Happy July of the Fourth!

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EuroDateLots to talk about this week: Johnson and Jochen give me heat about England’s lack of World Cup progress; I complain about fireworks; the Kansas Cricks send a letter about British date format; ex-quiz guest Ed Gamble becomes a BBC America star; a 97-year-old lady accuses me of soliciting prostitutes; we marvel at the menu at British McDonald’s restaurants; and Stephen Merchant makes a case against American independence. Happy Birthday, America!

World Cup Special

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sadSomething different this week: to help us cope with England’s early departure from the World Cup, my friend Des Gallagher and I complain at length about the state of English football: the media buildup, pampered stars, the impact of the Premier League, foreign managers, and which team we’ll be supporting for the rest of the tournament. This inevitably gets a little “football-y” so apologies to any of you who have little or no interest in football, but the rest of you can nod knowingly along. Normal service will be resumed next week, when we’ll be back to talking about Ribena.

Teasmade!

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TeasmadeThis week, we discuss my recent trip to Florida, everything from endangered shellfish to something called a “Silver Alert.” Then, listener Mollie writes to discuss the wacky world of coffee, which leads us to game show prizes in the seventies. Later, Scott calls in from PA to take the quiz, and tries to figure out what a “filbert” is, while Johnson goes to “the Nick.”

John Logie Baird (And Boo Boo)

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JLBA vaguely Scottish theme this week: We discuss the “reality” show called “I Wanna Marry Harry,” and then hear from a listener about an unforgivable mispronunciation of a pretty common name. Then we learn the relationship between condoms and comedy Scottish hats, talk about some more zee/zed confusion, and hear about a kids’ handicraft that gave its name to a cartoon character. Later, Sam returns for the quiz and tries to guess what a “Maine Coon” is, while Johnson needs to “spend a penny.”

Some links to things we mention: Scottish Star Trek, Z. Cavericci pants, Scoubidou.

Zed’s Dead, Baby. Zed’s Dead.

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Zed_KeysThis week, we talk about some things I learned to spell or pronounce wrong, a subject brought about by my dog’s recent operation. Then we dip into “The Ed Files,” violate some copyright, test our knowledge on U.S. geography, discover what a Cadbury’s Creme Egg was known as in my school, disparage Florida, and find out some (possibly apocryphal) word origins.

My Mum’s Budgie and Schrodinger’s Cat

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kitten_and_birdThis week, the Eurovision Song Contest gets us into my never-before-told scandalous Boy George Story. Then I show Johnson what long-time German listener Jochen looks like, and listener Chris Morris attempts a coup d’etat. Then we find out how American we are (or aren’t) and later, my mum takes the quiz, and tries to guess what “drinking the Kool-Aid” might be, while Johnson visits “Buck House.”

The Other Mother’s Day

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051409blog_mommymamameThis week, it’s (American) Mother’s Day, so we discuss why British Mother’s Day happened two months ago. Also, we play a quiz Johnson invented called “Star Wars character or NFL athlete.” Then we chat about horseshoes and how customer service varies between our two nations, and later, Martin takes the quiz, and tries to guess what COBRA is, while Johnson reads a French Letter.

Oh: the Key & Peele bit we mention is here.

My Wife Thinks “Daddie’s Sauce” Sounds Dirty

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DSMy wife Jennifer is co-hosting this week, so in between her criticizing my housekeeping, we talk about black & white TV, then discuss some things that Americans don’t realize are weird about their country. Then we talk about red velvet cake and the “Hotdog On A Stick” franchise and find out how British we aren’t. Later, Rob returns for a (complete this time) quiz, and tries to guess who “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” are, while Jennifer tries to figure out “dodgems.”

Oh: the food coloring story we mention is this one, and Morris Dancing is, well, this. I didn’t hallucinate it!

Snooker and Googlies

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SnookerScott’s sitting in for Johnson this week, and I take him on a reluctant dialect journey around the UK. This somehow gets us into the state capitals (real and imagined) and why gridiron is called that. Then we talk about the upcoming Disney cricket-related film “Million Dollar Arm,” which gets us into a terrific Amex ad done by Jerry Seinfeld a while back. Then I explain the complex color-mixing rules of snooker, and finally Jon takes the quiz, trying to guess what “Duck Duck Goose” is, while Scott enjoys some “seaside rock.”