TBTL #4543: Steamboat Dinosaur

Date: August 29, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh

Episode Overview

In this Friday edition of TBTL, Luke and Andrew riff their way through a classic freewheeling episode that dances from bizarre dreams and public bathroom anxiety, to pizza party politics, hummingbird–yellowjacket warfare, nostalgic movie deep dives, and the surprising dark finale of the TV show "Dinosaurs." The episode features the hosts’ signature blend of humor, personal stories, cultural nostalgia, and playful banter, all delivered with their good-natured chemistry. Listeners are treated to memorable digressions on classic films, the evolution of newspapers, and a surprising amount of bee and bird discourse—plus, there’s even a live debate about pizza loyalty, and a shocking discovery about Jason Alexander’s voice work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Tomfoolery and Friday Vibes (00:00–01:26)

• Andrew and Luke kick off with a dramatic fire drill reenactment, setting the comedic tone.
• Launch into Friday with a "Rebecca Black – Friday" musical nod, and tease "sex, money, power, fire, choking, being dragged behind a speedboat" as all part of the same TBTL energy.

2. Luke's Shark News & Hummingbird–Yellowjacket Feeder War (01:47–03:49, 40:24–45:55)

• Luke shares a story about fishermen catching—and releasing—an orange shark, commenting, "there's only one mysterious fish freakout audio that I like to listen to...the guys in Boston seeing a sunfish." (02:47)
• Memorable quote:
  • Luke: "It's a battle between hummingbirds, which I love, and yellow jackets. Which I hate." (02:54)
• Yellowjackets have infested Luke's hummingbird feeder, setting up an ongoing subplot: "These hummingbirds are fully being menaced by these wasps. And it ends today after the show." (45:06)
• The hosts debate bee/wasp classification and consult the internet, learning yellowjackets can indeed harm hummingbirds. Andrew quips about PerkyPet.com ceasing their (fictional) print edition.

3. Dream Confessions: Anxiety, Toilets, and Emotional Release (03:49–09:32)

• Andrew admits he's been hiding a recurring dream theme: "Pooping in public or without as much privacy as you would want." (04:38)
• Luke relates, comparing it to the classic "naked in public" dream. They discuss dream logic, embarrassment, and online dream interpretation—leading to some on-air psychoanalysis and ribbing.
• Notable exchange:
  • Luke: "If you're not just absolutely shackled with shame, you're borderline proud." (09:12)
  • Andrew: "There is no middle ground." (09:21)

4. Pizza Parties & Social Calendar Intrigue (10:07–20:48)

• Andrew details his weekend: an end-of-summer party, recording with Hannah, and a much-anticipated Sunday pizza party at Round Table Pizza—until a friend's sports fandom complicates scheduling when the Sounders and Messi come to town.
• Andrew’s conundrum: "I want, as somebody...who would miss my own cat's bris over a meaningless June Mariners game, I really want to encourage this person to follow their heart and watch [the game]." (13:37)
• Luke ponders betraying his Ooni pizza oven to revisit Round Table:
  • "I'm looking at my pizza oven and thinking about cheating on it." (19:00)
• A guilty dance between the nostalgia for chain pizza and the pride of homemade dough unfolds.

5. Family News: Study Abroad & Parenting Nerves (21:42–25:04)

• The Burbank family prepares to send Maddie to study in Edinburgh; Luke admires his sister's world-traveling, adventurous parenting.
• Andrew asks about the emotions of sending a child so far away; Luke reflects on family travel habits and considers visiting the Edinburgh Fringe Fest.

6. Pop Culture Whiplash: Baby Reindeer, Overboard & License to Drive (25:04–39:32)

• The hosts marvel at how quickly cultural phenomena fade—with "Baby Reindeer" seeming like years ago despite being only a recent hit, and confusion about where and when they watched it.
• A digression into 80s/90s movies and problematic plots:
  • "Overboard" and "Captain Ron" are unpacked, focusing on the era's lax approach to consent and blue-collar Kurt Russell archetypes.
  • Notable laugh: Andrew: "I love how much Genevieve loves the movie Overboard." (36:59)
  • Memories of "License to Drive" and its VHS cover spark amusement over the odd power of nostalgia.

7. Evolution of Devices: Phones, Showers & Rice (29:00–33:00)

• Andrew describes his shower phone rituals, multitasking podcasts, texting, and fantasy sports: "Now I'm just texting Luke in the buff." (29:52)
• Luke wonders about the lost correlation between rice sales and phone accidents. They reminisce on past superstitions and how waterproof phones have changed everything.

8. Print Media Nostalgia: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Goes All Digital (50:58–56:09)

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s shift to zero print is discussed. Luke reflects: "My knee-jerk with all this stuff always is to mourn the way that media is changing... But when is the last time I actually read a physical newspaper?" (54:02)
• Both hosts admit they now mostly consume news digitally, despite childhood attachments to print’s tactile rituals.

9. The TV Show “Dinosaurs”: Hidden Depths and a Dark Series Finale (60:15–70:31)

• A conversation about reading glasses (progressives, half-glasses) gently slides into a surprisingly deep dive into the 90s sitcom "Dinosaurs."
• Luke theorizes the Sinclair family was named for Sinclair Oil (confirms he's right).
• The hosts discover the show’s clever running petroleum industry jokes and its shockingly bleak finale:
  • "The series finale had a very dark tone and depressing tone that caught fans and critics off guard." (70:31)
• Discussion of the show’s “environmental irresponsibility” message and amusing species-inaccuracy.

10. Emails & Listener Lore: Sleepy Hollow, NY Renaming (74:14–77:55)

• Listener Max from Brooklyn calls in with background on Sleepy Hollow’s branding roots and local trivia, revealing the tourist-driven 1996 name change from North Tarrytown.
• Luke marvels at being “duped” by modern tourism branding, then stumbles over the realization that the “recent” 1996 name change was, in fact, nearly 30 years ago.

11. The Secret of Al Sexual Harris: Jason Alexander’s Voice Cameo (78:48–82:20)

• In a comedic highlight, the hosts discover “Dinosaurs” character Al Sexual Harris was voiced by none other than Jason Alexander—“Now that, my friend, could win you some kind of a pub trivia. If they have pub trivia in hell.” (80:06)
• A live needle-drop of the character’s innuendo-laden dialogue caps off the episode in classic TBTL fashion.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Luke, on his pizza affair: "I'm looking at my pizza oven and thinking about cheating on it." (19:00)
• Andrew, on recurring dreams: "Most of my dreams are about travel...but there's another category...pooping in public or pooping without as much privacy as you would want." (04:38)
• Luke, on his family’s travel style: "Rick Steves would need to pull over for a little siesta if he was trying to travel with my sister Hannah." (23:21)
• Andrew, on party FOMO: "I don't want a pizza party where the celebrant is thinking about what's going on in the game they're missing." (13:47)
• Luke, on nostalgia: "It is such a fun thing to be in a town, to be in New York, and the hotel has a copy of the Times at the lobby and you grab it..." (54:02)
• Andrew, summing up ‘Overboard’: "He basically enslaves her and takes her because she doesn’t remember...but the plot is problematic." (37:06)
• On "Dinosaurs": "The idea of a TV show based on the idea that a bunch of dinosaurs are living together in 1990s America...That's not scientifically possible. It's like, of course it's not." (68:08)
• Andrew, voicing podcast heroism: "If you're not just absolutely shackled with shame, you're borderline proud." (09:12)
• Luke, on aging: "Are you ready for me to start monitoring how much coal you're using on Christmas Day?" (59:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:26: Playful cold open/fire sale skit; Friday intro.
• 03:49–09:32: Public pooping and naked-in-public anxiety dreams.
• 10:07–20:48: Weekend plans, pizza party scheduling, and sports conflicts.
• 21:42–25:04: Family travel and study abroad stories.
• 25:04–39:32: Overboard, Captain Ron, nostalgia TV/movie talk.
• 40:24–45:55: The hummingbird–yellowjacket war at Luke’s feeder.
• 50:58–56:09: Newspapers going digital and letting go of print.
• 60:15–70:31: Glasses, “Dinosaurs” TV trivia, environmentalist finales.
• 74:14–77:55: Listener Max on Sleepy Hollow’s true origins.
• 78:48–82:20: The discovery of Jason Alexander voicing Al Sexual Harris; live audio drop; episode sign-off.

Tone & Personality

The episode is classic TBTL: loose, unpredictable, laced with nostalgia and pop trivia, and punctuated by honest confession and playful ribbing. Both hosts bring warmth, self-deprecation, and genuine curiosity, treating trivialities with importance and the important with a light touch.

Bottom Line:
This episode is an engaging, quintessential slice of TBTL, with plenty of laughs, gentle self-mockery, and delightful cultural rabbit holes. Longtime listeners will feel right at home, and newcomers will quickly pick up the show’s signature mix of the mundane and the memorable.