Tell 'Em Steve-Dave #669: "No Show Git ‘Em" (March 15, 2026)

Overview

This episode sees Walt Flanagan, Bryan "Bry" Johnson, and special guest Ming Chen (filling in for Q) joined by "Git 'Em" for an uncensored, classic hangout. The vibe is irreverent, honest, and meandering as the guys catch up on everything from convention travel, weird local news, and bachelor party trends, to their own unique brand of workplace drama at the legendary Airport Plaza. The theme is classic TESD: everyday absurdities, community in-jokes, and ribbing each other about everything under the sun.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ming’s Cruise Experience & TESD Live Appearances

• Walt and Bry ask Ming about his View Askew Cruise experience:
  • Ming describes the trip as "awesome" with “no real responsibilities,” much like being “Kim Kardashian”– just showing up and mingling ([03:04]).
  • Reflects on the perks: "I got free cruise. A free three thousand dollar cruise. Yeah, I can't complain about that." – Ming Chen ([03:09]).
• The TESD live event mystique
  • Walt insists he stays away from fan events ("To keep the mystique alive") so that fan anticipation never dies: "If I never show up, then there's always the clamoring... But if I do show up, it won’t be amazing, so I have to not show up." – Walt Flanagan ([04:14])
  • Discussion of possible schemes to get Walt to appear, from drugging him B.A. Baracus style to making him emcee game shows. Walt wants the Ming Chen deal of "just showing up and not doing anything." ([05:15])

Notable Quote:

“That’s how you get people to keep liking you, by not interacting with you.” – Bry ([04:41])

2. Ming’s Convention Life & Slowing Down

• How many cons is too many?
  • Last year Ming did 37 cons. This year he’s targeting maybe 20 ([07:17]), but Walt calls him out for still not slowing down.
  • Ming admits, “No, it’s nice being back here. It’s nice hanging out with you guys. It’s nice being on call as a third stringer.” ([08:36])
• Spousal input?
  • Ming makes it clear, “No, not at all...[my wife] likes having me home more, but...there was never any pushback that I was going too much.” – Ming Chen ([08:53])
• Flying too much: health jokes
  • Jokes about how so much air travel gives you "soft bones" (“Like it’s like being in space!”) and exposes you to radiation ([09:36]).

3. Annoying Airplane Etiquette & United’s New Rule

• Headline: United bans device audio without headphones
  • Bry is thrilled: “Is there any bigger asshole on earth than a person who goes to a restaurant or an airplane… [playing audio out loud]? That’s one of the worst things you can do in public.” ([11:24])
  • Ming and “Get ‘Em” agree it’s out of control; Walt hasn't noticed and says he simply tunes it out ([13:45]).
  • Discussion of how society allows rudeness to persist until it’s official policy (United’s new rule).
  • Jokes escalate about putting headphone-less offenders on the no-fly list “with the terrorists” ([14:51]).

Notable Quote:

“If I don’t want to hear it, I don’t. I can not hear it.” – Walt Flanagan ([14:02])

4. Sign Waving, Job Prestige & Small Business Sadness

• The “Statue of Liberty” tax guy and human sign-waving
  • Bry questions the effectiveness and dignity of the classic sign-spinner: “Would not guess that place was reputable...it is cruel.” ([16:21])
  • Recollection of "Git 'Em" as TSD's own sign waver – conversion rate: “Zero. Negative.” ([17:28])
  • Jokes about how Ming would never trade convention life for a sign-spinning gig.

5. The State of Pop Culture Conventions

• Competition is up, not down:
  • Ming: "There's definitely no shortage of conventions."
  • Hollywood names now appear at cons due to fewer big roles, which Ming admits puts "the Maverick" lower down the guest list: “If you got Thelma and Louise [Geena Davis & Susan Sarandon]...no competition there, unfortunately.” ([19:02-19:55])
• Cons shifting from comic focus to pop culture focus.
  • Walt laments: "The window's starting to close as the hobby starts...struggling." Ming assures it just means more competition, not fewer shows.

6. Community Drama: Security Guards, Dish Soap & Office Life

• The Case of the Stolen Dish Soap

  • ‘Git ‘Em’ describes leaving dish soap in the ladies’ room “for the good of all.” It vanishes in 24 hours, sparking a ponderous investigation with jokes about “cork boards and yarn” ([27:17]).
  • Ming: “So back up. You're allowed in the women's room here?” ([27:31])
  • The convoluted state of restrooms at the Airport Plaza, day-to-day trials, and the social order among tenants are recounted in trademark TESD detail.

• Security guard certification

  • Git ‘Em details New Jersey’s process for becoming and staying certified, to much amusement from Walt and Ming.

Notable Quote:

"If they knew your health conditions, there's no way they'd license you." – Walt Flanagan ([29:54])

7. Workplace Gossip: Mike Zapsik & Ant Drama

• Mike Zapsik thinks TSD is mad at Ming, reports double agents feeding him information:
  • Ming admits to letting Mike believe it if it cheers Mike up: “If he's happy, I'm happy.” ([21:51])
  • Walt/d Bryan riff on their own “moods” affecting workplace relations.

8. Dreams, AI, and Squarespace Sponsor Segment

• Ming’s shifting ambitions: From pro-athlete to pop culture figure to ‘just getting out of bed’

  • Walt presses Ming: “These kind of do seem like a little bit of vapid dreams though… It’s all fluff.” ([39:36])
  • Ming is self-deprecating about “fame and fortune,” admitting it's “empty” (with jokes about the drinking problem it solved).

• AI’s Pros and Cons

  • Ming: "It can be useful. It's gonna kill a lot of jobs." ([41:37])
  • Walt questions the real world threats compared to Skynet, with Ming replying: “We were warned about this in 1984 when Terminator came out and no one's listening.” ([41:44])
  • Git 'Em asks if AI has helped Ming's podcast studio. Ming: "Only positively...write the episode description...just throw it through AI and it spits it out in two seconds." ([42:41])

9. Generational Pranks, Mischief Night, and Crimes of Youth

• Discussion of a real-life “prank gone wrong” – tragic accident involving teens and their teacher
  • Group debates culpability, whether kids should be charged; Bry raises the question of whether the teacher was partially responsible ([49:38]–[52:14]).
• Reminiscing about Mischief Night & teen pranks:
  • Stories of egging, soaping, and sign vandalism from their own youth and “Get ‘Em” trying to prevent egg sales as an adult supermarket clerk ([53:39]–[57:08]).
  • Walt scolds: “If I was a kid that you tried to stop us from buying eggs...I’d be fighting such fucking horrible shit on your windows in soap.” ([56:09])
  • Ming and Walt riff: “Not all heroes wear three pens and an LED light... some heroes wear aprons.” ([56:29])

10. Bachelor Party Trends: Strippers vs. Magicians

• Bry reads about a new bachelorette party trend: hiring magicians instead of strippers.
  • General disbelief and jokes about whether this will catch on for male bachelor parties. Ming: "I'm going to take a wild guess and say no." ([60:37])
  • The group speculates about awkwardness, and how the trend is about being more inclusive for attendees uncomfortable with strippers.

11. Key West Plans, Jerseys for Dads, and Future TESD Events

• Key West “Antstravaganza”
  • Ming's father is attending for the first time; Git 'Em details getting a personalized New York Giants jersey for his own dad so people know to “keep an eye on him” ([65:50]).
  • Walt and Bry needle Git 'Em about overthinking it, the intricacies of blue jersey shades, and the social etiquette of tagging along.
  • Conversation devolves into who’s responsible for Git 'Em’s dad’s fun, and hypothetical scenarios of wild Key West adventures.

12. Classic TESD Banter & Wrap Up

• Appreciation for Ming’s presence:
  • Ming jokes about being “third stringer” and the group acknowledges the abnormal standards for regulars and fill-ins.
  • The group riff on self-deprecating health, aging, and who gets “below-the-belt” zingers ([73:10]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I’m here and happy to be here now.” – Ming Chen ([08:06])
• “That’s how you get people to keep liking you by not interacting with you.” – Bry ([04:41])
• “If I don’t want to hear it, I don’t. I can not hear it.” – Walt Flanagan ([14:02])
• “You see a woman now, we just go like, what the fuck was that?” – Walt Flanagan ([00:28]/[28:14])
• “Not all heroes wear three pens and an LED light,” – Ming Chen, on “Get ‘Em” the anti-egg crusader ([56:29])
• “My dream? ... just get out of bed every morning.” – Ming Chen ([38:42])
• “We were warned about this in 1984 when Terminator came out, and no one’s listening.” – Ming, on AI anxiety ([41:44])
• “If they knew your health conditions, there’s no way they’d license you.” – Walt clowning on Git ‘Em’s security credentials ([29:54])
• "If anybody is interested in Get ‘Em, his is still numb." – Walt ([74:35])

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [03:04] Ming describes the View Askew Cruise gig; Walt explains “the mystique” of never showing up at events.
• [07:17] Ming’s convention circuit numbers and why he’s (supposedly) slowing down.
• [11:24] United Airlines bans playing device audio without headphones; TESD erupts.
• [16:21] Statue of Liberty sign-waver discussion; human advertising sadness.
• [19:02] Cons: competition, Hollywood stars, and “the Maverick’s” new con status.
• [27:17] Git ‘Em’s dish soap mystery and the saga of Airport Plaza bathrooms.
• [39:36] Ming outlines his dreams: from athlete, to fame, to simply getting up.
• [41:37] AI and its effects: fun, fear, and how it makes podcasting easier.
• [49:38] The tragic “prank gone wrong” story and moral debate.
• [53:39] Mischief Night, eggings, and the “hero” clerk vs. the rowdy youth.
• [60:01] Bachelorette parties replacing strippers with magicians; group laughs.
• [65:50] Key West plans: Git ‘Em’s dad’s bespoke jersey, and the ensuing over-analysis.
• [73:38] Walt, Bry, and Ming debate what happens if Git ‘Em’s dad becomes a party legend.

Tone, Language, and Final Thoughts

The episode is quintessential Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave: equal parts barbershop sarcasm, neurotic detail, honest reflection, and a deep in-group rapport. The language is informal, profane, and sometimes deliberately absurd as the group riffs on the mundane—turning every day office drama and nostalgia into oddly compelling comic essays.

This show is as much about the peculiar chemistry among its regulars as it is about any news item, trend, or event. If you haven’t listened before, Episode #669 provides plenty of context—and plenty of laughs.