Brian assigned Cort some holiday spirit with Holiday Rules, a Christmas compilation by various artists, and some nostalgia with The Grand Archives by Grand Archives. Feelings were had. Some stronger than others. No one is claiming a seasonal awakening, but we listened and we showed up.

From there, the conversation predictably veers off course into night swimming, because apparently that was inevitable.

Brian runs through recent movie watching, including The Black Phone 2 (written by Stephen King’s son) and Jay Kelly, and then he brings up another little nugget, Ella McKay starring Emma Mackey alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. This leads us to Brian’s theory about why movies like Ella McKay don’t get made often enough, but there is some cruel irony related to his theory and his feelings about Jay Kelly.

Cort reiterates his puzzlement about Pluribus detractors (boo, hiss), and Brian attempts to help Cort understand what exactly the “Durian Gap” is. We wrap things up with a report from a Nate Bargatze concert. Was Nate funny? Was the show good? What ultimate podcast sin could Nate possibly have committed that would get Brian and Cort riled up?

The episode is Christmas-adjacent and mildly festive.

Albums discussed:

• The Grand Archives — Grand Archives https://open.spotify.com/album/3Ya4unJBIYZFYs42Ebyf4t?si=9G3W3kJRS42Xewb_w4SXVQ

• Holidays Rule — Various Artists https://open.spotify.com/album/6WYKqCoezPOWXD9UxbXyGZ?si=RS_SZCc2SOiUDgKJirLZeA

Theme song: Cyrus Oh Cyrus — The Flying Scrub Jays https://open.spotify.com/track/3S9T5HUS4cwky1922WhF1J?si=6fcad8771f724492