Round Springfield Maximum Fun

6 years, 3 podcast titles, 2 networks, 1 friendship that started it all. In this very special very last episode of Simpsons Pod, Allie and Julia reflect on all the life that happened from the moment they pressed "Record" all those years ago. The fans, the friends, the book deals, the live tours -- the guests that got away! The guests they couldn't get enough of, the crazy instance of getting to even be in the same room as their heroes. Between the very last 'Krusty Q' and fond farewells from previous guests, it's a sweet 'Sayonara' to their Simpsons corner of the world and a celebration of all that can happen when you take a chance on a silly idea with a sweet friend. So grab your disgruntled goat doll, tighten that Bart baseball cap and take solace in the fact that A&J will forever be your twitter home for exchanging Frinkiac Simpsons memes. It's not a good bye, it's a "Smell ya later."

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE. Allie and Julia round out the home stretch of RS with the heavy hitters of the heavy hitters -- the Papi of the Pod, the Sultan of the Simps, the Cartoonist Creator who started it all... a young upstart named Matt Groening! In this multi-hour (!) super-mega-episode, the girls dig into Matt's early days in Oregon, the go-go '80s of Hollywood and how he's never lost the spirit of the 'drawing kid' who landed here with a dream and a scrappy sense of humor. Will this episode unlock secrets to the show's many mysteries? Do they uncover Fry from Futurama's true origin story? Is he an *overachiever* and proud of it?! Only one way to find out (hint: by immediately downloading this episode and listening to it in its entirety). IT'S THE PENULTIMATE POD! Our last episode is out July 19th!

Mike Scully returns! Come for the tales of his early writing career (meeting the legendary Don Knotts on his first staff job, "What a Country"!), stay for the lessons in being within eyesight of a producer when another writer quits so you can take their job! Mike's ascension of the Entertainment Industry ladder is riddled with mysterious tragedy -- and you bet your sweet, sweet can we get into it. From working as an "Audience Hype Man" to feeling terrible for pranking unsuspecting bystanders in a failed hidden camera show. This episode has everything -- including a sweet plug for Season 2 of "Duncanville" airing now on FOX every Sunday night!

This week, Allie and Julia talk to Simpsons co-executive producer, Jeff Westbrook! Together, he regales them with his unconventional path to the writers room – starting as an algorithms researcher, then a professor at Yale, then an engineer at AT&T Laboratories! We discuss his friendship and collaborations with Ken Keeler – finding his way from science to The Simpsons and crafting the voice of early Futurama. It's a must listen with one of the smartest "Are you SURE you didn't waste your life writing silly jokes?" guests we've ever had. 3 more episodes to go!

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN, BABIES. Our first ep in the final 5 of Round Springfield are here! Just in time for Father's Day – we're kicking off with the father-daughter writing team behind the episode, "Yokel Hero"-- Jeff and Samantha Martin! You may remember Jeff from ECUS where he gabbed about being part of the writing team in the early days and the go-to songwriter for hits like "Streetcar! The Musical" and "Baby On Board" (which Sam was the inspiration behind!). Samantha always thought of herself as a performer, but explains the moment she realized she wanted to become a writer – but still NEVER thought she'd write a Simpsons with her Dad. It's a sweet hang with a family steeped in Simpsons history and the kind of chat you immediately call your Dad after.

There's only five more episodes left in our limited series Round Springfield! We're so excited to share some of the folks we have lined up in the near future -- but we're taking a bit of a step back from our regular schedule to secure and record with those heavy-hitters to bring you a star-studded final five episodes. We can't wait for you to check out what we have in store.