Episodes
Ep.105: Art is Everywhere
April 11, 2022
Stretching their word retrieval abilities, Jon and Kurt have fun in this episode by coming up with words that have ‘art’ embedded within them. Art means one thing on its own (the beautiful category of expressionism–be it pai…
Episode 104: Pamplemousse
April 4, 2022
Finding humor, joy, and moral intrigue in select words, Jon and Kurt play a little game. One of the co-hosts comes up with a favorite or interesting word and explains the reasoning behind his choice. The other co-host then h…
Ep.103: Hank & Lip Balm
March 28, 2022
You are moving to a foreign country. You don’t know where. You don’t know for how long. All you are told is that you can bring 5 things with you. Jon and Kurt share what they would take along as they go far afield from home.…
Ep.102: Ideal Vacations in History (Redux)
March 21, 2022
Jon and Kurt re-release an all-time favorite as they wax poetic about places they would love to visit for vacation. However, the twist is that they can go anywhere in any time in history. They discuss being in ancient Greece…
Ep. 101: You Call That A Sport?
March 14, 2022
Throughout history, humankind’s competitive spirit has led to inventing and mastering a wide array of sports. Basketball, Soccer, Football, Baseball, Hockey, Tennis, etc. get all the air time and all the headlines, but what …
Ep.100: The 100th Episode
March 7, 2022
That’s right, a milestone in smart drivelry has been attained…Jon and Kurt have recorded their 100th episode. That means they have given listeners over 40 hours of content over which to laugh, yell, sneer, learn, and, mostly…
Ep.99: Stump me? Stump you.
Feb. 28, 2022
The boys are at it for a second week in a row…they just can’t get enough of trying to stump one another with esoteric, tantalizing, and thought provoking facts. If you ever find yourself in the midst of boring folks with not…
Ep.98: Did I Stump You?
Feb. 21, 2022
In this episode, Jon and Kurt try to stump one another with arcane, bizarre, weirdly fascinating trivia questions. Some are down right funny while others are great fodder for your next dinner conversation. Listen, remember, …
Ep.97: They Taught us What?
Feb. 14, 2022
We all did it. We all went to school with open minds, excited to learn new things. We, here in the U.S., learned a lot about our country’s history. Interestingly, with the lens of current knowledge, we now know that a lot of…
Ep.96: Check Your Rolodex
Feb. 7, 2022
Office life has changed so much in the last thirty years–we saw the coming and going of the fax machine, the thumb drive, the inter-office memo, to name just a few–and now, with remote working, the office doesn’t even have p…
Ep.95: Big Bad Ben
Jan. 31, 2022
Ben Franklin is deeply embedded in the American ethos. He was a Founding Father, an inventor, a printer, an author, a diplomat, a man about town, to name just a few of his talents. He was prolific to say the least and was a …
Ep.94: Barbers or Barbarians?
Jan. 24, 2022
Medicine and medical treatments have, thankfully, evolved over the years as these procedures and cures always aim to stay on the cutting edge. WIth the luxury of being able to look backwards in time, we can safely laugh at s…
Ep.93: Stop Playing With Your Doodlesack
Jan. 17, 2022
In the development of the English language, we have created some words that are just plain funny. A word, when heard, elicits snickers, laughter, and general bemusement. Jon and Kurt can’t contain themselves from their child…
Ep.92: Your Next Hangover
Jan. 10, 2022
We’ve all been there: you are having a really good time at the party and imbibe just a wee bit too much. Enough too much that the following morning you feel like crap. So you try all sorts of things to mitigate the pain. To …
Ep.91: You Get Paid For That?
Jan. 3, 2022
If you think your job is a little bizarre sometimes, think again. There are people out there who have incredibly unique professions--human dog food taster, professional cuddler, worm collector, train pusher–-to name just a f…
Ep.90: That Was Awful
Dec. 27, 2021
Over time, words take on new meanings. Interestingly, often the new definition is the exact opposite of where the word started off. This somewhat boggling phenomenon is the subject of this week’s Smart Drivel episode. Jon an…
Ep.89: Deceptively Named Foods
Dec. 20, 2021
Ever have this happen to you…you are sitting at a beautiful table in a nice restaurant, you peruse the menu, you see something that sounds delicious even though you haven’t had it before, you feel bold, and you order it. Onl…
Ep.88: Thumbs Up or FU?
Dec. 13, 2021
You are on a great vacation. One you have saved up for and planned for years. You leave the friendly confines of the U.S. and head overseas. While in the MidEast, you wish to show your appreciation for good service and, sinc…
Ep. 87: Tale of the Tape: 1960s vs. Today
Dec. 6, 2021
The last 60 years have brought an onslaught of evolutionary and technological advances that have drastically re-shaped humanity. And speaking of re-shaping, boy these last six decades have had a huge impact on the shape of t…
Ep.86: For All Intensive Purposes
Nov. 29, 2021
Sayings have made their way into the vernacular that are just plain wrong. There are many common phrases that we mix up and mess up. When we proudly declare “that was a bold faced lie” or “it’s a doggy dog world” or “card sh…
Ep.85: It’s All Greek To Us
Nov. 22, 2021
The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of history in the 8th century BC. Normally it is regarded as coming to an end when Greece fell to the Romans, in 146 BC. What is amazing is that this long gone civili…
Ep.84: I Put a Spell on You
Nov. 15, 2021
Curses. Jinxes. Hexes. Call them what you want, it all boils down to the same thing...life is unpredictable at best, and worse when your fate is altered by forces out of your control. In this episode, Jon and Kurt look at th…
Ep.83:The Curious Case of the Dickie
Nov. 8, 2021
Bell bottoms, high heels, cod pieces, popped collars, dickies...yup, once upon a time all of these, and other like-minded trends, were all the rage. Jon and Kurt try to unravel the history of these odd bursts of fashion to b…
Ep.82: What Would You Try?
Nov. 1, 2021
If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do? From the existential to the mundane, Jon and Kurt examine different careers and adventures that they would try--knowing they were safe from failure.