TBTL #4581: The Road Less Graveled

Date: October 22, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

Overview

In this Wednesday edition of TBTL, Luke and Andrew meander through the challenges and unexpected joys of home maintenance, the shifting sands (and gravels) of online consumption, and the cultural quirks of language. With characteristic tangents and humor, they discuss recent biopic trends, gravel driveway woes, the Amazonification of rural shopping, and the delightful oddity of sun showers. Listeners get a window into TBTL’s particular blend of banter, nostalgia, and self-mockery.

Key Discussion Points

1. Bruce Springsteen Biopic & Biopic Fatigue

• [00:01–02:00] The show begins with a brief, tongue-in-cheek "review" of the new Bruce Springsteen movie, Deliver Me from Nowhere. Their consensus: music docs may not be TBTL’s thing.
• [18:25–23:37] Luke and Andrew debate the appeal of modern musician biopics, noting a shift toward "period pieces" focusing on a single pivotal album or time (e.g., Nebraska for Springsteen, Bob Dylan films).
  • Luke on biopics:
    "It's an impression competition. Like, can we find an actor who can do a pretty solid impression of this famous singer and then do a glossy look at how they rose to prominence... But the premise actually doesn't seem to be the worst." (18:25)
  • Luke prefers the focused approach, as with Nebraska, over full-life biopics.
  • Brief detours into Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, Austin Butler's method acting, and Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

2. Lawn and Gravel Talk: Maintenance in Modern Times

• [02:16–13:14] The hosts bond over suburban/ exurban property owner pressure to maintain a "respectable" lawn—fueled by neighborly competition and cultural shame.
  • Andrew: "If the neighbors could never see me watering the lawn, I might be way more tempted to do it." (08:50)
  • Luke: "The dandelions have figured out how to hydrate even when there's no precipitation." (06:53)
• [13:14–23:37] Luke introduces the drama of his mysterious well and its possible "off-grid" future—evoking mild prepper fantasies (inspired by The Last of Us).
  • Luke on his well:
    "There's a big, square, metal cover that's in my driveway. I have never thought I should lift this up and look at even what is inside it." (15:10)
  • Andrew jokes about the 80s-fear of wells ("If I fall in, local podcaster falls, that's not a sympathetic story… local moron falls down.").
  • Halloween-adjacent musings on what might live "down there."
• [24:06–37:31] Enter gravel driveway maintenance, which is becoming a surprising point of pride—and annoyance—due to delivery truck "divoting."
  • Luke's tale of Amazon/Budget van getting stuck in his new, "fluffy" gravel. The unbothered Spicoli-like delivery driver bemuses him for his zen attitude toward being hopelessly stuck.
  • The existential question: "Is it worth ordering online if it means raking gravel tomorrow?" (37:31)

3. The Amazonification of Rural Life

• [37:31–51:42] The hosts reflect on the impact of Amazon and online shopping on local businesses and small-town consumer options.
  • Luke: "You go to Target and they don't sell this kind of stuff. And the only place that sells this is Amazon now." (30:32)
  • Andrew details giving up Amazon Prime, reveling in the small pleasures (like shopping for a spatula in person), but acknowledges the pain when niche goods can only be found via online giants.
  • Both appreciate the "frictionless"—and dangerously easy—nature of modern online checkout.

4. Martin Starr Gummies & Online Commerce Triggers

• [41:58–51:42] In a moment of late-night podcast-induced spontaneity, Andrew orders Martin Starr's "Sweet Stash" gummy candies, despite not being a candy guy.
  • Andrew:
    "It was honestly just hearing it randomly on a podcast... and later on being like, well I'm a 20 dollionaire, I'll just buy some of these candies." (44:38)
  • They note how seamless e-commerce has transformed impulse control.
  • When Andrew realizes his "non-Amazon" order shipped with Amazon’s logistics, he expresses semi-serious dismay:
    "It kind of bums me out. Like, if I'm trying to live a lifestyle that is 'I don't shop on Amazon,' but then I get a note that says, 'Hey, your order's on the way from Amazon'... oh, come on, man." (52:50)
  • Luke draws a parallel to buying tamales from a local vendor, noting it's impossible to live with totally "clean hands" in our interconnected economy.

5. The Social Dynamics of Lawn Guilt and Gravel Jealousy

• [05:29–12:19] The conversation about lawn superiority, neighborly shame, and the "two wolves" within us (one eco-responsible, one craving a green lawn) reflects ongoing TBTL themes about millennial/Gen X adulthood.
  • Andrew:
    "A little bit of shame, actually, keeps me in check here..." (08:50)

6. Sun Showers, Language, and Global Attitudes

• [72:49–78:29] In response to a listener email, Andrew and Luke delight in Wikipedia's collection of sun shower euphemisms—from "the devil is stabbing his wife" (Germany) to "witches are making pancakes" (Russia), and a chameleon's wedding day (Lebanon?).
  • Luke:
    "You have the cultures where it’s like, a chameleon is getting married, a chameleon has found love… and then you have another one: someone’s getting married in hell." (77:43)
  • The hosts riff on how language reflects culture, mood, and worldview.

7. Popcorn, Hardware Stores, and Nostalgia

• [78:37–79:48] Further emails bring forth memories of popcorn in hardware stores, Kmart, and shopping as a family event—a thread through TBTL about nostalgia for small pleasures.

8. Random TBTL-isms, In-Jokes, and Listener Community

• Throughout, the episode is peppered with in-jokes, drop references ("I cannot contain my joy" at 01:06), gentle ribbing, and a call-out of long-time donors and friends-of-the-show.
• Tangents include impressions of celebrities, hypothetical apocalypse defense plans, and whimsical "would you rather" scenarios.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Amazon delivery drivers destroying the new gravel:
  Luke (30:32):
  "This kid seemed really unbothered. I come out, he has now created so many massive divots in every part of my driveway ... he did this for 15 minutes."
• On the guilt of ordering online:
  Luke (37:31):
  "Is this thing worth me having to be out in my driveway with a rake tomorrow trying to fix all of the divots from the delivery of this thing?"
• Martin Starr gummies impulse:
  Andrew (44:38):
  "It was honestly just hearing it randomly on a podcast ... and later on being like, well I'm a 20 dollionaire, I'll just buy some of these candies."
• Andrew on "two wolves" and eco-shame:
  Andrew (08:50):
  "A little bit of shame, actually, keeps me in check here ... like, I literally am being around people who have an aversion to buying too much plastic. It's really driven it home for me."
• Luke on biopics:
  Luke (18:25):
  "It's an impression competition...but the premise actually doesn't seem to be the worst."
• On the universality of Amazon’s “tentacles”:
  Andrew (51:45):
  “That’s Amazon. So when I tell you…I’m not trying to be holier than thou, but it said: your package is on the way from Amazon Shipping Services or whatever. And I’m like, okay, wait, that’s who they use… you can’t solve that because of your OCD [like Monk]; no, but you can’t shed monastic [habits]...It did kind of bum me out.”
• On sun shower sayings:
  Luke (77:43):
  "It's just funny how you've got...the parts of the world where they're like, a chameleon has found love. And then another: someone's getting married in hell."

Important Segments & Timestamps

• 00:00–02:00 — Brief movie review (Springsteen biopic)
• 02:16–13:14 — Lawns, suburban pressure, and eco-guilt; Andrew’s plastic use epiphany
• 13:14–17:31 — The mystery of the well, off-grid dreams
• 24:06–37:31 — The saga of gravel driveways and logistical annoyances from deliveries
• 37:31–51:42 — The rural reality of shopping, Amazon’s reach, and sustainable consumption
• 41:58–44:38 — Impulse shopping and Martin Starr’s Sweet Stash candy
• 72:49–78:29 — Sun shower folklore around the globe, the chameleon’s wedding, witches’ pancakes

Tone & Style

Light, meandering, gently self-effacing, with frequent detours into nostalgia, personal foibles, neighborly rivalry, and the mundane absurdities of adulthood. The hosts riff off each other with easy, affectionate sarcasm, creating a warm, slightly neurotic space for listeners who love digressions and observational comedy.

For New Listeners

This episode typifies TBTL’s charm: it’s less about hot takes and more about unusual corners of adult life—hanging onto old rituals, wrestling with modern convenience, and finding joy and humor in small frustrations. If you like stories that start with a review of a music documentary and wind up in a rabbit hole about gravel and how other cultures interpret rain-in-the-sun, you’ll be at home here.