Lumpia and Latkes

Are you tired of the same old retail rut: drive to the store through rush hour traffic, walk endless aisles of things you don't need and people you would rather be at another store, and a checkout process that feels inefficient? "There must be a better way!" Well, now there is: Infomercials - our topic of the week. We read about chairs in both of our books at "The Coffee Table". We end the episode with a feline court date from Mitch and mall madness from Jay for "This, Ya Call News?".

"Should old acquaintance be forgot"--but not "Lumpia and Latkes"! We are winding down 2025 with a list of New Year's traditions from around the world and what is it really like to see the ball drop in person in NYC Times Square. At "The Coffee Table", we return to Mike Nelson's musings--this time on passwords and more "Stupid History". We finish out this episode with "This, Ya Call News?": Mitch has an explosive story and Jay has New Year's Eve lights that are not of this Earth(?). Happy New Year!

'Tis the season for...blackface and spiders? Christmas traditions vary the world over and we try to wrap our minds around some of the most unusual and some downright controversial. Mitch and Jay tell the story of Hanukkah in all new ways with the help of ChatGPT: "The Hilarious Eight" and "Willy Wonka-bee and the Eight Crazy Nights" at "The Coffee Table". "This, Ya Call News?" also goes Christmas as Mitch finds the legality of vehicle lighting and Jay has a Christmas gift for the heart. Merry Christmahanukkwanzaa, everyone!

"You remember that thing from that place with the stuff and the people from back in the day? Good times. Good times." Time marches forward with or without us...as well as places and things. We have a discussion of things we believe to be on the path of the dinosaur (extinct) in our "Topic of the Week". Mitch reads about schoolin' from "Mind Over Matters" and Jay has a classic Christmas tale with a twist at "The Coffee Table". In "This, Ya Call News?", Mitch reports on "The Goatman" and Jay has soup.

"As with every Thanksgiving dinner, let's start by each stating what we are most thankful for. Jimmy?" "I'm most thankful for the great deals we can all get only at Walmart tomorrow with guaranteed doorbusters and savings galore!" "Me too, son. Me too." This conversation never happened in real life, but it's what corporate America wants. Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Cyber Week/Prime Day is our "Topic of the Week". 2 new books take their place on "The Coffee Table": Mike Nelson's "Mind over Matters" and Leland Gregory's "Stupid History". We wrap up with "This, Ya Call News?": Jay has a report on Gamestop's "Trade Anything Day" and Mitch has a report on a casino ghost contest.

*Movie Spoilers In This Episode*
 
"Two Thumbs Up?"...maybe...maybe not. Mitch and Jay trade off movies to review ala Ebert and Roeper: Jay reviews "Highlander" (1:57) , Mitch reviews "Knives Out" (23:25), and both of us review "Tremors" (32:25). At "The Coffee Table", we tackle a case of suspected fakes in archaeology for "Further Five Minute Mysteries" and we talk about doing "To Do" lists. We wrap up this episode with Mitch reading about a robot fail and Jay reading about lost mail in "This, Ya Call News?".

Why does Hollywood do when they run out of fresh ideas or need easy money? Time to make a reboot or remake! For our "Topic of the Week", we discuss the (generally) unsound idea to redo a beloved intellectual property and many examples of Hollywood's failures. At "The Coffee Table", we deal with dead bodies in a parking lot and the taboo of the "Easy" button. We wrap up this week with a story on a car sale gone wrong read by Mitch and another story of beauty salon woes read by Jay for "This, Ya Call News?".

"We're out of job." *Cue Jeff Goldblum* "Uh, don't you mean EXTINCT?" Special guest Brian joins us for the second part of our discussion on AI: job security or the (possible) lack thereof as well as Hollywood's take on "progress". At "The Coffee Table", can we get 2 right in a row for "5 Minute Mysteries" as we crack open "Further Five -Minute Mysteries" by Ken Weber. We also dare to ask "How are you?". In "This, Ya Call News?", Mitch has "Reese's" from Halloween and Jay has one of many examples of bad parenting.

After a short hiatus, we are BACK! In this episode, we welcome another of our coworkers: Brian to the show as our guest. The topic for this week is a doozy that you just cannot avoid: Artificial Intelligence. There is so much to say, we broke it down into 2 episodes and this is part 1. With Brian's help, will this be the first "5 Minute Mystery" we actually solve? Also, Mitch reads about self-worth/self-doubt at "The Coffee Table". To take us out, Mitch has the makings of a new "Netflix" movie and Jay does "Spirit Halloween" in "This, Ya Call News?".

Happy Halloween! 'Tis the season for ghosts aplenty! Mitch and Jay tackle All Hallows' Eve by recounting scary movies and their trick-or-treating days. At "The Coffee Table", Jay reads another "5 Minute Mystery" and Mitch speaks on the concept of earning. So far, we are 0.5 out of 3--will this new mystery put us at 1.5? To wrap up the week, Mitch has a new take on school fundraising and Jay reads a report of a gas leak in "This, Ya Call News?".