Little Red Bandwagon

Buckle up, check your mirrors, and make sure that your mixed nuts are in the glove box, because traffic is bad and we shouldn’t let the occasional anger management issue get in the way of enjoying another clip episode of LRB. Ann and Christy are here to talk TBTL road rage stories, some surprising (Andrew) and some most definitely not (Luke). We’ll hear about passive-aggressive tendencies while riding the scootabout, juvenile reactions to feeling judged by fellow drivers, and the story that has Andrew cringing with embarrassment even as Luke is awed by his genius. This show contains clips from the following TBTL episodes: 3/15/2010 (give the finger, Grave Digger, fighting), 3/30/2013 (live show, scootabout, blow a kiss, passive aggressive); 6/23/2014 (Medina, college, most embarrassing, punishment); 12/30/2014 (rerun intro, feeling judged, angry sad clown demon, Lisa Weinberg, Carey Burbank).

Mike, Meredith and Ann finally stop lumping it up and drag themselves out into the light to survey the wreckage of the American electoral process. They share their election night experiences, next day reactions, and thoughts on where we go from here. Despite their sadness, they manage to address a variety of TBTL topics, including lovesick snails, the handsomest prisoner ever(?), Second Worst American Martin Shkreli and his latest Wu-Tang antics, and the official kombucha of the Seattle Seahawks. In other news, Eddie the dog has made an unexpected transformation, and Meredith and Mike are concerned about Ann’s mental state.

Working Man Bobby Pape, Mike Today’s Tom Sawyer Frizzell and special guest Houston Ten and RushCon Founder Eddy Maxwell hop into the Red Barchetta, and channel The Spirit of (imaginary) Radio by getting Closer to the Heart with some morning-after-the-election talk about the Subdivisions in our country. (We are sincere and share words of hope, but are also frustrated and opinionated. If you take issue with our acknowledging the President-Elect’s overt sexism, racism and demagoguery, maybe skip this one.) Then we cheer up by shining the Limelight on a funny and impression-filled Luke rant from July 2013 about the birds that Fly By Night, but come back to ruin his sleep every morning. This episode looks back to TBTL #1375. For some fun Golfman talk, go listen back to the full episode. And don’t forget to send us your questions about Mike’s time as a bank robbing pill addict and incarcerated felon!

Turn the porch light off and ignore the incessant knocking, because there’s no time for adorable children when a week of TBTL is waiting to be recapped. Ann’s back from SFO and joins Mike and Bobby for everything from gold chains and toupée talk to HGTV and Granny Time. Plus, Ann went “Hollywood,” Mike stole 100 Grand (the candy bar … and much later the money) and Bobby went to the Magnolia Silos in Waco. #shiplap Oh, and we can officially blame President Trump on Cubs fan Chris Hayes’ deal with the devil.

On a Phletch Phaves Phryday we celebrate Phyllis Fletcher's second anniversary of being a Ten with the episode that hooked her: the TBTL obituary for Tom Magliozzi of Car Talk. Meredith, Mike and Phyllis connect the dots of the Car Talk Talk to reveal its subtext and elevate it as a pivotal moment in TBTL history, unbeknownst as it was to Tens back in 2014. In an LRB Bonus Track we hear the radio story Luke helped Phyllis produce as an intern, about racism that happens on the phone. It's historic and folkloric...it's this Friday's LRB.

¡Bienvenidos a Stumpton! Slip into your hospital footie socks, pour yourself some coconut water, and visit Bobby, Meredith and Mike at the San Juan Salsa Bar for your latest, healthiest, watermelon-colored TBTL Week in Review (and your gratis Big Papi tortilla chips). We’re a little afraid of trying to fire our layabout unioncats, and a lot afraid of getting our hair wet. But at least we ain’t afraid of no hipster girl in a jumpsuit. When you’re done with this, make sure to check out the latest episode of Earbuds and Earworms—or at least, their latest episode’s show pic, featuring Jason as a sexy (or slutty?) Bob Ross.

Horticulturalist, freelance writer/editor and one-time Soul Patrol DJ Michelle Sutton joins Bobby and Meredith for an Upstate New York whistle-stop nostalgia, House Bunny Fun Facts!® and a look back to the time in 2008 Luke interviewed Jen, and they felt all the feels. (As if you didn’t love Jen enough already.) Remember to vote for LRB in King 5’s Best of Western Washington contest, use Ladyflash by the Go! Team for all of your music bed needs, and not to buy, sell or process anything. This episode looks back to TBTL episode 706, from December 10, 2010. Find more: www.littleredbandwagon.com

Pop the prosecco and call in your lap sandwich: Mike, Meredith and Ann are hitting pause on TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles marathon for your latest TBTL Week in Review. Who needs salad when we’ve got hot browser cookies? Who needs a hit investigative podcast when we’ve got Jesus Creek and awkward neighbor boy talk? And who needs Katie Nolan when we’ve got Andrew’s garbage anxiety? It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!  Oh, can you pick us up at the airport? … Bring your microphone.

The ghosts and goblins have come out to play, because it’s Halloween at the LRB! Ann and Christy are here to give their opinions on scary movies, share their personal Halloween experiences, and examine the Halloweens of TBTLs past. Whether you dress up as a punk rocker, a cowgirl, a Roman soldier or Dorcas the Seamstress, there’s something for everybody, including Luke’s childhood encounter with a witch, Sean’s Balls of Fury ™, Fort Wayne holiday decorating tips from Jen, and Andrew’s indignation over Luke’s interaction with a “rude” cat barista. Plus, Christy goes on the most amazing rant about office cake that any of us will ever hear.

Bobby, Ann and Mike dive stump-first into the deep end of the soon-to-be-winterized pool that is the last week of TBTL. We start by searing our hot takes off in several inches olive (but thankfully not sesame) oil, and then slow cook our commentary for several hours in our trusty past-due Crock-Pot®. Mike defends the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bobby doles out wedding DJ advice, and Ann keeps her frustration at a steady simmer. Overall, it’s a tender but fatty episode, with some overpriced powder filling in the gaps in our lackluster cabbage. Remember: - Subscribe to Earbuds & Earworms! - Go to littleredbandwagon.com/amazon and order Jesus Creek Mysteries: All The Great Pretenders - Go watch this clip from The Newsroom that breaks down the manipulative mastery of Nancy Grace. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to and shared our recent GoFundMe appeal for Mike and Emily. Thanks to you, we surpassed our goal, and we can go back to mocking Mike without mercy or guilt!

Oscars for everybody! Ann and Christy are joined by Kansas Ten and pop culture enthusiast Katherine Damman to talk Gilmore Girls, whether Luke could have gone wild in Branson, MO and what the heck throwed rolls are. Then we listen back to the early, early days of TBTL, when Jen Flash Andrews and KIRO movie critic Tom Tangney discuss the year’s crop of Oscar nominees, as well as their own yin and yang movie-watching sensibilities. Things we learn: Jen has an unfortunate track record of getting kicked out of movies, Diablo Cody is going to do some very big things, and The Notebook is “the outrage of all cinema”. Oh, and THE MILKSHAKE STANDS FOR OIL. Bonus movie recommendations: Enter The Battlefield and Big Stone Gap (Katherine), Straight Outta Compton and Ghostbusters (Christy), Spotlight and Sicario (Ann).

It’s been a graphic week on TBTL, and Mike, Meredith and Ann are ready to talk about (among other things) persistent cat pee, a “destroyed” bathroom at a baby shower, and (cough) mayonnaise. Andrew’s upset because Professor Bananas has turned his closet into her personal ammonia-scented paradise, Luke is upset because his dreams of a first class upgrade were crushed, and we’re upset because Luke’s financial mismanagement led to the temporary closure of the TBTL email accounts. In today’s LRB Science Corner, instead of exploring the possibilities of the ‘brown note’ we encourage the scientists of America (and the world, really) to focus on identifying the ‘O-note’. Plus, Meredith prepares to take over the cat-whispering empire of Jackson Galaxy, Mike shares some details about his Frankenstump, and Ann states the obvious by identifying Kanye as a d-bag.

There’s nothing better than a great origin story. For her October Phlashback, Phyllis Fletcher takes Mike and Bobby back to the day Luke shared with the world the note left on his backward-facing car in the maritime village of Port Townsend, WA, that brought a colorful addition to the TBTL lexicon. And while we have her, Phyllis kindly takes the boys (who have two journalism degrees and zero journalism jobs between them) through how her awesome day job works. Our own notable parking stories include public humiliation, residential scolding and municipal theft—but at least none of us choked in class while trying to get the Led out. This episode Phlashes back to October 24, 2014, Don’t Be A Dombass. 

Here! Here! (Hear? Hear?) Mike is back, and fills Bobby, Meredith and the Wagoneers in on where he’s been the last month or so before we recap the latest week of TBTL. It’s actually a pretty heavy story, but have no fear: It’s balanced out by personified pets, Uncle Ike’s $2 bills, grievances with Iceland, a prescription for a glass of cranberry juice, and a call to stop body-shaming giant pandas. (Especially on the bamboo casting couch.)  

Ann Lundholm is flanked by TBTL line-of-succession members Phyllis Fletcher and Stu the StuBot Neuman at Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza in St. Paul for a meta look back at times TBTL has taped live in restaurants. (Insert Kelly O drop here.) Over beers and a half No. 4 (Meatball, Ricotta & Garlic) / half No. 5 (Fennel Sausage, Hot Salami, Onion & Cracked Green Olives) pie, the gang breaks down the spectrum of embarrassment from Luke to Andrew, builds an impassioned defense of Arby’s (except for the sad one), and even slips in a plug for Stu’s podcast The Sportive, your leading source for fan-perspective, semi-produced hot takes on Minnesota sports. Here’s hoping the boss at Black Sheep doesn’t go on the internet all the time.

Bobby, Ann and Meredith are tangled up in lanyard talk as they recap TBTL’s week at (or at least adjacent to) the PRPD conference in Phoenix, and it seems no amount of Alaska Board Room soup or nearly nude hotel room T25 is going to give Luke or Andrew Bill Murray-level confidence. Also, Ann recommends the movie Breach, Christy asks us to tell you about Jesus Creek Mysteries, and we all agree FedEx is the worst. This episode also includes a preview of our upcoming Friday show featuring Phyllis Fletcher in Minnesota with StuBot and Ann.

Live from the Trans Am Room at the Motor Court Motel, ChiTen pastry chef Brigid “Gabriella” Schabes flanks Meredith “Mercedes” Mahan and Bobby “Should Have Been Ann” Pape for a plethora of topics from pie crusts and biscuit tips to a TBTL clip from 2008 about lady bits. In 2016 we still may not agree on how to pronounce menstruation, but at least we’re all on the same page about Gillian Anderson and left-handed smoke-shifters. And pie. We all love pie. This episode features a clip from December 1, 2008, hour three of TBTL. Be sure to check out Linh Pham’s Wait Wait stats page at wwdt.me, and Brigid’s Instagram page!

Between the start of Bundt Cake Month in Stickabutter Studios, and a football/birthday party about to start in the Mahan Banquet Center, Ann and Meredith kick off our latest TBTL Week in Review by making Bobby hungry. Appetites, however, are quickly lost thanks to talk about Trump, toilets and the Five-Second Rule—just in time to avoid eating Din Tai Fung leftovers, hotel room coffee and a big bag of Dick’s. But since we don’t want Misha Collins or flea market “Hue” Jackman to think we’re fat, we’ll probably just stick to biting sprinkler water. In her inaugural AnnRant™, Ann reminds us not to be so quick to judge Luke, Andrew (or Matt Damon), and to consider the source before you sharpshoot. Less thoughtfully, Bobby reminds everyone (well, someone anyway) that if TBTL isn’t for you, there are plenty of other podcasts out there. And Meredith reminds us there are there are many, many great words to describe Stately Hot Dog Casing Donald Trump. Here’s the article Bobby (via Luke) referenced on 1,000 True Fans.

The nights are getting cool, the leaves are starting to turn, and that means it’s time for us to head back to school. Christy and Ann are back at it again with the monthly clip show, ready to take a deep dive into the school experiences of Luke, Jen and Andrew, as well as hash out a few of our own educational grievances. We listen in disbelief to some Jesus Creek horror stories, reminisce about school lunches (or the lack thereof), shake our heads at some true “Oh, Andrew” moments, and giggle over Luke’s fashion mishaps. Plus, we start a list of people who’ve got it coming and make the first plans for the LRB book club. It’s going to be a thing, people!

Bobby, Meredith and Ann order their custom LRB sportball jerseys, steal that bag of hot Duke’s sausages that wouldn’t scan, and take a call from “Microsoft” about the “virus” on their “computer” in your latest TBTL Week in Review. We’re all a little rough from the free in-flight champagne, but it’s all good because we can tell who the king is based on the size of his candy bar, and Angela Lansbury seems to have a lot going on in the lifestyle department. This week’s hot takes will go down smooth like a bag of Trader Joe’s jerky, and then burn like that same bag of Trader Joe’s jerky.