Season 1

The world has gone crazy for wordle. People set their alarms just to get up early enough to solve the wordle before their friends. There is a “sharing” er “competing” culture of proving one’s intelligence by getting the word ...

Following up on last week's "Underrated Inventions Part 1" comes the expected "part 2". In this classic episode, Jon and Kurt continue waxing poetic about seemingly mundane inventions that have had outsized impact on society....

Dipping into the vast repository of Smart Drivel content, Jon and Kurt offer up a classic two part series. From toilet paper to Neil Diamond and lots in between, they discuss the advances in civilization we can’t live without...

Tune in to another classic episode as Jon and Kurt spend a full episode discussing fun phrases and how they came to be. “Mind your Bees Wax,” “One for the road”, and “Freezing the balls off a brass monkey” are …

Enjoy a classic Smart Drivel episode as Jon and Kurt set out to find the truth behind certain “givens” that we have always been told: is it safe to swim right after eating? Is the earth round? Did Vikings have …

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...

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 …

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 …

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 a...

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,...

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 …

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, a...

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 so...

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 childi...

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 …

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 fe...

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 and...

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. …

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 …

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 th...

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 …

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 …

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 …

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...

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.

The expensive, large purchases we make--like houses, cars, jewelry--get all the attention, but it is the little things that actually make the biggest differences. In this episode, Jon and Kurt pay tribute to those small purch...

Smells can put you in a great mood, can be offensive to your innards, can be meditative, and can conjure up nostalgia. How is it that this one sense impacts so much of our psyche and emotional well being? Well, …

The boys struck out on a path this episode to talk about board games. The classic games found in most homes that engendered laughter, cheating, family bonding, family arguing, and all around great memories. Come have a listen...

Tired of beating the curmudgeon drum, Jon and Kurt decide to focus on some of their favorite things. There are no pet peeves in this episode, no discussion of the problems in society these days, and no conversations about thi...

Every once in a while, Jon and Kurt like to venture out of their comfort zones and try new things. In this episode, the Smart Drivel gents are guests on The After 30 Podcast and have a fun and interesting …

Ever look at something and you realize that you can easily, and happily, live without it? Seems society is hell bent on creating more more more...yet is it all necessary? Jon and Kurt have a funny and spirited conversation ab...

Join Jon and Kurt for a rollicking, delicious, jaunt through the history of donuts and their role in pop culture. Find out why they (ok, just one of them) call donuts "the Truman Doctrine of Pastries", what Clark Gable and …

The boys are back after a brief break to restock their drivel stores. And they certainly seemed to have stocked up for this new episode. Here they delve into the origins of expressions attached to the body. They cover idioms …

Ah, the 1970s. A beacon of home decor dazzlement...from shag carpets to egg chairs to wood-paneled walls, it was truly a decade to now make fun of. In this episode, Jon and Kurt are invited to a dinner party in …

Jon and Kurt decide to scratch their history itch by having a conversation about some of the world’s greatest unsolved history mysteries. Of course, this being Jon and Kurt, they meander a bit off topic, but do manage to come...

In this conversation, Jon and Kurt share with each other (and the world) some really interesting pieces of information. Not the kind that will get you a raise or a promotion, mind you, but the kind that will cause the …

For their 70th episode, Jon and Kurt explore everyday products that got their start in the military. How did something originally developed for the battlefield end up in our everyday life? From the practical to the hysterical...

Ever wonder how certain cities got their nicknames? How did Paris get so lucky to be “the city of light” or why, actually, is Denver “the mile high city” (ok, it’s because it is a mile above sea level). Jon …

We all know these people. The ones who sing along with the radio at the top of their lungs, yet completely botch the lyrics. Jon and Kurt laugh at some classic misunderstood lyrics. Really...how can people blow the words that...

Channeling the joys of sitting in a pub in England over a few pints of Guinness, the boys sit back and meander down a conversation river. From discussion the kosher-ness of miso soup to the rationale of naming young Humperdin...

As a public service, Jon and Kurt have decided to impart some key tactics to ensure you survive life-threatening occurrences and will be around long enough to regale friends and enemies with your tales of heroism. The boys wi...

There are times when you hear something and it just rocks your world...little facts that seem too unbelievable to be true. Well, Jon and Kurt love these little tidbits and they have unearthed a bunch to share in this latest …

Whether you call them urban legends, urban myths or old wive’s tales, there are certain stories that enter the zeitgeist. Some start with “I swear this is true” and others as “did you hear about…?” Whatever the provenance, th...

The human body is a scientific marvel and a wonder of fantastical super powers. In this episode, Jon and Kurt delve into what makes the human body so amazing. The boys go at it with weird facts and truly incredible …

We often enjoy epicurean feasts that feature dishes with unique names like Eggs Benedict or Chateaubriand or the ever popular Pizza Margherita. Yet do we ever take time in between mouthfuls to wonder how they got these names?...

Ever wonder how certain words came to be? How did we come to define something by this word? In this episode, Jon and Kurt dig into the cool etymology of some common words--like mortgage and whisky--and also give the strange …

The boys are at it again...complaining, whining, wringing their hands. All over little things that other people do that drive them crazy. Adding onto Episode #2 over a year ago (Pet Peeves), they share more burrs under their ...