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Overview[]
Apparently some other global events took place in early 2020, but other than the souls of the hosts being depleted beyond recognition, it didn't really impact whether two long-distance podcasters could still do their thing every week.
Interviews and Guests[]
- S5E213: Amanda Yesnowitz, Brendan McGrady
- S5E224: Sonya Williams, Heidi Hoffman
- S5E242: Robyn Weintraub
- S5E244: Sid Sivakumar
- S5E245: Laura Braunstein, Helen Rosner (featuring a special intro from Amanda Yesnowitz and Brendan McGrady)
- S5E246: Neville Fogarty
- S5E247: Ben Zimmer (featuring lyrics to "Jag on a Hank" from Jeff Talbott)
- S5E249: Amanda Rafkin
Episodes[]
| Num | Date | Title | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 208 | 8/27/2019 | Is it possible to lose sight of the ball through the camouflage of one’s hat? | It's the Season 5 Premiere — and we do literally nothing out of the ordinary. This week, Ryan and Brian discuss pedanticism and pedantacy, bask in the glory of original lyrics, and rely on the barnacle to teach all the lessons of life. |
| 209 | 9/3/2019 | It seems like we’re living in a hellscape. | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss the culture of pathogens, the availability of acrostics, and the nostalgia of soda. Also, while we'd love to tell you that this week's episode is as brief as last week's episode, we cannot, for we would be lying. |
| 210 | 9/10/2019 | The Song about the Curry | This week, Ryan and Brian go for a different sort of thunder, get input from listeners about sudoku and acrostics, and once again explain why Ryan needs to stop hating on Yu Darvish. |
| 211 | 9/17/2019 | 72 minutes of fun, say | This week, Ryan and Brian play music by skip a segment, get voicemail but don't talk about it, and try to figure out why two antisocial dorks host a podcast. Also, this episode includes nostalgia. |
| 212 | 9/24/2019 | I bet Sam Donaldson keeps his awards | This week, Ryan and Brian welcome a new Centuplicate, support a worthy charity, and learn some Greek. |
| 213 | 10/1/2019 | A gorilla is one example of many things that are large | This week, Ryan and Brian experience clear weather, get nostalgic about fast food, and celebrate the engagement of long-time listeners Amanda Yesnowitz and Brendan McGrady -- by interviewing them! |
| 214 | 10/8/2019 | Adages are weak | This week, Ryan and Brian celebrate their show ranking in the top one thousand podcasts about games, even though there might be little to no value to the list. Also, Ryan solves the Lollapuzzoola puzzles, and Brian finds satisfaction with an explanation of ", say" clues. |
| 215 | 10/15/2019 | I won't make you the password | This week, Brian censors the viewer mail bag, and Ryan tries desperately not to display his utter hysteria about questionable baseball decisions. The Barnacle tells us about arse vs. ass (and offers more on that topic here). |
| 216 | 11/5/2019 | Cynical commentary through guttural noises. | We're back! We missed you. This week, Brian and Ryan deal with a Vox puzzle they don't like, a lunch club they wish existed, and a self-contradictory website about structural starch (www.cuberule.com). |
| 217 | 11/12/2019 | It implies a presumption that is true. | Somehow, Ryan and Brian talk about food and don't mention sandwiches or soup. This alternate timeline is weird. (Also, we edited half the show and then ran out of time, so stuff might be broken. Let us know!) |
| 218 | 11/19/2019 | Maybe that's part of the master plan, denying it. | We had to redact a good portion of this introductory paragraph because Brian kept almost swearing. Also, we somehow discuss cheating without invoking the good name of Maddie Gillespie, so maybe we’re running low on marbles. |
| 219 | 11/26/2019 | A nice piece of isolation. | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss the impending doom of Thanksgiving, whether donuts and muffins are similar enough, and make remarkably few comments about baseball. Oh, also there are some crosswords in there. Yup. |
| 220 | 12/3/2019 | Step 1, boil the oil; step 2, submerge the bird. | This week, Ryan and Brian talk about garbage television, eerie coincidences, and maybe a crossword or two. Honestly, this might be the least amount of worthy content ever disguised as 64 minutes of a podcast. |
| 221 | 12/10/2019 | Nine more seconds, and none of this would have happened. | This week, Ryan plays a new board game, Brian recommends an old crossword, and they both delight in editorial changes at a major newspaper (not the New York Times). |
| 222 | 12/17/2019 | Morning Ryan's arbitrary examples. | This week, Ryan shows up late, Brian leaves early, and as a result, you get to enjoy a shorter-than-usual(-but-as-long-as-we-wish-it-typically-was) episode. |
| 223 | 12/24/2019 | Okay, so you have nine innocent sheep ... | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss whether the rules of language have any value whatsoever, and that pretty much sets the tone for their entire lives. |
| 224 | 12/31/19 | The world is messing with you, and you had no idea. | This week, Ryan and Brian get a report on Two Across, learn plurals and numbers from The Barnacle, and discover a long-lost homage puzzle. |
| 225 | 1/7/20 | We do things in convoluted, backwards, and unpredictable ways. | This week, Ryan and Brian get a second report on Two Across, practice saying 4-digit numbers and words with silent letters, and offer a two-week contest. |
| 226 | 1/14/20 | Get what it's called! | This week, Ryan and Brian spend the first 30 minutes of this way-too-long episode on Learned League and baseball — that’s a warning to you. Skip ahead to 28:26 for Viewer Mail. But also: cryptics, Centuplicates, and Brian gets no thunder of his own. |
| 227 | 1/21/20 | A fine ribbon of red cloth. | This week, Ryan and Brian battle a cryptic crossword, weigh the values of a Philadelphia roll, and render apologies. The first five minutes are about baseball, but after that, we talk puzzles. |
| 228 | 1/28/20 | Smoothness creates less friction. | This week, Ryan and Brian talk cryptics, metas, Cheez-Its, a mostly-good #NYTXW week, and a very special Contest of Now that you have to download (hint: it’s a crossword puzzle). |
| 229 | 2/4/20 | It's fun when your home town has the team that's doing the thing. | This week, Ryan and Brian talk make brief reference to the Super Bowl, commit to a Panda Magazine, and don’t understand kids’ games. |
| 230 | 2/11/20 | It's my fault, I take it back, how about a lanyard ...? | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss dental work, review the Oscars, take baby steps in a P&A Magazine, and debate whether Brian is forgettable. |
| 231 | 2/18/20 | The cranky icing on the cranky cake. | This week, Ryan and Brian talk cryptics, number puzzles, and the New York Times Spelling Bee – and you’ll be lucky if any of it came out right, thanks to some shoddy internet service in California. Editing this week’s show was utter bananas. You think we’re usually incoherent? Let’s see how this works out. |
| 232 | 2/25/20 | I am a frontiersman | This week, Ryan and Brian welcome a new club, announce an upcoming tournament, and someone actually solved the last contest. |
| 233 | 3/3/20 | Once upon a time, it was a clean place. | This week, Ryan and Brian finish a cryptic, learn more about the Barnacle’s family, and connect with a real life member of professional baseball. |
| 234 | 3/10/20 | Yelling words with undertones of melodic intent. | This week, Ryan and Brian attempt to begin a variety cryptic, learn about crosswordese in the wild, and present a brand new contest crossword, which is available here. |
| 235 | 3/17/20 | I like making my own bubbles. | This week, Ryan and Brian (like the rest of you, most likely), can’t quite deal with reality … so we made another podcast. At the very least, it’s 71 minutes that you won’t spend feeling stressed about the world. |
| 236 | 3/24/20 | Rememberable? That's a word. | This week, Ryan and Brian recap the joy of #couchword, propose an oracle podcast, and can’t pronounce a crossword luminary’s name. |
| 237 | 3/31/20 | No one will ever learn the majesty of your Foley work. | This week, Ryan and Brian attempt to stay connected to the outside world, spend an inordinate amount of time talking about cryptics without actually doing any, and imagine a world in which they might Twitch together. |
| 238 | 4/7/20 | Canyou split the difference between what it was and what it is? | This week, Ryan and Brian learn why “Lost” was allegedy good, why alto horn is a legit instrument, and why we should know the name Ximenes. |
| 239 | 4/14/20 | What is the halfway point of things? | This week, Ryan and Brian learn of more sources for cryptic crosswords, more activities to do online with others, and how many more puzzles Brian is trying to finish from 2019. |
| 240 | 4/21/20 | It's too blinky and bells ringing. | This week, Ryan and Brian learn about the days of the week, the months of the year, and develop a fresh fascination for the Jew’s harp. |
| 241 | 4/28/20 | There is no consistency. | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss road atlases, scary numbers, and someone lets a four-letter word slip. |
| 242 | 5/5/20 | The value of pants. | This week, Ryan and Brian welcome special guest Robyn Weintraub to the show! |
| 243 | 5/12/20 | How do you map? | This week, Ryan and Brian spend an inordinate amount of time being amazed at other people’s skills and accomplishments, and almost completely forget to talk about crosswords. |
| 244 | 5/19/20 | The hidden secrets of the spreadsheet. | This week, Ryan and Brian welcome indie crossword legend Sid Sivakumar to the show for a conversation about indie vs. mainstream, representation, and the art of crosswords. |
| 245 | 5/26/20 | Can I have a brief moment of didacticism about cereal? | This week, Ryan and Brian take a dive into a bowl of soup with Learned League 1-Day Special champion (and New Yorker food writer) Helen Rosner! Laura Braunstein (who co-smithed the LL quiz with Brian) also joins us for a conversation you don’t want to miss. |
| 246 | 6/2/20 | Make a better choice! | This week, Ryan and Brian discuss Avengers, Dole Whip, and learn a ton about cryptic crosswords courtesy of a great conversation with Neville Fogarty! |
| 247 | 6/9/20 | The Great Vowel Shift (ca. 1400-1700) | This week, Ryan and Brian’s interview studio is graced by the great Ben Zimmer! Known to much of world as a renowned linguist, lexicographer, and language columnist for the Wall Street Journal (among other places), he is known on this program as “The Barnacle,” and regularly delivers expertise on word origin and history. |
| 248 | 6/16/20 | 1-Across percent | This week, Ryan and Brian do their best to stick to the script – it’s a Thunder Round of fun puzzles, a new Contest of Now, and don’t forget our Twitch stream for cryptic crosswords and P&A Magazine. |
| 249 | 6/23/20 | Mamma Mia single-handedly ruined the American musical theater (a powerful title, even if this conversation got cut from the interview). | This week, Ryan and Brian are delighted to bring you another interview segment – puzzlemaker and musical theater pianist Amanda Rafkin! Amanda writes daily puzzles for her own blog, has been published in numerous other venues, and has some very strong opinions about musicals. |
| 250 | 6/30/20 | I know more about cousins than I know about rugby. | This week, Ryan and Brian save a date, plan for long distance puzzling, and learn the term “randomgram.” |
| 251 | 7/7/20 | Here's a picture of an elephant playing basketball. | This week, Ryan and Brian solve previously unsolved cryptic clues live on the air (well, Ryan does most of it), discuss the merits of a book they haven’t read, and discover the concept of the disposable puzzle. |
| 252 | 7/14/20 | It's not slowing me down any. | This week, Ryan and Brian learn how to pronounce cities in Massachusetts, where to find “Weltanschauung” on the internet, and glorify the typesetting of The Westing Game (briefly). |
| 253 | 7/21/20 | We are your rock. | This week, Ryan and Brian learn some stuff about boats, consider the essence of Finnegan’s Wake, and receive some suggestions from AY, UPVE, ALTUA (WOPS). |
| 254 | 7/28/20 | Of all the thing that are possible, that's certainly one of them. | This week, Ryan and Brian talk Sondheim (but not really in the way you’d think), learn about mass nouns, and attempt to tame a small bit of literary criticism fire. |
| 255 | 8/4/20 | Blanket. Blanket? No, umbrella. | This week, there’s the inevitable nonsense about bacon and baseball, but we also announce Lollapuzzoola details! |
| 256 | 8/11/20 | We have out-somethinged the fox. | This week, there’s a little more promotion of Lollapuzzoola, which happens on Saturday, August 15. Sign up now! Also, strange discussions of copyright, “groovy,” and skulks of foxes. |
| 257 | 8/18/20 | The denial of impending September. | This week, Ryan and Brian present a hefty Lollapuzzoola wrap-up (with no puzzle spoilers), and remind you to visit bemoresmarter.com to get the puzzles, if you haven’t yet had a chance. Also, we’ve decided this was the end of Season 5. |