TBTL #4631: “Intermittent Listing” – December 31, 2025
Episode Overview
In their classic self-deprecating, goofy style, hosts Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh wrap up 2025 with a nostalgic episode bridging the mundane and the meaningful. From reminiscing over 90's restaurant kitsch and odd fast-food memorabilia, to debating comedic portrayals in pop culture, and finally breaking down a listener’s “Top 5 Grocery Store Experiences,” the episode delivers both hearty laughs and sincere reflections. TBTL’s signature Listmas/listing theme continues, with plenty of detours.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Nostalgia Trip: 90’s Restaurant Decor and Wendy’s Table Art
- Andrew relays receiving a meme of “goofy 90’s chef art,” prompting a deep dive on retro restaurant aesthetics—specifically the painted Wendy’s table tops featuring faux-vintage newspaper ads.
- Both recount childhood experiences inside old-school fast-food joints:
- Luke (05:28): “You grew up in the cradle of Wendy’s…where Dave Thomas fought for our freedom to have square hamburger patties.”
- Andrew describes searching online for actual Wendy’s tables—finding listings for hundreds of dollars, but admits, “I do want it, but I don’t want it in my house… I think I just want to be 12 years old and sitting at a Wendy’s.” (06:52)
- Amused critique of people selling posters trying to look like actual tables:
- “I feel like this is trying to trick somebody into thinking they’re buying this table for $20 or $30.” – Andrew (08:22)
2. Fast-Food Spinoffs & Forgotten Chains
- Andrew reminisces about Sister’s Chicken (a Dave Thomas/KFC competitor in Ohio) and childhood excitement around new products—Barq’s Root Beer, New York Seltzer, and chicken biscuits (11:18).
- Luke reflects on the regional root beer scene and how discovering Barq’s “opened my mind… We don’t have to live under this sort of the soft bigotry of only thinking there are two root beers.” (12:00)
3. Comedy, Stereotypes & Changing Culture
- The hosts discuss comedian Nick Swardson after referencing an old Barq’s commercial (13:32), then segue into portrayal of gay characters on Reno911!, with both self-questioning whether these comedic tropes have aged well.
- “I wince a little bit… Is there anything wrong with Nick Swardson…pretending to be a very flamboyant, kind of flighty gay guy on roller skates?” – Luke (17:00)
- Both weigh the difference between characters like Terry (Swardson’s) and Lieutenant Dangle (played by Thomas Lennon).
- Andrew does a mini-essay on the ethics of straight actors doing gay-coded comedy, concluding, “Maybe it’s not for me to judge or whatever.” (20:53)
- Reflection on the old “Gay Robot” sketch (21:24), prompting a shift in what TBTL chooses to play as drops: “For our show, I decided at some point I just didn’t think it was worth it…there’s plenty of other funny stuff we can play.” – Luke (23:07)
4. Listener Top Five List: “Grocery Store Experiences”
- Ben from Tucson submits a voicemail list (28:15).
- Honorable Mentions:
- Free cookies from the bakery as a kid: Andrew missed out, but Luke relates, “My mom was not one to miss out on a freebie.” (28:53)
- Helping someone reach a high shelf: Both hosts admit loving this, but recognize the risk of being patronizing (34:52).
- The Top Five:
- Getting everything on your list:
- Both share tales of near-misses and the agony/ecstasy of actually finding that obscure item. (36:43)
- Resisting impulse buys:
- Andrew: “That doesn’t seem like a negative…It’s a positive.” (38:35)
- Luke recounts his “hearts of palm” hoarding, Andrew shares his condiment overbuys.
- Doing both 1 and 2 at once:
- "Deceptively difficult to do both of those things at the same time." – Ben (44:20)
- Riding the grocery cart in the parking lot:
- Andrew shares his 81-year-old dad’s joy at doing this. “He said, ‘I just did it…I put my foot on and just cruised to my car.’” (45:11)
- A baby smiles at you in line:
- "You’re one of God’s precious children.” – Ben (44:20)
- Luke enthusiastically approves: “You know me and the babies, I love them.” (49:02)
- Getting everything on your list:
- Bonus additions from the hosts:
- Finding something you need is on super sale (53:03)
- Packing all your groceries perfectly into one bag, then being complimented by the cashier (53:17)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On nostalgia and eBay:
- “I do want it, but I don’t want it in my house… I think I just want to be 12 years old and sitting at a Wendy’s.” – Andrew (06:52)
- On accidental stereotypes in comedy:
- “There’s an essential dignity to Dangle…whereas Terry’s just a hot mess…That’s just how my brain tends to sort those two performances.” – Luke (18:30)
- On root beer epiphanies:
- “There are two—God made Mug and A&W, not Adam and Steve!” – Luke, joking about norms before Barq’s (meanwhile, also poking fun at culture-war cliché) (12:00)
- On grocery store heroics:
- “If somebody’s in a mobility scooter, can you reach that top shelf? I’m like, God damn. Yes. This is what I’m here for.” – Andrew (35:24)
- On shopping list victories:
- “Whenever I go, well, I guess they just don’t have it here because it’s ethnic—oh no, you guys have every kind of hominy I might need for making this pozole.” – Luke (37:34)
- On impulse buys and kitchen hoarding:
- “Do you know how much toasted sesame oil I have?” – Luke (41:39)
- On post-shopping treats:
- “I’ll get like a dollar’s worth of jojos…Those jojos are not even making it to the vehicle.” – Luke (47:47)
- On dreams about babies (and fostering dogs):
- “I’m not somebody who has any interest in having children…I almost wondered if that dream was more about us getting ready to foster dogs…being responsible for a life.” – Andrew (50:21)
- On the joy of seeing a smiling baby at the store:
- “I am so here for that. You know me and the babies, I love them.” – Luke (49:02)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:17 – 02:21: Cold open with Cinco Facetime Party Snoozer sketch
- 04:25 – 07:03: Wendy’s table nostalgia, eBay searches
- 11:18 – 12:46: Sister’s Chicken, Barq’s Root Beer, the thrill of “new” snacks
- 13:32 – 23:07: Nick Swardson, Reno911, stereotypes in comedy
- 28:15 – 54:11: Ben from Tucson’s Grocery Store Top 5, with hosts’ extended commentary
Tone and Style
This episode is an affable, frequently tangential ramble in classic TBTL voice—wry, weirdly specific, and laden with loving self-mockery. Andrew’s nostalgia and Luke’s bemused asides create a conversational warmth, while both are thoughtful reflecting on how humor ages. The show’s “Listmas” structure loosely grounds the misadventures and meanderings, but part of TBTL’s appeal lies in these detours becoming the main event.
Summary for the Uninitiated
If you haven’t listened, this episode is a loving deep-dive into the insignificant-yet-universal—childhood fast-food memories, quiz-show analysis of old sandwich tables, and which shopping triumphs bring the most joy. Luke and Andrew’s rapport is at its best, turning even sesame oil stockpiling into a running joke. It’s a time capsule of cultural kitsch, with real considerations of what jokes age well, a very lived-in friendship, and a bear-hug for anyone who’s ever found meaning in an ordinary day at the store.