The Tony Kornheiser Show
Episode Title: "I Don’t Like KitKat"
Date: November 3, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Regular Guests: Michael Wilbon, Nigel, Tim Kurkjian
Episode Overview
This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" offers classic TK: candid personal routines, playful banter, sports talk pivoting between the World Series, NFL and college football drama, and the ever-present lens of nostalgia and everyday quirks. Tony opens by recounting a sleepy World Series watch, daylight saving time struggles, and a Halloween candy tale revealing his distaste for KitKats. Michael Wilbon joins, describing family Halloween adventures, while the duo later unpacks NFL chaos—most notably the Bears’ near meltdown—and Tony welcomes Tim Kurkjian for a deep dive into why this World Series stands with the all-time greats.
Main Segments and Discussion Points
1. Opening Banter: Mornings, Clocks, and Obsessions
[00:00–03:36]
- Tony’s morning ritual: Tony confesses to obsessive routines, such as visiting the liquor store at opening and setting a home clock 50 minutes fast.
- Changing clocks: Daylight saving time chaos, difficulty with “self-changing” clocks, and the challenge of synchronizing kitchen appliances.
- Tony: “I have one clock which I always set about 50 minutes ahead of real time. Yeah, 50 minutes ahead.” [01:47]
- Wilbon: “What’s frustrating for me is if you have clocks in close proximity... they’re off by a minute.” [02:37]
2. Halloween Recaps & Parenting in the Glow Stick Age
[03:36–07:10]
- Wilbon’s Halloween: Describes his kids’ trick-or-treating, safety anxiety as millennials, and the near-panic when one child couldn’t find the parents.
- “In true millennial fashion, we are anxious parents raising anxious children... just covering our kids with glow sticks...” [04:16]
- Costume nostalgia: Discussion of capes, and rediscovering old treasures in costume pockets: a vintage matchbook, ancient mints, a gold star harmonica (at least 60 years old!).
- Tony: “I have no recollection. I’ve never played the harmonica... I probably just bought one or took one from a friend and stuck it in the cape.” [06:25]
3. The Great KitKat Controversy
[07:10–10:26]
- Candy preferences: Tony’s Halloween bowl included KitKat (“which I don’t like”), Almond Joy, Hershey bars, Reese’s. He stacked KitKats on top hoping guests would take them.
- Tony: “I took all the KitKats and put them on the top, right. So people would take the KitKat... Any leftover I would have stuff I liked.” [08:31]
- Visitor post-Halloween: A neighbor prefers Almond Joy and Hershey’s—the candies Tony covets. He gives them up (reluctantly), then hoards the rest.
- Tony: “Metaphorically, through clenched teeth and in great anger, take some. Take some. And she did...” [09:08]
- Wilbon: “I appreciate your honesty.” [10:17]
4. NFL: Washington Woes & Concern for Jaden Daniels
[10:26–13:35]
- Washington’s QB trouble: Jaden Daniels injures his non-throwing elbow, his third injury in two years; Tony worries: “He’s injury-prone. It’s not gonna last.”
- Tony: “You have to say to yourself... he’s injury prone... The only ability that matters is availability.” [12:57]
- Team struggles: Laments about Washington’s porous defense, parallels to Robert Griffin III.
- Tony: “He’s slight like Griffin... He does all the right things. He just seems to get hurt.” [13:05]
5. Cooking & Grilling Talk: Fall Meals and Omaha Steaks
[15:33–19:21]
- Seasonal food: Tony and Michael discuss fall cooking, grilling protocols, favorite seasonings, and the merits of Omaha Steaks.
- Wilbon: “I love it... you still got the grills fired up, but now you're beginning to think about those stews, those roasts...” [17:00]
- Tony: “My food tastes fine to me. That’s all that matters.” [17:57]
6. MLB: World Series Analysis with Michael Wilbon
[19:21–27:52]
- Classic Series: Wilbon and Tony rhapsodize about a World Series featuring late-game drama, defensive gems, and marathon games.
- Wilbon: “The 5, 6, and 7 of it were classic and historic and I loved every bit of it.” [21:00]
- Tony: “It reinforced everything that’s good about baseball.” [21:00]
- Pitching strategies: Admiration for starting pitchers going deep; lamenting bullpen overuse in modern baseball.
- Tony: “It was not just home runs and strikeouts... so many plays at the plate.” [21:23]
- Offseason speculation: Wondering what the future holds for both teams and for baseball.
7. NCAA & NFL Weekend Recap
[23:00–34:26]
NCAA Football
- Vanderbilt’s tough loss: Is two losses too many for playoff hopes? Wilbon says yes; Tony reflects on playoff selection drama.
- Wilbon: “Yes, it hurts them a lot. If they’d been able to win this game... but they’re gonna lose again.” [23:47–24:09]
NFL Reactions
Key Games & Coaching Decisions
- Raiders' missed opportunity: Tony and Wilbon debate Pete Carroll’s decision to go for two; agree the modern NFL expects aggression.
- Wilbon: “This is what they do now... coaches, even old-school guys... are encouraged by their staffs, their younger players, by the game.” [25:34]
- Tony: “Go for the win at home. So I wasn’t angry at it. I sort of understood it.” [27:06]
- Kickers’ abilities: Marveling at a 68-yard field goal.
- Tony: “Kid kicked a 68-yard field goal. Like you need to record 68. That’s so far across the line.” [27:52]
The Bears–Bengals Meltdown
- Wilbon’s emotional ride: Tony calls Wilbon late as the Bears nearly blow a huge lead to the Bengals; Wilbon erupts, calling for firings.
- Wilbon: “At that point, the game is over. The Bears are going to lose ... they’re going to lose a game that... would have been worse than the Hail Mary game.” [28:31]
- Wilbon: “The Bears are the dumbest team in the league. They lead the league in penalties in like four different ways...” [30:20]
- Redemption & reflection: The Bears miraculously win, but Wilbon remains exasperated.
- Wilbon: “It’s as angry as I have... as joyless as I have ever been after the Bears won a football game in 60 years.” [34:26]
8. MLB World Series Deep-Dive with Tim Kurkjian
[35:14–48:39]
Kurkjian’s Take: An All-Time Classic
- Best he’s ever covered:
- Tim: “I’ve officially called it the best one that I’ve ever covered. That’s 44 years… 26 game sevens. I think it’s the best I’ve ever seen for a bunch of reasons.” [35:58]
- Kurkjian details games: “Game 3 was ridiculously great. 18 innings. Game 6 ended in the most bizarre fashion… and then we get this masterpiece of a Game 7…” [35:58]
- Storylines:
- “Trey Savage, 22 years old, doing what he did. Yamamoto, pitching the day after, throwing 96 pitches, throwing 34 more. The whole Ohtani thing, the whole Vlad Guerrero thing, the whole Ernie Clement wearing a glove he bought on eBay from a little Japanese woman, then getting 30 hits in the postseason…” [36:50]
- Providence of Dodgers’ Win:
- Tony: “I use the word, Tim, Providential... They could have lost all three of those games, right?" [38:31]
- Tim: “Maybe should have lost all three of those games and didn't. They should have lost Game 7 about four different times.” [38:42]
Defense and Execution
- Plays at the plate:
- Tony: “I had never seen in a concentrated series, I had never seen so many plays at the plate... so many great plays at the plate.” [40:03]
- Kurkjian: “Those 2, 3, 9th inning, 10th inning plays at the plate and everything else... This series was so good for baseball. Not just because it gave us Ohtani vs. Vlad Guerrero...” [40:05]
Dodgers’ Bullpen & Pitching Feats
- Overcoming weaknesses:
- Tony: “Their bullpen is terrible... That's why they use the starters there.” [41:07]
- Kurkjian: “He has four aces on that team. He used all four in Game 7.…Yamamoto... threw 96 pitches, came back for 34 more. This is a lesson for all of us… We are trying to protect our pitchers too much, and in protecting them, they get hurt all the time.” [41:47]
- Tony: “Because this is how columnists think, yeah, he’s going to need Tommy John..." [43:05]
Notables and Tidbits
-
Will Smith trivia:
- “Six years in a row that the world championship team included a player on it named Will Smith.” [44:29]
-
Max Scherzer’s future:
- Kurkjian: “Yes. And I talked to him about that this season. Tony has energized him. … It's been the most fun he's ever had playing baseball.” [45:44]
-
John Schneider’s managerial acumen:
- Kurkjian: “I would put him in charge of any situation because his connection to people is ridiculously good... I can't be more impressed with a manager than I was with John Schneider during the entire month of October.” [47:04]
-
Kurkjian’s podcast plug:
- "Is This Great Game Or What"—second season concluding with a World Series recap.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Clocks & Compulsiveness
- Tony: “I am that person. I am an obsessive, compulsive, disordered human being.” [00:00]
- On Halloween Paranoia
- Wilbon: “We are anxious parents raising anxious children as we are just covering our kids with glow sticks…” [04:16]
- On Hoarding Candy
- Tony: “Metaphorically, through clenched teeth and in great anger, take some. Take some.” [09:08]
- On Jaden Daniels’ Durability
- Tony: “The only ability that matters is availability. And he is not available.” [12:57]
- On World Series Drama
- Wilbon: “The 5, 6 and 7 of it were classic and historic and I loved every bit of it.” [21:00]
- On NFL Aggression
- Wilbon: “This is what they do now... coaches, even old-school guys... are encouraged by their staffs, their younger players, by the game.” [25:34]
- On Bears Meltdown
- Wilbon: “It's as angry as I have... as joyless as I have ever been after the Bears won a football game in 60 years.” [34:26]
- On the World Series
- Kurkjian: “I’ve officially called it the best one that I’ve ever covered… It’s the greatest World Series that I’ve ever seen.” [35:58]
- Tony: “I had never seen in a concentrated series… so many plays at the plate.” [40:03]
- Tim: "He showed everyone with the adrenaline flowing and the importance of game seven, people could do remarkable things. And that was one of the most remarkable things that I've ever seen." [42:58]
- On John Schneider/Blue Jays
- Kurkjian: “I can't be more impressed with a manager than I was with John Schneider during the entire month of October.” [47:04]
Key Timestamps
- 00:00 – Tony’s morning rituals & clock struggles
- 03:36 – Wilbon’s Halloween recap
- 07:10 – Halloween candy, KitKat diatribe
- 10:26 – Washington football injury angst
- 15:33 – Fall cooking & Omaha Steaks
- 19:21 – World Series reflections with Wilbon
- 23:47 – College football playoff talk
- 25:34 – NFL: Two-point tries and coaching aggression
- 28:31 – Bears-Bengals meltdown; Wilbon’s live on-air rage
- 35:14 – Crown of Smoke music feature and transition to Tim Kurkjian’s segment
- 35:58 – Kurkjian’s World Series analysis
- 41:07 – Dodgers’ bullpen, pitching strategy
- 43:05 – Yamamoto’s feat and Tommy John speculation
- 45:44 – Scherzer's future with the Blue Jays
- 47:04 – Praise for John Schneider, Blue Jays manager
- 48:14 – Kurkjian plugs podcast “Is This Great Game Or What”
Episode Tone & Style
Warm, anecdotal, sometimes exasperated, proudly cross-generational. The episode is rich with both sports analysis and humorous, self-deprecating personal stories that ground Tony’s expertise and persona.
For New Listeners
This episode is classic “Tony”: witty meanderings between sports and life’s minutiae, layered with nostalgia, candor, and warmth. The show’s value lies as much in the personalities as in the topics—sports fans and everyday listeners alike will find something to savor in this mix of humor, sharp commentary, and genuine camaraderie.