TBTL Episode #4594 “Don't Look At Me Louis”

Date: November 10, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & guest co-host John Sklaroff (filling in for Andrew Walsh)

Episode Overview

In this Monday edition of TBTL, Luke Burbank, hosting solo as Andrew attends his mother’s memorial in Ohio, is joined by TBTL super-producer John Sklaroff. Broadcasting from the Madrona Hill studio, Luke and John spend the show digressing (delightfully) through stories of familial interruption, dog ownership etiquette, and the struggle of navigating adulthood’s little indignities. The two meander through topics like the mishaps of podcast production, the lore of small spoons in the Burbank household, their relationships with shoes, and the current news about baseball gambling scandals and the “fedora kid” at the Louvre. The episode radiates the signature TBTL tone: self-deprecating, tender, and gleefully tangential.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: Handling Parental Interference & Increased Responsibility

• Luke returns home after traveling and addresses listeners from a bustling, interrupted house. With Andrew gone, Luke takes on more technical duties and feels the crunch.
• Show numbering mix-up: The previous episode numbers were off due to miscommunication between Luke and Andrew during Andrew's rush to travel. Luke admits with classic humility, “Trust but verify is one of the, I think, bedrock ideas around this podcast. And I didn't do it, and that's my fault.” (03:35)
• Multiple show restarts: Luke recounts how his parents’ well-meaning but clueless interruptions led to “four or five” aborted attempts at starting the show. His mother, unaware that recording had commenced, kept re-waving goodbye through the studio’s glass door and ultimately re-entered the house:
  • “I've already hugged this woman goodbye...But then I look over and there's just, like, my parents are, like, looking through the glass of the door. They're not coming inside, they're just looking, you know, And I'm like, yeah, it's not.” (09:02)
• John reassures him: “If you called that a meltdown, like, you were very...reasonably frustrated, I think, and handled yourself very nicely.” (05:49)
• King of Comedy reference: The situation reminds Luke of Rupert Pupkin (“King of Comedy”), hosting his imaginary talk show in his parents’ basement, only to be interrupted by his mother (13:02).

Burbank Family Quirks: Tiny Spoons & Systems

• Tiny spoon system: Luke marvels at his mom’s tiny spoon habit for eating ice cream slowly. John chimes in, “I can 100% relate…for sweet stuff, like something like ice cream especially, I always do the same exact thing, so it lasts...” (19:23)
• Collecting systems: Luke compares his mom’s ever-changing “systems” with a friend’s rigid ones, reminiscing about elaborate sushi-warming protocols and sneaking beers into Dodger Stadium disguised as Subway sandwiches (21:11).
• Memorable quote: “But my mom has a system for everything. And in a changing set of systems, which I think is also funny…” (21:11)

The Unpleasant Return to Childhood: Stepping in Dog Poop

• Portland Livewire recap: Luke, hurrying to a live taping, steps out of his car and immediately into dog poop, evoking vivid childhood memories.
• Rant about irresponsibility: John, as a current dog owner, expresses his contempt for people who don’t pick up after their dogs. Luke agrees, reflecting on how dramatically society has changed on this front (30:12).
• Lingering effects: Despite many attempts to clean the shoe, some of the dog poop is still there, leading to social stress and deep neuroses. Luke debates whether to clean the shoe, use it for yardwork, or just throw it out:
  • “I have more shoes than I will wear for the rest of my life...part of me wants to just throw the shoes away and not deal with it. And part of me thinks that's so wasteful.” (40:27)

Weekend Updates: Recap & Merch

• Livewire show: Sold out show in Portland. Notable guest: Jeff Hiller from “Somebody Somewhere,” who also sat for a long-form interview airing on tomorrow’s TBTL (26:09).
• Discussion of sunset times and regional weather habits (26:53).
• TBTL Merch Plug: John and Luke introduce new merch with a U.S. National Parks aesthetic; shirts, mugs, and more. The vibe: earth tones, low pressure to buy, but a fun nod to the “Badlands” segment.
  • “We have merch. It's really cool. But also if you don't buy it, it's fine. And if you do buy it, it doesn't really move our bottom line very much, which is a strange way to frame it. But it is also true.” (62:27)
  • Caution: Don’t let the park rangers see you wearing the merch!

Donor Thank Yous & Local High School Lore

• Donor roll call: Luke enthusiastically thanks donors…with asides about high school mascots, private schools, and wild disparities in wealth and privilege between New York suburbs (52:39–56:43).
• Notable quote: “We were both the poorest school in the league and many times the worst. So it would suck…to both, like, go play the Bush School and then have them also trounce us.” (56:27)

Top Story: “Louvre Fedora Kid” Identified

• Backstory: Viral photo of a teenager in a fedora and vintage suit outside the Louvre after a jewelry heist captivated the Internet, leading to speculation he was a detective or even AI.
• The reveal: Turns out, he’s 15-year-old French student Pedro Elias Garzon del Vaux, a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, with a penchant for “chic” dressing. He kept his Instagram private for the fun of the mystery.
• Andrew’s reaction (via texts): “To be frank, I still might” (dislike him), referencing Andrew’s deep aversion to “look at me” types.
• Luke’s take: Finds Pedro adorable, refreshingly self-aware, and is happy he’s just having fun with the situation.
• John agrees: “If it was like the detective, I would have been like, all right, come on bro...but the fact that it's just a random passerby and…he's like trying something out, like, good for him. Like, I love the confidence.” (78:59)
• Show title genesis: “Don’t Look At Me Louis”—a riff on both the fedora kid’s French name (“Louis”) and Andrew’s desire to avoid the limelight (60:36).

Deep Dive: Sports Gambling Scandals

• Baseball gambling indictments:
  Two MLB pitchers (Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz) face federal charges for allegedly manipulating props (first-pitch balls, pitch speed) for gambling conspirators.
  • Luke’s shock: That you could even place such a specific bet—“I am shocked that there was a bet that you could put down that a pitcher would throw a ball as their first pitch…” (82:37).
• Broader discussion:
  The duo reflects on the leagues’ deepening ties to sportsbook companies, how the proliferation of prop bets makes manipulation easier, and the blurred lines as legal gambling has exploded (88:52).
• NBA connection: The Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier investigations are noted—but the evidence is less definitive.
• Memorable quote: “It used to be so kind of like, oh, don't talk about it. And I always thought that was really hypocritical…now it's just, I mean, I'm watching FS1 and they're starting the broadcast by showing the parlay…” (89:05)

Classic TBTL Digressions & Quotables

• King of Comedy drop: “Hey, mom, the meatloaf. We want it now!” (13:02)
• Luke on Chris Berman: “You know what Chris Berman is? He's the good and plenty of sports broadcasters. He was invented when we didn’t have as good of sports broadcasting…” (98:12)
• Chris Berman Walk-On: (Literally, Chris Berman singing “Walking on a Thin Line” with Huey Lewis appears on Wikipedia, which the duo considers making the show pic) (97:14)
• Luke’s “trust but verify” maxim: Running joke about Andrew’s absence, technical difficulty, and the pod’s sense of “bedrock values.” (03:35)
• Tiny Spoon Discourse: “She has a collection of tiny spoons that she eats her ice cream with at home so that she eats her ice cream slower.” (18:28)

Timestamps for Major Topics

• 00:00–01:14: Cold open: Luke and John exchange music, puzzles, Dido, and quick-witted banter.
• 01:14–04:56: Show number correction, Andrew’s absence, returning to real-time.
• 04:56–16:44: Parental interruptions; King of Comedy & Will Ferrell “Meatloaf” moments.
• 16:44–25:38: Burbank family systems, tiny spoons, ice cream habits.
• 25:38–36:14: Childhood memories, Livewire show, stepping in dog poop, etiquette, shoe drama.
• 36:14–49:09: Shoe triage, cleaning vs. hoarding dilemmas, merch segment.
• 49:09–57:40: Donor thank-yous, New York suburb rivalries, high school stories.
• 57:40–61:43: “Top Story”—Louvre fedora kid, Andrew’s aversion to limelight, show title.
• 61:43–66:31: Merch plug, National Parks-style design, holiday gift tips.
• 66:31–79:35: Robin Hooding diamonds, museum thefts, billionaire discourse, morality of excessive wealth.
• 79:35–98:43: MLB/NBA gambling scandals, sports betting culture, hypocrisy of leagues, prop bet risks, Chris Berman critiques.
• 98:43–End: Outro music, show wrap, lost shoes, and a callback to interrupted tapings.

Memorable Quotes (with attribution & timestamps)

• Luke Burbank [03:35]:
  “Trust but verify is one of the, I think, bedrock ideas around this podcast. And I didn't do it, and that's my fault.”
• John Sklaroff [05:49]:
  “Be kind to my friend Luke. If you called that a meltdown...you were reasonably frustrated.”
• Luke Burbank [13:02]:
  “Hey, mom, the meatloaf. We want it now!” (quoting “Old School”)
• Luke Burbank [19:23]:
  “My mom proceeds to explain to me that she has a collection of tiny spoons that she eats her ice cream with at home so that she eats her ice cream slower.”
• John Sklaroff [30:12]:
  “There's nothing that makes me more angry than people that don't pick up after their dogs, because it makes all of us look like jackasses.”
• Luke Burbank [62:27]:
  “We have merch. It's really cool. But also if you don't buy it, it's fine...which is a strange way to frame it. But it is also true.”
• Chris Hayes (as quoted by Luke) [59:21]:
  “It was so funny when Andrew thought he was the actual detective and was like, I bleeping hate this dude.”
• Luke Burbank [78:18]:
  “He's just like, I like dressing this way because I think it looks kind of cool. He says, I like to dress chic...he's also not trying to overstate the case.”
• John Sklaroff [78:59]:
  “If it was like the detective, I would have been like, all right, come on bro...but the fact that it's just a random passerby and…he's like trying something out, like, good for him. Like, I love the confidence.”
• Luke Burbank [82:37]:
  “I am shocked that there was a bet that you could put down that a pitcher would throw a ball as their first pitch, because...”
• Luke Burbank [98:12]:
  “You know what Chris Berman is? He's the good and plenty of sports broadcasters. He was invented when we didn’t have as good of sports broadcast.”

Overall Tone & Style

Warm, ragged, familial, gently neurotic, and full of sideways glances at both the big stories of the day and the small vexations of life. The show is a tapestry of self-mockery, affectionate ribbing, and earnest appreciation for the little things (tiny spoons, shoes, parents, and yes—even donors). John slips seamlessly into the TBTL universe, bringing humor, comfort, and the occasional technical acumen.

Show Title:
Don’t Look At Me Louis
(A play on Andrew’s aversion to “look at me” antics, inspired by the Louvre fedora kid.)

Show Pic:
Contender: Chris Berman singing with Huey Lewis (97:14)—a non sequitur, but in true TBTL fashion.

*For listeners and the uninitiated alike, this episode is a near-perfect encapsulation of what makes TBTL beloved: life’s messes, inside jokes, heartfelt asides, and a relentless embrace of the ordinary.