The hosts discuss Erik canceling recent recordings, selling his house, and the death of their friend Jeff, a past podcast guest, recounting how an injury and subsequent infection led to sepsis and reflecting on their last exchanges and Dennis’ belief Jeff is “in heaven.” They cover Erik’s upcoming trip to Salt Lake City for a conference talk and a possible meetup with a friend returning from hiking, plus a later family trip to New York. Erik explains being abruptly laid off near the end of a six-month probation period, with no HR follow-up yet, while Dennis urges legal leverage and shares a story of negotiating severance after being fired. Erik describes quickly using AI tools and social media to apply for jobs and receive many leads, then shifts to family movie nights (Fight Club, The Sixth Sense), a local festival with a stilt performer, why streaming movies often feel forgettable, and Dennis recommending The Age of Adaline.
The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis nearly missing the week, then joke about a “belt that’s not a belt” and spotlight Duluth Trading Company suspenders that hook on the sides to better hold pants up, especially for working and for people without hips. Erik shares eclipse follow-up, including a Veritasium balloon video capturing the moon’s shadow, why total solar eclipses are more common in the Northern Hemisphere, how pinhole images form regardless of hole shape (tree-leaf crescents), and facts about multiple eclipses per year plus an upcoming lunar eclipse. Dennis recounts seeing an Allman-related band at Hilliard’s Bar and Grill, a spooky but clean budget hotel near LaPorte, Indiana, and playing a downtown Kalamazoo street party with a DJ and 300–350 attendees, including band logistics, harp moments, and how venues determine pay. Dennis also reports an FHA appraisal went smoothly with full loan approval and a Sept. 4 closing, and they end with improvised blues-style lyrics.
The hosts discuss Erik’s experience watching a total solar eclipse from his town in Spain, including cloud cover, a brief 51-second totality, a noticeable temperature drop, and how rare full eclipses are; he also considers a road trip to Gibraltar/Morocco for next year’s eclipse and talks about coping with heat without air conditioning. Erik shares other U.S. trip stories: a raccoon appearing at a campsite, golfing with Phil in high-tech carts that shut down in restricted zones, and his 17-year-old daughter staying longer in the U.S. for work, friends, and an imminent driver’s license, enabled by her grandfather using airline miles for a cheap return flight. Dennis recounts a lightning strike crushing a car, upcoming plans involving a Michael Allman Band show and a West Michigan brewery tour, and vents about home inspection and FHA appraisal issues while making repairs and negotiating closing costs. They end with a prison Monopoly trivia fact and jokes.
The hosts discuss Erik and Dennis catching up after missing July recordings, starting with drinks and updates. Dennis recounts intense 16-hour renovation days on a house he co-owns with his son, juggling grandkids, staging the home with art and religious/spiritual decor, and navigating showings, an accepted full-price FHA offer after a single showing, and inspections while clearing out the garage. Erik shares recent North Carolina trips including kayaking and camping, noting a storm later hit their campsite, and tells a mishap where he capsized on fast water and lost an expensive iPhone in the river, failed to recover it even after a second trip, and bought a temporary replacement. He also describes a rainy Asheville visit where tequila promoters handed out branded swag and flasks.
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.
