Episode 6 — 16 Tons…and What Do You Get?

This week, Peter wonders when running a simple errand became a part-time job. Self-checkout turns us into unpaid employees, an innocent interest in pickleball threatens the retirement account, and Amazon proves once again that buying one thing is apparently impossible.

There’s also a DIY recording booth, the unavoidable return trip to the hardware store, and a look at electric riding luggage—because apparently walking through an airport was a problem someone felt compelled to solve.

Plus, a Recharge Recommendation involving a diner, a town where nobody knows you, and 45 minutes with your phone in your pocket. Sometimes getting a little charge back is as simple as going somewhere nobody needs anything from you.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Episode 5: Citizen Lame

Getting older apparently comes with rules about what you're still allowed to enjoy. This week, Peter wonders why a $4,000 set of golf clubs is perfectly respectable, but building a giant LEGO Millennium Falcon requires an explanation. Plus, the myth of the "one quick stop," a product that somehow improves on water by making it diet, a sleep mask that turns bedtime into a medical equipment staging area, and a listener from Boston wondering exactly when you're officially old. Turns out the answer may involve bird feeders.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Episode 4 – Hair Today, Gone...to the Hardware Store

Getting older isn't about one big moment—it's about a thousand little ones. This week, Peter talks about doctor visits that have quietly become maintenance appointments, the mysterious migration of body hair to places it has no business growing, and why every trip to the hardware store somehow feels better than hauling anything home from it. Plus, a sleeping bag you can wear, a recommendation to support your neighborhood hardware store, and a reminder that growing older may not come with much dignity, but it does come with some pretty good stories.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Episode 3 – Left on Shakedown Street

Technology was supposed to make life easier. Instead, somewhere along the way it started making us feel old. This week, Peter talks about the moment you realize you're no longer the person everyone asks for tech support, why beating traffic becomes a personality trait after 50, and how one wrong glance at a GPS turned "Shakedown Street" into an actual road. Plus, a look at AI-powered toasters that nobody asked for, a restaurant in Belfast, Maine that's worth the drive, and a reminder that sometimes the smartest thing technology can do is stay out of the way.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Appliances with personalities...

A trip to L.L. Bean's flagship store that did not go as planned...

When your back wins after exercise...

Never having your own dinner plan...

And your kids becoming your teachers.

Plus:

• A check-in on your battery's charge this week
• Nobody Needed This
• Recharge Recommendation of the Week
• A few Universal Truths...and a bunch of fake sponsors.

If you've ever planned a fun weekend only to spend Sunday recovering from Saturday... welcome home.

Barely charged. Fully opinionated.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

Welcome to The Drained Battery Society—the comedy podcast for people who are barely charged and fully opinionated.

In this debut episode, host Peter Conway introduces the Society and dives headfirst into the strange realities of modern adulthood. Why does food feel like a rental agreement? When did suspenders become a legitimate fashion choice? Why is working from home so much better than pretending fluorescent lights build character? And why does your back insist on holding committee meetings before you'll move a couch?

Also this week:

• The very first Drained Battery Society Universal Truths
• A salute to the completely unnecessary invention of Dr. Pepper Tic Tacs
• Fake sponsors you'll wish were real
• A recharge recommendation featuring Bad Monkey on Apple TV+
• An invitation to tell us what's draining your battery each week

If you're over 50, exhausted by modern life, suspicious of new products, and increasingly aware that your body has become middle management... you've found your people.

Email the show: mailbag@drainedbatterysociety.com

Welcome to the Society. Keep your battery between 20% and 80%, keep your expectations low... and get off Peter's lawn.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.

A quick hello from the Drained Battery Society. What the show's about, why it exists, and why you might want to follow.

Drained Battery Society.

Barely charged.

Fully opinionated.