TBTL Episode #4587: "Berry Me!"

Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

Episode Overview

This Thursday episode of TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live serves up quintessential Luke and Andrew banter, blending cozy autumn vibes, reminiscences about cereal and fruit, a hilariously earnest grocery price investigation, and a deconstruction of recent “bunk journalism” involving not one, but two Bill de Blasios in New York. The show also features the beloved "Blursday" segment, celebrating listeners’ birthdays in classic TBTL fashion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Cozy Fall Vibes & Show Intro (01:17–03:20)

• The episode opens with Luke embracing “cozy time” as fall settles in, setting a laid-back tone:

  “It is cozy time, my friend. Let's snuggle up. There ain't nothing like soup. Let's snuggle up with an episode of TBTL.” — Luke (01:37)

• Andrew is introduced as the “longest running cobra of the show,” with Luke jokingly warning listeners he’s “spicy.”

  “When he walks into a room, they call him Mr. Unlimited. … He’s spicy.” — Luke (02:49)

Blueberry and Grape Nuts Deep Dive (05:03–21:16)

This section is a masterclass in mundane obsessions, price gripes, and food nostalgia:

Andrew’s Breakfast Evolution

• Andrew describes a new habit: almond milk, grape nuts, and especially the pursuit of good blueberries for cereal.
• Initially inspired by a friend’s newsletter mention of grape nuts with Greek yogurt, Andrew diverges due to his aversion to dairy and Greek yogurt in particular:

  “I don't even like to be on the same airplane when somebody's eating Greek yogurt. I think this stuff ... it stinks.” — Andrew (06:46)

Grocery Store Price Adventures

• Andrew’s search for blueberries spans several stores (SARS Super Saver, Asian Family Market, Sprouts, QFC), with increasingly expensive and disappointing haul after haul:

  “They had a very shallow … plastic thing of blueberries. Not like a nice deep tub … It was like $10 for very few. And they didn’t look that good either.” — Andrew (11:17) “I see the thing of blueberries and they look okay. They were $12.99. For a tiny thing of blueberries. 12.99, my friend.” — Andrew (12:03)

Fermented Berries & Seasonal Woes

• A fateful purchase of out-of-season blueberries at Sprouts yields fruit “already fermenting”—ruining Andrew’s cereal and prompting speculation about global fruit supply, tariffs, and changing seasons:

  “They taste like they're already fermenting. … it ruined my cereal.” — Andrew (13:44)

Luke’s Blueberry Wisdom

• Luke reflects on childhood routines (grape nuts with honey only!), grocery shopping strategies (Trader Joe’s and Costco as reliable blueberry sources), and the volatility of blueberry pricing:

  “Blueberries are one of the most volatile … erratically priced products at the grocery store.” — Luke (15:56)

• The discussion spirals into cereal-eating rituals, with musings on bananas-in-cereal (“a mistake” from bygone days) and a love-hate relationship with various breakfast foods.

Cereals & Food Rituals (21:16–27:43)

• Luke and Andrew riff on how childhood experiences with food—like bananas in grape nuts—become lifelong habits (or aversions).

  “It’s so weird how just, like, you get started on something … and then it just becomes a lifelong way of doing it.” — Luke (15:16)

• Fruit as a “photogenic” cereal topper dominates the chat—Andrew admits blueberries have “ruined” his grape nuts for now, while strawberries seem the only somewhat-reliable alternative:

  “Today might turn me off of that for a while. They were truly bad. They were truly bad.” — Andrew (26:35)

• The duo delight in old cereal jingles, including an impromptu recreation of the Crispix theme.

Listener Donations & Tangents (28:10–32:57)

• Luke and Andrew thank financial supporters (“this is listener supported podcasting”) and riff on the lushness of Garden Grove, CA, bougainvillea, star jasmine, and even “pompous grass.”
• Witty botanically themed chat continues with

  “I don’t know. Pompous grass. ... It sounds like it’s a little bit big on itself.” — Andrew (33:48)

Neighbor Relations & Country Life Anecdotes (35:46–41:16)

• Andrew plays a classic voicemail from Luke’s neighbor complaining about fire hazards and “tansy” (a weed) on his property, sparking a story about rural neighbor relations and how Luke eventually made peace by owning up and collaborating on maintenance.

  “For whatever reason, my response … was not to do my usual thing, which would be to feel criticized and be offended. I actually, like, called him right back.” — Luke (36:38)

• Brief but delightful explanation of cows standing in the nearby river for relief—Andrew puns:

  “These cows are not having a cow, man. They’re, like, so chill.” — Andrew (40:48)

Top Story: Bill de Blasio Mistaken Identity Journalism Fiasco (41:51–57:42)

The Setup

• John Sklaroff, TBTL’s producer, sends in a news tip about the Times of London publishing an interview with “Bill de Blasio” critical of mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani—except the “de Blasio” they quoted was a wine merchant, not the former mayor.
• The wine merchant knew he wasn’t that Bill de Blasio, but gave his honest (albeit critical) views and admitted to leveraging the confusion (“used AI to help craft a response”).
• Discussion on who’s at fault: The journalists for not fact-checking, or the wine merchant for playing along?

Analysis & Snark

• Andrew blames the journalistic “sin” most, but also calls out the not-so-innocent, maybe even “impersonating” behavior of the wine merchant:

  “He knew that this was a mix up … and then he said, fine, if you’re going to reach out to me, I’m going to give you my opinion. … To me, that's a big part of this too.” — Andrew (47:57)

• Luke: amused at the limits to this mini-scandal, suggesting the wine merchant could have “messed with them so much more.” He also highlights a quirky detail about Italian surname capitalization:

  “Low class Italians use the little D. That's why I…” — Wine Merchant Bill de Blasio, as cited by Andrew (53:52)

• Both hosts poke fun at a supposed meeting between the two Bills at a Mets game, speculating on how stadium staff would even realize the name coincidence.

Quotes & Notable Moments

On Cereal & Food

• “I don’t even like to be on the same airplane when somebody's eating Greek yogurt.”
  — Andrew (06:46)
• “Blueberries are one of the most volatile ... erratically priced products that you can get in the grocery store.”
  — Luke (15:56)
• “I feel like bananas are ... a big treat when we didn't have as good of stuff to eat.”
  — Luke (23:54)

On Bill de Blasio Fiasco

• “He was neither falsely claiming to be Mayor Bill de Blasio … nor was he a de Blasio impersonator… but this man knew that things—there was a mix up—and he didn’t care and leaned into it.”
  — Andrew (45:26)
• “His name is Bill de Blasio. … he goes, I wouldn’t really—I just don’t know if Mamdani’s policies are going to work unless we could see in 10 years how it goes.”
  — Luke (51:03)

On Listener Birthdays (Blursdays)

• “Maybe they're out of season like blueberries.”
  — Andrew (60:37)
• “I hope those blueberries—that's the kind of highly relevant content that we provide on this show.”
  — Luke (28:11)

Noteworthy Timestamps

• 05:03 – Andrew’s quest for blueberries & cereal deep dive
• 13:44 – “fermenting” (bad) blueberries at Sprouts
• 21:16 – “Bananas in cereal” nostalgia and aversion
• 41:51 – Top Story: Bill de Blasio mistaken identity/journalism discussion
• 45:26 – Andrew on the responsibility in the identity mix-up
• 53:52 – Wine Merchant de Blasio’s “low class Italians” joke and the Mets anecdote
• 60:37 – Blursday segment (listener birthday shoutouts)

Episode Tone and Style

• Relaxed, warm, and whimsical. The hosts exude easy chemistry, with banter that spans nostalgia, daily-life micro-obsessions, and self-aware tangents.
• Self-deprecating humor & gentle snark. Both Luke and Andrew make fun of their own quirks and gently rib each other and the newsmakers discussed.
• Affection for the audience. The Blursday segment is genuinely heartfelt and intertwined with TBTL’s classic in-jokes and inclusive nods.

Takeaways for Listeners

• If you’re searching for affordable, fresh blueberries in late October—good luck.
• Childhood food routines stay with you, for better or for worse (bananas in cereal: still controversial).
• Even the most “bunk journalism” can lead to delightful, strange news stories—especially in the age of AI and identical names.
• Listener involvement remains a beloved part of TBTL—birthday wishes are as celebrated as any big breaking news.

For fans of TBTL: This episode exemplifies what makes the show “Too Beautiful To Live”: warm, digressive, and sincerely odd, blending minutiae and genuine reflection with affectionate silliness.