Podcast Summary: TBTL #4632 “Grays In The Grass”

Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh
Date: January 1, 2026

Main Theme / Purpose

The New Year’s Day episode of TBTL marks the start of 2026 with Luke and Andrew in classic form—riffing on cultural oddities, celebrating inside jokes, and deep-diving into a listener-submitted list of “low stakes adult fears.” The episode is quintessentially TBTL: equal parts pop culture rabbit holes, gentle self-roasting, and communal listener engagement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter & Kim Cattrall Scatting Rabbit Hole

• Kim Cattrall’s infamous “scatting” tape serves as a launchpad for an extended conversation. Andrew points out that other podcasts (notably Scott Aukerman’s) wrongly believe Kim improvised, when she was actually loosely quoting a Rupert Brooke poem (“A Little Dog’s Day” from 1907).
• Both hosts express a sense of possessiveness and fact-correction when others misinterpret cultural ephemera they know well.
  • Quote:

    “When you have a little bit of knowledge and you hear somebody on a podcast get it wrong, it’s really hard not to be offended.”
    —Andrew Walsh (04:34)

• Discussion of editorial tricks in TV, how bad poetry and dated confections (“the Turkish delight of poems”) can be products of their time, and how pop-cultural misunderstandings propagate.

2. Podcast Evolution & Comedy Bang Bang Parallels

• Reflection on the surprising parallels between TBTL and Comedy Bang Bang (CBB) in their early days, and musings on how both shows latched onto early meme-culture topics.
  • Quote:

    “The broad rhythms of, like, the things in culture that he [Scott Aukerman] and his guests latched onto back then—there are so many parallels to the stuff that you and Jen were doing at the same exact time.”
    —Andrew Walsh (10:01)

• The hosts place their own show in the lineage of “chat” podcasts vs. more performance-heavy ones like CBB.

3. Listener Lists: Choosing Today’s Topic

• Andrew presents a “list of lists” for Luke to pick from, ultimately landing on “Top Five Low Level Stakes Adult Fears” submitted by listener Jamie from Mississippi. Other tempting list options included “Top 5 TBTL Segments I Miss,” “Top 5 Ways to Listen to TBTL,” “Top 5 Types of Recipes,” and more.

4. Low Stakes Adult Fears—Listener Jamie’s List

The List (Detailed Discussion w/ Timestamps):

• #5: Seeing your name on a meeting agenda to present
  • Quote:

    “Oh, I wouldn’t call that low stakes…”
    —Luke Burbank (19:36)

  • Andrew and Luke commiserate about the stress of surprise presentations, especially on Zoom. Andrew notes the irony of thriving in long, public podcast recordings but nervousness in small work meetings.
• #4: Forgetting to do today’s Wordle until after midnight
  • Andrew confesses to losing a long Wordle streak after doing the puzzle while drunk, mistakenly guessing “GRAYS” instead of “GRASS.”
    • Quote:

      “Dude, I totally did a drunk Wordle… I was an idiot.”
      —Andrew Walsh (23:38)

  • This leads to a playful detour into instrumentals—“Grazin’ In The Grass” and “Green Onions”—with an attempted mashup and plenty of banter.
• #3: Phone making a sound in a quiet place (esp. embarrassing ringtones or inappropriate podcasts)
  • Luke shares a mortifying Nutcracker story: his phone inexplicably playing “A Punk” by Vampire Weekend in the moment of quiet before the show began.
    • Quote:

      “As I reach over to hold her hand this starts,… I can't even know it’s me. I’m getting angry at somebody else.”
      —Luke Burbank (29:36)

• #2: Not recognizing someone you should know (or vice versa)
  • Both hosts discuss strategies for gracefully navigating these awkward encounters—introducing themselves anew, using partner “caper” signals to jog their own memories at parties, and generally being forgiving of fuzzy recollections.
  • Quote:

    “If you were to say that to Becca tonight, like, I feel like that’s a problem. You shouldn’t say that to Becca. Like, don’t say, ‘Hey, have we met before?’”
    —Andrew Walsh (32:25)

• #1: Dissing someone on email and accidentally including them
  • Universal anxiety acknowledged. Both share stories of near-misses and social system fails (including family group texts).
    • Quote:

      “I did not know you were on here. And I was about to gently roast you.”
      —Luke Burbank (37:52)

  • Andrew notes he avoids “talking shit” on text altogether; they agree digital communication is a dangerous game.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On possessiveness of cultural knowledge:

  “…It’s really hard not to be offended.” —Andrew Walsh (04:34)

• On drunken Wordle mishaps:

  “Dude, I totally did a drunk Wordle… I was an idiot.” —Andrew Walsh (23:38)

• On Nutcracker ringtone disaster:

  “As I reach over to hold her hand this starts… I can’t even know it’s me. I’m getting angry at somebody else.” —Luke Burbank (29:36)

• On party navigation:

  “I bring you places, you introduce yourself to Becca, and then she has to say her name out loud. And then I know her name.” —Luke Burbank (32:32)

• On email disasters:

  “I did not know you were on here. And I was about to gently roast you.” —Luke Burbank (37:52)

Timestamps for Crucial Segments

• 00:00–02:26: Cold open, New Year’s banter, hosts greet listeners for 2026.
• 02:43–07:00: Kim Cattrall scatting, poem origins, podcast fact-checking peevishness.
• 09:23–10:20: Comedy Bang Bang, meme culture, paralleled podcast evolution.
• 10:25–13:09: Andrew’s “list of lists,” choosing the low-stakes fears list.
• 18:25–19:36: Launch of Jamie’s “Low Stakes Adult Fears” list.
• 19:36–23:38: Anxiety over workplace presentations.
• 23:38–26:01: Wordle woes and the “drunk Wordle” anecdote.
• 27:19–30:05: Phone sounds in inappropriate situations, Nutcracker incident.
• 30:24–33:00: Social awkwardness—forgetting names, party “caper” strategies.
• 34:45–39:58: Email/text including the wrong person, accidental family thread blunders.

Language & Tone

Consistently laid back, gently self-deprecating, and improv-comedy adjacent. Andrew and Luke’s signature style is intimate, looping, and friendly, marked by affectionate jabs, pop culture detours, and a perpetual openness with their audience.

Conclusion

This episode is a classic slice of TBTL life—a meandering journey through pop culture minutiae, self-admitted failings, and community connection, all filtered through Luke and Andrew’s chemistry and wit. From correcting other podcasts to riffing on minor social anxieties, “Grays In The Grass” encapsulates what makes TBTL enduring: affection for the odd, celebration of the mundane, and the camaraderie of shared embarrassment.

Power out.