Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! #664: Hermaphroditic Butterfly

Release Date: February 1, 2026
Hosts: Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Brian Quinn (“Q”)
Special Guest: Johnny Law (Attorney)

Episode Overview

This episode is vintage Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! — raw, rambling, and irreverent. The central theme orbits around the crew’s ongoing misadventures: a deep dive on Walt’s new “VC Box” (a magic media device with questionable legality), tales of SeaWorld, an emotional story about a beloved cat, squabbles over junk in Airport Plaza, and the ever-fascinating mind of Get’em Steve Dave. The show also features a lengthy, playful exploration of legal and ethical boundaries around consuming pirated content, with “Johnny Law” joining to dispense legal wisdom. As always, the squad’s chemistry and humor make it an engaging listen.

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Announcements, Plugs, and Socks (00:00–05:10)

• Patreon Poll for TESD Socks: Walt and Bryan urge Patreon backers to check their email for a sock sizing poll, with a stern warning about the consequences of not responding.
  • "You must enter it into the poll and, and when these socks are set to ship out and if you did not vote... you will instead be sent an alternate gift, most likely from something that shipped from a previous cycle." —Walt (00:40)
• Plug for “The Devil and Daisy Dirt” Stage Show: Walt and Bryan heap praise on this NJ folk horror theater piece, sharing anecdotes from their own experience (“our socks were knocked off...”).
  • "It combines spoken word music, like live music.... actresses, there's puppets... props." —Walt (02:08)
  • Both buy merchandise; Walt still fondly remembers the night, despite a $50 parking ticket.

2. SeaWorld, Kids, & Questionable Morality (05:12–26:14)

• Quinn’s SeaWorld Adventure:
  • Q reviews his SeaWorld trip, the high cost of parking ($40), and jokingly prompts his daughter to steal a Coke (she refuses: “She looks at me like, should we fucking shoot the person and leave?” —Q, 16:22).
  • A new “racist mime” is now at SeaWorld, after the original, beloved mime (Lynn) was fired after 36 years for a minor dispute:
    • “Mime's getting no respect anywhere. At least let him get it in the fucking park they work in for 36 years.” —Walt (18:48)
• Blackfish & Public Opinion:
  • Walt and Q lament that SeaWorld seems to have survived the “Blackfish” scandal, with guests now unfazed by the controversy.

3. Airport Plaza Scavenging & Office Politics (07:43–13:05)

• The Yarn Lady’s Sandwich Board:
  • Walt is grossed out by other tenants (including Bryan) circling to claim a sign immediately after a long-time resident’s departure:
    • "I think it's so gross... show some fucking level of respect." —Walt (09:21)
  • Bryan wants to use it as a TESD promo sign but admits it’d likely become more junk in their crowded office.
• Discussion of Renting the Yarn Lady’s Old Space:
  • Idle speculation about moving to her old space. No windows, probably not worth it.

4. Traveling, Flying, and First-Class Hacks (13:05–15:50)

• Quinn’s Airfare Adventures:
  • Travels on Breeze Airways, scores a $53 fare and wins an upgrade bid to first class ($40 instead of $60), making Walt and Bryan jealous.
    • “It does [feel like winning in Atlantic City], because I know I could have just paid the 60... I saved a couple of bones." —Q (14:03)

5. Lost Cats and Hard Goodbyes: The Tale of Princess Mitch (31:05–37:48)

• Princess Mitch’s Illness and Passing:
  • Bryan shares the devastating story of losing his beloved cat. He details giving insulin, the anxiety of having her in a cat-only boarding place, and ultimately losing her after she gets a final night at home:
    • “It’s the worst part about owning a fucking pet... They bring you so much joy, and then you know, you have to deal with the inevitable.” —Bryan (35:40)
  • Q, Walt, and Bryan commiserate about the pain of losing pets and the existential math of owning cats as they age.

6. Theme Parks: Universal’s Monster Land & Harry Potter Overload (27:25–30:32)

• Universal’s “Epic Universe”:
  • Q describes the new multi-park setup, listing “Harry Potter Land” (which now exists in three Orlando parks), Super Mario Land, How to Train Your Dragon Land, and the new Universal Monsters land.
    • “Maybe the monsters aren’t as popular as I thought… they can’t make more money off the monsters than Harry Potter.” —Walt (30:32)

7. The “VC Box”: Piracy, Legality, and Moral Quandaries (61:11–84:02)

• Walt’s Magical Media Box:
  • Walt is in (possibly illegal) ecstasy over his “VC Box” media player, which grants him access to seemingly all TV and movies for a one-time fee (even finds things still in theaters).
    • "When you open this box, it is like Pandora's literal box... There's nothing inside of it.” —Walt (62:09)
  • Quinn and Bryan question its ethics and legality, comparing it to old-school illegal cable boxes.
  • Walt considers becoming a local VC box distributor for $299/box. Q calls foul, seeing it as theft.
• Legal Breakdown with Johnny Law (68:13–84:08):
  • Johnny confirms: owning the hardware is legal, using it to access subscription/unlicensed content is not.
    • "As a user, it's very unlikely you would face actual criminal charges... More likely, civil penalties." —Johnny Law (70:38)
  • Major risk isn't legal action but malware: these boxes are often riddled with Chinese backdoors, posing serious cyber-security risks.
    • "For all we know, this is the Chinese government... trying to steal IP and stuff like that." —Johnny Law (78:09)
  • Walt is torn: “But, my God, to give it up now would be devastating... not the money so much as that. Like, the joy it brought me for these last seven days...” (78:24)
  • Advice: Don’t sell the boxes, probably don’t use it, don’t tell your wife it could “infect” the house system.

Memorable exchange:

• "I'm keeping it. I don't care what you guys say." —Walt (84:45)

8. The Get’em Steve-Dave “Gift of Gab” Game (91:02–127:12)

• Walt quizzes the group on which bizarre hospital stories Get’em actually related to his (attractive) nurses:
  • Options include: dietary restrictions at the China Buffet, pride in inventing a podcast game (“Get'emtration”), and giving away his black cane.
• The Real Answers:
  • 1. He did talk about “Get’emtration.”
  • 2. He shared the black-vs-green cane dilemma.
  • 3. He boasted about "pwning" a friend who thought he had diabetes.
• Funny aside:
  • Everyone marvels that any of these could truly happen, but especially that someone would chat about “Chinese spices” causing health issues due to China Buffet.

9. Tracking Tech, Paranoia, and Family (46:33–50:33)

• AirTags vs. Phones: Bryan discusses putting AirTags in his daughter’s backpack for location tracking, but learns they're less effective than simply using her phone.
  • "All I’m doing is tracking everybody in my life... it’s a stressing thing." —Walt (47:19)
• The crew discusses the weirdness and comfort of tracking family and friends for safety.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “I’d love to just sit there and throw chum at you as you walk through.” —Walt, making fun of animal rights protests at SeaWorld (24:38)
• “How can I not fucking have this?” —Walt, about his magical, questionably-legal VC Box (62:09)
• “Mime’s getting no respect anywhere. At least let him get it in the fucking park they work in for 36 years.” —Walt (18:48)
• “It’s the worst part about owning a fucking pet. It’s the only bad part...” —Bryan (35:40)
• “Is it going to hold up on some of them by his throat? There you go.” —Bryan, riffing about using legal Latin to avoid liability if he sells VC Boxes (67:02)
• “I'm keeping it. I don't care what you guys say, I'm keeping it.” —Walt (84:45)
• “Gift of Gab number one: did he talk to his nurses about the mystery of Get’em’s physical issues being mostly prevalent in Asians and the possible link to endless hours at the China Buffet?” —Walt (92:12)
• "But it's American Chinese food!" —Q, trying to make sense of Get’em’s medical "logic" (93:50)

Timestamps of Major Segments

• 00:00–05:10: Announcements, Stage Show plug
• 05:10–07:43: SeaWorld, trip recaps, morality & mimes
• 07:43–13:05: The Yarn Lady’s sign, office politics
• 13:05–15:50: Breeze Airways, travel hacks
• 27:25–30:32: Universal’s new parks, Harry Potter
• 31:05–37:48: Princess Mitch’s passing
• 61:11–84:02: The VC (Piracy) Box saga (both setup and Johnny Law’s call)
• 91:02–127:12: "Get’em’s Gift of Gab" Game
• 46:33–50:33: Tracking family using tech

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The chemistry is as crass and affectionate as ever—TESD excels at mixing sincere reflection with smart-ass banter. Whether Walt’s raving about a new bootleg box or Bryan’s grappling with mortality through the loss of a pet, the show oscillates between playful outrage, genuine pathos, and locker room-level giggles.

The "VC Box" discussion is the episode’s highlight, blending Walt's exuberance for forbidden tech, Q's ethical qualms, and Johnny Law’s bemused legal realism—while Get'em's feckless logic in the hospital game is just the kind of meta-comedy longtime listeners savor.

Summary for the Uninitiated

Expect a ride through the mundane and the absurd: pop culture piracy, parenthood anxieties, the death of a beloved pet, SeaWorld nostalgia, squabbles over junk, playful moralizing, and a parade of inside jokes. The stakes are low, the laughs are high, and the uniquely TESD combination of heart and snark is in top form.