Welcome to our new website!

Episodes

Feb. 12, 2024

Ep.201: Forever Linked

Two people are thrown together into the annals of history by a singular event. This one moment forever links them and they cease to exist as their individual selves, instead they are always referred to as a tandem. Jon and Ku...

Listen to the Episode
Feb. 5, 2024

Ep.200: Milestone Mania

The Vegas odds-makers lost their shirts on the over/under of number of Smart Drivel episodes. In fact, after hearing just the first fourteen episodes, they put their money on the under…well, guess what, dear listeners, Jon an...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 29, 2024

Ep.199: Oh, Brother!

Anyone who has spent any time at a Thanksgiving dinner knows the angst and joy that comes with seeing siblings interact. In this episode, Jon and Kurt discuss some intriguing, successful, dysfunctional, and world changing sib...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 22, 2024

Ep.198: Art is Everywhere (redux)

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 pain...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 15, 2024

Ep.197: Getting Stoned

Stones. They are a big part of history (Blarney, Rosetta), fiction (Philosopher’s), music (Sly and the Family), people (Emma, Sharon), etc. Well, if stones really do have that big an impact across all of humanity, then they m...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 8, 2024

Ep.196_The Hatfields and McCoys

Jon and Kurt decide to put their differences aside for a moment and delve into the world of famous rivalries. They find emblematic rivals in different categories: history, politics, fiction, business, sports, music, etc. Some...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 1, 2024

Ep.195 Famous Pairs (redux)

Adam & Eve. Romulus & Remus. Gin & Tonic. Bert & Ernie. Oscar & Felix. Jon and Kurt identify, laugh, and survey just a few of the many famous pairs throughout history. It is a rollicking, fast, fun adventure.

Listen to the Episode
Dec. 25, 2023

Ep.194: It’s All Greek To Us (redux)

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 civiliz...

Listen to the Episode
Dec. 4, 2023

Ep.191: The Chicken or the Egg?

Jon and Kurt hurt their brains in this episode as they attempt to make sense of the world of paradoxes. How can something that seems so contradictory end up being true? Youth is wasted on the young? This is the beginning of t...

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 27, 2023

Ep. 190: Table for Ten

The boys are at it again…they each invite four guests for the ultimate dinner party. All will be invited to partake in the conversation, but Jon and Kurt need to first provide the bona fides of their recommendations. Jon veer...

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 20, 2023

Ep.189: Well, How About That!

We all go through life blithely using everyday products without knowing why they are what they are or why they have certain qualities. We just accept them for their utility value, not bothering to ask why. Well, phew, thankfu...

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 13, 2023

Ep.188: “Great Nicknames (redux)

Who was “The Minister of Defense”? Which President was called “His Accidency”? Can you guess what Tolstoy’s nickname was? Jon and Kurt jump into the world of nicknames and unearth some absolute gems...like Grover Cleveland’s.

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 6, 2023

Ep.187: Say That Again?

Jon and Kurt return to a theme from the early days of Smart Drivel as they give examples and discuss sayings that just make no sense. Some, like “on cloud 9” confuse one and not the other while others, such as “the exception ...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 30, 2023

Ep.186: Bumping Gums

Jon and Kurt have a ripsnorting time in this episode as they discuss and showcase slang terms from the 1930s. Sometimes they are a bit off the cob, but not enough to ever necessitate putting them in a Chicago Overcoat. They h...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 23, 2023

Ep.185: Hypothetically Speaking

J on and Kurt decide, in this episode, to ask each other some life changing, soul crushing, deep as the deepest depths of Mordor, questions. Like, “if you were a vegetable, what would you be?” And others of equal gravitas. Ta...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 16, 2023

Ep.184 British or American (redux)

While both countries share a common language, the words don’t always mean the same thing in England as they do in America. Jon and Kurt dig into this and expose some of the potentially embarrassing situations that can arise.....

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 9, 2023

Ep 183: More of History's Mysteries

With all our technology and AI and larger frontal cortices these days, you would think that we could solve some of history’s greatest mysteries. And, it is fair to say, many previous wonders and complete bafflements have rece...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 30, 2023

Ep.83: The Curious Case of the Dickie

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 be...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 25, 2023

Ep. 181: The Mustache

Mustaches are having their moment. Previously the signature look of creepy dudes and ‘70s porn stars, the mustache is back, popular, and oh so au courant. Hipster millennials finally are shaving their beards leaving just the ...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 18, 2023

Ep. 180: Marie Antoinette eats cake in London

The lads, Jon and Kurt, have a good ol’ chinwag discussing obnoxious passengers on airplanes, crazy words like apricity, Queen Victoria’s family squabbles that played out across a global stage and, at some point, they even di...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 11, 2023

Ep. 179: Puking Shakespeare

Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays and 154 sonnets, and the official count is 884,647 words and 118,406 lines. Within this prodigious output, he invented over 1,700 new words and countless phrases that we use every day. Jon ...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 4, 2023

Ep.178: Power Couples

Jon and Kurt have a little forum about the most amazing couples ever. Those from fiction. From wars. From the bible. From the arts. From politics. From legend. Forged in love or in greed, these couples all have a fascinating ...

Listen to the Episode