TBTL #4547 – "JokeGPT"

Date: September 4, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

Episode Overview

In this Thursday edition of TBTL, Luke and Andrew take listeners on a classic meandering journey through deeply relatable and absurd territory: from the perils of scam-texting and the legitimacy of pharmacy messages, to AI-generated stand-up comedy, and the latest drama from Morrissey of The Smiths. The episode toggles between quick-fire humor, pop culture deconstruction, and a (possibly AI-aided) debate on the boundaries between sincerity and performance—whether it’s in apologies, comedy, or Instagram feuds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Philosophy of Apologies

• Luke and Andrew debate whether apologies need to be sincere or if the performance of sincerity is enough.
  • Luke: "Apologies don't have to be sincere. It's just the act of the apology itself." [00:17]
  • Andrew: "That is literally the only thing an apology has to be is sincere." [00:25]
• Sets the episode’s playful, self-aware tone.

2. Scam Texts and the Art of the Scam-Bait

• Andrew receives a scammy text from a 218 area code ("Is everything okay?") and explains his and his friend Katie’s obsession with stringing scammers along for fun.
  • Andrew explains his tactics: "Usually they're trying to scam me and I'm trying to become their best friend... at some point they realize it's a waste of their time and it's a bummer for me." [04:03]
• He details a text exchange, where he tries to lure the scammer to a fictional coffee date ("usual place") and peppers in references to being rich, just to see what happens.
• Luke worries these interactions could increase scam attention and muses on the global scale of scammer operations.

Scammer Engagement Highlights:

• Andrew: "They eventually just sort of fade away. So, you know, I just want to be loved. Honestly, I'm doing something wrong here." [10:23]
• Luke, referencing Morrissey lyrics: "Yes, I feel that you deserve... like every human, you deserve love." [11:03]

3. The Legitimacy of Pharmacy Texts

• Andrew gets a suspect refill reminder from "QFC" pharmacy.
  • Andrew (skeptical): "'Andrew, your refill is overdue!' This doesn't sound pharmacy. This doesn't, this doesn't sound like professionals." [13:39]
• Luke confirms getting similar "scammy" texts from Safeway, often promoting unrelated vaccinations or flu shots.
  • Luke: "They're trying to gin up some business because one time I stupidly gave them my cell phone number." [14:32]
• Both discuss the odd, sometimes pushy tone of legitimate automated pharmacy notifications and the challenges these pose for less tech-savvy people.

4. Morrissey Drama: Putting The Smiths Up for Sale

• Main segment: Morrissey is selling his stake in The Smiths, citing "malicious associations."
• The hosts explore the historic feud between Morrissey and his bandmates, referencing coverage in The New York Times and profiles of Johnny Marr.
  • Luke reads the Morrissey announcement: "'I have had enough of malicious associations. Morrissey, 66, wrote in a post titled A Soul for Sale.'" [32:51]
  • Andrew (on the drama): "It's so pathetic that he's doing this on Instagram... For Morrissey, the king of emotion, to be just complaining on Instagram about his friends." [40:06]

Notable Quotes:

• Morrissey (read aloud by Luke): "'The songs are me, they are no one else, but they bring with them business communications that go to excessive lengths to create as much dread and spite year after year. I must now protect myself, especially my health.'" [34:02]

• Andrew: "If you're Morrissey, you should just have people taking care of that for you... Is this just like a plea for attention?" [34:48]

• The hosts riff on the spectacle of posting such a business offer via Instagram and a Gmail address instead of going through industry channels.

• Philosophical aside: Luke empathizes with the feeling of dread associated with contentious business/legal communications and the desire to simply walk away from it all. [36:56]

5. Exploring Musical Genres: What's Goth, Anyway?

• A playful debate on what counts as "goth" music:

  • Andrew: "He does write about cemeteries, like Cemetery Gates... but it's sad music, not goth music." [41:07]
  • Names dropped: Robert Smith (The Cure), Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus, Love & Rockets.

• Luke shares a bizarre story about a Hawaiian yoga retreat, "acrosage," and the concept of "Kundalini Express," recalling meeting eccentric hosts Benjamin and A Miracle. [46:21]

6. JokeGPT: AI-Generated Stand-Up Comedy

• Luke and Andrew experiment with ChatGPT to generate stand-up routines on various topics: parenting in Portland, darts, and goth crowds.
• The results are impressively topical, if bland—a lot of safe jokes about vegan babies and dart players’ beer bellies.
  • Sample AI Joke (Luke performing): "We just canceled all our plans and sat in the driveway. Like, don't ruin this." [20:47]
  • Andrew: "That's relatable. I mean, it's funny, but it's relatable." [21:12]
• They question whether AI is inventing jokes or repurposing crowd-sourced content: "Are these repurposed jokes? Did it scan the internet... and then rework them a little?" [22:32]
• The conversation gently lampoons the AI’s inability to capture nuance or actual edge.

7. Small Bowl Catastrophe: The Case of the Crate & Barrel Lucia Eames Bowls

• Luke mourns the breakage and then unavailability of his favorite “Lucia Eames” bowls, musing on the regret of not buying duplicates.
  • Luke: "It is reinforcing my unfortunate tendency towards hoarding things... I am now. I will never have a full complement of my Lucia Eames Bowles and I'm very sad about it." [59:56]
• Andrew describes his own anxiety over a unique, irreplaceable mug, and recommends Genevieve’s expert internet sleuthing for rare dishes. [61:17]
• The theme: Our attachment to objects and the anxiety of irreplaceability—even in a disposable world.

8. Baseball Meltdown & Sports Transitions

• Extended Mariners postmortem: underperformance, emotional investment, and the feeling of impending collapse.
  • Luke: "I guess I'm gonna get my September back... I actually don't like that outcome because I like spending time with them when they're winning." [83:27]
• The guys reminisce about managing sports expectations, superstitions, and the irrational logic of sports fan behavior.
• Briefly, the NFL season’s return and the shift in sports interest. [87:39-92:02]

9. Recurring TBTL Segments

• Blursday Messages: Happy birthdays and shout-outs from listeners, peppered with in-jokes and a detour into Mariners gloom. [72:55–87:08]
• Meta Moments: Andrew’s policies on Blursday content (“This segment I think would get out of control pretty, pretty quickly…” [72:55]) and a flash meta-convo on forced vs. genuine laughter. [41:52]
• Classic TBTL Self-Deprecation: The pair gently mocks their own show ("audio is the second most important part of the audio-video experience" [00:42]) and riff on their own inability to keep segments tight.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On AI Comedy:
  "Are you not entertained? This is good comedy considering a robot wrote in."
  —Luke [22:23]

• On Apologies:
  "That is literally the only thing an apology has to be is sincere."
  —Andrew [00:25]

• On Pharmacy Spam:
  "They're trying to gin up some business because one time I stupidly gave them my cell phone number."
  —Luke [14:32]

• On Morrissey’s Instagram Sale:
  "'I have had enough of malicious associations. Morrissey, 66, wrote in a post titled A Soul for Sale.'"
  —Luke (quoting) [32:51]

• On Sports Fan Suffering:
  "This is the emotional journey that I tend to go on."
  —Luke [83:27]

• Meta on Laughter:
  "You know, I was listening to some old TBTL the other day... and I thought, you know, we could use a little more of that around here circa 2025."
  —Luke [42:12]

• On the Attachment to Stuff:
  "It is reinforcing my unfortunate tendency towards hoarding things."
  —Luke [59:56]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:00–01:15: Opening banter—sincerity in apologies, TBTL tone-setting.
• 03:18–10:23: Andrew’s scam texting hobby; scammer engagement philosophy.
• 11:03–14:01: Pharmacy spam texts; distinguishing scams from real messages.
• 20:34–26:32: ChatGPT writes stand-up routines—for Portland parents and dart players.
• 28:50–41:11: Deep dive: Morrissey and The Smiths' split, Instagram melodrama.
• 41:52–50:14: What counts as goth; Kundalini and strange yoga retreats.
• 53:38–61:17: Luke’s quest for the irreplaceable bowl; Andrew’s mug anxiety.
• 79:52–87:08: Mariner’s collapse, sports emotionality, and Blursday fan shoutouts.
• 87:39–92:02: NFL season kickoff, watching sports online, anticipation rituals, streaming legality.

Final Takeaways

TBTL #4547 is classic “friends talking” podcasting—disparate threads are woven together by recurring gags, emotional realism, and the kind of inside jokes that reward dedicated listeners. Whether pondering the sincerity of apologies, the enigma of Morrissey, or using AI as an unpaid joke-writer, Luke and Andrew keep it self-aware and warmly ridiculous. The episode doubles down on the value of everyday obsessions—be they silly online scams, irreplaceable dinnerware, or the perpetual ache of rooting for losing teams.

Power out.