Time Travel - Episode 42

Summary

The Musers The Podcast — Episode 42: "Time Travel"

Date: May 6, 2026
Hosts: George Dunham, Craig “Junior” Miller, Gordon Keith

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Episode Overview

In this playful and insightful episode, The Musers dive into the topic of time travel—from Gen Z's nostalgia for pre-digital decades to their own personal fantasies about visiting the past or future. Through their trademark banter, George, Craig, and Gordo discuss the psychology behind longing for "simpler times," the realities of surviving in bygone eras, and the complications of intergenerational identity. Along the way, they contemplate the logistics (and absurdities) of slipping into historical periods, the items they'd bring with them, and whether they'd rather revisit the past or glimpse into the unknown future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mailbag, Announcements, and Live Show (00:09–08:14)

• Listener Mail Highlight:
  • Frank claims to have spotted John Hinckley (notorious for the Reagan assassination attempt) wearing Musers merch in Dallas, sparking jokes and ethical questions about booking controversial figures.
    • "Should we invite him on, or is that too bad a karma?" (01:51, Gordon)
• Live Show Announcement:
  • Musers announce their first-ever live taping at The Kessler Theater (May 21st) to benefit At Last, the Urban Boarding Experience—a charity supporting students from tumultuous home environments (03:23–05:31).
  • Ticket tiers: $10 (GA), $20 (reserved balcony), $30 (VIP with meet & greet).
    • "All this for a great cause." (04:35, Gordon)
    • "I've always said [Randy Bowman's idea for At Last] is going to make a huge impact. Already has in Dallas." (05:31, George)

2. Why Gen Z Wants to Time Travel to the ‘90s (09:50–16:23)

• Survey Insight:
  • 50% of Gen Z would prefer to live in the past, specifically the 1990s; many cite “tech overload” and pessimism about the future.
    • "I was pleasantly surprised that they were even aware that their smartphones were sucking their souls down the life toilet." (10:00, Craig)
• Personal Reflections:
  • George reminisces about longing for simpler family times in his youth, especially before losing his grandparents.
    • "To me, my life seemed better before then because we had that central location of the Rock and T ranch..." (11:53, George)
• Cognitive Bias:
  • Gordo suggests nostalgia is often a “cognitive error”—the past feels safer because it's known, versus fear of the unknown future.
    • "The past is a safe, known time and the future is unknown... and we have natural future anxiety." (12:42, Gordon)
• Social Progress Caveat:
  • Not all groups would welcome a return to previous decades (e.g., minorities and women), highlighting generational and societal inequities.
    • "Women don't necessarily all want to go back in time when they couldn't vote and they were second class citizens." (14:10, Craig)

3. The Reality Behind Wanting to Relive (or Not Relive) the Past (16:23–31:08)

• Ownership, Media, and Nostalgia:
  • Discussion about the re-emergence of vinyl and desire for physical media; the drawbacks of streaming/renting everything.
    • "We love the convenience of Spotify, but... how do I really own this thing?" (17:21, Gordon)
• On Revisiting Childhood:
  • Both George and Craig discuss only wishing to revisit very specific moments (e.g., children being young, family gatherings)—not entire eras.
    • "There are times... I wish I could go back and just see that day again when all three of my kids were little." (23:37, George)
• “Remember When” Syndrome:
  • Weighing the value of nostalgia; the Tony Soprano quote: "The worst kind of conversation is the one that starts, 'Remember when.'"
    • "It's what bonds you in present day... the glue and fabric of friendship." (26:15, Gordon)
• Digital versus Physical Memories:
  • Photos on phones are rarely revisited—whereas printed photos bring a different, more tangible nostalgia.
    • "We don't do that with the pictures on our phone... It's overwhelming." (27:45, George & Gordon)
• Skepticism About Generational Labels:
  • The hosts poke fun at the endless taxonomy (Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Alpha, etc.) and argue that generational divides are largely "malarkey."
    • "All this generation talk is just a bunch of malarkey..." (29:14, Gordon)

4. The Hypothetical: How, When, and Where Would You Time Travel? (31:08–59:03)

• Fly on the Wall

  • If you could just observe (and not interact or eat):
    • George: 1940s New York—World War II home front, “what made the ‘Greatest Generation’ so great.”
      • "I would go back to see what the greatest generation would... made him so great. And I would go back to the 1940s, and I'd check in on my dad after Pearl Harbor..." (32:30, George)
    • Craig & Gordon: The last week of Jesus’s life; Gordon admits the language barrier would be a problem, unless Google Translate came along.
      • "I would struggle through listening to the Sermon on the Mount in Aramaic." (34:28, Gordon)
      • "Which version was closer? The Mark or Luke version, or the Life of Brian version?" (34:45, Craig)

• Survive in the Past for a Month

  • Parameters: You're visible, have clothing, but must make do/avoid suspicion.
    • Craig: Dodge City, 1870s—fascinated by Wild West, but admits the food (buffalo steak, potatoes) and lack of hygiene would be brutal.
      • "I would just be homeless for the week. I'd just bounce around the town. I'd eat scraps." (41:27, Craig)
      • "The liquefied bowels thing, that would happen for sure because that happens to me today in 2026." (46:57, Craig)
    • George: 1940s America; Gordo proposes the 1920s Algonquin Round Table or Paris’s Lost Generation—but worries about language and blending in.
      • "I think even Jesus would have been been really impressed with refrigeration. Little side by side Jesus." (56:48, George)
    • Risks & Screw-ups:
      • All hosts agree 19th-century or earlier time travel would pose massive language, social, and health/resulting-in-being-killed risks.
      • "You would just stand out. Like you had neon." (37:16, George)
      • "What if you went to your grandparents house though, and they were like having sex in the other room?" (33:09, Gordon, derailing George’s nostalgia)

• If You Could Bring a Modern Item:

  • Phone ("magic box"), refrigerator, taser, mace—all considered for “impressing” locals or surviving.
    • "Would you take weaponry back? What about a taser?" (57:25, Craig)
    • "If you mace Judas and accidentally hit Jesus in the face and that's a whole scene..." (57:36, Gordon)

5. Visiting the Future (59:03–61:37)

• Would you want to time travel forward?
  • Craig and George prefer 25–30 years ahead (to witness tangible but still familiar change).
    • "Give me 30 [years]." (60:19, George)
  • Gordon is more ambitious: 125 years to see a potentially unrecognizable world.
    • "Let's say 125 years into the future and see what life is like then. I bet you'd be so unrecognizable." (61:04, Gordon)
• Existential Dilemmas:
  • What if the Earth is uninhabitable?
  • How would you emotionally handle seeing your entire family outlive you, as in “Interstellar”?
    • "Would you do that for humanity?... but knowing that you're not going to see your kids grow up?” (58:34, Gordon)
  • Craig jokes the two might have to “repopulate Earth” if they’re the last humans—ending the episode on peak Muser weirdness.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Generational Divide:
  • "All this generation talk is just a bunch of malarkey, man. It's a bunch of fake division stuff." (29:14, Gordon)
• On Realistic Nostalgia:
  • "It's what bonds you in present day oftentimes is remembering experiences you've had with someone in the past." (26:15, Gordon)
• On the Dangers of Historical Survival:
  • "You're going to get a splinter and you're going to die of gain green and that's it for you." (39:24, Gordon)
• On Bringing Modern Tech to the Past:
  • "You have this magic box... and then you bring the king to you. And you'd be like, here's the deal. I know you want to see the phone. I ran out of juice about three hours ago. There's not a place to charge it." (55:21, Gordon)
• On Visiting Family in the Past:
  • "What if you went to your grandparents house and they were having sex in the other room?" (33:09, Gordon, derailing George’s nostalgia)
• On "Back to the Future":
  • "Look, all the problems Michael J. Fox had in Back to the Future, that was like 30 years. He had all sorts of problems." (43:05, George)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:44: Listener Mail: The John Hinckley Chili’s Story
• 03:23: Live Show Announcement & At Last Charity Details
• 09:50: Gen Z Survey on Nostalgia & Time Travel
• 16:23: Nostalgia for Vinyl, Books, and Media Ownership
• 23:37: Wanting to Relive Family Memories vs. Wider Nostalgia
• 31:08: Time Travel Scenarios—“Fly on the Wall” & “Survive for a Month”
• 41:27: Craig’s Wild West Survival Strategy
• 55:03: What Modern Item Would You Bring to the Past?
• 59:03: Would You Rather Visit the Future?
• 60:19: How Far Ahead Would You Go?

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Episode Tone & Style

• Playful, bantering, and semi-absurd throughout
• Frequent, good-natured ribbing between hosts
• Moments of genuine wisdom about nostalgia, family, and the human relationship to time
• No ads or non-content sections included in summary

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For New Listeners

This episode is a quintessential Musers experience—a seamless mix of irreverence, nostalgic warmth, and deep(ish) questions, all funneled through the hyper-local, uniquely Dallas lens of its hosts. Even if you’ve never listened before, you’ll walk away pondering your own time travel choices—and probably craving a refrigerator with a crushed ice dispenser.

Transcript

[Gordon]

Going out to the outhouse and a rattlesnake, you know, fangs your nuts.

[Craig]

Welcome to episode 42 of the Musers the podcast. I'm Craig.

[George]

Hey fans, I'm George.

[Gordon]

Hey fans, I'm Gordon.

[Craig]

I think we're going to have a lot of fun today on this episode talking about time travel. But before we get to this week's topic, we've got a few house cleaning items. First, our letter of the week. It's the Muser's mailbag. We're getting lots of mail. It's the Muser's mail bag. And that's all we've got so far for a thousand.

[George]

Still working on it.

[Gordon]

Build that out a little bit.

[Craig]

This comes to us from Frank, who listened to last week's episode about presidential assassination attempts and some of the bizarre stories surrounding many of the failed attempts, including the John Hinckley attempt to take President Reagan's life. And we mentioned that Hinckley has many Dallas ties where this podcast originates. And Frank writes. Dear Musers, I just wanted to let you know that John Hinckley does live in the area. I saw him at a local Chili's wearing Muser's merch. He also had a pennant in his car window. He's a big listene.

[George]

Well, you had me for about eight seconds.

[Gordon]

I know. I was thinking, well, maybe he did move back to the Dallas.

[George]

Makes some sense high school.

[Craig]

Maybe it's not completely out of the question.

[George]

No.

[Craig]

That he listens to this podcast. Right. Somebody may have told him about talking about you. Yeah. About the episode last week and he said, well, you know, I'm from Dallas, I'll listen to those guys maybe.

[George]

Yeah, okay. We'll say he's a listener.

[Gordon]

Should we invite him on or is that too bad a karma.

[Craig]

That's a good one.

[Gordon]

We should invite him on to chastise him for doing that.

[Craig]

Would you guys want to have him on? If he would come on with us, would that be a good get or a weird get?

[Gordon]

Oh, I think everyone would be pissed at you.

[George]

Yeah, it's a weird get.

[Gordon]

Back in the old days, you would have someone on Controversial to hear what they say and to take them to task and all that. But I just don't think now we could.

[George]

Now all of a sudden you're part of the assassination.

[Gordon]

Right. It'll be platforming him and you don't want to be.

[George]

Yeah, like when Tom Snyder, the guy

[Gordon]

that took the seventh shot at Reagan,

[Craig]

when Tom Snider got Charles Manson, that was great for him.

[Gordon]

Right?

[George]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

And and it was an interview that people were interested in and wanted to

[George]

watch get off the Space Shuttle.

[Gordon]

But I think. I think Tom Snider continued working after that, didn't he? Yeah, he didn't get in too much trouble for it.

[Craig]

You think that would end us if we had John Hinckley on and let

[Gordon]

him play a few of his songs? He brings an acoustic.

[Craig]

Well, thank you, Frank, for reporting that John Hinckley is wearing Muser's merch. A couple of weeks ago, we made that big announcement that we now have merch. And you can check out our catalog of T shirts, sweatshirts, hats, stickers, yes, pennants and [e-mail] and this week we have another big announcement. We are fast approaching our one year anniversary of this podcast that, by the

[George]

way, I can't believe that has gone really fast.

[Craig]

42 episodes in coming up on a year. And to celebrate, we are going to be doing a live taping of our podcast at the Kessler Theater in the Bishop Arts neighborhood of Dallas on Thursday evening, May 21st. And we would love to have you there.

[Gordon]

Wow. So we're kicking off a world tour with one stop.

[George]

One stop? Yeah, just one city.

[Gordon]

But that's pretty huge.

[Craig]

Yes, that is huge. We'll be up on stage at the KESSLER Thursday evening, May 21st. We'll take some Q and A from the audience. We got a lot of good things planned for you. And we have three different ticket levels. Tickets, very reasonably priced. We have general admission tickets that'll be on the floor. We have about 300 of those. 10 bucks to get you in the door.

[George]

Very reasonable.

[Craig]

We have reserved seats. Those are in the balcony at the Kessler. 20 bucks.

[Gordon]

Very comfortable.

[Craig]

And we have VIP seats. There aren't many of these, but they're on an elevated platform back center of the room. And these VIP seats will also include a meet and greet with us before the show. And those are only 30 bucks.

[Gordon]

And all this for a great cause.

[George]

Yes, yes.

[Craig]

Proceeds from this big event are going to go to At Last, the Urban Boarding Experience. That's a charitable cause very near and dear to this show and our buddy Randy Bowman, who created At Last, It's a boarding house in South Dallas for kids who come from a rough life. And he gives them a place to study and live during the week because as he knows and has taught us all, a tumultuous home life is not good for a kid who's in third grade, fourth grade, trying to do their homework. So At Last is already working. It's been up and running for a few years and they've already had some graduates from At Last. And it's working beautifully. They're looking to expand to help more kids. And so if you show up to the Musers the podcast live at THE KESSLER On May 21, you'll be helping At Last.

[George]

It's such an incredible project, Randy. I've always said as the smartest guy I know to come up with this model. I really believe it's going to be that many people will try to duplicate it in cities around the country. It's just, it's going to make a huge impact. Already has in Dallas. And just think what it's going to do through the years and in decades here.

[Gordon]

Well, I'm already buying a few of these VIP tickets for a meet and greet with you guys.

[Craig]

Okay.

[Gordon]

I want to spend some alone time with you guys.

[George]

All right. We appreciate you supporting the cause. You don't have to do that. But yeah, go ahead.

[Craig]

And tickets are on sale right now. You can get [e-mail] same place you can get your merch. Go to themusers.com right now to buy your tickets for the Musers the Podcast Live at the Kessler. May 21st. We're celebrating our one year anniversary of doing this podcast and this will be our first live taping in front of an audience. And Gordo, this is right up your alley. You've always wanted to do stand up comedy, so we'll be waiting to see your routine.

[George]

It's going to be awesome.

[Gordon]

Already we've been in rehearsals. There's a lot of costume changes for the three of us. The choreography is a little bit more difficult than I thought it was going to be. But George goes learning the dance steps.

[George]

Thank you. I've been working hard on a pas

[Gordon]

de beret and a barrel roll.

[George]

Oh, yeah, the whole thing.

[Gordon]

Double toe touch.

[George]

Seriously. The Kessler, I think, is all of our favorite venue. If you go see. I've never seen something like this there, but I've seen musical acts there. The acoustics there are just amazing. And therefore I think you should do a number, Gordon.

[Gordon]

No, no. People don't want to see me do song and dance.

[George]

I didn't dance. Just a song.

[Gordon]

That's all right. I'll stick with the podcast.

[George]

All right. You're the only one who's done a live podcast before. What was that like?

[Gordon]

When did I do a lot? Oh, yeah. The majestic Dax Shepherd. Yeah, that was great. That was fantastic. And that place held, I think, like 1500 or so. Sold it out in an hour. George. Pretty good. Pretty good. The crowd was great.

[Craig]

Can we sell 400 tickets for our show?

[Gordon]

I'm hoping so.

[Craig]

Fingers crossed.

[George]

I think we can. There's one of us that doubts that, but I think we can. Well, who doubts we can get close? That's a secret.

[Gordon]

Okay. All right. Well, if you come to the podcast, we'll reveal who doubted.

[George]

We'll tell the story.

[Craig]

All right, so again, themusers.com to buy tickets to our first ever live taping of a podcast, the musers. The podcast May 21st at the Kessler.

[Gordon]

The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co host, Megan Klinenberg.

[George]

And now we're giving people an inside

[Gordon]

look, look at the World Cup. Time's ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really stake their claim and they want to

[George]

be on that World cup roster.

[Gordon]

There's no doubt about it. Hosting the World cup on home soil comes with its pressures.

[George]

But we're just really excited just as the people are.

[Gordon]

The U.S. soccer Podcast, presented by Henco. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.

[George]

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[Craig]

Okay, let's get to our topic of the week, time travel. Recently on our radio show, we have a story about a new study that finds that 50% of Gen Zers, those born between 1997 and 2012 would prefer to live in the past, preferably the 1990s, before smartphones and the Internet had taken over. 62% of Gen Z respondents said they expect life will be worse for them compared to previous generations. Their desire to live in the past partly shaped by their relationship with technology and the discomfort with being connected at all times. And others would prefer to live in the past because they fear the future. 80% of Gen Zers surveyed think America and the world is on the wrong and dangerous path. Does it surprise us, first of all, that Gen Z feels that way? I was pleasantly surprised that they were even aware that their smartphones were sucking their souls down the life toilet. So I was encouraged by this.

[George]

No, I was encouraged by it as well. And it brought back a lot of memories for me because when I was, I don't know, I'm going to say high school, even college, when I was under the age of 21, I used to think about that very thing. And we didn't have smartphones. I wasn't worried about that, but just things like I'd hear my parents talk about inflation, and I've watched news reports about the possibility of nuclear war. And there were so many times I would wish that I could go back to. If this was the 80s, I would say early 70s, and not just because of what was going on in the world then, but also. It's going to sound really strange, but I used to identify almost like somewhere between 79 and 81, because 79 I lost my grandfather. 81, I lost my grandmother. And to me, my life seemed better before then because we had that central location of the Rock and T ranch that I could go to in. My grandparents were there, and there were

[Gordon]

so many times that was their place or something.

[George]

That was their place. Yeah. In Gainesville, Texas. And that's where my whole family would, you know, gather on holidays and in the summer and spring break and stuff like that. And life was just better than it seemed like, you know, and that's why maybe why Napoleon Dynamite kind of hit me. Yeah, I've always thought about it too, Uncle Rico, that I could go back in time and I would choose this time, not a time of glory, for myself as much. Just, man, I just. I want to go back to that simpler time.

[Gordon]

Well, but it seems like there's kind of a cognitive error there that we do, though, because the past is a safe, known time and the future is unknown.

[George]

Right.

[Gordon]

And it always makes us nervous and we have Natural future anxiety. Anxiety about the unknown of the future and the undetermined variables that are going to affect our lives. But if you, if you go back in time, would those like, would the kids that were interviewed for this story, would they really want to go back to the 90s or is it just something that it's safe to say and fun to think about and fun to do the thought experiment of because you could offer them, hey, look, I can take your phone away from you now. And they're like, well, about that, you know, because hey, all my friends have phones. We kind of all need to have phones. So everyone, you know, could divest themselves of some of these things that are driving them crazy. But I don't know that we would choose to do it. And you know, there's been social progress that's happened since then.

[George]

Sure.

[Gordon]

And how much of that do we want to turn back the clock on? I just don't know if people would really want to go back in time.

[Craig]

Yeah, the social progress point is a significant one because as we discuss this over the next hour, you should know that it's kind of a white man's discussion because a lot of minority groups that have been marginalized, African Americans, they don't want to go back in time.

[Gordon]

Yeah, you think somebody wants to go Back to the 50s, right.

[Craig]

Women. Women don't necessarily all want to go back in time when they couldn't vote and they were second class citizens. So, you know, there's this caveat to this discussion and in fact, in this survey of gen zers, they found that the respondents among the groups of African Americans, other minority groups, women, they weren't quite as strong about going back in time. And that's just talking about going back to the 90s. So there is that caveat to deal with.

[George]

Yeah, that makes total sense. But these kids thinking that made total sense with me. I don't feel that way anymore. I guess I don't know what the age was when I stopped really thinking about that. Boy, I wish I could go back to this time. And we'll talk about that here in a little bit. But as a kid I do remember thinking, and you're right, Gordo, if you take it to the next step, would you really want to go back then? Well, yeah, probably not. It causes all sorts of complications. But.

[Gordon]

Yeah, what are the complications?

[George]

The thought of it sounded good. Yeah. I mean, do you want to go back and what age are we going back at? Are we going back and I'm seven years old again, you have to Go

[Gordon]

through all that mess again.

[George]

I don't know if I want to relive my life again. But I would like to go back to that time where it did seem that we didn't have the worries of today. And I guess that's when we originally talked about this on a radio show.

[Gordon]

Let's go back to the Cold War, when we thought we were all going to get bombed into oblivion every second of the day.

[George]

Yeah, we've always had problems. We've always had anxiety about whatever it is, so it wouldn't solve anything. But I've had those thoughts. And I think it is why sometimes whoever knew vinyl would come back or even heard CDs are coming back to a certain extent. You know, you keep typewriters going, Gordo. We can't go back in time, but we can take something that maybe was regarded as, well, that's useless to us now, and we go back to it because. But for these kids, they don't even remember that. My kids who listen to vinyl now, they really didn't listen to vinyl when they were kids.

[Gordon]

No, vinyl was almost out by the time I got to be a teenager. You know, I had a friend, one friend who had a record player, and I remembered it from when I was a real little kid playing Elvis records. My parents, Elvis records on our turntable. But when I started being a consumer of music, I didn't have vinyl. I was a cassette guy. Like, this is just much more convenient. This is great. I think that not everything present day, it's like there's some things from the past that, that are worth preserving. Like, I do think the switch that a younger generation has done in having complaints about the fact that they're made to rent to own everything that they have. Like, I think that's a legitimate complaint, you know. Yes, we love the convenience of our Spotify, our streaming services and those things, they provide a great service in that sense. But in the other sense, you don't own that. Like, how are you going to pass your CDs around to someone afterwards? You don't have CDs. So all that stuff gets lost, you know, like everything that I buy on my Amazon prime, all the movies that I own there and you know, will go away once I pass away. There's no media there, or if I lose access to my account or something, then I don't have it. So how. What, how do I really own this thing?

[George]

Yeah. Is that the next thing for digital? I've heard that, that the ownership, even the use of bitcoin for that. That we're going to own things that way, instead of the traditional DVD or even going back before that. The videotape. VCRs aren't coming back, are they? Or are they? To a certain extent?

[Gordon]

No, I don't think so.

[George]

People want to see that old nostalgic, hey, let's put the big tape in there and watch something.

[Gordon]

I'm sure some people like that. And there are, of course, filters to make your TikTok look like it's on a VHS. People do that. But, yeah, physical CDs, owning a digital library that's actually a physical media, I think that's important to have. I think it's good to have. Physical books are also good. As a reader, I do both. I have physical books and the Kindle is just so convenient. I love being able to carry around what I'm reading, particularly if I'm reading a big book. Putting that in my bag just beats me down so much. Even though I do love the experience of the physical book, but it's just not as convenient. So I always. I'm like the favorite consumer of the book industry because I buy it in both forms. I'll buy a physical copy.

[Craig]

So you'll read one book and you'll read it both ways?

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Wow, that's crazy.

[Gordon]

Yeah. Not every book. But there were. There's a sizable percentage that I'll have a book at home where I can read the physical book. But then when I travel, you know, or running errands for the day and having to wait in a waiting room, I'll pull out the Kindle and read the same book.

[Craig]

I'm going to defend Gen Z is something you said a couple of moments ago, Gordo. I think you're right that if you took their phones away right now, they would not like that. But I think what they're feeling here in wanting to go back to the 90s, is a time where none of their friends had the phones either. So I think they like. And again, I'm surprised.

[Gordon]

Everyone's gotta be on the same page,

[Craig]

and I think that's what they want. They want to go back to a time when nobody had a phone, so no one is sweating out how many likes or texts they're getting. And again, that surprised me that they have come to the realization that the algorithm is a disease and that waiting for likes on Facebook and Twitter is a disease, and it's consumed their life. And it's a lot like the. The studies that we have these days of schools that are going to no phones, which I can't believe. Kids used to be able to carry a phone into the classroom anyway, but that's another topic.

[Gordon]

Oh, they still do. Most kids have the dummy phone. That's the one they turn into the school at the beginning of the day and then they have their real phone.

[Craig]

Well, in some schools where they have gone no phone and the kids are obeying. Everything improves with the kids attitude, their grades, their demeanor. They talk more to their friends. And so it's interesting to me that the younger generations are discovering this, that there is a whole world outside of the digital world and they like it.

[George]

Yeah. I have one that's a Gen Z. Two are millennials. And of my two millennials, one of them is. I don't see how he would get through a day without his phone. One would love to go back to the day before phones. He would just assume throws. Throw his in the lake. Drives him crazy. Now my Gen Z er, I don't know if he could make it a day without his phone.

[Gordon]

I'm insane by the fact that you have two different generations of children. That fries my brain a little bit. Yeah.

[George]

It seems like we were parents for a long time.

[Gordon]

Well, but they're just one generation behind you.

[George]

Yeah. If you're two, one of them is. Yeah, two of them are. Yeah.

[Gordon]

The false nature of generations. Here generations used to be your children are a different generation than you. Right, that's it.

[George]

I gotcha. Yeah.

[Gordon]

Now I have four children and they're three different generations. So hey, look at this picture, this family photo. We have 17 different generations in this photo.

[Craig]

When I was thinking about going back and wanting to live in a time in the past, I've always considered myself a little more skeptical than optimistic, especially about my sports teams. I'm always skeptical, but I think I'm a life optimist because it dawned on me that I have never ever wanted to go back in time. I've never wanted to sports wise, no, in my life. I've never wanted to relive any part of my life. Even though I had a great childhood, wonderful parents, great sibling, good friends when I was a kid, great school experiences. I had lots of fun as a kid, but I don't want to go back there. I had lots of fun as a young adult. The early years of our job at our radio station, tons of fun. I've had great friends over the years. I've done some great things. But I don't want to go back and revisit or relive any of it because Even though we all share those fears about the future that the Gen Z survey was talking about. And I've always had those concerns about the future. I've always been more optimistic in that I've never wanted to go back because times were better. I've always had it in my mind that the future is going to be pretty good, the future is going to be better, that I'm going to make something of it. And George, our college years were the best. I mean we had so much fun. It was the greatest five years in terms of fun that I've ever had. But the memories are enough for me. I don't want to go back to 1983 and relive those five years.

[George]

No, I really don't want to go back and relive any point in my life with one exception. Speaking of my kids that span all these generations, there are times when I, I wish I could go back and just see that day again when all three of my kids were little.

[Gordon]

Yeah, the kids being little time, that's.

[George]

Yeah, I wish I could go back

[Craig]

and maybe because I'm in the middle of that right now, maybe in 20 years I will want that.

[George]

Right. That, that's one very personal thing that I would, I wouldn't mind going back and experiencing that again. The other thing, and this is kind of goes hand in hand with what I talked about earlier when I was younger. I remember thinking if I could just go back to 1977, a Thanksgiving dinner and my parents are there and my grandparents are there, you know, going back to when I could just see them again. Death. I always bring up death but you know, it brings up. Man, I wish I could go back to the point where I remember say in high school watching shows that I know that I watched at my grandparents house just to try to bring those vibes back again. I know that sounds kind of strange, but I remember watching this show with my grandfather and I would watch it again and just to try to feel some of what I felt back when I was young.

[Gordon]

So yeah, you don't think that you'd have the experience of going back for that Thanksgiving dinner and then when the evening's over with, you'd be like, all right, I'm ready to get back about enough of that. Hearing them yelling in there and saying things that clearly would not fly.

[George]

Now some of the granddad things my, my grandfather would say probably wouldn't go over well in 26 brought up gender

[Gordon]

in front of my granddad.

[Craig]

Do you guys agree with that famous Tony Soprano quote from The Sopranos, that the worst kind of conversation is the one that starts, remember when.

[Gordon]

No, I agree with him.

[George]

I think I disagree with him, too. I understand that there are some times when you're around the same people and the same stories keep getting brought up all the time.

[Craig]

Reliving glory days. Yeah, yeah.

[George]

Like sometimes in our time with the Ticket, I like revisiting, but it seems like when we all get together, sometimes it's the same story over and over again. It's like, okay, yeah, I've. We've been back to that one a number of times. I know that sounds strange coming from me, since Gordo and I still reenact all of these funny moments through the years or uncomfortable moments through the years, but, yeah, I can see both sides of it. But I do like going back and just thinking, oh, yeah, I remember that.

[Gordon]

Yeah, It's. It's. What bonds you in present day oftentimes is remembering experiences you've had with someone in the past. Remember that time that you did this and the whole group of friends getting together and laughing about funny old stories. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you don't have to let it preclude you having new experiences with people. It's just part of the. The glue and fabric of friendship is to have a. A shared corpus of experiences.

[George]

Have you had that experience where someone has come up and said, remember? And we did this and we didn't. You said that.

[Gordon]

Not remember our thing.

[George]

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I remember that. I have no idea what they're talking about.

[Craig]

Right.

[George]

And I think that's just the. Shared their perspective on it. It was a really funny moment to them, but it was just another day in your life that you don't really, you know, you didn't put much stock in.

[Craig]

I'm mostly an eyes forward guy, but recently, and I shared this with you guys, I found a box of old photos. And, man, I had the best time just sitting there on the floor in our guest bedroom going through these old photos. And I found a bunch of the three of us from 30 years ago and found some childhood photos. And then I found old childhood report cards and certificates from a summer camp. And I just. It was great.

[Gordon]

Yeah, it was fun. There's no point in bagging on looking back at that past. That past is just as much a part of your life as your future is. You know, it's all part of the same thing, which is the thing called your life.

[George]

And we don't do that with the pictures on our phone. Well, we don't go back five Years

[Gordon]

and thinking, too overwhelming.

[George]

It is overwhelming too.

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[George]

You got, you know, thousands and thousands if you've saved them through the years. So I. Maybe that's something that Gen Z and some other generations will actually go to the take the step of printing out a picture and physically having that picture, framing it or putting it in some sort of album. That's always there for him to remind them about something from 10 or 15 years ago.

[Gordon]

Do you think Gen Alpha will do that?

[George]

Okay, that's people that have been there the last 13 years. So there's Gen X.

[Gordon]

We're Gen X. Then after us is Gen Y. Right. Which is the same as millennials. Was that right?

[Craig]

Yes.

[Gordon]

Gen Y is millennials. And then Gen Z is. What do they call themselves? There's Xennials somewhere in there too. I think that's between Gen X and Millennials. Okay. This is all so confusing. And then after Gen Alpha is After Gen Z. Yes. But I'm trying to remember. There's another name for Gen Z, I think, too. I can't remember. It all seems. This is. This is what bugs me. And I don't know, this may be very Boomer of Maeve, which is also confusing.

[Craig]

Boomer of a Gen Xer.

[George]

That's what I am.

[Craig]

It's like.

[Gordon]

I think all this generation talk is just a bunch of malarkey, man. I think it's a bunch of fake division stuff. And yes, everybody gets on and one generation makes tiktoks about another generation and it's a bunch of trash talking. And it just.

[George]

It doesn't matter.

[Gordon]

It doesn't matter.

[George]

Yeah, I. I've always told you guys that I'm a hybrid because with my older siblings, I was born as a Gen Xer, but identify with a lot of traits of the baby boomers. Just a year off.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[George]

You and I were brothers and sisters. Were baby boomers.

[Craig]

You and I were born the first year of Gen X.

[Gordon]

Right.

[Craig]

So it's very close.

[George]

Yeah. And I grew up with such a baby boomer influence from baby boomer parents from The World War II era and older siblings who were definitely baby boomers.

[Gordon]

So your parents, though, were. What were they called? Silent Generation.

[George]

Greatest, I guess.

[Gordon]

Greatest generation.

[George]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Is that right?

[George]

If you fought In World War II, you were part of the greatest generation, weren't you?

[Craig]

Is that what it's. Is that what it's officially called? Or is that just Tom Brokaw, title of his book?

[Gordon]

I thought that was Tom Brokaw, but maybe it.

[George]

I guess that is popular technically. The Silent Generation.

[Gordon]

But no, they were the silent generation were like babies born during the war kind of thing.

[George]

Greatest generation I see identified as 1901 to 1927. That was my parents.

[Gordon]

Okay, and then after 27. 27 to what then?

[George]

28 to 45. Silent generation.

[Gordon]

Okay. And then after that is boomers.

[Craig]

Why were they so silent?

[Gordon]

They didn't learn to talk. They didn't teach them in schools back then.

[George]

The Depression made them too sad.

[Gordon]

Right?

[George]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Okay, let's get into the hypothetical of if you could travel in time, how far back would you want to go? To what time period would you want to go, and how long would you want to hang out? I thought we could split this up into two groups. Let's talk about when you would want to go back in time and live for a week or a month, and when you would want to go back in time and just be a fly on a wall. The fly on the wall is probably the time period where you know you're not going to survive more than a day.

[George]

Yeah.

[Craig]

So you. But you just want to see it. Or it could be, what does fly

[Gordon]

on the wall mean? Does that mean you have to still eat and all that kind of stuff? Or you can just go and look.

[Craig]

You just go and look. You can walk around all day, you'll never get hungry, and you're just observing it, but nobody notices you.

[Gordon]

Oh, there's a lot of things I'd want to do then, but. Because there's no downside to it.

[Craig]

No downside. But for the. The generation where you have to go back and live, or the time period you have to go back and live, that gets a little.

[Gordon]

Oh, that's very different. Very different. Hypothetical.

[Craig]

So why don't we start with. With the fly in the wall. Which time period or periods would you just like to go back and observe if you had to pick one? Because I think you're right, Gordo. We'd like to go back and observe all of them. Yeah, but if you could pick one and you're just an observer, what would that be?

[George]

I would go back to see what the greatest generation would. Made him so great. And I would go back to the 1940s, and I'd check in on my dad after Pearl harbor training to learn how to fly a fighter. Fighter plane or a bombing or a bomber, which is what he went through. Navy pilot training. I would take a swing through Tulsa, Oklahoma, and see my grandparents with their three daughters, including my mom. And.

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[George]

To go see my grandparents, too, and just see them and observe what Was a day like in 1942.

[Gordon]

What if you went to your grandparents house though, and they were like having sex in the other room.

[Craig]

Stop it.

[Gordon]

And then you're like a fly on the wall. You can't tell them to stop.

[George]

It's just. No, you don't see things like that in my, in your, in my world.

[Craig]

Let's make it a little different though. Let's. Let's not include family members because we'd all want to go back and see our great grandparents.

[George]

Well, it would still be the same time with me. It would still be the 1940s, which I think are just.

[Craig]

So instead of going to family sites, where would you go?

[George]

I would just. In America, what it was like then. How did we. Were we really that united as the world was at war? Were we really fearful that man, the end could be near? When you get all your news from a radio and a transmission from thousands of miles away, there's.

[Gordon]

So you'd spend one day in what town and in what year and what month?

[George]

Let's say, gosh, give me New York. New York City, 1942.

[Gordon]

Okay.

[George]

What was the day like? Is our world and America had just gone to war. To me, that's. That's the most fascinating time of the last 100 years.

[Gordon]

I would go back one week before I had this cough.

[George]

That's what I wouldn't have gone better.

[Gordon]

Life was so much easier.

[George]

So much better then.

[Gordon]

So much easier. I think that I would probably do the. I would struggle through listening to the Sermon on the Mount in Aramaic.

[Craig]

I thought about that too.

[Gordon]

Or maybe the last week, maybe the last week of Jesus's life in Rome.

[Craig]

I think that's what I would want to see too. That was number one on my list. I'd want to see him, see what it was all about. Which version was closer? The. The Mark or Luke version or the Life of Brian version.

[Gordon]

Right. The problem is, is us not speaking his language. We have no idea what he's saying. He'd be saying stuff that was way off of what we came to understand that he had said.

[George]

And you only have that day to translate it to.

[Gordon]

Right.

[Craig]

And you can't ask anybody.

[Gordon]

You can't ask anyone. But do I have my. I guess I could take my cell phone and Google Translate it.

[George]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Yeah, I guess so. We'll allow that. Although you'll have a terrible WI FI connection in the year zero.

[Gordon]

That's right.

[George]

Not gonna work well at all.

[Gordon]

But.

[George]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

How great would that be? To see what he looked like. To see the people around him. But of course that would be difficult because you can't ask anyone anything because in this hypothetical fly on the wall, you can't interact at all. So you can't ask which one is

[Craig]

Luke is the one with a stethoscope around his neck. Yeah, that was number one on my list too. It is a hard one, though, because I do want to observe. Like, I'd like to go back to the 70s. I'd like to see the 60s, the 50s, George's 40s, the roaring 20s, the turn of the century. I'd want to see all of that. All right, what about to go back and attempt to survive for a week? We can, even if you think a week's easy, make it a month. But you are going back to this time period and everybody can see you. Maybe we will give you one period.

[Gordon]

Correct clothing.

[Craig]

Period, correct clothing, outfit. And it's up to you to get more after that. But you were just dropped in this spot and it's up to you to survive and observe for a week.

[Gordon]

All right, so right away we have to choose an English speaking country. Right. Because there's no way that we're going to try to survive in a place that we don't even speak the language. And we're also limited as to a time period. Anything before 1500, we're not going to be able to understand English.

[Craig]

Right.

[George]

No, I think you're. I think you're in big trouble if you go back more than 30, 40 years. I think you're a dream.

[Gordon]

Really?

[George]

Yes. I think you're gonna stand out and you're gonna just.

[Gordon]

Yeah, but you have the period, correct clothing, you're fine.

[George]

Okay, that's one thing. But. Yeah, I just think you're gonna have a really tough time if. I'll stretch it to 60 years. If you go back before 1960. Look at our guy in. What was that? JFK1. Where they went. Where he went.

[Gordon]

1122 63.

[George]

Yeah, 1122 63. Look at all the nonsense he had to go through. The stuff you don't even think about.

[Gordon]

I think you'd be totally fine. I think all of American times you'd be. You'd be pretty. Certainly you'd understand the language.

[George]

I think you'd get your ass beat within two or three days.

[Gordon]

People just always looking to kick people's asses.

[George]

Yours, yes, mine. Look how many people used to tick off in 1994. If you took that back to 1954, you would be seen as. You would just stand out. Like you had neon.

[Gordon]

I would love to go see Lincoln do the Gettysburg Address and risk it. That I'd be like. They'd be like, sir, you need to join your ranks over here in the military. I'm not here for the military. Not involved in the contest.

[George]

What do you mean? I'm not here for military.

[Gordon]

I'm just here to observe. I just. When I find me a nice little job here for a few months and I'm fine. No. Every man serve man. What is a man really, when you think about it? See what I mean?

[Craig]

Are you gender labeling me?

[Gordon]

You are?

[George]

Yeah.

[Craig]

What are you talking about?

[Gordon]

Good lord.

[Craig]

So I picked a time period very close to that, and I think it's because I just finished reading the book Dodge City, about Dodge City back in the Wild west during the 1870s.

[Gordon]

They sell Chrysler as well. 1880s?

[Craig]

No, Dodge City, Kansas. And I think it's because I, in the last few years, have a recent fascination with the old West. And I've read a lot of books about that time period in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, the American Southwest, and just how fascinating and crazy and wild it was.

[Gordon]

You're nuts. You're going to be dead within two days.

[Craig]

I don't think you'd be shot.

[Gordon]

You're going to get a splinter and you're going to die of gain green and that's it for you.

[Craig]

Maybe that. But I don't think I'm going to be shot. Because as I learned reading Dodge City, yes, there were gun battles and yes, people died, and yes, they buried them at Boot Hill, but not as many as you think. It's not like 20 guys were being gunned down every day. What I did discover is that pretty much every guy, and this is especially during the spring, summer and fall, the cattle driving season, they were either driving cattle or they were in a saloon getting drunk or in that saloon gambling or next door with a prostitute. That was every guy.

[George]

So which one of those things?

[Gordon]

Every day you're going to have to

[George]

choose how you're going to spend your time.

[Gordon]

You out there putting on your little costume, saying, I'm going to go for a run, guys. What? You're going to go for a run. Run. What does that mean?

[Craig]

Number one, I don't sound like that. Yes, you do.

[Gordon]

Number two, you damn hell do.

[Craig]

I don't run anymore, so it wouldn't be an issue. I've got a tendon problem in my ankle.

[Gordon]

Yeah, Explain that to the other cowboys. Yeah.

[George]

Really.

[Gordon]

I can't do the wrestling.

[George]

Hey, where can I get A workout in town. A workout a what?

[Gordon]

Where's the gym?

[Craig]

Gym here in Dodge City. There were also some other occupations and I could find my way into something.

[Gordon]

What are you going to do?

[George]

I'll blacksmith.

[Craig]

I'll go to some restaurant and ask if they need a server or. Because I've got experience doing that. I'm a former waiter.

[Gordon]

Really? What's your experience?

[Craig]

You know what?

[Gordon]

I probably could have Chili's. A what? You're doing casual dining.

[Craig]

None of us are going to use modern day terms.

[George]

It's going to slip out.

[Craig]

We're going to play the role. We're not going to bring up chilies.

[Gordon]

And what can I get you? Cowboys? Y' all looking for some appetizers?

[George]

I worked at an Italian place.

[Gordon]

Can I sell you.

[George]

You worked at an Italian.

[Gordon]

What is that with some top shelf margaritas? Or.

[Craig]

I would just be homeless for the week. I'd just bounce around the town. I'd eat scraps.

[George]

And that's when you get shot. People don't have time for homelessness.

[Gordon]

Look, I'm stealing my scraps.

[Craig]

I know I'm gonna be pretty sickly at the end of the week.

[Gordon]

You're gonna have constant diarrhea.

[George]

What are you gonna eat?

[Craig]

Well, from what I've determined back then all they ate were buffalo steak, maybe potatoes. Very few fruits and vegetables. It wasn't a balanced diet in Dodge City in 1875. So I'll just eat whatever they're throwing out.

[Gordon]

You'd be so tired of that place within an hour or two you'd be like, hey, I've seen it. Got it. You're like, oh, well, you still have one month left, Mr. Miller.

[Craig]

Wouldn't that be a beat down if I got there? And after a couple hours I'm like, well, this is just like any western movie I've ever seen. It's not really that much different.

[Gordon]

It's a western movie, but it has no plot.

[Craig]

But I would want. I would want to see Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson and all those guys.

[George]

Stay away from them. They'll shoot you.

[Craig]

They're not going to shoot me.

[Gordon]

Handy with a gun. That's a smart move.

[Craig]

Doc Holliday might shoot me, but the others wouldn't shoot me if I'm obeying the law.

[Gordon]

I just think consumptive.

[Craig]

What's Doc? Yeah, but he still was one of the quickest draws in the west, even though he was always sickly. But I just am fascinated by that time period. That's where I Would want to try to go. Because it's. The easy answer to this is, yeah, I want to go back to 2005. Well, of course you're going to make it through a week.

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[Craig]

You know, George saying only the last 40 years. Well, yeah, that's easy. I mean, maybe that's your answer, But I want a little bit of a challenge.

[George]

Look, all the problems Michael J. Fox with and Back to the Future, that was like 30 years. He had all sorts of problems. I love that movie, by the way, when it came out. That was a real game changer for me. I just love that.

[Gordon]

Okay, so if you were to put a cap on it, since you are the dungeon master in this scenario, Craig, where do you want to put the cutoff? Like say that you have to go back before. You have to go back before World War II.

[Craig]

Let's just say, yeah, we could do that. I was going to say before you were born. Something you've never experienced before.

[Gordon]

All right, just. So, yeah, Georgia.

[Craig]

Gotta go back to the 50s.

[Gordon]

Choose World War II. Although it's going to be real suspicious. Why? You are one of the few men who are wandering around the country while all the other guys are fighting. Yeah.

[George]

Why don't you. Overseas.

[Gordon]

I just. I choose. I choose not to fight. I mean, I'm proud of our boys. I love what they're doing doing over there.

[George]

I'm already back.

[Gordon]

Yep, Already back wounded. That's why I got the limp. Yeah. Meniscus. I had a meniscus at D day.

[Craig]

And I'm a conscientious objector, just like Muhammad Ali.

[Gordon]

Who.

[George]

See, I'd have a slip up. We'd all have a slip up.

[Gordon]

We would all have a slip.

[George]

And it would cause a big problem.

[Craig]

Yeah. The way we really would. Especially going back to where I was going. You would have to watch how you speak because you will stand out.

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[Craig]

Like if I just talked like this in 1875 in Dodge City, then who are you?

[Gordon]

They'd say you talked like a. Like a person who shouldn't talk like that.

[Craig]

Right.

[George]

According to your chart.

[Gordon]

According to your chart. Right.

[Craig]

All right. So you'd go back to the forties, George?

[George]

I would.

[Craig]

Where would you go, Gordo? See, I thought one of the two of you might. Because I think you're both interested in the Revolutionary War era. I thought one of you might go back there.

[Gordon]

It's just that.

[George]

And the Civil War too, but. Yeah, I'd be dead in a day.

[Craig]

You're not going to die in a day.

[George]

Yes, you would.

[Gordon]

Junior.

[George]

I don't think so, everybody.

[Craig]

I mean, if you went back to a battlefield in the Civil War. Revolutionary War, yes, but life was hard back then.

[George]

I mean, just going to the bathroom was a big deal.

[Gordon]

Going out to the outhouse and a rattlesnake, you know, fangs your nuts.

[George]

Yeah. Would you want to be in Texas in the Summertime? Anywhere before 1950 or so?

[Gordon]

Do you have any air conditioning in this cabin?

[Craig]

I just pull out my six shooter and shoot the rattlesnake.

[Gordon]

Have you seen the six shooters? They use those Henry rifles and I think they even made Henry pistols. They were really long and heavy.

[George]

You would be fly out of his hand.

[Craig]

That hurts.

[Gordon]

I'll just take something in a Glock. Do you guys have polymer based pistols?

[George]

That's the thing. A week in Texas in the 1950s without A.C. you're saying you'd be okay? I don't think so. I think you'd be so miserable on the first night trying to get cool.

[Gordon]

Okay, so this is for a month, right?

[Craig]

I think we need to make it okay.

[George]

Let's make it a month.

[Craig]

Let's make it a month.

[Gordon]

Let's make it a month because anybody

[Craig]

can survive a week.

[Gordon]

Yes. And there's no way that we would make it in Revolutionary war times or Civil war times. Any time between those two, you're done. It have to be post civil war and I think you're risking it by doing Wild West.

[Craig]

What if you guys could see a glimpse of my going back to 1875?

[Gordon]

Oh, we would be watching it here in present day on our little tv. We would have a.

[Craig]

You get to watch for comedy.

[George]

We can watch new comedy that no one could duplicate.

[Gordon]

What if watch you in the outhouse just completely having liquefied bowels then looking around for the toilet paper. Oh crap, I forgot we're on corn husk technology now.

[Craig]

The liquefied bowels thing, that would happen for sure because that happens to me today in 2026.

[George]

So yeah, you just got a corn cobbit or corn husk it. So.

[Craig]

But what would you guys do if at the end of the month I was thriving?

[Gordon]

There's no way.

[Craig]

And I was. I was, you know, on cattle drives and I was holding court in the saloon.

[Gordon]

There's no way.

[Craig]

And I was winning gun battles.

[Gordon]

Not be a leader of men. No one would want to associate with you.

[George]

He may be the entertainer of town though. This guy is unbelievable.

[Gordon]

Think about how humor changes over time. Humor changes. So he's going to be making jokes that are not going to Be going over well.

[Craig]

Or maybe Murphy.

[Gordon]

Murphy. The first time some other guy tries to tell a joke and you go, you know, a little bit offensive, that's

[George]

really not gonna say that's what we

[Gordon]

wanna be, is it? I mean, do better. I really think you need. As a gunfighter and humorist, you need to do better.

[George]

Okay, how about this?

[Gordon]

Yeah, Blow him away.

[Craig]

I think George is onto something because there was a theater in Dodge City and there was this comedic performer that was extremely popular, and I would go up to him and say, hey, could I open for you? Could I do something? And then I'd pull out some Steve Martin stuff.

[Gordon]

It's not gonna work.

[George]

What if he did the arrow through the head? That would slay back in 18. Yeah, yeah. Hey, sorry a little late, but had an injury on the way here.

[Gordon]

That would be offensive to Native Americans, not back then.

[Craig]

It would play big.

[Gordon]

Yeah, yeah, but do you want to do that kind of humor, knowing in

[Craig]

your soul that it's wrong to survive the month? Yes.

[George]

Just to get a reaction. See, we'll do anything for a laugh, even if it means going back to Dodge city in the 1880s.

[Craig]

Okay. Gordo, where are you going back to then?

[Gordon]

I think that I would go back to probably 1920s, either New York or Paris in the. The twenties.

[Craig]

Okay.

[Gordon]

Maybe the Algonquin Roundtable in New York and see Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley.

[George]

And you're going to make somebody marks?

[Gordon]

Nah, I don't think so.

[Craig]

They're going to wonder, hey, who's the weird guy that's eavesdropping on us?

[George]

He doesn't say anything.

[Gordon]

Hey, you got to say something. Mind if I sit here at this round table? Yeah. All right. Pretty cool, man. I'd love that. I think that'd be great. So that would be New York, and then if I did Paris, then of course you're over there during the time of Fitzgerald and Zelda were there and Ford Maddox. Ford and I don't know who else. Gertrude Stein.

[George]

Overthinking everything.

[Gordon]

What do you mean?

[Craig]

They were. He is.

[George]

They were not you.

[Gordon]

Picasso. He'd be there.

[George]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

Deal with him.

[George]

That'd be amazing.

[Gordon]

That would be great. But then again, I don't speak Paris, so. I don't speak Parisian, so I'd have a language barrier. I could only talk to Scott Fitzgerald.

[Craig]

Yeah, you could talk to the Americans.

[Gordon]

Right.

[Craig]

You don't think you'd stick out. You think you'd be okay? Could you blend in?

[Gordon]

I think so. Yeah. That's a big enough metropolitan area that there's enough people there that people wouldn't, I think, bother you.

[George]

This is a month. What about food?

[Gordon]

Oh, they have great food.

[George]

What about bathroom?

[Craig]

See, you guys are. You're choosing the easy route because you're going to New York. So there are going to be tons of food options, restaurants, and even the 20s and 40s. There were sandwich shops everywhere. You guys would be fine. I'm in Dodge City in 1875.

[Gordon]

Okay. Then I worry about your diet. Then I choose Egypt when they were building the pyramids.

[Craig]

Okay. See, that would be interesting. But, man, we couldn't make a day.

[George]

Yeah, no, you're going to get speared there.

[Craig]

You're going to be. You're going to be seen as some weird spirit from another time, which you kind of are.

[Gordon]

Which I am.

[Craig]

And they would kill you.

[George]

Who's guy with beard and what is beard?

[Gordon]

Or would they revere me? Where I would be like, you know, hey, these pyramids, I got a few ideas of how you can build them better. Anybody? What if we floated the rocks here? What if we built a big bridge?

[George]

Maybe you'd see a spaceship then. If you did that.

[Gordon]

I would like to know how they built those pyramids. That would be interesting.

[George]

How did they build?

[Gordon]

Because what's the old stat that Cleopatra is closer to the iPhone than she is? The pyramids. Y' all heard that?

[Craig]

No. No. What does that mean?

[Gordon]

Well, the. The. When she lived her time in history. She lives closer to now.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

Than even when the pyramids were built.

[Craig]

Okay.

[Gordon]

Like, they were ancient. When she was around, I thought that meant she didn't even know how they were built.

[Craig]

I thought that meant she had more knowledge about the iPhone than she just.

[Gordon]

And her heart was a little closer to the iPhone.

[Craig]

Right. She knew it was gonna happen.

[Gordon]

IPhone spoke to her a little bit more.

[Craig]

That's a good one, Gordo. I think that would be my fly on the wall choice is a day in ancient Egypt watching them build the pyramids.

[Gordon]

Yeah.

[Craig]

That'd be awesome.

[George]

Not to physically be there, because. Yeah. There's no way.

[Gordon]

One of them starts yelling at you and he's holding the shovel, and you're like, I. I really don't. I really. I don't. I wouldn't know what to do. I know you're trying to hand me this thing and I'm supposed to chip

[George]

in, and you wouldn't do it, right. If you're supposed to do something. Yeah.

[Craig]

But you're also onto something. If you went way, way, way back, would you be so weird to Them that you would be rever awesome for

[George]

you it'd be a prophet.

[Craig]

They'd bring you all sorts of fruits and gold and frankincense.

[Gordon]

So let's say I went to Paris when they were building Notre Dame in 1066 or whenever, would that be far enough back that they would revere me as someone who seems really smart. That would be the other thing. I would do the trick of being a little bit tight lipped, always look like I'm thinking about stuff and try to convince them I'm a lot smarter than I am and just say of just peppering in a few prescient things

[George]

that I'd say hold off for a few days. I don't know. You'd get stoned to death.

[Gordon]

Why stop predicting death for me at

[Craig]

every turn by spearing stoning.

[George]

They think you were an evil spirit of some sort.

[Craig]

Huh? That's the other thing though. We're taking our modern day smarts back. Shouldn't that be enough to get us through a month?

[Gordon]

Yes, you would think so. And you're taking your knowledge of that time back with you. So let's say that we did choose, I don't know, ancient Egypt, right. You have a few years to study up on it before your trip. So you get really well versed in it and make a game plan of how you're going to survive that month.

[George]

He's going to dress like Steve Martin doing King Tut.

[Craig]

But that's exactly what I'm taking back. I just read Dodge City. I'm taking back a lot of insights, intel.

[Gordon]

Yeah, but what intel is really actionable for you?

[Craig]

Well, I think I could create a bunch of stories that could get me through a month about all of the big characters in the wild west that day. And I could create some stories that I'm friends with. Buffalo Bill Cody or oh really happens

[Gordon]

to be in town right now. Let's go get it. Don't bother him, he's probably eating.

[Craig]

No, I do my. I do my due diligence and find out who's in town and who's not.

[George]

Yeah, I just. Boy, a whole month. I just think the slip ups would do you in.

[Gordon]

And, and I think Old West Junior. I really think that as much as you're fascinated by it and as much studying as you did on it leading up to your trip, I think you'd be kind of okay, I get it. After about four or five days you'd be like, I understand it. Got it. I got what I wanted out of this trip. They have an earlier return flight home. That's what I'm looking for. 26 days left, and then at that point, you're just hunkered down in your room, taking your meals in your room, trying not to interact with anyone, trying not to get dysentery, constantly.

[George]

Terrible cell service.

[Gordon]

Yeah, stop with the cell service.

[Craig]

It's crazy.

[Gordon]

Do you have your phone with you?

[Craig]

You. No.

[Gordon]

Not that it would work, but you could impress people from the past if you had this magical device that you could see pictures in and you could convince them that you are a God in some sense.

[Craig]

A wizard.

[Gordon]

Yeah. If you could take their picture with your phone and then show it to

[Craig]

them, you know, they would either revere me or they would kill me and take that phone. So I don't think I'd want to bring it out. I don't think I'd want to risk it.

[Gordon]

It's a risk, but it could pay off big.

[Craig]

Yeah.

[Gordon]

Because then they could be like, oh, this is great. You have this magic box. And then they say, okay, we're going to get our king. He wants to visit with you because he has heard of you throughout our land. They speak like that. And then they bring the king to you. And you'd be like, here's the deal. I know you want to see the phone. I ran out of juice about three hours ago. There's not a place to charge it. I'm so sorry. I promise you it was magic.

[Craig]

That's funny. If you showed them a phone that was dead, but it's this little metal, shiny box, would that be enough? Even without the display and the pictures,

[Gordon]

just the machining of it looks so precise to them.

[George]

I think they'd throw it up in the air and shoot it.

[Gordon]

All right. Yeah. What if you were allowed to take one item back with you to impress them? What item would you choose? Would you choose a phone?

[Craig]

Do you have to. Is it always going to be charged? Or do you have to take that into account that you have to watch your battery?

[Gordon]

I think. Let's make it difficult. And you have to watch your battery. I think. No, no, I think you can take whatever. Like, you'll have a portable solar generator to recharge your phone if you wanted to take that. Or would you take a laptop? Maybe even better.

[George]

They wouldn't be able to wrap their mind around it. But if you took them a refrigerator and showed them, look, this keeps things cold. Look at this. I think they would be more impressed than think you were.

[Gordon]

So you want to go back in time to impress Jesus with a refrigerator.

[George]

I thought we were in Dodge City.

[Gordon]

You could pick whenever time.

[George]

Yeah, I think even Jesus would have been been really impressed with refrigeration. Little side by side Jesus side by side by side.

[Gordon]

You mean water right in front of the door like this? Not even have to open.

[Craig]

Ice maker.

[George]

What is that? That's ice crushed and cubed.

[Gordon]

Crushed. My choice. My choice.

[George]

See?

[Craig]

Would you take weaponry back? What about a taser? Wouldn't that freak everybody out if you just took a taser back?

[Gordon]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig]

And you could win any street fight. You just tase the guy.

[Gordon]

Or Mace, I would take. Mace is probably more valuable, right? Because the taser, you can only recharge it a few times. But Mace, you get a few more usages out of it. But what if you mace Judas and accidentally hit Jesus in the face and that's a whole scene.

[George]

What the flip.

[Gordon]

What the heck are you doing? Is that an eyewash station around?

[Craig]

I want to see all of these films. I want to see all of us back in time doing all this stuff. I love it.

[George]

All right.

[Craig]

It's always a fun hypothetical time travel going back in time. As far as we know, that machine doesn't exist that we saw in Napoleon Dynamite or Back to the Future.

[George]

What a ridiculous machine too. Just a battery hooked up to jumper cables that you put on your nuts.

[Gordon]

That was ridiculous. We could only travel forward in time. We could do that now. Think about that. When we have the astronauts who travel and they return, if you travel, of course, the closest speed of light, time slows down. And so you actually are much younger than the people on Earth so famously covered in Interstellar. Matthew McConaughey's character has to watch his whole family grow up while he's still alive, and they grow up and get old and die. And could you imagine that? Would you do that for humanity? Take a trip like that? That's supposed to help humanity, but knowing that you're not going to see your kids grow up Nasite?

[Craig]

I don't think so.

[Gordon]

Just let everyone die?

[Craig]

No.

[Gordon]

Well, if you can't have the best life, then everyone has to die, probably.

[George]

Well, yeah, I don't want to break it down that way, but yeah, of course.

[Gordon]

You know,

[George]

and popsicle sticks.

[Craig]

Yeah, maybe that's another episode. Would we want to travel in the future? Yeah, that gets really dicey because you don't know what you're going into.

[Gordon]

Yes. Okay, so travel into the future. Let's just say this is the one day fly on the wall, but forward in time. How Far in advance. Would you pick. Would it be more interesting to you to see what it looks like in 30 years from now, which would be fascinating to see how culture has changed, life has changed, or would you like to travel 500 years in the future

[Craig]

and see what life is like and there's no risk? Fly on the wall. If you go 500 years in the future and nothing exists, well, then you're okay.

[Gordon]

But you have a full, let's say, week of this fly on the wall thing. It may be that the Earth has been obliterated and you're just floating in space for one full week with nothing to see.

[George]

I don't feel good about 500 years. Give me 30.

[Craig]

Oh, that's a good one. I think I'd go. I think I'd go to. I was going to say 2050, but I may see that anyway.

[Gordon]

Yeah, but you could prepare for it.

[Craig]

Yeah, I think that's what I'd take. 20, 50. About 25 years in the future.

[George]

I don't think there's any way I'm seeing 2050.

[Gordon]

George. George. Presses. You're bound to determine for us to end on a low.

[George]

Just average age. I'm just adding up. It doesn't add up.

[Craig]

How far would you go?

[Gordon]

I think I would go about 100 to 150 years in advance. Let's say 125 years into the future and see what life is like then I bet you'd be so unrecognizable.

[George]

Yeah, I think. I don't think you could relate to it.

[Craig]

That's the thing. I think 25 years in the future will be partly unrecognizable. But maybe I should go further out because maybe it'll be too. Also recognizable. Yeah, I'll go 100 with you.

[Gordon]

What if there's no humans? What if we've all become cyborgs?

[Craig]

Let's go together. And what if there are no humans and you and I have to procreate to get the human race going again?

[Gordon]

Now it's gotten weird. It's gotten weird.

[Craig]

Just think about it.

[Gordon]

Okay, I'll think about it.

[Craig]

And then after a couple years, we're looking at each other. Why isn't this working?

[Gordon]

Oh, God.

[Craig]

All right, that does it for episode 42 of the Musers, the Podcast. Thanks to Peter Welton, our producer. We'll see you next time on the Musers, the podcast.

[George]

The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary.

[Gordon]

Back in the 80s, there were a thousand and bands trying to make it

[George]

in the world of rock.

[Craig]

But there was one band that had it all.

[Gordon]

Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley?

[George]

How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987.

[Craig]

Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them?

[George]

To rock bottom.

[Gordon]

Dude, I was born in 1987.

[George]

Oh, I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.