PILTDOWN MAN AND THE CARDIFF GIANT

Joe Flush

Two longtime friends, one a former comedian and the other a world traveler, riff on life, the arts, music, sports, travel and Horehound candy, and follow rabbit holes on just about anything.  Much of it tongue in cheek while entertaining themselves and hopefully you. Future plans are interviews and at least one listener.

  1. 2d ago

    (81) "From Flip Cup Records To Musical Comedy In Kentucky With Special Guest Tom "Cool" Yolton"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. A Guinness world record for flipping 10 cups in 6.63 seconds sounds ridiculous until you hear how long it takes to train for it, and what it says about attention, ambition, and the weird ways people build careers now. We kick things off with David Rush, a record-setting specialist who’s turned niche feats into a full-time job, and we ask the question we can’t shake: when does a “record” feel meaningful, and when does it feel like a paperwork exercise with great lighting? Then we bring on our first musician guest, Tom Cool, and the conversation opens up into the Lexington, Kentucky live scene where comedy and music overlap in the most unpredictable ways. Tom shares how he got pulled toward performance, what it was like navigating clubs and criticism, and why musical comedy can be both a shield and a superpower. Along the way we hit comedy history touchstones like Dr. Demento, plus a personal highlight: Tom’s early days opening for Bruce Springsteen before that name landed the same everywhere. The second half turns into pure road-story gold, including a Two Keys Tavern tale about unwanted “free” drinks, trying to stay professional, and realizing way too late you might not be okay to drive. Tom also performs on the mic, giving you the energy of a live set with songs that lean into drinking, town lore, and sharp local detail. If you like stand-up storytelling, musical comedy, Kentucky culture, and behind-the-scenes performer life, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with your favorite line or moment. Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  2. 5d ago

    (80) "We Turn Pet Peeves And Old Habits Into Comedy Gold Or Something Really Stupid"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. Arby’s says “we got the meats,” but we cannot stop thinking about the fish. We kick things off with a question that should be simple: why does a fast food fish sandwich show up in spring and disappear around Easter? From there, the conversation turns into a hilarious, oddly specific tour of cravings, nostalgia, and the small rituals people build around food, including the kind of tartar sauce dedication that makes grocery store strangers stare. After the laughs, we catch up for real. We talk about what we have been doing lately, from classes and homework to the behind-the-scenes work of keeping a podcast moving and booking new guests. Then we get personal in the best way, swapping “secret talent” stories, admitting what we were weirdly good at as kids, and noticing how age changes what our bodies can do and what we choose to care about. We also dig into what still makes us happy. For one of us it is music and guitar, for the other it is comedy, performing, and the chase for a fresh angle that still surprises. That opens the door to travel dreams and planning, including the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain and Portugal, plus the idea that imagining a trip can be its own kind of fuel. We close with pet peeves, old-person habits, and childhood confessions that prove memory is messy and friendship is the safest place to tell the truth. If you like comedy podcasts, real conversations, and the kind of storytelling that bounces from fast food to life philosophy without losing the thread, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who has strong opinions about fish sandwiches, and leave a review, what is the pettiest thing that irrationally drives you up the wall? Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  3. Oct 6

    (79) How El Niño Put Chilean Penguins In Copper Vests As The Grand Canyon Ate My Uno Card"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. A copper vest for a penguin sounds like a punchline until you hear why it exists. We kick things off with a report from Chile where El Niño-driven warmth cuts into the fish supply, leaving young penguins injured and at risk. Researchers are trying a surprising fix using copper and zinc vests, and that sends us straight into the messy line between science, folk remedies, and the stories we tell ourselves about what heals. Then we get personal and a little annoyed. Joe talks about sewing a San Fermín Festival patch onto a travel shirt as a simple memento, only to be stopped by security and pressed to “explain” what the patch is for. From there it’s the Braves game sun, the search for a bandana, and the unsettling reality of customer service jobs where the person selling the products doesn’t know what the products are called. We also dig into modern sales pressure and online weirdness, including a pitch to appear on the podcast that devolves into insults and threats before asking if we still want to buy the book. Add a record-setting haul of trash from the Grand Canyon area (yes, including a single Uno card), and we finish with a hostage hypothetical that forces the hardest question of all: do you choose who dies, or refuse and live with the outcome? Subscribe for more sharp storytelling and offbeat news, share this with a friend who loves strange human behavior, and leave a review if you want us to keep going. What part hit you hardest: the penguin vests, the patch interrogation, or the moral dilemma? Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  4. Oct 3

    (78) "Two Guys Rate Themselves As Human Beings Without Flinching. One Scorecard, Zero Tens"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. Reality is weird when your mood is part of the measuring tool. We start with a psychology concept called depressive realism, the idea that people who feel down may sometimes judge control and outcomes more accurately than people who lean optimistic. That leads us straight into the modern experiment we all live inside: social media. When you post something and wait for likes, are you reading the room, or are you feeding a loop of validation, anticipation, and confirmation bias? Then we take a sharp turn into the personal stuff that sticks. We talk about growing up with a running mental scoreboard, how early self-esteem gets shaped by comparison, and why something as small as a pair of shoes can carry years of meaning. One of us chased “requirements” like they were survival. The other opted out so completely he did not even know the requirements existed. The laughs are real, but so is the insight about insecurity, coping styles, and what therapy teaches you about your own story. To make it concrete, we try a simple, uncomfortable exercise: rating ourselves as human beings. We put numbers on honesty, generosity, empathy, and intelligence, and we argue about why nobody deserves a ten. Along the way we share stories about giving time to people at the end of life, helping strangers, getting burned by someone who took advantage, and learning how boundaries fit inside compassion. If you like conversations about mental health, self-awareness, character, and realistic personal growth, this one is a solid mirror. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves thoughtful talk, and leave a review if our honesty score holds up for you. Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  5. Sep 29

    (77) "Role Models And Rabbit Holes"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. You can learn a lot about someone with one simple question: who do you look up to, and what part of their life are you actually trying to copy? We start there, then pull the thread until it turns into a bigger talk about admiration, influence, and the difference between a true role model and a useful cautionary tale. We share the kinds of traits we respect most, why our parents still loom large, and how certain comedians rewired our sense of what great storytelling and fearless stand-up comedy can do. From role models, we pivot into the quiet realities of aging. We compare the moment you first feel “old” with the moment other people start treating you that way, and we talk through the split between physical changes like mobility and the hope that your mind stays clear. It’s honest, funny, and grounded in everyday details, not lofty slogans. Then we let the hypotheticals fly. If the circus hired you tomorrow, what job could you actually do? If you won the lottery, would you buy something flashy or aim for a simpler life near the ocean or in the mountains? We get into gambling psychology, why the chase can matter more than the cash, and why horse racing handicapping feels different when it’s driven by research and curiosity. The biggest takeaway lands on generosity: big tips, direct giving, and how “pay it forward” can create a story that changes someone’s day and sometimes their life. We wrap with a mind-bender: if you could switch brains with anyone alive, who would you choose, and would you rather have invisibility or flight? Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves big questions, and leave a review with your answer. Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  6. Sep 26

    (76) "The Ig Nobel Effect Laugh-First Science And The Strange Studies Behind It"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. A perfect upgrade comes with a catch: swallow a “brain pill” and you get 10% smarter, but everyone you meet treats you like you’re 20% less intelligent. We (Joe Flushed and Eddie) argue about whether that trade is worth it, how much ego really runs the show, and why being right is not the same thing as being believed. Along the way, we poke at a darker thought: in a noisy world, sharper critical thinking can feel less like a superpower and more like an albatross. Then we dive into one of our favorite corners of funny science, the Ig Nobel Prizes. They’re built to make you laugh, then make you think, and the winners prove it: biomechanics research on kissing across cultures, behavioral economics on who steals Halloween candy or “adjusts” a dice roll, chemistry that somehow leads to cockroach milk, and medicine that turns nose blowing into a serious discussion about pressure and ear health. Even the physics of splash-free urinals gets the spotlight, with design inspiration you will not forget. We also talk about what it means that the Ig Nobel ceremony is moving from Boston to Zurich, and why researchers might feel uneasy traveling. Add in snake bite patterns, the oddly powerful smell of babies, friendships formed through mutual dislike, and a soil science study that literally buries underwear to test decomposition, and you’ve got an episode that stays ridiculous while still landing real insights. If you like smart conversations with sharp jokes and genuinely useful takeaways, subscribe, share this with a friend who loves weird facts, and leave us a review. What’s the single strangest study you think would actually help people? Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  7. Sep 23

    (75) "Joe And Ed Make Future Plans While Admitting Time Is Weird"

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. Trash pickup should be simple. Instead, we found ourselves stuck in a mini-drama of yard waste, overstuffed cans, changing rules, and the special kind of irritation you feel when a company tells you one thing on the phone and then slaps a violation tag on your bin. We talk through why that kind of small hassle can snowball, especially when you have already done the hard work and just want the system to function. From there we swing into real life at home: putting off the grocery run, trying to eat what is left before it spoils, and then striking freezer gold with a bag of Hershey assortments. That turns into a surprisingly deep debate about candy, semi-sweet chocolate, and the honest question of whether “healthy candy” is even a thing. If you are going to break down and eat chocolate, do you pick what you actually like, or do you pretend you are being responsible? Then the conversation gets heavier in the best way. We send support to friends dealing with hospice and sit with what that kind of uncertainty does to your head. It naturally leads to time, aging, and planning: the weirdness of “now,” the desire to look 2, 5, 10 years out, and the reality that one fall can change your mobility fast. We share travel plans and senior travel worries, from Mexico and San Miguel de Allende to dreams of southern Spain, Norway in winter, and a river cruise in Egypt, plus local goals that keep us moving like classes, guitar, Spanish, gardening, and even fling golf. If any of this hits home, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. What are you still determined to do in the next five years? Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

  8. Sep 19

    (74) "We Talk About MS, Depression, And Why Comedy Still Matters With Special Guest Brian Parker."

    We love your feedback and suggestions. Please tell us your name too. AI tries to trick us and scam us sometimes. A heat wave in central Kentucky turns a routine grocery run into a reminder that bodies have limits, and that sets the tone for a wide-ranging, surprisingly personal conversation about grit, illness, and the role humor plays when life gets complicated. We start with a headline that feels almost impossible: 91-year-old Appalachian Trail hiker Dale “Greybeard” Sanders finishing under the rules, within a year, after dozens of falls and even a hospital stay. It’s the kind of story that forces the question: what keeps a person going when stopping would be easier, safer, and totally understandable? Then our longtime friend Brian Parker joins us, and the episode deepens. Brian breaks down multiple sclerosis (MS) in clear, human terms, what it does to nerves, how lesions can affect one side of the body, and what it means to move from relapsing-remitting MS to primary progressive MS. He shares the first warning signs, the fear of vision changes, how a doctor connected the dots, and why getting a diagnosis quickly can change everything. We also talk honestly about depression, anger, and finding steadier ground with medication, plus the everyday frustrations that come with memory and mobility changes. We keep it real, but we keep it funny too: old stand-up stories, improv group drama, favorite comics, and two absurd hypotheticals that get unexpectedly revealing, waking up as Bruce Springsteen without guitar skills, and a “dream VCR” you can only watch with family in the room. If you care about MS awareness, mental health, resilience, and comedy as coping, this one will stick with you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review telling us what part hit home for you. Please leave us your comments, text me, DM me, give me your thoughts.  what works and what doesn't land?  We want to improve. thanks for listening Joe

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About

Two longtime friends, one a former comedian and the other a world traveler, riff on life, the arts, music, sports, travel and Horehound candy, and follow rabbit holes on just about anything.  Much of it tongue in cheek while entertaining themselves and hopefully you. Future plans are interviews and at least one listener.

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