TBTL Episode #4590: Louvre It Or Leave It

Date: November 4, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank, Andrew Walsh
Theme: New York adventures, urban observations, infamous boat buys, Louvre heists, and tech failures (with their trademark self-deprecating humor).

Episode Overview

Luke checks in from New York City, regaling Andrew with tales of jazz clubs, diner culture, and hotel follies. The duo riffs on eccentric NYC experiences, notorious real estate purchases (looking at you, "Titanic 2"), and newsworthy security mishaps at the Louvre. Alongside serious news, they debate the peculiarities of AI’s limits, self-driving cars, and the little social rituals that make city life memorable, with special guest voicemails adding to the fun.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Luke's New York City Dispatch

• Jazz at Birdland
  Luke enjoyed a quintessential NYC evening at Birdland, listening to Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks play vintage jazz while noting how their stage banter was straight out of an "I Think You Should Leave" sketch.

  • Quote: “Every person he was naming could have been from the ‘I think you should leave’ charades sketch.” (06:00)
  • Memorable Moment: Waiting for Vince to name-drop “Roy Donk” (06:39)
  • Timestamps:
    • [02:55] – Luke’s voice gives away his wild NYC night
    • [03:11] – Karaoke at Sing Sing (with a Jordan Peele anecdote)
    • [06:21] – Impressions of Birdland’s jazz night

• Diner Life & Hotel Woes
  Luke describes the details of a classic NYC diner, including faded celebrity headshots and menus with “40,000 items,” plus an overzealous housekeeper who provides a redundant tutorial on the “Do Not Disturb” sign.

  • Quote: "There's just nothing like a headshot of Sipowitz that's been getting beaten down by the sun for the last 27 years." (07:44)
  • Housekeeping Comedy: Over-friendly service becomes a minor saga, both embarrassing and endearing for Luke, especially as he’s caught podcasting while reclining on the bed. (08:31–14:50)
  • Memorable Banter: Comparisons to “the helpful but Budinsky style aunts” from Progressive commercials and Tobias Fünke’s “Mrs. Feather Bottom” persona. (15:47–16:44)

2. Voting, Progressivism, and Seattle Small Talk

• The hosts discuss Seattle’s mail-in voting versus the lost local tradition of in-person booths ([18:00]) and commiserate over political flyers.
• Andrew and Luke reminisce about old-school civic rituals and lament the enthusiastic turnout of campaign mailers.
  • Quote: “I just like that tradition. I remember being a kid, going to school, and they’d say, ‘the gym is closed today because people are voting in there.’” (18:21)

3. Listener Donors and Regional Shout-outs

• As they thank listeners from Seattle to Dothan, AL, these sections are loaded with banter and playful diversions (like the appropriateness of “Hemlock Apartments”) and more pop culture detours (27:01–31:00).
• Luke and Andrew evaluate the wisdom of naming buildings after poisonous plants and ponder what names would be even worse.
  • Quote: “I wouldn’t name my apartment building Poison Ivy.” – Andrew (29:28)

4. Foosball, Stakes, and Childhood Religion

• Luke retells his epic childhood foosball matches with metaphysical stakes: if Luke won, Christianity was real; if his friend won, everyone’s ok thanks to Meher Baba.
  • Quote: "If I won, it meant Jesus Christ was real, and if [Peter] won, it meant Meher Baba was real ... if I was right and Christianity was the real thing, it meant Peter and his whole family were going into eternal hell." (32:17)

Main Stories & Deep Dives

5. Top Story: Staten Island Ferry Fiasco

• Background:
  Comedians Colin Jost and Pete Davidson impulsively bought a decommissioned Staten Island ferry to turn into a performance venue—but logistics and costs spiraled.
• Key Details:
  • The city listed the ferry at a steep price (much above scrap value), and a targeted social media campaign baited wealthy, nostalgic NYC celebs.
  • Their LLC is cheekily called “Titanic 2,” a name now haunting them amid lawsuits and insurance refusals.
  • The project is now a money pit ($600k in storage fees, facing mounting losses).
  • Quotes:
    • “The purchase was neither practical nor a joke.” (37:53, quoting NYT)
    • “Look, we got stoned. We bought a boat. It's fine.” – Pete Davidson (40:28)
    • “That's more embarrassing than being high and buying the boat.” – Luke, on Jost being sober during the buy (40:54)
    • “The company that owns this boat is called Titanic 2.” – Luke (41:05)
• Memorable Moment:
  Even their law firm is now suing “Titanic 2” for unpaid bills, adding to the debacle’s dark comedy (41:16).

6. Louvre Security Blunders

• Heist Recap:
  Recent robbery at the Louvre involved a crew disguised as construction workers, who entered via a stolen ladder, with a cyclist—not the museum—first raising the alarm.
• Key Observations:
  • The group used stolen equipment and yellow vests to pass as workers.
  • The security failings included not just physical lapses but digital ones: the password for the Louvre’s security cameras was simply “louvre.”
  • Quotes:
    • “How is it not like ‘Louvre123! I hate you’?” – Luke, on rudimentary passwords (47:30)
    • “I feel like I would have just gone by, and I would have been like, they have vests on. They're allowed to do whatever they're doing.” (45:09)
    • “Not even with an exclamation point or anything?” – Andrew on the basic password (47:02)
• Memorable Moment:
  Luke recounts Princess Bride and NY street scenes to illustrate the absurdities of both museum security and city living (48:50).

7. AI, Technology, and Comedic Frustrations

• Listener April’s AI Rant ([54:25]):
  • She enlists AI to count words for a grant application—AI repeatedly fails, apologizing but never delivering, igniting a “very Andrew-like” spiral of exasperation.
  • Quote: “AI is good at apologizing for being useless.” – Andrew (56:14)
• Passwords and Internet Rage ([47:47]):
  • Luke and Andrew lament password rules, overzealous security measures, and vent frustrations with impersonal institutions—sometimes by making passive-aggressive passwords like “wage theft.”
  • Quote: “It … involves me writing the most hateful things about this bank into password form.” – Luke (51:02)

8. Self-Driving Catastrophes (Literally)

• Luke relays a Waymo self-driving car tragedy that killed a beloved San Francisco deli cat (“KitKat”), prompting local outrage and political calls for more stringent rules.
• Quote: “Now I may not use Waymos anymore because of that one incident.” – Luke (57:35)
• Andrew highlights the bigger trend—that humans historically hit more animals with cars than self-driving tech, yet the story captures hearts because “that’s absolutely heartbreaking … but maybe cars in general shouldn’t be on the roads.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Running Jokes

• “I do not bounce back the way I once did.” – Luke, on NYC nightlife (03:21)
• “Are you doing all right? You’ve barely touched your Mexican burger with Munster.” – Luke (08:26)
• “Is that a threat or a promise?” – Andrew, on the persistent housekeeper (14:50)
• “I still think I’d put a shirt on over it, but it’d probably be open in front.” – Andrew, on his imagined noir lifestyle (26:30)
• “If you win, we all win. But if I win, I'm really screwed.” – Luke, on childhood foosball existentialism (33:18)
• “As long as they need someone to count words, I’ve still got a job.” – Luke, about the limits of AI (56:43)
• “I have to go in and act like I forgot my password and establish a new password … it involves me writing the most hateful things about this bank into password form.” – Luke (51:02)
• “You’re the word counter. We got this.” – Andrew, riffing on old tech jobs (56:51)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jazz Club & I Think You Should Leave: 02:55–07:11
• Diner/Hotel Stories: 07:11–16:44
• Voting & Seattle Politics: 17:01–21:00
• Hemlock Apartments & Real Estate Names: 28:04–31:00
• Foosball & Childhood Stakes: 32:17–33:47
• Ferry Fiasco News: 33:50–42:39
• Louvre Heist Review & Security Lapses: 42:40–51:02
• Password Rage/AI Failures: 51:02–56:43
• Listener Voicemail (April on AI’s Limits): 54:25–56:08
• Self-Driving Car Kills Cat: 57:10–59:14
• End of Episode Banter: 61:17–end

Final Thoughts

This episode is a classic example of TBTL’s unique blend: city observations, deeply specific pop-culture riffs, relatable frustration with modern life, and warm banter that folds even the most mundane mishaps into compelling, hilarious storytelling. Whether you came for the New York jazz, the vintage foosball drama, or the Louvre’s cybersecurity facepalm, you’ll leave with new inside jokes and the sense that even the most ridiculous detours are worth the ride.

Power Out.