Episodes

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 proves the rule” require much thought. They agree on some, bring up some classics like “pick the low hanging fruit” and try not to have a “near miss.” Near miss? Um, we think you meant “near hit.”

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 have fun dissecting the sometimes esoteric and sometimes perfectly accurate terms that the hep cats threw around 90 years ago. You shred it, wheat!

Jon 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. Take a listen, hear their answers, laugh at them (with them?) and try to answer the questions yourself. If you had to sell your soul to the devil, what would you get in return?

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...such as a Brit in America asking a co-worker for a rubber or a Yank in England not knowing his chips from his crisps from his aubergine.

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 recently been explained. But, there are still some out there for which we have no answers. For example, what happened to the Neanderthals? Where is Alexander the Great’s tomb? What happened to Tony Soprano at the end of the last episode? Join Jon and Kurt as they deign to wander...

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 better understand what the hell people were thinking when they wore these oddities.

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 beauty on the upper lip, the ‘stache, in homage to the incredible heroes, artists, conquerors, movie stars, and bad asses of the past. Join Jon and Kurt in this episode as they discuss the merits and demerits of said upper lip worm. You won’t be surprised that they differ on...

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 discuss Marie Antoinette and Twinkies. Smart Drivel at its finest.

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 and Kurt decide to share some of the most surprising and interesting of these words and phrases in this episode–it may not be fashionable (ding ding) or neither here nor there (ding ding), but for goodness sake (ding ding), have a listen.

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 story to tell.

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 no avail. The hangover persists. Humankind has been searching for a solution to this for 10,000 years–ever since that first accidental beer was brewed. In this episode, join Jon and Kurt as they discuss some of the more creative, oldest, and just plain odd hangover remedies. ...

The English language is filled with color idioms. White lies, red handed, blue moon, green with envy, paint the town red are just a few examples that Kurt and Jon dig into in this episode. Many of these terms have a literal origin that were long ago forgotten. Press play and enjoy our very own mashup of history, the dictionary, and a bag of skittles.

Celebrities always seem to have really cool names. Names that sound great when spoken and that conjure up a feeling of glamor or strength or sophistication. Interestingly, most of these names were not the names they were given at birth. These new monikers were adopted to appeal to an audience. Doesn’t Marilyn Monroe sound more beautiful than Norma Jean Baker? Isn’t John Wayne much more strong sounding than Marion Morrison? You get the idea. In this episode, Jon and Kurt have fun trying to guess ...

Humans, as a species, are a very funny animal classification. Not content to buy just those products that they need for daily survival, their money burns a hole in their pocket to such a degree that they end up spending it on absolutely ridiculous things. From the Pet Rock to Dehydrated Water to the Comfort Wipe and oh so many others, it is amazing what people will go out of their way to buy. Jon and Kurt highlight just a few of these mind-scratching purchases.

In its quest to be remembered by car rental customers, Avis once proudly proclaimed, "We're #2. We Try Harder." It was a brilliant campaign that highlights the challenges of being second. No one remembers you. Kurt and Jon are both second children so they've been dealing with this challenge forever. (Some people even start a podcast to overcompensate.) So Jon and Kurt set out to make sure the silver medalists from history and pop culture get their due. Come learn about Michael Wilding, Twice a P...

Kurt and Jon explore the disorienting land defined by the Urban Dictionary and learn more than they bargained for. As it turns out, Kurt is equally at home with hors d'oeuvres as well as store d'oeuvres. One is consumed in a friend's living room. The other at Costco. If you don't know what it means to be a body booker, say, "Damn, Gina," or engage in the fine art of chipmunking, then this episode is for you. All we know is that Kurt and Jon are cheugies, and you probably are too. Bye, Felicia.

There are certain entries in every category that are just perfect. They may not be the best or the greatest or the deepest or the funniest or the quintessence, but they are perfect. These entrants tick off all the boxes and stand as the perfect representaion of thier ilk. Perfect movie. Perfect cocktail. Perfect meal. You get the idea. Jon and Kurt weigh in with their thoughts…controversy abounds.

It’s happened to all of us, too many times to mention. We see something or hear of something or want to do something that seems just fantastic…until it is too late and you realize that it was actually a really bad idea. Jon and Kurt have fun discussing prime examples of regretful choices that just seemed so damn good at the time.

The boys are back at it with a third episode dedicated to fun phrases and their origins. This time, we learn where “pull out all the stops” and “put a sock in it” and “rule of thumb” come from, among others. We also learn the provenance of “best man” and “honeymoon”. And, we learn the correct way to spell pom-poms er pom-pons.

Jon and Kurt have fun guessing famous slogans that were funny, had double meanings, or were just blatantly bad. From the disaster of the Chevy Nova in foreign markets to the hilarity of a Sega print ad to explaining the beauty that is Guinness, the two hosts share, laugh, and marvel at some of advertising's most interesting attempts at selling products.

Throughout recorded time, certain foods have been elixirs and medicinal remedies for multiple ailments. As Hipocrates famously said, “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” In this episode, Jon and Kurt dig up some really cool uses for every day foods that cure ailments. So the next time you are sick or hurting, don’t run to your drugstore, listen to this episode and open your refrigerator.

Ever wonder where products got their names? Why so many with numbers–409, 57, 40, 7? On top of that, how did companies come up with their names? Was Amazon always “Amazon” right out of the gate? What was Pepsi first called? Where did the name Lego come from? All of these wonderments baffled Jon and Kurt…at first. But then they leaned into the topic and created an episode dedicated to discussing and educating on the very subject. So, grab some Orville Redenbacher popcorn and have a listen.

We have all had them…these knee buckling, mind boggling big questions that we try to make sense of. Like “why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?” or “how is it possible to have a ‘civil’ war?” or “have you ever imagined a world where there are no hypothetical situations?” Jon and Kurt ponder a whole bunch of questions like these working their minds into a pretzel of logic.

With the Surgeon General of the United States officially warning of the harmful effects social media can have on children and teens Jon and Kurt thought it was time to re-air one of their first episodes. Taking on a popular issue facing society today, Jon and Kurt attempt to lay out the pros and cons of social media while waxing poetic about the moment the first fish walked out of the ocean.