#4542 Rates With Kate

Summary

TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live

Episode #4542 “Rates With Kate”
Date: August 28, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

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Episode Overview

In this lively Thursday installment, Luke and Andrew lean into their signature blend of earnestness and goofballery, tackling health anxiety over blood pressure monitoring, the realities of aging (and trying to cheat at your own doctor checkups), and their mutual friendships with the famous-but-down-to-earth (Chris Hayes). They also spiral with delight through a nostalgic rabbit hole about the infamous “Clan of the Cave Bear”—its literary phenomenon, the movie adaptation, and what language Neanderthals may have actually used. Technical quirks about modern life (AI reading voices, file management, secure Android folders) and quirky listener messages round out the banter-driven episode.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Blood Pressure Monitors: Wrist vs. Arm Cuff Debate

• Listener “Rates with Kate” Email

  • Kate, a TBTL listener and registered nurse, weighs in after Andrew and Luke compare notes on home blood pressure monitors. She confirms:
    • Wrist-based monitors are not reliable—“Wrist cuffs are not real accurate and they trend low.” (06:01)
    • In clinical practice, a wrist cuff might be used first to calm “white coat syndrome” patients, but an arm cuff is needed for real accuracy.
    • Tips: Arm should be at heart level, resting on your lap; don’t talk during measurement.
    • Genetics can outweigh weight/exercise factors for blood pressure.
    • “These aren’t useless, but if you want accuracy, use an arm cuff.” (16:01)
  • Luke laments realizing he’s been trusting a “toy” wrist monitor. Andrew’s numbers coming down (“128 over 79! Look at this healthy boy. You can’t handle my health.” (11:09)) spark joyful rivalry.

• Luke’s Product Regret

  • He repeatedly tries his wrist monitor (“83 over 49… I’m legally dead!” (12:13)) before admitting: “So what it means is this was a waste of $20.”
  • Andrew: “Have you tried putting it around your neck? … for a little fun time.” (13:34)

• Doctors’ Appointments and “Cheating” Behavior

  • Both hosts admit to trying to “cram” for doctor visits by living healthy for a few days prior.
    • Luke: “Starting today… everything about my life changes… Eventually, it’s like, definitely the week leading up, and then I’m on the treadmill the morning of…” (18:03)

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2. TBTL Celebrity Connections: Chris Hayes Makes Obama’s Reading List

• Chris Hayes’ latest book is named on Barack Obama’s summer reading list—news which causes (gentle) existential confusion for Luke about how his life overlaps with much-more-famous friends.
• Text exchange among the trio reveals Chris’s humility and priorities: After Luke and Andrew say congrats, Chris responds:
  • “It’s very cool. But much more pressingly, where is today’s TBTL?!” (20:09)
• Becca’s excited all-caps reaction (“OH, I KNOW.”) is cited as the most animated Luke’s seen her about any news:
  • “I think this might be the most excited she’s ever been in her life…” (23:05)
• Andrew, joking about lesser-known Obama picks: “I was surprised that Flowers in the Attic ended up on his list as well.” (25:10)

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3. Digression Rabbit Hole: ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ and Communicating like a Neanderthal

• Sparked by joking about “Obama’s book list,” the hosts recall the once-monolithic ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ phenomenon.
• Movie adaptation starring Daryl Hannah is dissected:
  • Trailer is lampooned for saying nothing about the film’s story—just touting sales figures.
    • “For 52 weeks – an entire year…” (27:27)
• Andrew does a dramatic cold reading from an excerpt, set to the actual Alan Silvestri film soundtrack, followed by doubt:
  • “I can see why this was on the bestseller list for 52 weeks—also one year.” (39:02)
• Ongoing inside joke: Repeatedly playing the “scientific recreation” of what a Neanderthal voice would sound like—a TBTL classic (click “the sound scientists say Neanderthals made”). (58:56)
• Luke confesses, “That’s all I need to know about ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ to know that I don’t think it’s good.” (39:57)
• “You don’t like fiction anyway, right? You don’t like…the highest of highly speculative fiction.” (40:17)

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4. Media & Audio: AI vs. Human Voices

• Luke details adapting to AI-voiced reading of magazine articles, notably in the New Yorker app.
  • “I just kept cycling through… everyone was like ‘written by’ So-and-so, ‘read by AI’…” (51:20)
  • Andrew: “The AI voices can do a really damn good job.” (52:24)
• Both agree that improvements have made AI voice audio more unsettling—now that it’s “almost as good,” it’s weirder.
  • “Isn’t that kind of almost the definition of uncanny valley?” (55:16)
• Both have adapted out of necessity, with Luke admitting: “Today… it was basically fine. It was tolerable. And that’s how they get ya.” (53:57)

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5. Listener Blursday (Birthday) Messages

• Multiple heartfelt and silly birthday shout-outs, such as:
  • “Patrick says…‘Darling, you are the gin in my tonic, the cream in my coffee, the light of my life…’” (57:29)
• In-jokes about butchering names (Tooele, Utah), and pronunciation gaffes (“diastole”, “systole”).
• Phyllis Fletcher gives her blood pressure calming tip: “When they put the cuff on, imagine falling asleep in a bed made out of pizza.” (Hosts: “That actually stresses me out…” (66:07))
• Shoutouts to “DBTL daddies,” polymer scientists, and grateful blurbs from listeners whose lives the show has touched.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Luke on Bad Blood Pressure Monitor Numbers:

  • “Okay, well, that doesn’t even make sense. This thing does not work, Andrew. It says I’m 83 over 49. I’m legally dead.” (12:13)

• Andrew on TBTL’s Hypothetical AI Endgame:

  • “All of that is to say… AI voices can do a really damn good job… It bums me out as somebody who’s clearly knocking on the door of a career in audiobook reading.” (52:24)

• Listener Nurse Kate’s Killer Line:

  • “Wrist cuffs are not real accurate and they trend low… If we have a patient that has white coat syndrome… we will take their first read with a wrist cuff and tell them how low the number is to calm them down, and then move on to the arm cuff to get more accurate numbers.” (06:02)

• On Chris Hayes’ Fame:

  • “To get on for Barack Obama to…have read your book…that’s the stuff authors dream about. That was just a Wednesday and our friend Chris Hayes woke up, presumably climbed onto his electric Vespa…” (21:57)

• Andrew, on Blood Pressure Ritual:

  • “I’m getting healthier the more I podcast.” (10:01)

• Luke, Joking About His Wrist Cuff:

  • “Guy gets under 130 and he thinks he’s Jack LaLanne…” (12:42)

• Luke, Burned by Partner’s True Excitement (for Chris Hayes):

  • “I think this might be the most excited [Becca’s] ever been in her life… I got to see what it’s like when she’s actually excited about something.” (23:08)

• Andrew’s Blood Pressure Data Management System:

  • “If I’m going to be checking my blood pressure every day, I’m going to create a folder on my phone where I take a photo. But it’s not an easy system…” (08:39)

• Classic TBTL inside jokes

  • “You can’t handle my health.” (11:09)
  • “The earth was not supposed to move.” (38:57)
  • “Was that a Stitch Fix shirt?” (47:13)
  • On AI voices: “It was almost more unsettling than when it was just very clearly a robot.” (55:16)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:14 – Luke’s intro musings, Big Dog t-shirts, summer weather
• 03:37 – Andrew takes his blood pressure on air
• 04:19 – Listener email from Kate, the registered nurse
• 06:01 – Kate’s key advice about wrist/arm blood pressure monitors
• 10:01 – Andrew’s pride in his blood pressure dropping
• 11:09–13:34 – Live blood pressure readings, comedic failures
• 18:01 – Confessing to “cramming” before doctor’s appointments
• 19:39 – Chris Hayes on Obama’s reading list
• 20:09 – Text thread with Chris Hayes; “Where’s TBTL?”
• 25:10–31:47 – Clan of the Cave Bear riff, reading from the book/mockery
• 38:57 – Dramatic reading from ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’
• 51:20 – Luke on AI voices in The New Yorker app
• 55:16 – Uncanny valley feelings about advanced AI reading
• 57:29–68:00 – Blursday messages, pizza bed visualization, “Tooele” pronunciation, campus memories
• 68:35 – Luke on his dad’s traveling backscratcher
• 69:03 – Outro, shoutout to his brother Samwise

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Tone & Language

The episode blends friendly exasperation, self-deprecating humor, earnest health anxiety, affectionate ribbing, and pop culture nostalgia. Banter is quick, with in-jokes and callbacks for regular listeners, but also plenty of context for newcomers.

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Summary

“Rates With Kate” highlights TBTL at its best: blending everyday worries about personal health and aging with literary detours, cultural touchstones, and deeply silly asides. The show celebrates community (both listeners and friends-who-happen-to-be-famous), navigates the encroachment of AI and modern tech in daily life, and reinforces the joys of being, as always, “too beautiful to live.”

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

Today I was babysitting and one of the kids said, what's on your shirt? And I said, that's a big dog. The most powerful American figure from the mid-80s to the late 90s, the influence of which you'll never see matched in your lifetime. Not a chance. Now watch out, because it's time to party.

[Andrew Walsh]

TBTL.

[Luke Burbank]

I am brave. Roller coasters. Love em. Scary movies. I've seen Ghostbusters like seven times.

[Andrew Walsh]

I regularly drive through neighborhoods that have.

[Luke Burbank]

Only recently been gentrified. So, yeah, I'm pretty much not afraid of anything.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yo, yo, yo.

[Luke Burbank]

I've only ever said I love you to two men my entire life. Stone cold Steve Austin and a guy.

[Andrew Walsh]

In a dark club who I mistook for stone cold Steve Austin. Make sure your bathroom really has got.

[Luke Burbank]

A toilet that's working way too high.

[Andrew Walsh]

And kind of big.

[Luke Burbank]

Also, two plungers. Two plungers says it all. No, you're going to tell a story.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't believe that I can bear to listen to another one of your stories right now.

[Luke Burbank]

All right. Hello, good morning and welcome, everyone, to a Thursday edition of tbtl, the show that just might be too beautiful to live. Life's a potty wonder body. My name is Luke Burbank. I'm your host. I'm an activist and house party enthusiast coming to you from the Madrona Hill studio perched high above the mighty Columbia, where looking at it actually kind of a. It's a foggy day, but I think it's going to be. I think the sun is going to break through later on. Oh, ma Pa it's just beautiful. Temperature has actually stabilized here. Was very hot earlier in the week, but now things are. Things are right where they should be. I did see a very, for me kind of depressing statistic yesterday and I don't know why I will. I was gonna say I don't know why they put this in the newspaper, but then that would raise the question, why am I now passing it on to you, the TBTL 10s of listeners, but at least here in southern Washington, I believe yesterday. So Wednesday night was the final, was the last 8pm sunset or sunset that happens after 8pm that we will experience until like April of 2026 or something like that. And I read that and I immediately averted my eyes like I wanted to unsee it. But then the weird thing is I just jumped here on the show and said it to all of you. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's nothing. Episode 4542 In a Collector series can't fix. Let the fun begin. The Atlanta Journal Constitution announced that they are phasing out all of their print newspaper operation. They're still going to be a newspaper, but just not on news print.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'd like to point out to anybody.

[Luke Burbank]

Watching this is really bunk journalism. It's kind of notable because they are probably the largest, maybe one of the largest newspapers that will have absolutely no print edition. A lot of newspapers have gone down to maybe a couple of days a week for the print or just on Sundays. As of December 31st of 2025, they will just cease all printing operations. We'll talk about that. Also, it's a Thursday, AKA a blursday. So happy birthday. Today we'll do some blurs day messages and we'll say hello to this guy. Longest running cobra of the show. Maybe best known for his depictions of the tall ship.

[Andrew Walsh]

The voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.

[Luke Burbank]

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

[Andrew Walsh]

Good morning, Luke. Now, I'm worried that I can't trust the results. I'm taking my blood pressure right now as we're talking. Then you said blurs days and then my heart pressure just, my heartbeat probably just spiked because I was like, oh, I have to get some of those blurs days ready. So I don't even know if I can, if I can trust this reading that I'm about to give you anymore.

[Luke Burbank]

So for people that missed yesterday's show, we're now the number one program amongst blood pressure home test enthusiasts. And in fact, we'll just jump right into this. Andrew, you took your blood pressure live on air. And now one of the things about that is I was looking up blood pressure home monitors today actually based on an email I got.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, from a listener.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, from our friend listener Kate.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay, good. You did see that. Yeah, that's important.

[Luke Burbank]

A registered nurse and knows about these sorts of things. Now yesterday we were talking, we were talking about blood pressure and testing our blood pressure at home and you were talking about the, the, the monitor that you had bought and then you did yours live on the air and you got whatever the result was you got. And then I said, yeah, you know, I got this wrist one and it's actually showing my blood pressure is pristine. Which was, I enjoyed that information, but I didn't trust it because I had been to the doctor and the, you know, the sort of medical assistant that was taking my blood pressure said, again, I think it might have been the doctor. I Forget it was a flurry of people coming in and out, but somebody there wearing a white lab coat said, your blood pressure is pretty high. It's, it's not in the danger zone yet, but it's hovering near the danger zone. So you need to get a home monitor and you need to make sure it's not in the danger zone.

[Andrew Walsh]

I said, okay.

[Luke Burbank]

And so I got this wrist based operation that I have right here, Andrew. I brought it into the studio today, so I really was enjoying the results of my wrist based home blood pressure monitoring situation. But I, I did, I, I sensed that the wrist was probably not actually telling me the full story. And our friend Kate, of dates with Kate and also being a registered nurse, emailed it and said exactly what I feared. Wrist cuffs are not real accurate and they trend low. Now that's. Andrew, that's, that's one way of putting it. The next sentence is what really, really bummed me out. If we have a patient that has white coat syndrome, I'm guessing that's somebody who gets very nervous around medical professionals.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's what I'm guessing too.

[Luke Burbank]

We will take their first read with a wrist cuff and tell them how low the number is to calm them down and then move on to the arm cuff to get more accurate numbers.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now, this is brutal to me because I don't think that I do believe that somebody like me, the probably heart rate goes up, blood pressure probably goes up when I'm at the doctor's office because I'm nervous in those settings. Having said that, I don't think that my nervousness comes from the actual reading of the blood pressure results. You know what I mean? Like, I, I don't think that telling me, oh, your blood pressure is fine on this first reading. This is the sound of me taking off my armband. By the way, I have a reading here.

[Luke Burbank]

Stereophonic.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm just nervous about, I don't know, anything that's gonna happen in that room. Any conversation I'm gonna have, I'm looking people in the eye. I'm not even great at that. So, yeah, it's interesting that some people like, literally them being nervous about their blood pressure is affecting their blood pressure. I got a good reading today. For as much as I'm nice, Kate also says you're not supposed to be talking during your reading.

[Luke Burbank]

That's the thing. When I was looking up arm cuff blood pressure monitors this morning on a certain Internet website that you don't frequent anymore, I. One of the things, what is it?

[Andrew Walsh]

WebMD?

[Luke Burbank]

No blood pressure hub.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, right. That's right. I was spending too much time on it.

[Luke Burbank]

You were talking to your priest about it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Instead.

[Luke Burbank]

They have all kinds of, like, little weird graphics that I get the sense that these devices are often probably manufactured overseas and that sometimes there's this kind of odd. Just the way that the writing and description and graphic. The kind of photographic presentation of a lot of these devices is weird. You can tell it's probably gone through maybe a language translator or whatever, but it just had a sign like a person trying to talk in a Ghostbuster thing over them. And I thought, that's literally exactly what Andrew was doing yesterday while he was trying to take his blood pressure. Was he was. He was talking. Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I was also talking during this one, by the way. And I'm looking up my chart. This is a such an aside that I don't think you're gonna find interesting, but I'm doing something on my phone now, which is I created a special folder for photos on my phone. So usually for my entire life of having phones that have cameras in them, I've only just taken photos. And they go to the whole main photo roll. Right. And every now and then you download something and it ends up in some weird folder. I don't know if iPhones do that, but this time I'm like, you know, if I'm going to be checking my blood pressure every day, I'm going to create a folder on my phone where I take a photo.

[Luke Burbank]

It starts with the data management for you. I love it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. And so I take a photo of my blood pressure so I can remember it, and then I save it in a special folder on my phone. But it's not an easy system. And one thing I've just done for the second time is I hit a button because I was talking to you, not paying att, and it moved it to something called the Samsung secure folder. It's like, do you want to move this to your secure folder? And I accidentally hit yes. And I don't know what a secure folder is. I don't know how to find it. I don't know why people need it. What are people hiding? What do you.

[Luke Burbank]

You. You. It accidentally blue. Skied it to the Seattle Waste Management office.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Along with the photos of your garbage can and recycling.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I will.

[Luke Burbank]

Have you considered just putting that out as an added data point for them? Like, look at what you've done to my blood pressure today by not picking up my garbage.

[Andrew Walsh]

I have some really good news for you.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

The number on top.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

128.

[Luke Burbank]

That's going down. I think it was 131 yesterday.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think it was. And it's on my chart. It's listed as high normal blood pressure. So kind of normal, but instead of being like the dark green normal blood pressure, it's just slightly different than normally high. It's very confusing. If I read all these, it'll be like slam poetry, but. So I'm high normal blood pressure, which is good. And then over 79. That is in the dark green forest, my friend. Over 79 is a beautiful number. Look at me. I'm getting healthier the more I podcast.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what? Nature is healing. So here's what I'm going to do, Andrew. And we've already established that this reading is actually not indicative of anything, but I'm going to do my little wrist guy here. And you know what I have to do, Andrew? I got to buy one like yours now. So I'm getting. Because it's not doing me any good to give myself an artificially low blood pressure reading. Now, here's the thing. Do you think it matters? Could I just take this cuff and try to put it around my teeny tiny bicep?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think. I think that that's.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't think that's how any of this works.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yep. Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

All right. So here we go. Let's see here. I'm going to put this on the old wristicle. It's so funny, Andrew, because I feel like you and I, when we're embarking on any kind of project or we're considering something, where my mind goes is, what can I acquire related to this experience that will maximize this experience? Do I need a special kind of a leather case that I keep my blood pressure cuff in? And your thought is, how do I organize the files? Where do the files go for this? And that's probably a way that you kind of get yourself wrap your head around a project like doing your blood pressure.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I'm looking at. Okay, I hacked into my secure folder. By the way, the only thing that's in here are two photos of my blood pressure monitor. Both of them were sent here accidentally by me, but the one from a while back, it was 141 over 88, and today I'm looking at 128 over 79. Look at this healthy boy. You can't handle my health.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, here we go. I'm going to hit my little. The device here. Yes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Keep silent and relax at heart level. Start measurement now. Well, Mine doesn't talk to me. Do you want us to be quiet for this? Oh, I guess you're trying not to talk. Do you want me to try to fill here? You didn't know? He's shaking his head. He just wants silence on the podcast. All right. I feel like you lack trusted me to carry the show. He's nodding. And why is he blinking so much? Kind of weird. He's taking off his shirt.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, well, that doesn't even make sense. This thing is. This thing does not work, Andrew. It says I'm 83 over 49. I'm legally dead.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, well, 83. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

That's not even a real number.

[Andrew Walsh]

Even a real number.

[Luke Burbank]

That'd be medically dangerous if you were 83 over 49.

[Andrew Walsh]

I also wonder how tight you wrap it around your arm.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm wrapping it.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, no, no. I think I'm speaking more for mine because we all know yours is just a toy to calm you down. It's like giving a kid a phone. Just tell me.

[Luke Burbank]

Guy gets under. The guy gets under 130 and he thinks he's Jack Lalanne, but.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, so. But on my arm, like, I. I know yesterday it was also when it was, like, pumping up, it was. It felt tighter. And today I tried to loosen it up. Does that mean I'm playing with the numbers?

[Luke Burbank]

I don't think so. I mean, I think you're. I think you're. You're keeping it legit. I think I'm the one. I'm trying this thing again, by the way. But now I'm talking. I re. I tightened the cuff, too, to try to really see if I can get a better reading. I mean, that's the thing. I always knew that this thing was probably reporting some bunk numbers. Yeah. Now it thinks I'm 92 over 66. I don't think I even want to be that low. I don't think it's actually even a good thing if I were to be that low. So what it means is this was a waste of $20.

[Andrew Walsh]

$20. That's not bad. And you're.

[Luke Burbank]

It was not very expensive, which might explain why it's not very accurate. You know what? I'm going to be able to return this.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, you could do, though, huh? Have you tried. Have you tried putting it around your neck? I mean, just. I mean, not to. For readings, but just for a little fun time.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, consider putting on various parts of my body.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's right. It's funny that I went for neck first.

[Luke Burbank]

Honestly, ask for the Pheasant under glass.

[Andrew Walsh]

Look it up. It's a Bob Odenkirk sketch, you know.

[Luke Burbank]

That came up naturally on my tick tock feed the other day.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, really?

[Luke Burbank]

That actually from Mr. Show just. Just actually popped up and it was strange. It was like I was seeing a celebrity in the wild.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is a sketch that I showed that we're not going to talk about on the show because it's a little bit blue, but I showed it to Luke on our trip to Wisconsin because it's got some jokes in there that I quote a lot. So I want you to see it. And so you had never seen it before. And then it's just popping up in the wild now, is there? You don't. You don't fancy any kind of, like, algorithm is listening to you. It was bound to pop up eventually, right, Based on your for you page or whatever.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I don't think that's the result of the phone listening to me because it's actually been a few weeks and I. For whatever reason, the algorithm has been delivering me, you know, more like comedy sketches. Whether it's Mr. Show stuff or another show called the Whitest Kids, you know, that was a sketch comedy show.

[Andrew Walsh]

90S. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Doing stuff. So I've just. That's. For some reason the algorithm has been. Has been giving me a lot of like, partial or complete sketch comedy sketches. So that. That just seems like what my phone is doing right now, or rather what. What TikTok is doing for me. But I did have this weird like. Like I. You know, because it starts off and the Bob Odenkirk character is just talking about how basically their warehouse is overstocked because of a, like, snowstorm or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, yes. It's got that like classic kind of 80s 90s local TV commercial of cars driving through ugly slushy snow.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. So I didn't really know what it was, but I was like, is this what I hope it is?

[Andrew Walsh]

And it was.

[Luke Burbank]

And then it was. And then I heard pheasant under Glass and then I was cracking up, but it literally was like I was. I felt like it was some. Somehow I was. I was watching a shooting star of some kind.

[Andrew Walsh]

And you tried that. You tried to grab it. All right. So that's where I am today.

[Luke Burbank]

So the upshot is I need to get. The upshot is I need to get a real blood pressure cuff and make sure that I'm actually, you know, giving myself an accurate sense of where I'm at in the world. One other thing that Kate, our Friend, the registered nurse. And blood rates with Kate. Yes, that's right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Rates with Kate. I love it.

[Luke Burbank]

Diastolic with Kate.

[Andrew Walsh]

I like mine better.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay. Says these aren't useless, but if you want accuracy, use an arm cuff. And wrist cuffs should be crossed at your chest and heart level. But with arm cuffs, your arm should be loosely at your side, hand resting on your lap. And no talking during the reading, as you pointed out. And then Kate mentions also, I am a thin person. That works out almost daily. And I have higher blood pressure. Weight is only one variable in the high blood pressure equation. Genetics is a bigger component because remember, my doctor, I think, had said to me when she was looking at my chart, like, you're not even that overweight. Luke's doctor's comment was very off putting. She also told me I should be off putting. Andrew.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

In my humble opinion, straight talk or not, lots of causes for the old hp. Hbp. I want to be clear. I didn't say hpv.

[Andrew Walsh]

No.

[Luke Burbank]

Although there's also no judgment there. I think like 90 of people have that as well. But so all that is to say I need to, I need to get an accurate measurement device and get serious about this instead of fooling myself with this, this wrist cuff that, that gives me good news, but it's. It's inaccurate.

[Andrew Walsh]

We'll see what my doctor says. When, when I go back, I think I have an appointment in like a week or two. So. Which means I'm around the time where I need to start living healthier. Do you ever do that? Do you start making better choices about a week and a half out from your doctor's appointment. Like my Genevieve does that before the dentist. She starts, like flossing two days before the dentist and thinks it's going to make a difference.

[Luke Burbank]

I usually, the plan generally for me is I go like this. Starting today and going forward indefinitely. Everything about my life changes, from what I eat to how I exercise to everything. And then I kind of don't get it fully together. And then I do maybe have a doctor's appointment on the horizon. I go, well, definitely three months before that doctor's appointment.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And then it's a month. And then it's like, well, definitely the week leading. And I'm going to go in with this whole system just as operational. One week of clean living.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. One day. Just one.

[Luke Burbank]

And then I'm usually on, on the treadmill the morning.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Trying to sweat out the tequila, hoping.

[Andrew Walsh]

That, you know, I kind of, you.

[Luke Burbank]

Know, my, my cells will rebuild themselves. In the 20 minutes it takes to drive to the Peace Health Longview, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, I do think about it the same way. And I am usually ineffective at my, at my planning. Hey, I want to say congratulations to. Thank you, friend of the program. Yes, I want to say congratulations to Andrew Walsh for getting you a, a positive blood pressure reading note to friend of the show, television's Chris Hayes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah, right.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, we, we say this a lot and I probably think it even more often, but like, it's, it's, it's an interesting experience being actual friends with someone whose actual professional life is so radically different than mine because, like, I just some. When you hang out with a person and you text with someone a lot and Chris is a big fan of tbtl, it's easy for me to kind of get confused and think our professional lives are pretty similar. He has a network television show. I am sometimes on a network television show. And you know, every once in a blue moon, his elbow rubs with the same person that my elbow has rubbed with. I can kind. I've chopped wood at his house. I kind of think like, yeah, you know, this is kind of. And then like yesterday, Barack Obama's summer reading list comes out. Ed, Chris's book the Sirens Call is on Barack Obama's list.

[Andrew Walsh]

I didn't realize this. A friend of the show had sent this in via Instagram.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

And that was how I learned about it. And I was like, oh, wow. So I don't usually do this, but I think it's okay to do it in this case. I'm going to read our text exchange between the three of us, you, me and Chris. Yesterday, after I realized he was on the Obama book reading list for the summer, I wrote, haha, I just heard you made Obama's summer reading list. Exclamation point. That was me. Then you wrote, oh, shit.

[Luke Burbank]

That's by the way, how I found out that he made the list.

[Andrew Walsh]

You found out via this? And I found out, yeah. And then you wrote, oh shit, congrats. And then Chris wrote, it's very cool. But much more pressingly, where is today's TBTL? Exclamation point, question mark. Three exclamation points. And then literally less than 60 seconds later, ah, phew. It just showed up. And I said, good point. Let's stay focused on the important stuff here.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, the bonhommie with which this guy operates, this is the most coveted if you were a writer. I mean, I guess, unless you're like, you know, Candace Owens or something, or unless You're Dinesh d'. Souza. Like if you're a writer of things.

[Andrew Walsh]

You'Re listing everybody who is on Obama's reading list this summer.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm listing the people who wouldn't care. I'm saying if you are a writer of the kind of books that we tend to read, whether fiction or nonfiction, to get on for Barack Obama, to have read your book and to have said, of all the books that I read every year, this is one of the ones I would recommend, or this summer I'd recommend it. I mean it's, people talk about it. I think it's got to be up there with the Oprah Book Club recommendation. And in some ways it may have even sort of kind of surpassed that. Although I just don't follow Oprah's. Since she doesn't have like a regular over the air television show anymore, she's just not kind of as front of mind to me. I'm guessing it's still a huge ass deal to be like the Oprah Book Club pick. But that being said, to be on this list that Obama puts out occasionally is the stuff that authors dream about. And that was just, it was just a Wednesday and our friend Chris Hayes woke up, presumably climbed onto his electric Vespa looking scooter. Powder blue Vespa looking scooter.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's beautiful. It's like candy.

[Luke Burbank]

Just tooling around Brooklyn thinking big thoughts, getting ready to have his meetings and go in to do his television show. And probably I'm guessing somebody from his publisher just said, can you please pull over your electric scooter? We have news. Like that was just a Wednesday for him. Like, and then the thing, I don't want to say the thing that hurt because I'll only have. I'm only happy for our friend Chris Hayes. But then I texted Becca, I said, I sent her like a screenshot of just the thing that says like Barack Obama's summer reading list or summer reading recs. And but the thing was it was just a picture of that with some names written on it, but the names were smaller. And so I sent her that photo and then what I was going to do was I was going to zoom in on this screen cap and find the part that said Chris's name and then enlarge that and then send her that so that she didn't just think I was texting her. Guess what? Barack Obama's summer reading wrecks are out. Because that wouldn't have been all that interesting. It was interesting that this person that we know was on There. And literally, I just sent the larger photo and the response was in all caps. Oh, I know.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, you were the last.

[Luke Burbank]

And that was a little bit emasculating that.

[Andrew Walsh]

That it was clear.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, that I don't think that she's sent me an all caps text response about anything. Oh, I see ever in our relationship. I think this might be the most excited she's ever been in her life. Of me knowing her is that someone that we know is on Barack Obama's summer reading list. Like, what really happened was I got to see what it's like when she's actually excited about something because I, you know, I'll be like, oh, hey, you know, I'm gonna go do a story about this for cbs or, you know, we should go to this restaurant or whatever. Like, I'm. I'd send her little notes and things, and I'm kind of gauging her response and, like, is she gonna be excited about this or not? And she's very gentle with my feelings and. And always expresses an appropriate amount of excitement about things, but this was true excitement. This is. I got to see what it really looks like when she's excited about something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Huge fan of the TBT newsletter. Becca is. I get a lot of not surprised kind I get because I get a lot of those all caps emails, like, kind of on Saturday or whenever she reads it. And it's, you know, it's really, really sweet and obviously very humbling. It's a little bit embarrassing, though. A little bit too. But I. I know that. I know the passion with which you. Of which you speak.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm the only. It's odd. Does Sklaroff get some sort of excited? Am I the only person associated with TBTB and. Or this podcast at large? You know, she did say. I think I can say this. You think I'm joking, by the way. I'm gonna read you the actual interaction. So I send her the. I send her the little update about the Chris thing. She says, oh, I know. And I said, that's pretty cool for Chris. And she said, I slid into Chris's DMs about that. LOL. I was like, I'd frame this and put it over my mantle. Screw any Emmys. And then I realized, you know, what I have behind me? Andrew Emmys. Not even real Emmys. They're Daytime Emmys. So that was also. That felt. That felt, you know, like violence.

[Andrew Walsh]

I. I was surprised that Flowers in the Attic ended up on his list as well. That was an interesting choice by Barack Obama.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, it's a. Whatever brings you solace in these. In these turbulent times.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was an interesting. Clan of the Cave Bear was on.

[Luke Burbank]

There for some reason.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, there was, there was some steamy stuff for sure. Uh huh.

[Luke Burbank]

Do they get. Do things get steamy in Clan of the Cave Bear?

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, it's funny, I have not read Clan of the Cave Bear or any of its, you know, follow up books, but Genevieve and I were just talking about it this weekend with a friend and Genevieve was a big fan of them. And it sounds like Clan of the Cave Bear, the original one was pretty much straightforward word story about Neanderthals.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

Which, I don't know, just. It's funny.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, it is the first novel in the Earth's children book series. Oh, I see. Not for children. It's about the children of the earth.

[Andrew Walsh]

Children of the Earth. Yeah. But she said that after that they become. I don't know what, I don't know what you call a bodice ripper before bodices were invented, but it sounds like they get real steamy down the line. But Genevieve says the first book plays a pretty Neanderthal. Straight. Pretty straight, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Gotcha. Well, Daryl Hannah, right, was in the movie adaptation of Clan of the Cave Bear. I remember that vividly because. And I've never seen the movie or read the book, but I just remember seeing the VHS tape of like Daryl Hannah in Clan of the Cave Bear.

[Andrew Walsh]

And it was probably somewhat suggestive. Although we did. I do remember we watched the trailer this weekend, in fact, because we were having dinner and Genevieve was telling our friend about it and then she pulled out a phone and said, well, watch the trailer. But according to Genevieve, and this is just really weird, I'm just. I don't know anything about this. I'm just rehashing a conversation that I had with my girlfriend four days ago. But she said that the movie was really bad and got terrible reviews. But the book itself was just an absolute phenom and just like it blew up the literary world at that time. Or at least, or maybe I should just say the reading public at that time. I don't know how it was reviewed. And it was such a phenomenon that the movie almost had to be made. And then of course, you cast it with Daryl Hanna, huge name like that. But then it sounds like the movie was. Was kind of a bust. And then she pulled out her phone. Genevieve did, and played the trailer for us. And it was funny because you learn nothing about the movie from the trailer. It's just like the book that millions of Americans. I've actually got it right here. Can I play it? Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't know how much this is going to translate. For 52 weeks an entire year, it has been. First of all, thank you for the clarification. Yes. For 52 weeks an entire year. Is Don LaFontaine. Is this a young Don LaFontaine doing the. Doing the VO here? He sounds a little more subdued than he would get over time. For 52 weeks an entire year, it has been on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been translated into 15 languages and has sold over 5 million copies around the world. Now one of the best loved stories of all time is about to become an exciting motion picture is about to be filmed with motion pictures that, when strung together, depict human beings moving around.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Notice that's the lowest level of sort of compliment to the film. This is. It used to be words written on a page. Now it's pictures being showed in rapid succession.

[Andrew Walsh]

There's no indication that it's a good movie at all. It's just a movie based on a book that you love. He just will not stop talking about the book. And then the images are just like kind of a collage of action. Right. It tells you nothing about what the movie or even the book is about.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Daryl Hannah is Gila in the Clan of the Cave Bear. Now, this is going to lead us right into the kind of stuff that the listeners just absolutely love, Andrew, which is me with my various theories about a book that I've never read in a movie I've never seen, and in fact, a book and movie that I haven't thought of in probably 35 years. But my guess is that the book Clan of the Cave Bear was written in a way that was compelling because they were able to kind of get you inside the head of the characters because they're Neanderthals. And I'm. Again, I'm guessing that their verbal language was somewhat limited. Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Again, well, I haven't read or seen it either, but I think Genevieve did mention that it's mostly grunting.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, are you joking or being.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I think that she said that's not a lot of, like, actual. They're not speaking English.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, sure. But what I mean is, so then when the person is writing the book and it's. It's. It's Ayla, the. The character that later depicted by Daryl Hannah, I'm saying. And you. You'd have to be basically writing. My guess would be writing to some degree about the interior lives of these folks. Right? As opposed to, like, they're not expressing themselves in these like, overly verbose ways to each other around the campfire. Like, they're probably like. I'm guessing the person is writing about what this. What these various characters are kind of thinking and feeling, but more on their interior because they didn't have the ability to express it as verbally. Like, I'm. I'm curious what. How the book even works as a book because it just can't be this. Like, Ayla goes over to fire. Ayla. Ayla places piece of wood on fire. And then when piece of wood is hot and burning, places piece of antelope carcass on fire. Like, I'm wondering how exactly this person pulled it off. And the reason I'm wondering is because it seems like it would have then been very challenging to make it into a movie. Is what I'm trying to say about this. Like, it seems probably like it's. It's exactly what you're kind of saying, which is it was a hugely popular book that someone was like, it's so popular that we'd be crazy to not try to make it into a movie. But maybe making this story into a movie where you have a bunch of characters who are not again, able to really talk a bunch about their feelings made it a difficult movie.

[Andrew Walsh]

That is what I. I'm pretty sure that is what Genevieve did say about it. That. And that's why I was not joking about the grunting that it was just kind of like when you try to translate this to the silver screen, that is what you're going to get.

[Luke Burbank]

Now here's got it right here, actually. This is some tape from Clan of the Cave Bear.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, it was almost too realistic. Do you have any Clan of the Cave Bear music you could put behind me as I read a passage or an excerpt from Clan of the Cave Bear? What would be something appropriate, something jungly, something wild.

[Luke Burbank]

How about the plan of the Cave Bear soundtrack?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay. Yeah, that sounds good.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, I'm going to be reading.

[Andrew Walsh]

This cold, by the way, so this makes me a little bit nervous.

[Luke Burbank]

Wait, I guess. Boy, we almost ended up in a totally. Here we go. Clan of the caper. Written by Alan Silvestri, by the way.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. I don't know who that is.

[Luke Burbank]

Alan Silvestri.

[Andrew Walsh]

Big.

[Luke Burbank]

He's like the. He's the. What is he the Pepsi to John Williams's Coca Cola?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, really? Like, he filled a lot of those. Those roles of those big, sweet cinematic stores.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, he's credited with these Are Voyages, the film Music journeys of Alan Silvestri. And it starts with Forrest Gump and then Father of the Bride and then.

[Andrew Walsh]

Back to the Future, Part three. Oh, interesting.

[Luke Burbank]

And then the Quick and the Dead and then Richie Rich and then Romancing the Stone and then Soap Dish and then. Andrew, I'm gonna play you something really quick before. This will give you more time to think about your Clan of the Cape Bear reading. This is an Alan Silvestri film. Music, I don't know score, what have you. I'm gonna play it and we'll try to guess. I want you to try to guess the movie it's from.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay, this is interesting.

[Luke Burbank]

I think it gets going in a minute here. Okay, dismiss all of this.

[Andrew Walsh]

None of that's how to know. Because I was like, yeah, I don't know.

[Luke Burbank]

None of that is indicative. This is much more. It's a 1980s movie, Andrew.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay. Does it involve. Does it involve a rich guy and a fool? I don't even know what movie I'm thinking of. It just has that sort of vibe to it.

[Luke Burbank]

No, it involves an actor that you and I had a weirdly long conversation, I believe, off air about last week.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, interesting. An actor that we had an off.

[Luke Burbank]

Air conversation about last week and who, if I give you the next hint.

[Andrew Walsh]

It'Ll give it away. Okay, see, now I don't know if I'm focusing on that clue or the music. The music isn't telling me a heck of a lot.

[Luke Burbank]

It's a whimsical movie with lots of kooky characters.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wow, this is all over the place.

[Luke Burbank]

It is not unlike the main character. The main character who is.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, Ringo Starr is Ringo Starr in the.

[Luke Burbank]

Not Ringo Starr is not in it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thinking rich people. I keep. I mean, the magic. Christian.

[Luke Burbank]

No, get away from. No, no, no, nothing. This is the 1980s. This involves the. The actor who we were talking about earlier this week or last week off air was almost cast in the Untouchables. Was casting Untouchables.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay. So this is Roger Rabbit. Roger. Okay, that does make sense. It is all over the place. Wow. And so it's. Let me see if I can get there because actually I struggle with this name, but I think I'm there. Is it Bob Hoskins?

[Luke Burbank]

It's Bob. Bob Hoskins is the actor.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Because the insane thing is, not only did we talk about the Untouchables on the show yesterday, with me grossly misremembering the pivotal seat, but A different time off air. You and I were talking about the fact that Bob Hoskins had been apparently cast in the Untouchables and by Brian De Palma and then uncast in it because they were able to get De Niro. Who was it?

[Andrew Walsh]

De Niro. They tried to get De Niro, couldn't get him, got Hoskins. Then De Niro's like, oh, I guess I can do it. And then they had to say, bob, buddy, buddy, Bob, we got zero.

[Luke Burbank]

What did Bob. What was Bob Hoskins famous response?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, what they did was they told Bob Hoskins. I guess the Palma told him, like, hey, listen, I'm sorry, buddy, we can't use you anymore. But here's $200,000 to make the news a little land, a little bit softer. And Bob Hoskins apparently said, great. Are there any other movies you don't want me to be in? Which is such a great response to that.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm trying to. I don't know. I have a feeling at some point we're gonna hear like, Jessica Rabbit showing.

[Andrew Walsh]

This might be it. Right?

[Luke Burbank]

It's kind of sultry, huh?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, she's just drawn that way.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way. Was that the line?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I was trying to remember what the adjective was there. Okay, so the Clan of the Cave Bear music, though. Well, it does because I do it over Roger Rabbit. That might actually be the move.

[Luke Burbank]

Would you like to do it over Predator 2?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, actually do it over.

[Luke Burbank]

Death becomes her.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, that'll be too.

[Luke Burbank]

How about the Abyss? Okay. How about Clan of the Caper? Here we go.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay, you ready?

[Luke Burbank]

You're gonna read a little bit of. From the book Clan of the Caper. And I'm gonna play a little bit of Alan Silvestri's music motion picture soundtrack for Clan of Caper.

[Andrew Walsh]

There's something you need to know though, before I go into this. I am just reading this off of the Penguin Random House website. It's a very long excerpt. I'm not going to read the whole thing. So at a certain point you're going to just need to pull the. Pull the plug on this.

[Luke Burbank]

I'll swell the music when I need to, so just.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. At some point, indicate to me when this is over. Okay? Okay. The naked child ran out of the hide covered lean to toward the rocky beach at the bend in the small river. It didn't occur to her to look back. Nothing in her experience ever gave her reason to doubt the shelter and those within it would be There. When she returned, she splashed into the river and felt rocks and sand shift under her feet as the shore fell off sharply. She dived into the cold water and came up sputtering, then reached out with sure strokes for the steep opposite bank. She had learned to swim before. She had learned to walk, and at 5, was at ease in the water. Swimming was often the only way a river could be crossed. The girl played for a while, swimming back and forth, then let the current float her downstream where the river widened and bubbled over rocks. She stood up and waded to shore and then walked back to the beach and began sorting pebbles. She had just put a. She had just put a stone on top of a pile of especially pretty ones when the earth began to tremble. The child looked with surprise as the stone rolled down off of its own accord and stared in wonder at the small pyramid of pebbles shaking and leveling themselves. Only then did she become aware that she was shaking, too. But she was still more confused than apprehensive. She glanced around, trying to understand why her universe had altered in some inexplicable way. The Earth was not supposed to move. Wow.

[Luke Burbank]

I can see why this was translated into 50 languages. I can see why this was on.

[Andrew Walsh]

The.

[Luke Burbank]

I Can See Her Mother Times bestseller list for 52 weeks. Also one year.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wait. Let's do this. Get. Get your button finger ready there. Yeah. She turned her eyes to where her mother stood across the river and said, and that, of course, is a laugh line that gets the audience every time. When I mean, what the delivery. It was Daryl Hannah. It was actually Daryl Hannah in a lot of prosthetics to look very young. I really started to lose it there. I was proud of my read at the beginning, but then I think I got. I think I got to the word pyramid and freaked out. Y is coming after Ps. I don't know what's going.

[Luke Burbank]

I. I'm. Geez, Louise, wait till we read that book about the Pyrenees tomorrow.

[Andrew Walsh]

The dogs.

[Luke Burbank]

First of all, I thought that was very nice reading. And that's all I need to know about Clan of the Cave Bear to know that I don't think it's good.

[Andrew Walsh]

The book. Yeah, I heard the book is really. Did you know that? For 52 weeks.

[Luke Burbank]

How long?

[Andrew Walsh]

Entire year. It was an entire year seller list.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't. I mean, I don't know the line. The Earth was not supposed to shake. It's like, no Sherlock.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, maybe it's just not for you.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, that's true.

[Andrew Walsh]

You don't like. You Don't. You sort of don't like fiction anyway, right? You don't, you don't like.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't like the kind of. I don't like. I don't like the highest of highly speculative fiction. That is what Neanderthals were vibing like. It would be hard for me. You're right, it's not for me. And many, many people loved it and many people still love it. I think for me, the heart, the challenge I would have probably with reading a book like that would be the starting point for me would be we have such limited information about really what went on for this, this group of folks that it would feel to me like the mo. Like, okay, so last night my mom and dad and I were watching Chernobyl, the HBO kind of fictionalized but, you know, somewhat based in real facts show. Did you ever end up watching that?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I feel like, I feel like I watched maybe the opening scene or two with Genevieve, but that was it.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't usually go in for that kind of stuff because of this exact reason, which is I get very hung up on when something is kind of presented as based on real events or based on things that probably happened. But then it involves actors, you know, delivering lines of dialogue that I know. There's no way that anyone knows if that was the exact line that was said. It gets in my head a lot, which makes me super fun. But I did watch one of these episodes of Chernobyl a long time ago. And so my parents were looking for something to watch. I said, you might enjoy this. And in fact I was gonna go to bed because I am older than my 71 year old parents. But then I ended up staying up and watching this full like hour plus episode. I think it's really well done, by the way. By the way, it's also funny. So my mom sits down, she's like, hey, do you want to watch something? To me and my dad, I'm like, I'm kind of getting sleepy, I may hit the hay. And she goes, oh, hbo. So they go on hbo because they don't really have hbo, I guess. And they're scrolling around and. And then they're not seeing anything that they really want to watch. And so then I'm like, well, we also have Netflix. And my mom goes, well, I wanted to watch something that doesn't have the ads on it because I have ads on my Netflix because I keep for. I always forget to go into my Netflix account and go to the. And change to an ad free subscription. I always Forget about it until I'm watching something on Netflix and then I'm just annoyed by the commercials the whole time. And then I go to sleep and then I forget about until the next time I'm watching Netflix. But I thought it was funny that my mom is apparently my mom, who is again, one of the things that's incredible about my parents is they are really low maintenance. They don't need everything to be ideally perfect at all times the way I do to just enjoy themselves. And yet my mom apparently found these like 15 second Netflix ads that I have to be so distasteful that she's giving up on watching that network at my house or that streamer at my house.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, she would not like any TV at our house because I believe our HBO also has ads.

[Luke Burbank]

And then she goes, she's looking at, you know, the screen on my smart TV and it's just showing you every app known to man. And she goes, what about YouTube? And I go, lady, if you don't like commercials, YouTube is not going to be the viewing experience for you. I guess there probably is an ad for YouTube. I don't have that either. So anyway, we end up watching Chernobyl and it was quite compelling. It's really good. It was funny because my parents just kept going. They kept saying Chernobyl in the weirdest way that was making me kind of annoyed. And I had to go to bed eventually because of it. Like, I feel like growing up in the 1980s, most of us, at least people our age, like, you heard about Chernobyl a lot, right? It just was in the news. It was a big story, right? Were you aware of this in Ohio? Just like a thing, a thing called Chernobyl had happened?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know when I became aware of it. I don't think I was very aware of it in real time. Like, it feels, I mean, here at age 49, I can't imagine the time I didn't know about it, but I don't remember, like, news reports.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, what. I. I don't remember exactly when I heard about it either for the first time, but I just know that, like, when I see that word Chernobyl, it's, it's familiar to me because it's been, it's been bouncing around in my experience for many, many years. And by the way, oddly enough, my dad knew like everything about the nuclear reactor. Like, he understands the actual principle of like, I don't know, nuclear power or something. But every time he or my mom would say Chernobyl, they would say, it's so weird. My mom would go, it's. Is it. So it was Char. No, Chernobyl. Because they keep putting it on the screen at the beginning of the episode. And I'm like, mom, it's Chernobyl.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's a Pokemon, I think, right? Exactly. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm still trying to find one around here.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm opening gyms all over Southern Washington. I can't catch me a Chernoby. But, like, it was so funny. They just kept. I felt like they would never. Just like. I know. I'm sure that Chernobyl, the way I'm saying it, is not actually how somebody who speaks Russian as their native language would say the word Chernobyl, but it's the way that we've all been saying it over here. And I feel like they were over pronouncing it because they don't say the word very often. And every time they said it in their kind of odd way, I was like, I just knew I needed to go to bed. It was like, I need to. I need to let them have this, and I need to just go to sleep because it's making me. I keep going, it's Chernobyl, guys.

[Andrew Walsh]

If I were a therapist, I'd say talk more about that, because I have a feeling like, it can't be.

[Luke Burbank]

It can't be Chernobyl about a b.

[Andrew Walsh]

It can't be that you are so annoyed and you had to go to bed simply because somebody was mispronouncing a word. There's more there.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, Andrew, have you met me? That's absolutely the kind of thing that could send me to bed. That's how fragile my experience is. If someone gets Chernobyl, just get in.

[Andrew Walsh]

Your Volkswagen and you drive right home so you can go to sleep.

[Luke Burbank]

It's exactly what I do. Anyway, should we maybe thank some. Some donors here?

[Andrew Walsh]

Sounds good to me. Thank you, baby.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, let's thank those donors who are supporting the show with their voluntary donation. This is 100% listener support. This thing you're hearing. Yeah. Corporate America. They are not banging down the door, showering us with money. Maybe it's because they heard the fact that what we used to do is ads for people. And then years later, we would just. Just spend time talking about how questionable the products were. Maybe that's not something that's drawing corporate America to us, Andrew.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I. I was going to say I was gonna give a shout out. Remember I was talking about my digital frame that we did ads for that I still Love Skylight. Skylight. I couldn't think of the name of it the other day. I kept calling it the Light Frame. The Light Frame? No, no, the Skylight Frame. That's one. I'm still using Grove because of our sponsorship. I use that on the reg. I'm using Stitch Fix on the rag now. I'm just like kind of giving them extra advertising. But I just don't want everybody to think that every ad we did was total bs. No, no, we.

[Luke Burbank]

No, we. I don't mean that. And we were at the time, I thought, very selective about our ads.

[Andrew Walsh]

As much as you could be within those strict.

[Luke Burbank]

Was that shirt that you were wearing at the get together in Wisconsin, was that a Stitch Fix shirt?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't remember what shirt I was wearing, but probably never mind that. Stitch Fix, not a brand, but it's just, you know, a service that, that connects you with fashion that you like. Once you fill out some surveys and stuff, there's a good chance I got that through Stitch. Stitch Fix. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Cuz that shirt looks really nice on you. We talked about it that night. I talked about it with the listeners afterwards. There's a lot of discussion of your.

[Andrew Walsh]

Shirt on the show sheet the next day.

[Luke Burbank]

It was absolutely. Hey, thanks, Mary Collins of Charlotte, North Carolina.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you, Mary.

[Luke Burbank]

I think that speaking of North Carolina, Andrew, I don't know, man. Every day is a new little erosion of my humanity. I think that they finally gotten me to just suck it up and listen to the AI voice reading New Yorker articles.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now I can disseminate this just for a second. That's not the right word, but you're a huge fan of the New York Times Provided Audio service. Am I right about that? And that gives you access to. Are these, these are real people you think reading stories. What's that?

[Luke Burbank]

People steal people.

[Andrew Walsh]

Real people steal people. And it's a problem. Huge problem.

[Luke Burbank]

We're not talking about it.

[Andrew Walsh]

But don't you have access to an app that I don't have access to as an Android user that as a subscriber to the New York Times, they read not only New York Times articles, but a whole bunch of other stuff like from magazines and stuff that you love. Am I right about that?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. The New York Times audio app. I found this out actually from Kate Shaw when we were hanging out with Chris and Kate and I didn't know this, that the New York Times bought some other. Acquired some other app that was kind of like the app for basically taking magazine articles and turning them into audio products. So they, they have this pretty big library of stuff, and they have this pretty robust operation, but it's not everything. So, for instance, if I'm in the New York Times audio app, I can listen to a lot of different things that the New York Times is putting out. Some of them are articles that are just being read by someone. Some of them are just their own shows, like the Ezra Klein show or the Daily. And then some of them are like a random New Yorker piece, but not every piece from that issue of the New Yorker. It's kind of a sampler. So, like, I'll get a piece from Texas Monthly. I really love Texas Monthly. Yeah, but I'm not getting that whole. I'm not getting the entire August edition of Texas Month. I can't go in and listen to anything. It's just kind of a little. There's a ProPublica they'll throw in there. Like it's a whole bunch of different things, but it's kind of a smattering and it's kind of at their.

[Andrew Walsh]

At their leisure.

[Luke Burbank]

So what I do sometimes when I've listened through all this stuff on the New York Times audio app, or like today when I turn on Pod Save America, and they literally start by going, this is going to be a tough Listen, everyone. Just a heads up, this show is going to be bleak. I go, all right, not today, Satan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, right.

[Luke Burbank]

And so then what I'll do is I will bump over to the New Yorker app, which I also have and I also subscribe to. I subscribe to the New Yorker, and. And that means I have. When I go on the app, I can listen to the audio of most of the articles. But the way that the New Yorker is able to pull that off is I don't know if any of their articles are actually read by humans. So a lot of the ones I listen to in the New York Times app are read by humans. And in fact, I've now developed some favorite humans who read these articles and some less favorite humans over on the New Yorker side. I think it's all AI generated because I guess they just don't want to get into the business of having, you know, voice talent also on staff that's reading all of the articles or whatever. They just assign a robot to do it. And today I was like, beginning my little jog, and I end up over on the New Yorker app, and I go to the headphone button to, like, which ones of these things can I listen to while I'm jogging? And I just kept cycling through, and everyone was like, Written by Gia Tolentino, read by AI or whatever they call it, you know, read by a AI assistant or something. And I just kept going to the next story and it was like five stories in a row and I was like, oh, that's all they're doing. So I ended up listening to like an hour long article about Bill Belichick going to be the head coach at North Carolina as read by an AI voice.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's how we get back to North Carolina.

[Luke Burbank]

That's how we get back to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Mary Collins is.

[Andrew Walsh]

I. How is the voice, though? Because here's the deal from a standpoint of thinking, well, you just heard me do my professional read of Clan of the Cave Bear, and I'm assuming that people will excerpt this and that part of the podcast probably, and share it around. Oh, good, you've already accept excerpted me. Yeah. Now I can't even say that word. All of that is to say I need to slow down. I'm tripping over my words too much. The AI voices can do a really damn good job. And so I don't mind as a listener if they have a good robot reading it. It doesn't actually sound terrible to me, but it bums me out as somebody who's clearly knocking on the door of a career in audiobook reading that these jobs are being replaced. You know what I mean? So it kind of bums me out in that way. But how, leaving aside the sort of labor aspect of this and that, somebody should probably be getting paid for doing this kind of work. How did you enjoy or not enjoy the experience?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, it would. I, I didn't enjoy it at first because I was very aware that it's not a human being reading it. And then I kind of got used to it. And then every once in a while it would just go. It would absolutely butcher a normal word.

[Andrew Walsh]

I.

[Luke Burbank]

That would actually be. I. I could forgive it on that. It would just be like, you know, I can't, I can't remember the word. There was like three words that I was like on the treadmill going, that's not even hard robot.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, like, why'd you. What?

[Luke Burbank]

Like, how did you mess that one up? It's like a regular word that if you look at it as a person who's even proficient at reading, you would know how it's pronounced. And it just like, it was like, it was like almost like a hallucination that you hear about with AI where it just gets something wrong for no good reason. It was sort of that. Of Pronunciation. Yeah. So every time I was just kind of settling in a little bit and getting used to it, it would do something like that, that would remind. That would remind me that I wasn't listening to a, you know, a real person reading this. But the thing of it was, is, like, I just. This is where I'm saying I'm just slowly. They're just wearing me down. You know those stupid Google AI search results that come up in the top when you Internet for something now? I just read those now and now today, you know what? It was basically fine. It was tolerable and it worked because of course I wasn't going to be reading while I was jogging. So it's like I needed to be able to take this in as an audio product and I did, and it was serviceable. And probably I'll have less hesitation next time. And that's where that's just how I start to, you know, it's just how you start to get used to anything like this. And then eventually that's just, you know, standard.

[Andrew Walsh]

Here's the weird thing for me is some services probably, probably the New York Times and others were doing this a long time ago, before AI became a massive headline. I'm talking about, I don't know, five years ago or more, there were a lot of articles that you could click a button and say, listen to this article. And it was a robot voice. And it was pretty clearly a robot voice.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, it was bad.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was bad, but I didn't mind it. Like, sometimes I would do that in the shower or something. Like, I was like, oh, I can prop my phone up and listen to this article. And the interesting thing is it's almost become more like sort of complicated as a listener now that the technology has gotten better in a certain way. Because back then it didn't feel like a moral choice. It didn't feel like any. It was just like, I don't know. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. They ran this article through Whiz Bang Technology, and now a robot reads it to you and it sounds like a robot. But now that AI has become such an elephant in the room and everything is about the debate over AI and what is AI and what isn't. And now they've just basically taken this thing they've been doing for a long time and really polished it up. So the robot sounds better, but now you're kind of like, ew, I don't like this. Not you, but one me potentially, you know, and it's just interesting how I had no compunction about it, other than the fact that I knew it was going to be kind of a rocky read back in the day. Yes, it's.

[Luke Burbank]

It, I think. Isn't that kind of almost the definition of the uncanny valley? Like it's just almost good enough or it's like the Turing Test or something? It's like all. It's. It's gotten so close now that it's actually a little bit more unsettling than when it was just very clearly I was. I'm scrolling around seeing if I could even just like find this article on my computer and just play it for you. A little bit of it. Although I don't know if that's. That that's very interesting to. Let's say Matthias Weger of North Richmond, California. Hey, one of our donors. Hey, thank you, Matthias.

[Andrew Walsh]

Appreciate you.

[Luke Burbank]

Or Hunter Bennett Daggett of Portland, Oregon.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ah, there are hunters in Portland.

[Luke Burbank]

There sure are. Hunter Bennett Daggett checking in from the Rose City. And then we've got Michelle hall in Long Beach, California.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hey, Long Beach. I have not spent a lot of time there. I wish I had.

[Luke Burbank]

I was. Why was I in Long. Oh, you know why I was in Long beach interviewing one of the guys from the band War.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, that makes a while ago because.

[Luke Burbank]

They got their start down there in Southern Callan. Harold Brown is the name of the guy I was talking to. He's there in Long beach, as is Michelle Hall. And then Cindy Loudermilk is in Maple Valley, Washington. Pretty far from Long Beach.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, but not so far from Seattle.

[Luke Burbank]

Not. Not too distant from where you are, Andrew. And then Mackenzie Sargent is in Seattle, Washington, but basically maybe even on your street, possibly.

[Andrew Walsh]

And Mackenzie, I always say this, but Mackenzie saved my bacon at the Thing festival many years ago. I had nowhere to stay and Mackenzie had some like, extra hotel reservations that she had made and then handed off to me and Viv's. And it was it really. I do not know what I would have done because you and I were doing a live show the next day. So I'm always.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you, mackenzie.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Appreciate you and appreciate all of our. I appreciate trying to say appreciate anymore. That seems a little, I don't know, colloquial.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I didn't. I didn't notice that you did say that. Appreciate. Appreciate.

[Luke Burbank]

I think I just said it kind of accidentally. Appreciate all of you. Oh, and it's like there is an A on there.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

We appreciate all of you, our donors of the day. Thank you very much for making TBTL possible. There's A right way to rock and.

[Andrew Walsh]

A wrong way to roll. You can just listen to your song. Just remember that life is number one. You can be having so much fun. Just remember that life is much fun. You can be nothing but one. You have blursdays. We have microphones. If you'd like to wish yourself or somebody a happy birthday, email me andrewbtl.net, put. I almost said hey dummies. Put blursday in the subject line. But if you have a question for us that you'd like us to answer in the hey Dummies video segment, you can also send me an email, same address and put hey dummies in the subject line. Glad I was able to not confuse that. This is Patrick says the first note that I have in front of me. This is Patrick. And I would like to wish a happy blursday to my wife Melissa. Darling, you are the gin in my tonic, the cream in my coffee, the light of my life. I hope this birthday is the absolute happiest and I love you so much. I used up all my good reading on the planet of the Cave Bear. Alex. I knew that was coming.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way, we never even explained like I would. I would guess that 50% of listeners have no idea.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's a really good idea.

[Luke Burbank]

Why I've been playing that a million times this show. That is the two minute explanation is that many, many years ago on tbt, I believe we were still a radio show. There was an article in some scientific publication about how based on some of the skeletal remains or the fossils or whatever you call it, of Neanderthals scientists, some scientists somewhere said they had figured out what they thought that the voices of Neanderthals sounded like based on their larynx and their vocal box. And they were like. And this whole buildup and it's like kind of amazing. Like holy shit, we know what they sounded like. That's wild. And then there was a little link to an MP3 in the article. And this literally, this is the same. This is just pulled from that article. This was the sound that these scientists said was how Neanderthals sounded when they talked. So there you go. That's.

[Andrew Walsh]

You guys lost it. Was that live on the show, I feel like was the reveal. You couldn't have gone into the segment knowing like you knew that the sound was ridiculous before you did.

[Luke Burbank]

I knew. But I don't think like Jen and Shel.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. Yeah. Because I think was. I think was sort of remember people just like losing it during that segment.

[Luke Burbank]

All right.

[Andrew Walsh]

My Bad. Alex in Q Gardens. I was going to try to say Q in this tone of that Neanderthal sound. Alex in Q Gardens, Queens, says, I'd like to wish my amazing wife Tara. It could be Tara, Luke. So I'm going to do this two ways I'd like to wish my ways. My two one, I'd like to wish my amazing wife Tara and mother to our two wonderful dogs, a very happy blursday. Tara, or Tara, has been nothing but a dream come true for everyone she's known. A dedicated oncology educator, a loyal daughter, sister and friend, and most importantly, the best partner I could ask for. I only hope she never comes to her senses so I can spend many more blurs days by her side.

[Luke Burbank]

What do you know about blood pressure, Tara?

[Andrew Walsh]

That's gonna come up. This is a little foreshadowing. Oh, look at this message from our two Willa Tens out there in Utah. Happy 20.

[Luke Burbank]

Look at you doing that without even a minor hesitation.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's impressive. I looked it up earlier while you were talking.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what? Preparation, buddy. That's what it's all I've learned. Nothing from Bill Belichick.

[Andrew Walsh]

It would be nice after. So, you know, these are tens who write in a lot of blurs days. Thank yous. All kinds of reasons These folks come up. And it kind of bums me out that at this point I can't just see that word T O O E L e and know it's too Willow without having to remind myself, without having to look it up. Someday I might get there, but that.

[Luke Burbank]

But you know, think about this. It's like you and I are meeting at a movie theater to see the movie Willow starring Val Kilmer and work done. And you're going to Willow. You're going to see the movie Willow To Willa.

[Andrew Walsh]

To Willa.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, it's Willa To Willa.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay. I have invited the writer, Willa Cather over.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay, perfect.

[Luke Burbank]

To my house for tea.

[Andrew Walsh]

Willa.

[Luke Burbank]

Catherine. And I'm inviting you to come join us. So you're going to Willa To Willa.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sounds good. I'm look up who that is, and then I'm going to commit that to memory. Luke, the separation is in the preparation. That's what I always say. I mean, I always say it. I say it after every game. We did not talk about new uniforms today. Maybe tomorrow our Tuilla Tens sent in this happy 25th Blursday. My face, your face, instant face.

[Luke Burbank]

Go talk to whoever you want that does that stuff.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know. Happy 25th Blursday to our amazing daughter Cassie. May the next year be full of love, fun, adventure and of course, lots of snuggles with furry friends. Love mom and dad, Vernon and Tuilla. Again, Allie in New Orleans says Happy 44th Blursday to me. Here's hoping it's my Obama year for any local tents. Big reminder that it's a huge election season. I work for city council for someone who has already secured their spot uncontested, so I'm fairly knowledgeable about most races. If anybody wants to reach out to me, I can help you out. Sending good vibes to everyone today and tomorrow, especially Those dealing with 20 year Katrina feelings of any kind. It is our turn.

[Luke Burbank]

We. We do not have time for this kind of silliness.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's two for Thursday.

[Luke Burbank]

Someday I'll get on that guy's book list.

[Andrew Walsh]

Nice.

[Luke Burbank]

You didn't read the rest of our exchange with television's Chris Hayes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Where'd it go from there? I don't remember. I'm not joking.

[Luke Burbank]

You know where it went.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I don't.

[Luke Burbank]

You've always got to bring in your patented brand of quote unquote humor.

[Andrew Walsh]

What did I do? I honestly don't know what you're talking about. I don't have it in front of me anymore.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, I'll read it for you. You said, haha, I heard you made Obama's summer reading list. I said, oh shit. Congrats. Chris said, it's very cool. But more pressingly, where's today's TV show?

[Andrew Walsh]

That was funny. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

And then you said, ah. Oh. He said, ah few. It just showed up. As you've already mentioned. You said, yes, good point. Let's stay focused on the important stuff. And then I said, today's TVTL was on Obama's summary summer podcast list, so we're all doing just fine, thank you. And you said, trevor Obama is a listener in Kent, Washington, which I thought was a pretty good spoof, honestly.

[Andrew Walsh]

Happy Blurs day to Trevor Obama. All right, here, let's see here. Did I do Doug yet?

[Luke Burbank]

Let's see.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, wait a second. Could this be it?

[Luke Burbank]

Do we have a Doug on this flight?

[Andrew Walsh]

Wait, hold on a second. I'm all confused. This is either the same Tara or a different Tara. And I still don't know if it's Tara or Tara. But Doug in Fall river says happy Blurs day to my good friend Tara. Or Tara spelled the same way. Although we live busy lives and don't get to see each other IRL very often, you are Truly one of my best friends. In addition, I'm proud to be your DBTL daddy. I have it all written down somewhere. Have a great day. Angela in Ohio says, I'd like to wish a very happy 20th birthday to my five, Aaliyah. We are so proud of all of her hard work as she enters her second year of school, studying polymer engineering.

[Luke Burbank]

Holy smokes.

[Andrew Walsh]

You got to go to Akan for that. Home of the polymers, right? Keep up the great work, says Angel. Oh, and Angela's in Ohio.

[Luke Burbank]

Those scientists better check her hypotenuses, dude.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right, check this out. Angela's in Ohio. I don't know where Aaliyah is, but of course, I think that area, the. The kind of Akron Canton area is the polymer capital of the world, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

So you big, you know, rubber and other polymers and stuff famous for this. Just ask this scientician.

[Andrew Walsh]

Love that. All right, finally, we got a blursey message here from somebody named Phyllis. Phyllis P. Fletch Fletcher, who says, happy blursday to Ivan in San Francisco. Come visit so we can get a beer at Teddy's. For your blursday, I'll remind you of my blood. Oh, here's. You brought this up earlier for your blurs day. I'll remind you of my blood pressure trick.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, boy.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. When they put the cuff on, imagine falling asleep in a bed made out of pizza.

[Luke Burbank]

That actually stresses me out.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know how to say these. Your systole and diastolo. Diastole will plummet. I don't know. Phyllis actually put in pronouncers.

[Luke Burbank]

I think it's systolic and diastolic.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm wondering if Phyllis is messing with me here, because she. I think she put in bad pronouncers for me on purpose. She wrote. I'd like to point out to anybody.

[Luke Burbank]

Watching, this is really bunk journalism.

[Andrew Walsh]

I worried about this. I was kind of putting this together earlier during the show, and I'm like, those don't look right. And I thought, is Phyllis messing with me here? She put in the pronouncers systoly. Like, emphasis on the first syllable, and then diastole. Maybe that's how you say it. Maybe it's how you say it, or I'm falling for the greatest prank ever to prank. But anyway, I do like that idea of imagine yourself falling asleep into a. A bed made out of pizza. Although for me, I think I'd worry about the greasiness.

[Luke Burbank]

That's what I just said.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, did you. Sorry, I was in My own head about that.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Your whole back would be covered in grease.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. That's kind of nasty, actually.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, like. No, I mean, I also just love about cotton or.

[Andrew Walsh]

Or a marshmallow, if it's got to.

[Luke Burbank]

Be cotton would be tough for me. Marshmallow, I could do. You just saying cotton, Andrew. Hair on my arm standing up. Because I think about a giant pool filled with cotton balls and that just. It's tough on me.

[Andrew Walsh]

But like pan scrubbers, you know? Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, sure. Now, that would be great. I could really. That could. That would kind of help me with a little bit of back scratching. My dad, of course. It is so funny. I always know that my dad has arrived because that backscratcher that he brings everywhere and that just. And he puts it to rest sitting there on the coffee table in the living room. And like, for instance, my parents showed up. I wasn't. I was actually not here when they got here on Sunday. And I walked in and I looked and I saw the back scratcher was on the. I was like, well, they're definitely here somewhere in this house because the back scratcher is there. It's amazing. This is. This. This, like, half back scratcher will travel. It's this guy's whole thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm picturing, like, sort of speaking of Roger Rabbit, I'm picturing the bad guy and Roger Rabbit who wears, like, the long black trench coat and black sunglasses, and he carries a cane everywhere. And the cane does a lot of. What do you call it in acting when you're. It's like, busy work. Genevieve uses this phrase all the time. I can't think of it. But he's always, like, tapping on things and knocking on things. I'm picturing your dad carrying that back scratcher around with the same kind of panache.

[Luke Burbank]

He doesn't do any of that, but I could take a picture of it for you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that'd be good.

[Luke Burbank]

It could be the show pick.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sounds good. All right, we gotta wrap this up. Let me just say that Phyllis says to do that thing where you're thinking about falling asleep on pizza. Then we'll go drink a beer, and I'll give you my dad's barbecue sauce recipe. That was a blursday message from Phyllis to Ivan in San Francisco. And that wraps up our Blurs day segment.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, that's gonna wrap up today's episode.

[Andrew Walsh]

Is your guy there? You have a guy. You're waiting on a guy.

[Luke Burbank]

The guy is going to be here any minute. Which, if you could, if you heard the Urgency. The rare urgency in our. In my voice and in our. And why we didn't get to talking about bunk journalism in newspapers. Stopping printing their papers on print. We'll talk about that tomorrow. But, yeah, because I've got a guy showing up here, and I'll be honest with you.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's a drug dealer.

[Luke Burbank]

Not that I know of. In fact, I believe he's like 40 years sober. Andrew. So. How dare you. But I. It's. It's one of those kind of. Home construction. Here he is, just pulled up. It's one of those home construction relationships where I've also got to build in about 20 minutes of just jawbone. You know what I'm talking about?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. You have to do that with me at the beginning of every show.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, exactly. That's why I know exactly how to handle it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, exactly. You give him a toy. Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

So I got to go deal with that. He just pulled it. Anyway, we are gonna be back here tomorrow with more imaginary radio, so if you could please join us for that. In the meantime, everybody, have a great Thursday. Happy birthday to everybody. Oh, including my brother Samwise.

[Andrew Walsh]

What? Happy birthday, Sam.

[Luke Burbank]

Yesterday was Sammy's birthday.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hey, Romano.

[Luke Burbank]

Happy birthday, Sammy. And to everybody else this week. We'll see you tomorrow. In the meantime, have a great Thursday, and please remember, no mountain too tall.

[Andrew Walsh]

And good luck to all. Power out.