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Season 1

May 3, 2021

Ep.59: Road Trip

Sick of quarantining and locking down, Jon and Kurt take the ultimate American road trip. Climb in, grab your sunglasses, favorite bag of chips, an old 8-track classic, and see the country with your Smart Drivel co-hosts and ...

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April 26, 2021

Ep.58: Were the Jetsons right?

Airing for only one season, in 1962, the Jetsons animated TV show attempted to predict what life would be like in the future. From video calling to doggie treadmills, Jon and Kurt take a look at what the writers of …

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April 19, 2021

Ep.57: My Life As A Dog

Ever wonder what it would be like to live as a dog? To sleep most of the day, get your tummy rubbed, and give away all your emotions with a simple wag of your tail? Jon and Kurt channel their …

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April 12, 2021

Ep.56: Sayings That Make No Sense

There are a lot of wonderful, poignant sayings that have, rightfully, gained fame over the years and have passed into everyday lore. Then there are others--like “here’s mud in your eye” or “slept like a baby”--that are comple...

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April 5, 2021

Ep.55: Abandoned Products

Some amazing products, once thought indispensable and invaluable to our lives, sadly get thrown to the brand rubbish heap by progress and the evolution of modern tastes. From toys to snacks to cars and technology, Jon and Kur...

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March 29, 2021

Ep.54: Forgotten Heroes

Throughout history, there have been amazing achievements and actions and innovations all made by people unknown to the masses. Somehow, these incredible men and women have fallen through the cracks of fame and others have got...

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March 22, 2021

Ep.53: Fun Little Known Facts

In an effort to arm listeners with cool, interesting, and esoteric facts that will amaze friends at cocktail parties and co-workers at the virtual water cooler, Jon and Kurt share fun little tidbits. These are guaranteed to t...

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March 15, 2021

Ep.52: Strange Rituals

We, as humans, have some awfully strange customs and rituals. In America, we have a bunch that get foreigners to shake their heads in disbelief at best, and guffaw at us at worst. The idea of a doggie bag at …

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March 8, 2021

Ep.51: How Beer Saved the World

You might think the common brew/brewski/suds/etc. is just a proletariat beverage more suited to frat brothers than aristocracy. But you would be wrong. Beer has been revered for over 10,000 years as both a nutritious drink an...

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March 1, 2021

Ep.50: Dinner Party for the Ages

For their milestone 50th episode, Jon and Kurt decide to throw another dinner party for the ages. As before, the party is limited to ten guests chosen from anywhere and anytime in history. The nominated diners can be living, ...

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Feb. 22, 2021

Ep.49: Foods Gone Wrong

With the possibility of offending some listeners’ epicurean tastes, Jon and Kurt opine and whine about how certain people absolutely ruin delicious dishes by insisting on adding something that shouldn’t be. Like ketchup on a ...

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Feb. 15, 2021

Ep.48: What if?

Ever wonder what it would have been like if you had chosen a different career path? Instead of being a finance juggler, what if you had been a circus juggler? Eschewed accounting for acting, teaching for truck driving, sellin...

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Feb. 8, 2021

Ep.47: The Quintessence

In every category, there always seems to be one product, one event, one person, one object that defines the list, that comes out on the very top, and is the first listed. This element is the example of the topic …

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Feb. 1, 2021

Ep.46: Jobs That No Longer Exist

Innovations, modernization, and advances in technology have rendered obsolete some old jobs that used to be critical. The “knocker upper”, the “groom of the stool”, the “herb strewer”, the “pin setters”, the “soda jerk” etc....

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Jan. 25, 2021

Ep.45: This or That? #2

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? Being too short or too tall? Stuck at age 18 or 50? Text or call? You get the idea...Jon and Kurt return to a favorite topic and throw hypotheticals at each other to debate, …

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Jan. 18, 2021

Ep.44: Two Truths and a Lie

Jon and Kurt try their hand at challenging each other to spot the lie within three purportedly factual statements. Join in the fun: attempt to guess the right answers, audibly laugh at where Jon and Kurt mess up, and keep …

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Jan. 11, 2021

Ep.43: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Human nature is such that we crave what we can’t have, even if the object of our desire is flawed. No wonder we are all missing the joys of getting on a plane and flying off somewhere...anywhere. Jon and Kurt …

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Dec. 21, 2020

Ep.42: What’s the Difference?

Ever wanted to know what the difference is between alligators and crocodiles? Dolphins and porpoises? Further and farther? Whiskey and whisky? Plantains and bananas? You get the gist...this episode has Jon and Kurt exploring ...

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Dec. 14, 2020

Ep. 41: God’s Mistakes

The earth, it’s inhabitants, and it’s natural resources are pretty amazing. Beautiful. Practical. Functional. And then there are the mistakes; things that are just not right...limburger cheese, oceans filled with water you ca...

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Dec. 7, 2020

Ep.40: Big Little Pains

Stubbing your toe, ice cream headache, hangnail, nose pimple, biting your tongue...well, you get the picture. There are certain small injuries--if they can even be called that--that render outsized pain. Jon and Kurt put on t...

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Nov. 30, 2020

Ep.39: Surprising Acronyms

Did you know Time magazine was actually an acronym? In this episode, Jon and Kurt have fun with explaining, finding, and debating fun acronyms that are used in every day conversation. Please RSVP...if you want to be redundant...

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Nov. 23, 2020

Ep. 38: Accidental Product Successes

Most folks know by now that Viagra was not originally intended to solve a sexual issue, but they’d be amazed how Lysol was first marketed. In this episode, Jon and Kurt investigate products that became accidental commercial s...

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Nov. 16, 2020

Ep.37: If You Could

In this episode, Jon and Kurt ponder “what ifs” that will undoubtedly spark good discussions among listeners wondering about the same questions. If you could...be a sports hero, reverse anthropomorphize into a car, time trave...

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Nov. 9, 2020

Ep. 36: Superlatives

Join Jon and Kurt in the greatest, funniest, smartest, drivelest episode ever. Yes, indeed, they reveal the biggest, oldest, smelliest, highest, “ests” of all time. Oldest piece of art? Highest IQ? Strongest animal on earth? ...

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Nov. 2, 2020

Ep.35: Fun Phrases 3

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 …

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Oct. 19, 2020

Ep.33: Great Nicknames

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.

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Oct. 12, 2020

Ep. 32: What's the Motto With You?

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 …

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Oct. 5, 2020

Ep.31: Stop Saying That

Are you sick of hearing people tell you “to be honest, we should circle back to the parking lot so we can think outside the box and undergo a paradigm shift.” Well, Jon and Kurt sure are and, in this …

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Sept. 28, 2020

Ep.30: British vs. American

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.....

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Sept. 21, 2020

Ep29: The Ideal Main Street

Jon and Kurt fantasize about the type of stores and establishments they would love to have lining their ideal main street. From a dive bar to an old time movie theatre to a newly created James Bond Experience to a …

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Sept. 14, 2020

Ep28: Who’s the Oxymoron?

Jon and Kurt dive deep into the shallows of many different types of oxymorons. Trying not to be buttheads, they hope this episode doesn’t meet with deafening silence. It’s even odds that after listening, you might make Smart ...

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Sept. 7, 2020

Ep.27: Cocktails

Ever wonder where the Bloody Mary was first concocted? How the martini gots its name? The story behind the Tom Collins? Why we call it a Negroni? What the difference is between a Boilermaker and an Irish Car Bomb? Well, …

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Aug. 31, 2020

Ep.26: This? Or That?

Hamburgers or hot dogs? Rap or Disco? Mountains or Beach? Manual or Automatic transmission? Jon and Kurt give impassioned pleas for their choices in a rollicking debate of all things important in life.

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Aug. 24, 2020

Ep25: Who is She?

Brandy. Mandy. Roxanne. Rosalita. Chantilly Lace. Eleanor Rigby. Yes, there have been so many songs with women’s names as the title. So, Jon and Kurt decided to dig in and share the backstories, the motivations, the urban leg...

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Aug. 17, 2020

Ep.24: Vacations in History

Jon and Kurt 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 for the invention of the shower, …

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Aug. 10, 2020

Ep.23: Shipwrecked

Having washed ashore a deserted island, Jon and Kurt have the good fortune to be granted things to help them to survive: one book, one music album, one food selection, one household item, and a 3rd person to join them. …

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Aug. 3, 2020

Ep.22: Homophones

Jon and Kurt invite you to peek in on their conversation about Homophones which will hopefully pique your interest and make you think they have reached the peak of podcasting. You guessed it, you are the guest of the episode....

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July 27, 2020

Ep:21 Borrowed Foreign Words

Trying not to be schmucks or to make it too kitschy, Jon and Kurt have carte blanche in this episode to act like prima donnas and take their figurative mopeds for a spin as they point out some great words …

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July 20, 2020

Ep. 20: More Fun Phrases

The first go round with fun phrases was such a hit, Jon and Kurt decided to give it another whirl. Not wanting to "Let the Cat Out of the Bag," but proving to not be a "Flash in the Pan," …

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July 13, 2020

Ep. 19: Little Known Facts

Jon and Kurt dig deep to bring you little nuggets you can use to dazzle your friends at your next dinner party. What words in the English language don’t have a rhyme? Who is the model for the NBA logo? …

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July 6, 2020

Ep.18: Favorite Movies

From Animal House to Shawshank Redemption and everything in between, Jon and Kurt put forth and debate the attributes of their favorite movies: the ones that scare them the most, make them laugh out loud, or truly have an im...

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June 29, 2020

Ep.17: Fun Phrases

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 just a few sayings they take on, …

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June 22, 2020

Ep. 16: The Most Underrated Inventions (Part 2)

From toilet paper to Neil Diamond, Jon and Kurt discuss the advances in civilization we can’t live without that, while popular, are not seen as being worthy of the Mt. Olympus of inventions.

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June 15, 2020

Ep.15: Underrated Inventions, Part 1

From toilet paper to Neil Diamond, Jon and Kurt discuss the advances in civilization we can’t live without that, while popular, are not seen as being worthy of the Mt. Olympus of inventions. This is the first part of a …

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June 8, 2020

Ep. 14: The Aliens’ Perspective

In this episode, Jon and Kurt opine on which human rituals and customs will get laughed at the most by aliens. Plus they take a shot at projecting which human traditions are most likely to be assimilated by our extra-terres...

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June 1, 2020

Ep.13: Moon Men

Jon and Kurt are faced with answering a beguiling hypothetical question: would they rather spend 10 minutes on the moon or a year in Europe traveling in high class all-expenses-paid luxury.

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May 25, 2020

Ep.12: Fads Gone By

The fanny pack. Spray on hair. Corsets. Beanie Babies. Eating placentas. Polyester leisure suits. Yes, in this episode, Jon and Kurt explore fads and trends of the past that have, thankfully, passed us by.

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May 18, 2020

Ep.11: The Dinner Party

In this episode, Jon and Kurt go about curating their ideal dinner party guest list. From famous historical icons to unknown trailblazers to fictional characters, both hosts have to make a case for who they want to get a seat...

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May 11, 2020

Ep. 10: Famous Pairs

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.

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May 4, 2020

Ep. 9: American Pastimes

Jon and Kurt start out waxing poetic about fun pastimes but then quickly turn the episode into a debate over which should rightfully be America’s Pastime: Baseball or Football. The arguments get made while taking a detour int...

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