The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis missing a week due to illness, then riff on recent political news and optics around Trump and JD Vance, including Vance’s awkward foreign-trip moments, Trump’s transparency about taking credit and shifting blame, and how staff manage Trump’s exposure to boos and media. They contrast Trump with Obama and mention the World Cup crowd-mocking concern. The conversation pivots to nature and trees, including the interconnected aspen colony Pando and the book The Understory, with darkly comic asides about bugs and decay. Erik recounts an Amsterdam conference trip featuring a hotel booking mix-up resolved by a helpful manager, a visit to Boom Chicago, observations about Amsterdam cannabis “coffee shops” and lack of THC labeling, a movie set at the Comedy Cellar, and an invite to a Soho House gathering with a billionaire AI founder before drinks in the Red Light District. Dennis closes by describing The Mojo Riot’s packed biker-night show at The Dock in Richland, the big stage, kids dancing near the band, a tambourine incident, and playing more loosely, ending with lyrics from “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”
The hosts discuss Erik's tech conference in Portugal, describing travel to Coimbra, a shipping-container “box” hotel, and stumbling into the university’s huge graduation party with floats, capes, heavy drinking, and chaotic streets. Erik shares two customer-service contrasts: a local shopkeeper who let him take a beer on trust despite having no cash, and a restaurant that took two hours to serve goat stew. Dennis then recounts buying tiny washers at a hardware store and debates returning an extra one, plus home-sale renovations involving uncovering/downsizing a window potentially blocked by a split AC unit. Dennis also details The Mojo Riot's successful pre-show gig in Grand Rapids that grew from a sparse start to 200+ people, crowd banter during “I Wanna Be Sedated,” brief politics commentary, and TV/film talk including “Half Man” and “Saltburn,” ending with Erik’s upcoming Amsterdam trip.
The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis catching up on their busy weeks, including Dennis’ band gig at the Old Dog Tavern with a big, energetic crowd, and Erik’s packed weekend in Spain: seeing a play in Bilbao, playing a rainy low-tide beach golf tournament, and joining a long muddy forest hike outing with lessons about oaks, beech trees, and holly seed germination via birds. Dennis describes home projects sealing and adding a recycled door under a deck, plus mishaps with a drill tearing their shirts. They share odd body experiences like cramps cured by pickle juice and Erik’s disorienting wake-up “teleportation” feeling. Erik previews a Portugal conference and a no-frills “sleeping box” hotel, recommends Apple TV+’s “Widow’s Bay,” and Dennis praises HBO’s “Half Man.” They then critique Trump-era corruption, tariffs, foreign posturing, GOP succession talk, eroding support, and the need to curb executive power, before ending with Dennis singing and a friendly sign-off.
The hosts discuss early recording technical difficulties before Dennis recounts a fishing trip to the Pere Marquette with his longtime friend Jim, including a near-landing of a big bull trout and Jim losing a fish after insisting he didn’t need a net. They then talk about Dennis’ wife traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina, and Erik's wife accompanying her sister to the Canary Islands for a nose job. They shift to late-night TV, including Strike Force Five reuniting, Stephen Colbert’s show ending, and frustrations with CBS/Paramount amid political talk about Trump, war, Congress, and the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket.” Dennis shares his enthusiasm for Project Hail Mary and its film adaptation, plus recent “gods of recycling” curbside finds. Erik ends with the sudden death of an elderly neighbor named Candy, followed by singing “Drift Away.”
The hosts discuss Erik returning to Spain after a week in London and how crossing streets in the UK prompts second-guessing, prompting Dennis to recount a childhood jaywalking accident where a motorcycle severely injured his ankle and left him in a full leg cast for months. They compare big-city office life and commuting with working from home, then Dennis shares a long-running oak furniture story that leads to his “tool of the day,” a vibrating square sander used to restore an old round oak table. Erik describes speaking at a London conference, playing a sponsor’s space-bar game that earned him a high score and a Lord of the Rings LEGO set he declined, which later went to an emotional volunteer, plus other prizes like a signed coding book and AI cloud tokens. Erik also recounts joining an English-speakers group in Bilbao and doing an “outdoor escape room” treasure-hunt tour through the old medieval city, followed by beers and snacks, and ends with notes on listening to 60s funk, Dennis’ Kalamazoo weather and river-brewery plans, and Erik’s London meals including mozzarella tasting and a Sunday roast.
The hosts discuss Erik recording from a minimal London hotel, including his trip to see comedian Tiff Stevenson at Soho Theatre, accidentally buying tickets for the wrong night, and being helped by staff with rebooking and unused preordered drinks, plus meeting Stevenson afterward. Erik recounts a Sunday visit to Highgate Cemetery to see graves like Douglas Adams, George Michael, and Karl Marx, reflecting on how quickly most people are forgotten and on European grave “rental” reuse. He also tells a Canary Wharf cocktail-bar story where he had to show a passport scan for entry and was enticed by a two-for-one Old Fashioned deal. Erik and Dennis then review the DTF finale, focusing on Floyd’s despair, Forrest’s confusion and selfishness, the son’s role in triggering Floyd’s final drink, and the detectives’ resolution, before Dennis shares a Mojo Riot gig anecdote about mistaken cues and improvised lyrics.
The hosts discuss a “bookend” to their prior episode by recording hours before a moon mission lands back on Earth after setting a record for the farthest humans have traveled, then Erik and Dennis talk about reading Andy Weir’s "Project Hail Mary" and its disorienting, mystery-forward style. They recap the latest "DTF St. Louis" episode, calling it tragic, debating Clark’s choices, speculating about suicide and the unexplained bike, and noting a podcast interview claiming the show’s sign language is not accurate ASL and its St. Louis details are underused. Dennis tells a long story about dangerous, flooded Michigan steelhead fishing where he goes 0-for-12 and ends up cold, wet, and retreating to a cabin. Erik shares posting a photo of deteriorating town letters and getting a private message from the mayor explaining they’re being repainted. They touch on a Trump True Social post about Persia, praise an Obama eulogy clip, and discuss Anthropic claiming a new AI model is too dangerous after finding vulnerabilities and escaping a sandbox, before ending with “Drift Away.”
The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis’ April Fools check-in, then Dennis recounts spending over an hour cutting a few quarter-round trim pieces while flipping a house due to repeatedly orienting the angles wrong. Erik describes seeing the Ryan Gosling film adaptation of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary in Spain in an English-language showing with friends and praises how the movie captured his favorite novel, leading to a broader talk about adapting books to films versus miniseries, including Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America. They shift to analyzing HBO’s DTF, including a scene highlighting Floyd’s compassion and speculation about whether the death was a suicide rather than Carol or Clark. The conversation turns to U.S. politics, criticizing Trump over oil and projects at the White House, then ends with Erik’s note about a former schoolmate astronaut launching soon and Dennis’ fishing and erratic weather, followed by a sung outro.
The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis reaching the podcast’s seven-year anniversary, then riff on prime numbers, including Erik’s “prime ages” idea for his family and Dennis using counting primes to fall asleep. They debate an old marketing adage about not knowing which advertising works, contrasting brand influence with modern ad tracking. Dennis describes managing diabetes with a continuous glucose monitor, frustrations with insurance and doctors not being data-driven, and Erik’s interest in tracking health stats. They review the TV series “DTF St. Louis,” praising its nuanced, nonlinear storytelling, relationships among characters, and key scenes involving sexuality and shifting perspectives. Erik also recounts a failed fiber installation and unexpectedly helping neighbors by flushing a pigeon out of their apartment.
The hosts discuss Trump’s unchecked power, arguing that U.S. checks and balances are failing as he wages a war with Iran without a congressional declaration and imposes broad tariffs while allies like Canada and Spain refuse support after not being consulted. They mention resignations and whistleblowing in the national security apparatus, fears of a widening conflict involving multiple countries, rising gas and grocery prices, and how the public’s attention is driven by cost-of-living impacts. They also cover Republican subpoenas related to Epstein, ICE leadership shakeups, and the difficulty of impeachment without Senate votes. The conversation shifts to Erik seeing a dark-humor standup show in Spain and then to TV and film, including the Oscars, Nicole Kidman, and reactions to the HBO series “DTF St. Louis,” its explicit scenes, and theories about its murder plot.
