was actually part of some sort of, like, legislation a couple years ago, which was ridiculous. Like, I don't think, you know, I'm not gonna group your parents in with that at all, but, you know, there isn't. I mean, first, like, I'm taking a car tonight. I don't think parking is that big of a problem.

[Andrew Walsh]

You're more stressed than my dad is doing.

[Luke Burbank]

We're doing some work there. But I. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, I don't feel like. I don't feel like even thinking about parking. So I'm going to take a car. That's easy enough. But, like, I could just sort of See somebody being like, well, I'm going in. We don't go into the city that much. It's a nighttime thing when we get there that, like, parking. It just sort of sounds like a lot of questions of like, I just want to sort of picture what I'm going into here when we. When we arrive, sort of. It sort of sounds like a little bit of, if not social anxiety. It's a little bit of like, well, I'm going into a. A arena that I don't usually go into. Maybe on a Tuesday.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, maybe. Although the thing that's so interesting about my parents and I think this is really driven by my mom. They're in Seattle all the time. Like, they are, so. Because my mom just has kind of a bit of sort of wanderlust combined with ennui. So she just like always likes being somewhere else, if that makes any sense. And so, like, you know, my mom is constantly coming into Seattle for this, that or the other, just because she likes doing things, you know. And my dad is often being dragged along. He works in Seattle a ton. I'll call him about something and he'll be like, oh, I'm on a job site right now. I'm putting up a parking sign in Belltown or something. So they're pretty.

[Luke Burbank]

He's just bring his own parking signs tonight and just create parking spots.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God.

[Luke Burbank]

How has he not done that before?

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, only because he's also a person who is reporting to the IRS the money that I pay him to help me work on my house.

[Luke Burbank]

He has.

[Andrew Walsh]

My dad is the most. Other than pirating content, My dad. There is never been a rule that my dad didn't follow to the letter of the law and in fact, beyond the letter of the law. But you're right. If he were even 5% sketchier and smart, he would. He would just bring a sign around that he could just put up that would say, like, parking allowed. Yes, that's what you'd have to do. It'd have to be. It would have to be a sign that would somehow sort of justify parking. Because a no parking sign isn't going to do you any good unless you go put it up in advance and then come take it down, which is also a whole flex he could get.

[Luke Burbank]

He could make a sign that says Seahawks parking only and then just make sure puts a Seahawks bumper sticker on his car.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, way ahead of you, brother. That's currently up at their house.

[Luke Burbank]

Did he make it or is it a. Oh, yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I mean, I Mean, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, they have a. They literally had a Seahawks parking only sign on the side of their house at some point. And they do have a Seahawks bumper. Well, it's on their old car, which I think they're not driving anymore, by the way. They got a Prius. The things are. Everything's coming up mill house for my parents. They got a. It's not brand new, but it is the nicest car. It's a. It's like a gently used Prius of maybe, I don't know, six years or seven years old. But, like, they pulled up in that thing. I was like, who are these people, you know, driving a car that is from this. Roughly this decade.

[Luke Burbank]

This is a really off topic, but I have been obsessed in the past week or two as the weather. I still know it's early February, but, like, we're gonna start to see nicer and nicer days. And I am so looking forward to a nice, dry day where I can clean my car. I'm at that point of winter with not just the car, a couple of things around the house. Like our little. This is very weirdly specific, but even, like, our little stairwell right outside of our basement door here, it just. Like, during the winter, it accumulates all kind. Like, there's a doorma there that is sopping wet from the constant rain and now snow, and there's leaves and moss, and it's like, I need to take care of that, but I don't feel like taking care of it when it's like, just. I'm looking outside now. The sun just came out, and it's beautiful, and it's telling me to get to work, but, like, I'm looking forward to. Like, you get to a point in the winter where just sort of the cleanliness things start to build up a little bit, and I cannot wait to go outside with a bunch of spray bottles and a vacuum and clean the hell out of my car.

[Andrew Walsh]

You want to, like, pressure wash your legs? Life. Yes, at a certain point, because I've got this huge. Not huge. I got this fairly substantial wood deck that I had built, which is great. But, like, yeah, just between the rain and the snow and the buildup, it just kind of. It's just kind of slippery and slimy and kind of unpleasant in a way to look at. And then the tree. So many of the trees, like, I'm looking down the hill of my property, and a lot of the trees, the deciduous trees anyway, are in that mode where there's. There are no leaves and they're just all covered in moss. Like, the entire tree is just kind of mossy. And like, you know, we're still kind of dealing with that low winter sun and a lot of gray days and. And yeah, my car is just like. My car is basically a 2 inch coat of dust with cutouts where the windshield wipers have been operating in the front and the back. Yeah, it's just kind of like a. Kind of a cruddy feeling. Like I'm. Yeah, I'm ready for like the first. We're still a ways out, but I'm ready for the first, like, nice warm spring day to just. To just scrub my life.

[Luke Burbank]

I know that we are known for being a mossy region because of all of the rain and everything, but, man, I think because we had, you know, kind of a standard winter with a lot of precipitation. But then we just are kind of. About a week ago, we had, I think, like, almost two solid weeks of very beautiful weather. Like a lot of sun, a lot of clear skies and sun. It was a little bit chilly. But because of all of the moisture that had been building up then, combined with these really uncharacteristically sunny days, the moss is going berserker. Luke. I was walking somewhere near my house where the sidewalk was kind of outside of this fire station area where it's sort of a temporary sidewalk. And the sidewalk is actually made of more like asphalt. It's like that black, you know, asphalt. There was green growing on the asphalt and coming up through the tiny little cracks of the asphalt. Not even cracks, just texture of the asphalt. And I was just like, like, my God, life finds a way like this. This moss wants to grow so bad. It's just growing on the sidewalks in Seattle now.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. And on me and on you.

[Luke Burbank]

Moss back. That's what they.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's what they call me.

[Luke Burbank]

Trademark.

[Andrew Walsh]

Until. Until Knut stole it from me. So anyway, yeah, that's. That's the. The plan for tonight is, is we're going to be there at town hall with our friend Chris Hayes. You're going to be there. I think Veeves is coming down. It's going to be. Gonna be a fun night. I'm looking forward to it. I actually have to say sometimes these kinds of things really stress me out. This is one that I am so not stressed out about, weirdly, because part of it is because Chris is just so good at talking that I don't feel. And also, we're actual friends. Sometimes if I'm doing livewire and I haven't met the person before, which is the typical thing. I'm like, will we, you know, will we vibe? Will it be like a thing where I'm kind of extracting answers from them or, you know, will. Will we connect on stage? And I feel. I feel like that is not an issue with our friend Chris Hayes. And also, I just.

[Luke Burbank]

Chemistry just sucks. What if you're. The one time you're just totally confident, you're like, yeah, this is my buddy. Our chemistry is great. And you go out there and he just is so cold. Just gives you.

[Andrew Walsh]

First of all, thank you for that short little answers. You know, I can take you off the guest.

[Luke Burbank]

It's not gonna happen. It's fine.

[Andrew Walsh]

I can. I can have you removed from the guest list.

[Luke Burbank]

You're sensitive.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, but, yeah, I'm feeling excited about this. I'm feeling happy about it. As opposed to my normal. Like, I woke up this morning thinking, oh, this is going to be cool. Where, like, normally I wake up on a morning of doing Livewire or a variety of other things kind of like this, and I go like, oh, God, just get through it. Like, I just think to myself, there will be a point where you will be walking to your car after the show. You will get in your car, you will turn it on. They'll probably be playing Philosophy talk on opb and they will drive home and it will feel amazing. That's literally how I get through too many things in my life. Still. I'm trying to do this less. You know, I've been on this project of trying to say this is the good part, but I don't have to do that today. I don't have to trick myself into thinking it's the good part. It does feel like the good part. Plus the book. I found the book to be really, really fascinating. I did. I swapped between reading the book and listening to the book, depending on what I was doing, particularly driving. And it's pretty funny because I've gotten to hear Chris's impression of Abraham Lincoln.

[Luke Burbank]

Which is pretty deep. The audiobook's out now, or just from the.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's inaudible, I believe. I mean, it is in comma. It sounded like I was saying it's not audible. It's inaudible. It is available via the Audible app.

[Luke Burbank]

That's funny, because I thought I looked for it. Have you been listening to it for the past couple of weeks or whatever? Because I looked for it about a week ago and I didn't see it. And I thought it said coming soon. I was kind of surprised. I was like, oh, I wasn't sure if the audiobooks are supposed to be released at the same time as the print edition because that was a whole, it doesn't matter. It was a whole narrative. And a different podcast I listened to about a different book and I was like, oh, well, here's an example. Chris hasn't recorded the audiobook yet. I'm looking forward to getting that, but it's already out there. I just missed, I don't know how I missed this buff audiobook, but I'm definitely going to that.

[Andrew Walsh]

And Chris is pretty buff. And you do get to hear him do a kind of a quasi Abraham Lincoln impression.

[Luke Burbank]

Slips into it just a little bit.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, he's quotes so many people and he does. Chris's, Chris's background is actually in theater and acting. So he's got, he's got, he's, you know, he's, he's got some skills. So he's not just reading dispassionately. Like if he's reading something that somebody said in the 1920s, he gets a little more, maybe mid Atlantic, you know, a little more like kind of how. But he's not overdoing it. It's not, you know, he's not like the man of a thousand voices, but it's definitely like a little adjustment to his normal speaking voice. But does he go to the really.

[Luke Burbank]

High pitched Abraham Lincoln?

[Andrew Walsh]

A teeny. It's like a little Daniel. It's like, it's like small nod to Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln.

[Luke Burbank]

It's funny how we've recalibrated our from that movie. I feel like as a kid, if you were going to do an Abraham Lincoln impression, stand up as tall as possible and you're going to be low and booming underneath that hat. Here I go once again with the email. Every week I hope that it's from a female.

[John Skloroff]

Oh, man.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's not from a female.

[Luke Burbank]

All right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Emails or vmail?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, you know, I have a voicemail here from Mariah, who I believe is in Chicago.

[Andrew Walsh]

Our friend Mariah in Chicago?

[Luke Burbank]

Sure, I think so. Yeah. And I'll be honest with you, I heard the beginning of this voicemail this morning. It caught my attention. It piqued my interest, as you might say.

[Andrew Walsh]

Nice.

[Luke Burbank]

But I don't exactly know where the story goes, so. Mark, Mariah, take it away.

[D]

Hey, dummies. It is Mariah calling from Chicago. The other week I went to pick up my son from his school and I was with my husband and we saw another dad picking up his son and my Husband Greg said, oh my God, Mariah, look, tbto. He in fact saw that the other father waiting in line was listening to TBCL on his phone. Like, he has seen me listening to so much tbc. He recognized the logo on the ipod catcher. Okay. So immediately I was pumped. I was like, oh my God, I'm Mariah. I'm a 10. So shout out to Jonathan, also a 10.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, nice.

[D]

Having a great time, chat, yuck. And a talk for a few minutes. And I was just thrilled. I was, you know, I was, I was vibrating from the excitement of meeting.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wow. So I, I was worried that where the story was going was that it was just a different podcast that like had a color similar or something. Like the fact that this was actually somebody, it sounds like, named Jonathan, who was in fact listening to tbtl. I cannot tell you how exciting that is because again, see previous comments about Massachusetts. Chicago is also very far away from us. Like, if this happened in Ballard, I don't want to diminish how I'm excited if anyone listens to this show anywhere. But this idea that in the Chicagoland area, somebody, two people that didn't know each other previously were both experiencing tbtl, that is amazing.

[Luke Burbank]

Do you think it's John Hughes? Do you think that's the Jonathan?

[Andrew Walsh]

Is that guy alive?

[Luke Burbank]

I'm not sure. We'll look it up later.

[D]

I texted my sister, who's also the long suffering listener. I was like, oh my God, Leah, I met a 10 in the wild today. She was like, me too. I was like, are you kidding me? Leah lives in like a really small town of Wisconsin. So I was like, what are the chances? Like, I was just like, the universe, what is happening? She's like, he was at the co op. I was like, okay, cool. I was like, mine was at school. And then I, you know, I was kind of. We're texting a little more. And I was like, how did you know he was a 10? And she was like, we made eye contact three times. He was with his daughter. And I was like, okay. And then I was like, okay. And I was like, why? And then I was like, but like, how did you know he was a 10? And she was like, I saw him. And anyway, it turns out that she was saying he was like, really hot, like a 10 out of 10. Okay, 10 out of 10.

[Andrew Walsh]

The next day was a Wisconsin 10.

[D]

Hi. And she goes, that was just such a crazy example of a coincidence. I was like, no, that was an example of what an idiot you are. So shout out to Jonathan Shout out to Leah. We all see 10 in a different way, I guess. I would love to see you guys in Chicago. I'm feeling the Chicago live show. I think it's time. I think it's time. Summer 2025.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh my God. This is like a campaign. Thank you, Mariah. Now.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Shout out to that hot guy in Wisconsin. Can you imagine being so attractive that when some other person sees you in a store they have to call their sister?

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, I can imagine. I assume it happens all the time. I'm not sure but I mean I assume that as I, as I stroll down the aisles of SARS Super Saver a lot of people are getting on their phone, being trailed by security. Yeah, exactly. Did I tell you that guy is not there anymore by the way? Oh yeah, it's a pretty big deal. Everything's coming up in my grocery store life. I'm going there all the time now. It turns out it's a really good store because it has like, remember I told you before they opened, I was like, I just hope even if it's a, you know, like a, a Super Saver style store, say that quickly. I want real brands, you know what I mean? I don't want to buy like some unknown brand of kitty litter for example. I don't know why I'm always like using that example or, or like whatever brand detergent I use or whatever. I don't like off brand stuff. But like the store is so huge. It's got a huge, you know, just like kind of what I would call like standard American grocery store section but then all these other like more world sections as well too. And I, I, it's not even about the taking the backpack in there anymore. It was just about like feeling like I had an enemy, a security guard who was watching me because of the backpack situation. And they, they've replaced him with two really poor photocopies of an image of a backpack with a line through it just taped to the window in the front. But it's like, you know how when you like photo, black and white photocopy, like a dark image and it just sort of looks like a kind of a dark square. That's what they've replaced the security guard with.

[Andrew Walsh]

So do you have an official confirmation that he no longer is employed there? You just haven't seen him when you've gone in here's and now there's this poster that's up.

[Luke Burbank]

He was usually there. I would see him in the daytimes and afternoons. Like sometimes I think veeves and I Stopped in there in a weekend one time, maybe around noonish, he was there. If I'm going to the store, Maybe it's around 4 or 5 o'clock. And that was when I would encounter him in the past, like four or five times I've gone there during that time period. Period. Nobody has been there in the evening. I think they bring a security guard around because I think they're right 10 or midnight, which makes sense. I'll bet you they realize. And honestly this guy did not seem like a bad guy. I just don't like the policy and he was the one who was enforcing it. So I'm not, I'm honestly not dancing on his career grave here but. Or gig grave. But they probably realized even if we're the cost of keeping a 24 hour. I'm sorry, like every, every hour that we're open, having a security guard there is probably not worth the cost. Like people probably aren't stealing that much.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right. Although of course, is it because of this? Yeah, I guess because you're going to start robbing that place stupid now.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh my God, I got a salami in my pants right now.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now I want to say this. I. I'm glad that Mariah check in with that story. I've already said how exciting it is to hear about Tens in the Wild, but you know, Mariah said something in an email to us a while ago that's just been living in my head. It was from like, I don't know, a couple of weeks ago about a couple of different topics. She said some follow up and there was something about shepherd's pie to you. And then she said, number two, Luke, your vaguely nonsensical commentary about how hard it once was to travel to Hawaii made me think of a great book. I just listened to Wide Wide Sea. I couldn't get enough. It's about Captain Cook's last voyage in search of the Northern Passage. Great deal takes place in Polynesia. Vaguely nonsensical commentary.

[Luke Burbank]

Maria, you were talking about. I know what she was talking about. You went on this thing about how traveling by ship to a place that there were several things in there. I was like, I'm not sure if that's factually accurate, but I didn't look it up. So I don't know if Mariah having read this book book takes issue with your description.

[Andrew Walsh]

I thought I was just trying to generally say it used to be to get to like the Hawaiian Islands. Used to be something that could take, you know, if you obviously were not from there could Take you a really, really long time. Like, it's a very remote place, but because of air travel, we can now go there for like we did three days. And it struck me that by the way, that turned out to be the perfect. I think maybe we said this on air, but that was like the perfect length of trip. It was really fun. I got some sun and then it was nice to be home on like Saturday night and then have my Sunday. I. You. I may be coming around on this.

[Luke Burbank]

Whole buffer day madness. Well, it's interesting. There's sort of two things there. The buffer day is definitely nice, but then also the short trip is sort of something a little bit different too, right? Like, I wonder, like, there's the vacation. This is maybe hyperbolic. You might not go with me on this, but like, when you're heading out on like a long vacation, like, that's like a week or more. Like that's enough time to like, sort of become someone else. Like to become your vacation self. You know what I mean? Not that your personality changes, but you're like, all right, you're here, you drop your bags and you put all your clothes into drawers. I know you usually do that when you travel anyway, if you're there for more than a night, I think. But I don't usually do that. I'm happy, like kind of living out of a suitcase. But when you sort of arrive like vivs and I don't travel all that much. But if we take like one vacation a year, it's like, oh, we're taking a vacation. We're probably staying in one place where I'm not a big, like kind of hop around traveler, which is a good Conway Twitty song, by the way, the Hop along Traveler. But, you know, I mean, you're sort of like, I'm here and by the time I leave this condo in seven days or something, it's going to feel like I've been here forever. Whereas you were kind of like, you kept it a work kind of half work, half, you know, half like fun kind of trip. You didn't probably show up with the expectation of like, I'm going to grow a vacation beard or the. The mental equivalent of that.

[Andrew Walsh]

And the other thing was I wasn't holding this up as this sort of pot of relaxation gold at the end of the rainbow or at the end of like a lot of times what I will do. And I was just kind of talking about this in the micro, which is sometimes if I'm feeling anxious about like a work thing, particularly like an episode of Livewire that we're recording. I will, as I'm pulling up and parking, I'll just think to myself, myself, okay, in five hours you will be getting back in this car and going home. And that somehow kind of is a, you know, I don't know why that is relaxing to me. But also sometimes if I have a lot of work going on, I think, well, yeah, but then I'm going to get a couple of weeks to go on vacation and I'm going to go somewhere and it's going to be so relaxing. I'm going to be sitting or maybe I'll just be home. But like this, I build it up to being almost like something that is going to allow me to get through the other hard part of my life. And I didn't do that with this. This was not that. This was not like, okay, I know that I'm in the, I'm in the right now, but it's gonna be worth it when I'm in Hawaii. It was kind of like, no, this is a few days I can carve out. I'm still going to be doing tbtl. And it worked great. I didn't. Yeah, because there definitely have been vacations I've come home from where I'm like pretty bummed on the last day. Or I'm pretty like, oh, it's got to go back to real life. I didn't have that feeling with this because of the expectations you have now.

[Luke Burbank]

Said something twice. I almost asked you a follow up the first time, but I didn't want to kind of get in your head. But now that you've mentioned again, I need to ask. I think maybe this is what I'm seeing is maybe a difference in how we approach these things. But like you say, like, if you have a little bit of anxiety before doing a gig that makes you nervous. You picture yourself in the car, driving home, and I thought what you were going to say there, which is more of sort of how I, I mean, on the occasion that I need to confront something that I'm nervous or anxious about, especially if it's work related, is when I get in the car or the train or the bus or whatever it is after this thing, how am I going to feel? Like I mentioned to you in passing, sort of like I'm now at an age, it took a long time for me to get here. But like when I'm choosing a meal or a food or a snack or something, I'm not just thinking about how it's going to feel. In the moment, I'm eating it, but just like, how it's going to affect the rest of my day. Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And so I'm trying to think of a good example with this. But me, maybe when I was doing my nighttime radio show, I would. If I. If I was maybe nervous about a guest coming on or something, I might take kind of almost exactly what you said and picture myself driving home, only there's a question mark above it. And I'd sort of like, mentally or emotionally ask myself, how is that ride home going to be? You know what I mean? Am I going to be. Is it going to be one of those damn Andrew beating myself up rides home? Or is it going to be like, oh, man, you got through that and you grew a little bit because of it? You know, is there any of that? Or you're just sort of like, well, once I get to that. Once I get to that base of my car, I can just relax, you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Know, I guess this is something that I'm. I am grateful for, is that I don't tend to. Maybe I should do this more. I don't tend to like, drive home and kind of like beat myself up over the. How the show went. Like. Right. But I mean, like, it's. You'd think I would have a little bit more of a. Sort of. A little bit more of a process of kind of going back through what worked and didn't work. But I will say this, it generally seems to go pretty well. And, yeah, my big thing is just wanting it to be done more than being worried that I'm going to be beating myself up on the way home. I really don't beat myself up over this. And maybe that's how I'm able to kind of juggle a number of these jobs where this kind of stuff happens. Like. Yeah, it's literally never occurred to me, how am I gonna feel about how the show went? It's just. I'm just gonna be so psyched to be sitting in this car knowing that the pressure's off. But I guess that's all predicated on the idea that it's gonna go well or it will have gone well or will have gone okay.

[Luke Burbank]

No, I think that's good. I mean, honestly, I was gonna say that you've talked, and I wanna be careful here because I don't know how many of these stories were off air on air, but you've definitely alluded to on the show confidence about some interviews that really just did not go well.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sure.

[Luke Burbank]

And. But the thing is, I Guess now that I think about that, I don't hear you doing a lot of like kind of beating yourself up. You're kind of like, I think this.

[Andrew Walsh]

Person, I'm like, it went bad because of the person.

[Luke Burbank]

This person was stoned or this person was like, you know, didn't get that this was gonna be on the radio and was too like just absolutely foul mouth and didn't care about the medium or whatever. But you are right. I don't remember you ever saying like, God, it was pretty good. The guest was great, but I just was off my game or whatever. And I think maybe that's more how I navigate my life which is why I don't do things well.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's. Yeah, it's strange because I didn't ever think about this until this very moment that you brought this up. And I am not generally, I think an overly confident person. But I guess I will say again, I'm really teeing it up for tonight to just be an absolute miserable failure. But I just, I guess I feel like the one thing that I feel pretty solid about of my abilities is like being on a stage with someone and having a conversation and. Or being on this microphone with you and having a conversation or I. That is the one thing that I really don't have low self esteem about. So I guess what that means is when it does go poorly and I. Yeah, sometimes you and I, I'll debrief with you off air about something that happened. I'll be like, you wouldn't believe this. I'm never the bad guy in the story. Which is crazy because I'm like the bad guy in every other story in my own mind. You asked me why my marriages didn't work out. It's me. You asked me why, you know, I've had trouble at places I've been employed it me. The one thing where I kind of assume it's somebody else, I guess has to do with the sorts of interview style conversations. I think I would put my abilities to just make that a not weird situation. I'd put them up against just about anybody's, I guess. Which is a strange thing to say out loud because I am not generally a cocky person in that way. But I guess that's how I feel about it.

[Luke Burbank]

It's funny cause again it's been a long time. It's weird that I'm going back to a radio show that I had now over 10 years ago. Luke. But I'm just trying to like. I kind of think of examples that would be somewhat relevant to this conversation. But when I think about the things that went poorly in that venue or other things that I've done, I can think of one time. There must be more. I can think of one time where I was like, well, that guest sucked. It's always like, well, I blew that. You know what I mean?

[Andrew Walsh]

But I bet you you didn't. I bet you that the truth is much more in the middle for both of us. And that's. In other words, I am sure that. Because I think if there's a poor interview, it's 100% of the time it's the guest's fault. And it sounds like in your case it was, you know, about 95% of the time you assumed it was your fault. Probably for both of us, the truth is much more in the middle. It's probably much more 50, 50 in both directions.

[Luke Burbank]

I think in my last week on the air, I had a dream expert on. I think that went pretty well. I think we had a lot of laughs. Told me I dream.

[Andrew Walsh]

They talk about the whole like, you know, when you go in the bathroom and all the toilets are overflowing.

[Luke Burbank]

Ooh, no, I don't know that one. That sounds.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, that used to be. I haven't had that one in a long time. But that was a strongly recurring dream for me for many years. Yeah, just like you really have to go to the bathroom, but you're in a public bathroom. But each stall that you open, it's just. The toilets are just beyond like disgusting and overflowing and a nightmare. And. And like one time I think I googled that and like, that's a. You know, that's in the top 10 of like recurring dreams that people.

[Luke Burbank]

This is the. I swear, this is the first time hearing about it.

[Andrew Walsh]

And you know me, I'm dream expert.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I'm a dream expert. Dreaming. This is just like the AI Overview response from Google. Dreaming of an overflowing toilet often symbolizes feeling overwhelmed, out of control, or unable to manage negative emotions or situations in your life. The toilet represents a place where you release waste and the overflow signifies that these issues are becoming too much to handle.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, that's the kind of thing where, yes, that does make logical sense, but also, I don't know if I believe it. Does that make any sense? Like, that's a very. Like. If you asked me to analyze a dream where our toilets overflowing, I would say, well, it's probably. Yeah, I would probably describe it exactly that way. It's logical. But then I don't know if that's really. I just don't do. Can we get that dream expert back on Come up. I guess I feel like the whole question of, like, dream interpretation, I just don't know how we are able to make the leap from. If you dream that your teeth are falling out, it means you're probably feeling this way like that, you know, because if you ask me, Luke, what is your teeth falling out dream, what does that signify? I would say it probably means you're feeling like you're losing something very important to you. There's something that there's somebody or something that you care about that you feel like is. Is. Is in danger or is going away in your life and there's nothing you can do about it. Now, if we Google it, I bet you that's probably the definition, right. Bet you that's in there.

[Luke Burbank]

The tooth thing. I. Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

What is the.

[Luke Burbank]

I've always heard it was loss of control.

[Andrew Walsh]

Loss of control. These just seem like the logical, kind of the logical interpretation of what is sort of happening in the dream, you know, as what it might represent. But, like, has anybody, like, done a brain scan while someone's dreaming to somehow. I guess I just wonder, is that really what the brain is doing? And is there a way for us to know that?

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, as opposed to going with.

[Andrew Walsh]

The most logical kind of explanation.

[Luke Burbank]

So many of these answers. I mean, this is again, very, very quick pat answer here. Loose teeth and dreams may symbol. Well, this is. Says loose teeth, which is different than teeth falling out, symbolize feelings of anxiety, stress, or insecurity. You said on this very podcast once that I am still thinking about and dream talk is like, I can't explain it. Like, I know it's kind of bullshit, but I also am unironically interested in it, if that makes sense, because it is. It is a view into our psyches in some way. It's really, really hard to like, kind of parse it. And you said you think that every. Now maybe you want to change the way I phrase this, but you essentially said you think that every dream is a stress dream. Essentially you said every dream is our brain chewing on big fat problems or whatever.

[Andrew Walsh]

Let me think if I still agree.

[Luke Burbank]

With that Rick and Morty quote is.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, big fat brain missing those big fat problems.

[Luke Burbank]

Chewing on big fat problems or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do I still. Do I stand by that statement? I mean, I guess probably what I said whenever it was. I said that the first time, it was probably my theory was based on natural selection and the idea that most of the time when we do something kind of involuntarily, it's the result of many, many, many generations wherein that behavior was rewarded in some way. And so then more people were born with that tendency, et cetera. And maybe the people who worked their anxiety out while sleeping. Sleeping, we're less anxious in the daytime and therefore better able to hunt and gather. And, you know, probably my thought is that there's a bigger. There's a larger evolutionary advantage to working out your anxiety at sleep versus working out your joy. Like, so I guess I stand by that a little bit. What do you think?

[Luke Burbank]

I. Well, the problem is I've had nothing but bad dreams for the past, like, two months. But that's good.

[Andrew Walsh]

That means your brain is working out that anxiety.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, but I feel like I have pleasant dreams from time to time that don't seem like stress dreams to me. I mean, obviously I don't have romantic dreams a lot, but that's something that, you know, I think a lot of people can associate with. Obviously we have romantic dreams. It'd be hard for me to, like, fit that into a stress dream category. But the reason I bring it up is. I don't bring it up because I'm trying to argue with you about it. I. So back off. I bring it up because it's one of those things.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is vaguely nonsensical, what you're doing right now.

[Luke Burbank]

What I. What I. The reason it stuck with me is because now it's a big fat problem that my big fat brain is trying to chew on. Like, is there some truth in that? And the reason I bring it up is because I was looking up. What is losing your teeth in a dream mean? Oh, or, you know, your teeth falling out. Well, it's stress and anxiety. And it's like, well, how many things. If I look it up and it's like toilets overflowing, stress, anxiety, like, how many answers for any of these things are just going to be stress and anxiety? If you look it up and you get the quick Internet answer, I will say one thing that stuck with me when I interviewed that dream expert, which, by the way, I just did a search on my. There is a chance that I still had an email. Email to him or from him in my Gmail. Unfortunately, I cannot find out who that person was. I would love to know. But he did say to me, I said, I always dream about transportation in some way or another. Like, I'm always dreaming about, like, trying to catch a plane or getting. Or actually being on a Plane or driving down the highway or being in a boat. Like, my dreams are always travel related or often like a lot of the time. And he says, well, that's probably about change in your life. And I'm kind of like. And I always think about that and I, it's like I sort of just accept that, but I'm also kind of like, that could be just total bullshit. You know what I mean? Like, why is that about?

[Andrew Walsh]

Right.

[Luke Burbank]

Lives are always sort of changing, you know?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, right. And I just looked up. Because you bring up a good point, which is if you have like a. Some sort of romantic dream or where you're falling in love with someone or whatever, like, how would there be anxiety there? So I, I looked up another what you think of as a positive dream, which is you won the lottery. That's one that I used to have something really like, oh, you won all this, this money? And it says it, this is again, AI overview. It symbolizes a deep desire for significant positive change, a sudden windfall of luck or a feeling of being deserving of success in your life. But that's currently reflecting feelings of inadequacy.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

So in other words, even like you won the lottery is actually a negative dream.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

According to this. Now, Andrew something, we have a much bigger development.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Okay. What's going on? I don't know how we got on this. I'm loving it, but I don't know how we got on it.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was trying to locate, I was trying to see if I could locate that dream expert on your show. So I did a Google for the Andrew Walsh show and dream Expert and I was, I did find an X. I found a post on Twitter from your show back in the day, I.

[Luke Burbank]

Think, oh, but that account, still just like a zombie account.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I started seeing the Andrew Walsh podcast in places. The Andrew Walsh Podcast. Mind, Body, Spirit. Welcome to the Andrew Walsh Podcast, your ultimate guide to unlocking the limitless potential of your mind, body and spirit.

[Luke Burbank]

Whoa.

[Andrew Walsh]

Join us on a transformative journey. There is apparently a sort of fairly well received podcast. Well, actually, I don't know if they're making it anymore. There was at one time a fairly well received podcast about Mind, body and spirit called the Andrew Walsh Podcast. And I just love the idea, idea that you're at a barbecue or a get together and they say, what do you do? And you say, well, I'm a podcaster. And then they look you up and they're like, God, this guy's got a Mind, Body, Spirit podcast.

[Luke Burbank]

Let me see Here.

[Andrew Walsh]

I can't imagine anything you'd be less inclined towards hosting just in terms of what your brand is.

[Luke Burbank]

Wow. So it looks like, yeah, this was really, first of all, the logo, and I'm not. I don't want to lash out at another Andrew Walsh here, and I don't.

[Andrew Walsh]

Need Walsh on Walsh violence today, please.

[Luke Burbank]

I would say the logo. And I don't know if you're seeing that logo of a. Of a pretty buff Andrew Walsh on. On a plain, like a fluorescent green background. It's very. Graphic design is my passion. It looks like the last episode was in March of last year, but it was very sporadic before that. Before that, it was, like, October, and.

[Andrew Walsh]

Then he's working on his mind, body, spirit.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly. But I will say that it lasted longer than I thought. It did start in April of 2020, and the last one was in March of 2024. And the way these are dropped very sporadically, maybe it's not over yet. We'll see. The last episode is called Time Blocking. Master your schedule and boost productivity with Andrew Walsh.

[Andrew Walsh]

That sounds like a buffer day.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, sure does.

[Andrew Walsh]

You. This may be Andrew's aligning. Andrew Walsh is aligning on. On the topic of buffer day.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. All right, I'll sue.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. Yeah, absolutely. We could use it, honestly. It might get us an extra billboard. So, yeah, if you could look into that. All right, thanks for listening, everyone. That's going to do it for today's episode, but we are coming right back at you tomorrow with another edition of tbtl, so we hope you'll be able to join us for that. In the meantime, have a great Tuesday. Maybe we'll see some of you tonight at Town Hall. Please remember, no mountain too tall.

[Luke Burbank]

And good luck to all.

[Andrew Walsh]

So it was like my grandma's house, but at the same time, it was not totally my grandma's house. We will not listen to your dreams.

[Luke Burbank]

We are not saints.

[Andrew Walsh]

Power out.