The Hunker Downcast: Recent Episodes
Jeff, Lance, and Alli
Three friends give you the rundown from our corner of Southeast Louisiana: news, sports, food, music, and whatever's on our mind.
It's been a while since the last Hunkerdown episode. (Jeff never figured out how to do the remote recording during the pandemic.) We may yet get the band back together eventually. But for now, here is where you'll find us keeping the brand out there... to borrow a phrase from Ray Nagin.
It's Catch Basin Cinema, our first spin-off series! Jeff and Varg are down in the culverts and gutters in search of the New Orleans shot or set film with the most #standing. Our first movie, 1993's Hard Target staring Jean Claude Van Damme, is definitely not it, though. Anyway, just getting started so don't forget to like and subscribe etc.
You can subscribe to CBC's Libsyn feed here https://sites.libsyn.com/433074
OR find the RSS in a growing number of places around the internet. Keep an eye out.
Follow the show on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BasinCinema Additional points of contact and social media to come eventually just as soon as Jeff figures out how to work the buttons... which may take a while.
Happy New Year and welcome from distant future. Yes, the 2020s will, in fact, include podcasting. We're very sorry. There was nothing we could do.
We spend a few minutes catching up with LaToya's New Orleans in the new decade before launching into an extended discussion of the latest Democratic Primary debate and the stakes of the 2020 election. It's probably the most Bernie Bro #content we've put into one episode so far.
Later we sort out the Odell Beckham situation and celebrate the LSU national championship win before getting in a few parting shots about the way the Saints season ended.
Anyway, new year, new decade, new recording location. Maybe there will even be more new content before the flames inevitably engulf the world. Stay tuned.
If, for some reason you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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On Election Day Eve, Jeff and Lance take some time to familiarize themselves with the candidates, issues, and unusual names or nicknames so vital to the future of Louisiana. Make sure you get out and vote against as many of these candidates as possible.
If, for some reason you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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Jeff and Varg sneak off to the Deurty Boys gallery to record this freebird episode sort of previewing the 2019 New Orleans Saints.
Because of the events of this week, that means we have to start with thirty minutes of Drew Brees, Focus On The Family, and #CancelCulture.
That's followed by the obligatory Dan Arnold Update and then a brief look at the roster before we try and puzzle out the schedule for a while.
Finally, in order to evoke anxieties over the dubious future of football, we read a poem by former almost Saints receiver Rishard Matthews.
If for some reason you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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Hey we're back!
oh no... wait... turns out Jeff pulled a severe Dan Arnold on the audio despite what he thought was a very thorough sound check and the result is the garbled mess he's been trying to fix for two weeks now. We're afraid this is about as good as it's going to get. Which is to say not good at all. Sorry.
But maybe there's something in here worth sticking it out for anyway. Some of the barely audible topics covered as we tried to catch up from summer hiatus were:
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How do beveridges work?
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Let's explain some GIFs
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Summer of Sorrow
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Barry and associated flooding
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Cars in culverts
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Epstein
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Football season
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The Dan Arnold Theory
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The Rolling Stones
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The Netherlands
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Shitty September
Also there is a Jivewire in there somewhere if you can slog through to it. Anyway, WE'RE SO EXCITED TO BE BACK. We'll do better next time. Really.
If, for some reason you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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Finally! It's our Mardi Gras re-cap episode. Only we're uploading it two weeks late because things happened. Also we don't get through all of Mardi Gras because it was late when we recorded this. Also please enjoy the guest appearance by Varg's 15 year old dog Doris. She has a lot to contribute.
Anyway we're back.. basically.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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It is Mardi Gras time again and rather than wait for our traditional 10 hour recap episode to dump it all on you at once, we decided to try and get out in front of the chaos before it compounds. And so here is a quick hour and a half on the early season doings. Such doings are as follows.
The Downman Mansion, long a nexus of old line Carnival tradition, has burned to the ground. Some of us had a close-up view of the .. uh… calamity. Also it has something to do with Bernie Sanders, probably.
Doug MacCash has some ideas about the “New Mardi Gras” Does he actually believe his own bullshit? Or is he just trolling for clicks? Sound off in the comments.
Alli was an important person in Krewe Du Vieux this year. We made sure to witness this.
This is just the beginning and there is plenty more Mardi Gras to come. If you see us on the parade route this year stop and say hi.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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A special minisode featuring field reports from Stupor Bowl V which may or may not have been the final appearance of the legendary Vibrio Vulnificus Football Club. Also some brief commentary on New Orleans's Day Of Many Super Bowl Boycotts.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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Folks! The Saints game. Have you seen this? Have you heard about this? Well it is bad. People are not happy. Nevertheless we are here to feel all the feelings with you so that… well… that is something anyway. And we are feeling ALL the feelings not only of this game but of the whole Sean Payton era as we go on a deep dive search for reasons. We really put ourselves out there this time. For you we did this. Varg, especially. Just listen and you’ll see what we mean by that.
Anyway… we’re not gonna tell you wait til next year because who knows if there will even be one. The best advice is just to wait. For about an hour and forty five minutes, at least.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, or whatever. Thanks for listening.
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Happy Holidays! Not only from us but also from everyone at Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen’s office (“Where family comes first.”) Some of us are in kind of a humbug mood. Or maybe it’s just the lagunitas. But somehow between tangents about things like boil order protocol or who is and is not dead, we manage to run through a re-cap of (some of) 2018. Well, at least, we cover these issues. Kind of in this order.
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Canadian Olympic Ice Dancers
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Goofy LaToya
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That Thai cave rescue
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Bad LaToya
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World Cup memories
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Good LaToya
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Eddie the dunking/masturbating otter
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Valerio the hero we deserve
Predictions/Goals for 2019 including but not limited to the fate of the Saints and some exclusive early Carnival news.
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In this two-part 25 minute mini-sode, Varg stops by the Mid City home of Mr. James Karst to chat about his continuing search through time for a kid named Louis Armstrong who, among others things, would one day have a semi-functional airport named for him.
Also, Varg and Jeff sit outside the half moon and take in a loss that could have easily been prevented if Sean Payton wasn't Sean Payton. Hope is kept alive. Rolls are slowed. Gentrification is compared to Katrina and in the end, nothing really matters.
Come with us on a deep dive into the history of the Atlanta NFL franchise. On this journey we examine the emotional and psychological weight borne by that football team, its city, its fans, and their common legacy of nervous grasping and striving to achieve what was never meant for them. Happy Thanksgiving and pass the roast Falcon.
Jeff and Varg have a meandering conversation about what the 2019 Louisiana Governor's race will probably look like, why John Bel won't let us have our hotel/motel tax money, and a little bit about the December 8 runoff elections. Oh and there are Saints-Eagles predictions. Also, the Alli DeJong soundboard is here. And there are patron shout outs and sponsor solicitations because that is apparently something that happens now too.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends. Thanks for listening.
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Hi everyone and welcome to our two hour in-depth investigation into the problematic gigs of Amanda Shaw.
Segment One
Election was a “win”(?) for Democrats. So let’s fire some coaches. We do a rundown of all the things that happened in the election from national party politics, to various state ballot initiatives, to local races in Louisiana and New Orleans. There may have even been an official podcast endorsement issued.
Segment Two
The Saints are going to the superbowl and Dez Bryant is definitely going to be great. What can’t Taysom do? Did Varg get his socks back? A lot of people seem to think Michael Thomas looks like Scottie Pippen LSU fans are having a sad. Notre Dame fashion faux pas.
SOSO
Varg has a flat tire on Halloween.
Jeff drives across the country
Alli makes a soup and is in a bird club
The Jivewire
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In our continuing quest to bring Timinem weekly content, we present a minisode film review. Varg smokes banana peels and reviews "The Big Easy" possibly the most maligned New Orleans film out there (No "K-Ville" doesn't count, that was a TV show). Join Varg as he attempts to answer the questions, how good is it as a "New Orleans" movie? How good is it as a regular movie? What about the city does it get right or wrong? WTF was up with that Tipitina's scene?
Ready sha? Let's go!
(Editor's note: At the time this was recorded, we hadn't recorded in some time)
Here we are doing our underwear load
Segment One
First we have breaking news:
You don’t need a bike registration anymore You can still register your bike if you want to. But don’t. Instead just join the Stolen Bikes NOLA Facebook page.
Varg is trying to build a shed
Everybody loves Amendment 2. Except Jeff Landry.
Joe Alleva wants LSU fans to keep it clean. Georgia fans are appalled… at having gotten their butts kicked.
SEC football predictions matrix.
Why does the national press hate on Drew Brees? Is it perhaps the birthmark? Is it because he can’t beat Baltimore?
Segment 2
Tim en ‘em have requested content on some specific topics.
-Pelicans content. Also New Orleans Pelicans content.
-Where are the Proud Boys headed?
-Something about a trash stick.
-Varg still can’t get that shed built.
Halloween-themed content
-(Exorcism) LaToya is firing everybody.
-(Witches) Billy Nungesser looks more and more like Emeril every day. Also he is the tangential subject of several lawsuits in Plaquemines Parish.
Lost audio due to stupid Jeff.. or maybe gremlins
SOSO
Jeff sees the Breeders at the Civic and Valerio’s empty enclosure at the zoo.
Alli goes to the LSU-Georgia game and tries to bake the fall into existence.
Varg works a booth at the Voice Of The Wetlands Festival in Houma.
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So the first thing to know about this historic milestone of an episode is that it was recorded way back on September 20th, well before anybody knew just how much Brett Kavanaugh preferred beer to.. say… white wine as is heavily speculated here. The second thing you need to know is that Varg just got back from Colorado whatever that is supposed to imply. Also, the show features frequent updates from that Thursday night’s Browns/Jets game which, itself, made a little history and is a thing we would like some measure of credit for.
Segment One
Hey we’re doing the sports first this time. How do you like that! Florida got beat by Kentucky. Jeff has some LSU predictions. Varg talks about his Florida related grudges. Also we recap a bit of the Saints-Browns game (again, the Cleveland Browns are practically a guest on the show tonight) discussing the Drew Brees arm truthers and the very nice Browns fans before looking “ahead” to a Saints-Falcons game that, yes, has already been played by the time this show gets uploaded.
In the news… uh… last week: LaToya wants to move City Hall. Some Municipal auditorium history. Would you live in Charity hospital? A cat causes an Entergy outage. A possum causes the Browns to rally in that Thursday night game we’re following. Also remember to check your big cat and monkey containment specs, y’all.
SOSO
Update: The Browns are coming back!
Alli saw Neko Case at the Civic. Gives us a review of the Pythian Market food. Also she saw Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Superdome.
Varg goes on vacation to Colorado and samples the local product. Also the airport there is cursed.
If you see any rare tropical birds on the loose please let us know.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, keep circulating the tapes. Thanks for listening.
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Happy Labor Day!
We gave Varg the day off. But Jeff and Alli came in for the overtime. Temping with them this week is Engineer Pat. Because he happened to be sitting there.
Segment One
Mitch Landrieu says Happy Labor Day. We aren’t sure if he knows what that means. Also we aren’t sure if he’s running for President. We know he has a “fund” though. So that’s something.
There was a storm or a thing of some sort in the Gulf while we recorded this. It got a little stronger while we were talking, actually. It got weaker during the editing process, though.
Election 2018! We try to talk about some of the things on your very boring local ballot this fall but fail to cover it all because for some reason we have a lot to say about the very boring local races.
Segment Two
It is football season now and therefore we will say football things. Recap of LSU/Miami and Notre Dame/Michigan. SEC rivalries. Who do you hate losing to? Also Auburn sucks. Coach O’s unique motivational techniques.
Finally, a few words about the New Orleans Saints and the post-modern aesthetic.
If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, keep circulating the tapes. Thanks for listening.
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Is Elon Musk Iron Man? Is Captain America a cop? Are the cops following Alli? Would they follow her all the way to Algiers? Hopefully they didn’t tail her to Varg’s new house which served as a brand new (and very dark) location for this episode. Dude may not know how electricity works but he sure isn’t going to let the cable company get thirty bucks out of him without a fight.
Segment One
A guy got a thousand dollar bike ticket leading us to ask when is it okay to run a red light? How do you register your bike anyway? What is the point? LaToya now only wants the traffic cameras to work some of the time. Meanwhile, what the heck is going on at the Property Management Department?
Socialism is winning but Cedric Richmond is not on board. Other Democrats are failing to protect us from a retrograde Supreme Court. Louisiana Democrats are trying to figure out how to lose elections. John Bel Edwards is probably already whipped.
SOSO
Alli loses an election and goes wandering in the wilderness of New Mexico where she learns the correct way to order enchiladas. We argue about the weather and about boiled crabs.
Varg reviews a Hall and Oates show at the terrible Smoothie King Center venue. We try to devise a Jazzfest map/political alignment chart and do a little bit of a World Cup re-cap.
Jeff is old and likes old people music.
The Jivewire brought to you by, our patrons on Patreon. (Background music is ripped off from Back Chat Brass)
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Are you suffering from a crisis of confidence in these dark times? Are you exhibiting symptoms of World Cup fever? Take a knee with us as we break down this week’s action and try not to be too annoyingly Lalas-like about it. This show was recorded Saturday night (June 16) which was before Alli’s DSA comrades decided to go in a different direction in the election we talk about here. No hard feelings. She now heads to New Mexico to wander in the wilderness.
Segment One
Special Session Three at the legislature iis on and there is nowhere to go but nowhere. We pick out a few details to talk about like John Kennedy’s food stamp privatization scheme and Neil Abramson’s Koch money. Neil introduced LaToya Cantrell to the legislature this month where she made a nonsensical speech which we play in its entirety.
Meanwhile, LaToya has a wacky altar in her office. It’s not necessarily any weirder than Mike Yenni’s office but.. it’s a little weird. Also weird, LaToya’s love for surveillance cameras. Perhaps weirdest of all, the freaking #CityOfYes logo.
Also, where in the world is Irvin Mayfield? And, finally, Monkeys on the lam!
SOSO
We all went to Tracey’s and lost at bar trivia.
Varg has an unusual pork chop recipe.
Jeff is gonna do a bunch of stuff this week coming.
Varg reviews some movies. (Solo, Deadpool 2, and Infinity War)
Alli goes to a “Prince party” mourns Anthony Bourdain and participates in some sort of boat burning event.
The Jivewire brought to you by, our patrons on Patreon.
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Hunkerdowncast Season 2, we guess. Or maybe it’s just Episode 46. Whatever, nobody cares. We’re back. Thanks to everyone who joined our Patreon. We spent it all on Alli’s haircut, though, so we’re gonna need more if we want to get back on track with this. That is provided we survive premature hurricane season, we intend to do that beginning with this double-album sized episode to make up for lost time.
Segment One (roughly 40 minutes)
Should all mayors be bald? There is a storm coming but LaToya’s tactical fleece isn’t even ready yet. Neither is much of her staff, for that matter. We touch on the Warren Riley Uptick, The Curse Of The Bayou Boogaloo, and water management issues here in the #CityThatFloods
Segment Two (maybe an hour)
Check out our friend Ira’s podcast on Jeremy Alford’s network. THis segment is about various conflicts that have arisen over the past month such as, Keith Olbermann vs Doug MacCash,
MacCash vs fried baloney, Norby Chabert vs Stuart Bishop, The #Lalege Infinity War, and the New Orleans City Council vs Airbnb.
Also, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro is closing. Varg shares with us the actual introductory text from the Al Copeland’s Sweet Fire And Ice menu penned by Al Himself.
SOSO
Varg buys a house during Jazzfest and has a panic attack.
Alli is getting hard core into birding.
Jeff makes a pot of Ya-Ka-Mein but can’t sell any of it.
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Beautiful, beloved super genius Blarm Tenson is dead. God bless him. How much public money did Tom steal over the years? Somebody calculate this for us. Varg reviews the Benson second line funeral parade. Also Mitch Landrieu is going to be President or sell a lot of books whichever comes first.
SOSO: Varg is house hunting. His efforts are somewhat frustrated by straight-to-Airbnb construction. (BTW, Happy anniversary to the city’s STR ordinance)
Alli goes camping at Grand Isle, watches Dune, has dinner at Brigsten’s, plays Zelda.
Jeff does.. something, probably.
We’re trying a new thing with Patreon. We really don’t even know how it works yet. Of all the ideas we had for making the show better, we thought maybe recouping a small fraction of our expenses might help the most.
Anyway, if you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, keep circulating the tapes. Thanks for listening.
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Here it is! The nearly three hour chronological Carnival recap everybody is always asking about. We're giving it to you in one big chunk this year because our market research tells us people really like extra long podcasts. Maybe it will help if we give you rough time estimates that track the topics. So here that is in the order of the parade schedule. Times are approximate.
Little intro plus Krewe du Vieux goes to about the 18 minute mark.
The Ladder Controversy: 20 minute mark to about 26:00
Oshun/Cleopatra: Begins around 29 minutes.
Femme Fatale/Carrollton/KingArthur/Alla Sunday: At around32 min.
Chewbacchus 38:00 or so.
Nyx 49:00 or so.
Muses/Chaos 55:00
D’Etat 1:12
Tucks/Iris 1:26
Endymion 1:34
Thoth 1:44
Bacchus 1:54
Proteus/Orpheus 1:57
Fat Tuessdy 2:08 to end
As always we're trying to get back on a schedule here so bear with us. If you enjoy our show, share, like, rate, tell your friends, keep circulating the tapes. Thanks for listening.
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So this is different. It’s the night before Krewe Du Vieux and everybody is in kind of a mood. We were sitting in the Deurty Boys gallery drinking and watching old wrestling matches and for some reason decided to get the mics out. It went sort of ok.
Here is kind of a list of the topics give or take a few wildly divergent tangents and wrestling match distractions that kept happening for.. some reason.
-Papal turntness
-wrestling
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Latoya Cantrell’s taco pie recipe.
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wrestling
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Latoya’s credit card thing
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wrestling
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The Saints’ ignominious end
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Should the Saints draft Baker Mayfield?
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wrestling
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Krewe Du Vieux preview and more Mardi Gras talk
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still more wrestling
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Hey we’re back! Yay! But we’re talking about muppets or something. Boo! Also Donald Trump is still the President. Boooooo! But that means Tim owed us a case of beer. Yay! But we drank it all during this show so even that is bad now.
Rather than try to explain all the things that happened while we were away, we played another round of Beat the Clock like we did in Episode 35 which was called “Beet The Clock” for some esoteric reason. Also we’d like to come up with a name for these. So let us know, Tim en ‘em. “The Alli Gambit” ain’t working for some of us.
Topics
- The milking scene in The Last Jedi
- The dang Rose Bowl (and subsequent national championship game also bonus LSU commentary)
- The new Mardi Gras rules and route. General Mardi Gras anxiety
- Favorite off-the-field moments from the 2017 Saints season
- Winter weather. Is it bad?
- A coffee shop stor
- What life was like back in “The 1900s”
- The flu outbreak of 2018. Is it bad? (It is bad)
- The City Council is considering an ordinance reforming ABO license procedures that would greatly expand surveillance powers.
Trying to get back on a regular schedule here in 2018. Thanks for sticking with us.
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What if you could go back in time. One week. What would you do differently? What would you say differently on your podcast, for example? Some of us are about to find that out as this episode goes up one week after it was recorded. (Sorry, Tim en em. Things happen. When we set up a Patreon or something, we’ll crank these out faster.)
Segment 1 (approximately 1 hour)
ANYWAY, how was your Thanksgiving? Ours was great/shitty/phony. And then we watched the Republican tax bill destroy the world as we know it. Now that the GOP has everything they want, do they even need Trump anymore? Tim seems to think he’ll be forced out sooner than we do.
What do we do next? Do we take to the streets? Do we take a nap on the job? Do we figure out ways to take down the political establishment? How do we cook the waffle before it cooks us?
In local politics, the election is over but Seth Bloom is still a douchebag and LaToya wants to Airbnb the hell out of everybody. Which bridge will Jeff have to live under?
SOSO (approximately 1 hour)
Lance listens to a bunch of podcasts and sees Primus at the Civic.
Alli visits the High Museum in Atlanta, goes to the Cook-Off For The Coast in Violet, and see the Discovery Of Voyager show at the Music Box
Jeff decides to talk about the upcoming stretch drive for the Saints season. This was recorded the night before the home game against Carolina but the commentary is still pretty ok.
Recipe Minute
From the book, Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking, Alli makes something called “Herring Under A Fur Coat”
The Jivewire sponsored We Met In The Air digital services
Incidental music by Tommy Keene, Blato Zlato, um… the Rolling Stones too, we guess. The Hunkderdowncast intro/outro theme, as always is Campers by Testaverde.
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Today the role of Rev. Lance “Varg” Vargas will be played by Kaitlin Marone. See if you can spot the continuity gaps. Also please drive carefully.
Segment 1
Kaitlin dreamed up and organized the DSA “Gimme a Brake Light” clinics sprouting up all across America so we make her talk about that a little bit. The next clinic will… have already happened by the time this is uploaded.
Let’s talk Election 2017!
Is Seth Bloom going to win the key Midwestern Grandma demographic? Can we believe anything LaToya or Desi say? Why are the New Orleans elections not like the national progressive wave in local elections elsewhere? How can that change in the next round?
Segment 2
Kaitlin tells us about fighting Nazis at the Model U.N. Attorney General Jeff Landry tells us about fighting drug addiction with.. um.. drop off boxes or something. Alli tells us about some weird kids’ videos on YouTube that are probably definitely evil. Or possibly good.
SOSO
Kaitlin talks about a recent performance of her comedy troop’s “Fake News” show at the New Movement Theater. We discuss sewerage.
Alli decides to make this a sports segment and talk specifically about “how good Notre Dame is this year,” which, in retrospect was probably a bad idea. She also has some things to say about “Number one ranked Georgia” which, in retrospect, was also probably a bad idea. It did yield Jeff making a wrong prediction, though. Also we learn that people who play football probably hate football. Also, too, Alli got a tour of the Lake Borgne surge barrier.
Jeff has all kinds of personal problems.
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It's October 27. Happy Varg Gras (Literally "fat Varg")
In this special report Varg speaks with Jackson Square artist Katie Leese who has launched a personal investigation into the facts behind a recent LaToya Cantrell for Mayor campaign ad. This sounds like the first of a two part series. We look forward to Katie's follow up report/brunch review.
Check out @iSnapThereforeIam on Instagram. That’s about it. Goodnight everybody! Oh wait also Varg wants your money. Oh and also here is a show. It’s HUGE. Look, we’re sorry it’s two hours. But our friend, patron and show dad Ira Wray (@wemetintheair) drove all the way down from Baton Rouge just to sit in with us and there was a lot to talk about. Here’s some notes to help you find your way through all this great #Content
Hour One
We’re all fresh off from actual compulsory hunkering during Hurricane Nate. We recap the that experience from Tactical Mitch to canned bread. Jeff hunkers down at Tujague’s. Our newest correspondent Jim Catchastory covers the hurricane. Everybody has hurricane fatigue or fatigue fatigue or something like that.
There is a late breaking scandal in the mayor’s race. Varg has the scoop on that. Also the mayoral race is bad. We talk with Ira about the election and media strategy and do a little handicapping.
Musical performance by Engineer Pat and the Engineer Pat-ettes in a grudging tribute to Tom Petty
Hour Two
In sports, the Saints traded Adrian Peterson, Jacksonville is kind of a shithole, Ira and Varg talk fantasy football. Also Bo Knows Falconry.
Ira updates us on the Baton Rouge political scene and Mayor Sharon Weston-Broome’s troubles with the B.R.A.V.E. anti-crime initiative
Obligatory Tom Petty talk. Here are two articles of note this week about Tom Petty.
SOSO
Jeff appeared on the Dean's List Fake News show.
Alli went to Comedy Fuck Yeah and had dinner at Bao and Noodle.
Ira has a newborn child named after a famous murder ballad.
Lance laid around watching movies.
The Jivewire sponsored (and this time actually presented by We Met In The Air digital services)
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It’s election time in New Orleans. Do you know what district are you in? One parish over, Mike Yenni is extremely weird but Lance thinks that’s ok. The US and N. Korea went to DEFCON something or other over a tree one time.
We look at the latest mayoral poll numbers and talk about what they might mean. Also here is The ballad of Frank Scurlock. Also, too, Sidney Torres’s farcical debate and its possible ramifications.
Finally, in sports, LSU college football misery. #LesWouldaWon NFL anthem antics, and, yeah, the back half of this episode has audio problems. Maybe ditch the headphones once the weird buzz kicks in. We’ll get it right one of these days.
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This is Varg’s epic journey to Paducah, Kentucky to see the solar eclipse last month. The story ran pretty long so we cut it out and released it as a “B side” to Episode 37. Varg’s trip takes him through the wilds of Mississippi to Jackson (America’s most radical city) on to Memphis and then across the great convergence of rivers at Cairo, Ill before finally arriving at the Eclipse Zone where something spiritual happens (maybe.) And then the whole thing kind of devolves into a backyard philosophy debate but with not enough weed.
Also Jeff promised to add notes concerning Marlin Gusman’s chargees sometimes running loose on Bourbon Street, as well as this article by Sam Kriss about the virtues of staring into the sun.
Incidental music samples: “Someone Like You” by Adele, “True and Natural Man” by Kristin Diable, and “Distance Equals Rate Times Time” by The Pixies. Also the unofficial but pretty much official Hunkerdowncast theme is “Campers” by Testaverde.
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Please enjoy some highlights of Matthew Hill and Johnese Smith’s performances at the Urban Conservancy’s mayoral debate on Flood Risk and Environmental Change this month. Full video here.
Meanwhile, how have we been? This episode is one big Steppin’ On Steppin Out (SOSO) segment, you know, just to catch everybody up on us.
Among the topics: Lance goes to see a “Wildcat” wrestling event in Metairie. Jeff and Alli go to the LSU/BYU season opener in the Superdome. Somehow this segues into a talk about the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill. There’s the obligatory LSU/Notre Dame/Florida college football roundup. Alli goes to DC and communes with the Juggalo March and observes the counterprogrammed “CHUD” rally. Jeff and Lance do something called Seersucker Monday.
There’s actually more but it ran long so we’re saving it for a bonus episode coming out later this week.
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Back from rumspringa in The North and in Houston just in time for the flood. Let’s splain everything as best we can.
Segment One: Let’s talk about the flood. Topics include S&WB’s unique power generation issues. (Described in detail here in 2011) Landrieu’s reorganization of the board’s structure. Cedric Grant buying furniture and “showing leadership.” A potential privatization scheme could go very badly. This stuff matters because someone will have to oversee implementation of the new water management plan.
At a about the 45 minute mark, we transition into preseason football mostly so that we can take stock of the growing number of Bronze Toms in the universe.
Segement Two: Jeff celebrates his birthday at the Bayou Brief launch party. Later, Jeff and Lance confirm the Shock Pole myth. Lance road trips to Houston for “White Denim Night” and then up to Crosby, Mississippi for a writer’s retreat. Alli drove and camped her way all the way up to Michigan and back with a stop off in Chicago for the DSA National Convention.
The Jivewire: One of the goofiest Jivewires yet, really. Sponsored by WeMetInTheAir
Congrats to the Wray family, BTW.
Incidental music: Quasi, Gary Brown
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Lance and Jeff watch Game of Thrones for whatever reason. Probably because there's little else to do this time of year in the dead of the New Orleans summer. So Lance thought it would be a good idea to record a quick 10 minute recap of the Season 7 premiere. If it goes over well enough we might do more of these.
And now for something completely different. Really. We thought we’d change the format up a bit this time in order to 1) get the show down under an hour for once in our goddamn lives and 2).. Uh that’s about it.
Anyway, instead of the usual bits this time we just go around the table throwing out topics which we can only discuss for exactly two minutes or else Pat comes and hits us with an electrified pole he found somewhere in the French Quarter. Since we surprised each other with the topics, we’ll let you discover by listening. Although.. here are a few news items referenced in discussion which may provide some hints.
NOLA.com: Have you seen a streetcar get into an accident?
Advocate: “Beet-red angry man” pulling out gun
NOLA.com: New Orleans road work could raise lead levels, officials warn
WWLTV: Torres “still processing” mayoral campaign
NOLA.com: Kristin Palmer to challenge Nadine Ramsey for New Orleans City Council
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Happy Birthday, America, and also to anyone else whose birthday it might be soon. We’ll save you a bowl of mammoth ramen or whatever. We are releasing this episode during the holiday because unlike those who might be #ClosedForEssence, we are in fact woke as.. well, at least as woke as as Wal Mart. We’ll never be quite as woke as Mitch Landrieu, though. At least that’s what his major award says.
Hour One: State Of The City
In anticipation of the mayor’s twice postponed State Of The City address, we pull together a quick discussion of themes we expect he will touch on.
In crime, Lee Zurik pulls the invoices on a private security firm Mitch hired, John Georges’s friend had a column in John Georges’s paper for some reason. Also Mitch may or may not actually care about crime but this does not mean he isn’t woke about it.
In resilience, it turns out the city and environs are sinking 50% faster than last predicted. Maintaining a proper state of wokeness about this problem strains one’s capacity for cognitive dissonance.
In housing, Airbnb is already violating their agreement. Also, in other cities, such as Barcelona, they know how to play hardball. But, The New Orleans inferiority complex seems to get in our way.
The state of the city is… yikes… but also woke.
Hour Two: Wheel Of Mayors
Behold the results of our first “official” Hunkerdowncast Twitter Poll of the mayoral race. Behold also the debut of everybody’s new favorite segment, “Wheel Of Mayors.” Let’s spin the wheel and see who we should talk about.
Karen Carter Peterson iIs being encouraged to run by many many friends but probably not by her friend LaToya.
LaToya Cantrell was quite recently the inevitability candidate. She’s in the news all the time. Recently, she changed her mind about electing a police chief because “we are in a crisis” Also, LaToya’s father in law is a defendant in the “debtor’s prison” lawsuit.
Michael Bagneris
Has a plan to to rebuild the police force by bringin in the Expendables. Also he will help us make nuts and bolts
Desiree Charbonnet
Has money, muscle, and ministers. But what secret plan is she working on down in the basement?
Frank Scurlock
Scurlock was arrested and nobody can deal with it. Also he is tired of things that are “sinceless”.
SOSO
Varg is forced to watch baseball and enjoys(?) an agonizing victory.Jeff goes on another podcast to talk about 30 year old football gamesAlli participates in a fundraising event for S.O.U.L. and plants some trees.
Recipe Minute: 7 hour ramen
Open call to all mayoral candidates to appear on the show. Which one will be first to spin the wheel?
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Hunkerdowncast is pleased to present the debut of our roving fake music critic Allison Pretendsterstock. In this segment, she and Varg re-cap a recent show by Jivewire regulars, the Brain Eating Abitas. Enjoy!
We’re back at the Deurty Boys gallery (901 Chartres St.) in the heart of New Orleans’ World Famous French Quarter to talk to you about… Chris Rose? Playboy Buddy Rose? Something… Oh actually the UK General election which happened the day before we recorded this. Alli is especially fired up. Varg is maybe a little skeptical not only of socialism but of British people in general.
Segment One (about 45 minutes)
Recapping the UK Elections and the political implications going forward. Is there a lesson for American politics or is everybody just fine? Interrupted only by some bead-wearing tourists barging into the gallery after hours oh and then by Menckles who just wants to go have a drink.
Segment 2 (about 30 minutes)
There are secret recordings of Varg talking to himself drunk and we are going to find them. Anyway, this part is all about the most recent spike in violent crime across the city, Mitch Landrieu’s neoliberal response and Leon Cannizzaro’s quasi-fascist response to said crime. Turns out the answer is it all comes down to socialism. Also we play an occupation-based names game. Menckles sneaks in a word or two. Cannizzaro writes to the editor in a Donald Duck voice.
Twitter Questions (Answer key)
British people fucked up the world
Alli has never seen The Sopranos
SOSO
Varg likes it when Jeff and/or Portland are/is miserable. Alli goes to Portland and does all the Northwest outdoorsy things. Also there were homeless people.
Alli and Jeff see another Dean’s List Fake News Show where they learn about Candy the Chimpanzee. Jeff shouldn’t be allowed in public.
Is Phil Collins ok? Do Bridges Ice before roads? Varg goes down the bayou to a place in Gibson called Chester’s Cypress Inn and eats frog legs three days in a row. Also there is a new tattoo to be revealed.
Predictions
Billy Nungesser gets serious
The Legislature fails again
Ronal Serpas will do… something
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It’s a freebird kinda night in the gallery. Let us know if you’d like to be on sometime. Or just come by. People do that, apparently.
Segment One
Jeff and Lance are kicking off Hurricane Season, talking about random esoterica. There was a sensationalized brawl in Tigerland. There was a stabbing on a train in Portland. Varg talks about both of these incidents and the hazards of internet discussion when overpoliced for wokeness. Donald Trump is the You Mad, Bro? President. We have advice for responsible Twitter use.
We wonder if we’re “descending into Ignatianism” and take a panhandler tour of New Orleans.
Uncle Louie is in legal trouble. The legislature is almost home now. A guy named Sherman Mack is a Jamoke. We’re talking super-nerdy prison reform stuff when our impromptu guest joins us. Her name is Alexandra and she is from California via England. We finish the segment and get re-set to do the rest of the show with her sitting in. Oh also… we regret to inform you our friends in the Krewe of Nyx are at it again. Also, too, there is a guy named Barrow Peacock.
Segment Two
We remember that we were supposed to talk about Hurricane Season and so we do that. The problems of the seasonal forecast, figuring out when a hurricane might hit Hollywood, California, evacuation plans, floating balls of fire ants, the regular stuff. Also we play the obligatory hurricane name game trying to figure out which one will be the real bad one. (There is an obvious answer.)
Next, we talk with our guest about her experiences working at Cafe Du Monde. You can do some interesting things with powdered sugar, apparently.
In a sort-of SOSO segment, Lance takes Jeff on a date to see The Happy Talk Band at Siberia. Also Varg goes to Pensacola for Memorial Day. Other things happen. Jeff reads one Jivewire listing (sponsored by We Met In The Air ).
Sorry about the delay on this episode. There were audio problems. Sorry about those too. Anyway, if you like our show, share, like, and fav and stuff. Thanks for listening.
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Who is the mystery member of New Edition? Varg can name all but one of them. See if you can get the answer before he does as you listen. No cheating. Get ready also for a lot more “Record Store Guy” talk in this one as we follow up on Chris Cornell’s suicide by being, in turns, banal and profound for about fifteen minutes or so before we can finally move on with things. To make up for it, we have Pat come out and play some live in studio covers for us later.
Segment One: (about an hour)
Louisiana Legislative follies including John Bel’s tour of the LSU Middleton Library, the imminent budget failure, and the possibility of a constitutional convention. Meanwhile, Shreveport State Rep. Thomas Carmody is being a “jamoke” about the monuments. Not that New Orleans State Rep. Neil Abramson is going to do anything about it. Also, Winnsboro State Rep. Steve Pylant want to kill more people faster.
Breaking news about the final toppling party. (We’re recording the night before Lee comes down.) What’s the next move for #TakeEmDown? Jeff and Alli talk about participating in the last big march on the Lee Monument. Alli gets trolled by David Duke. Meanwhile Roger Ailes is dead and was gross.
Incidental music by Engineer Pat
SOSO
Lance goes to Blaze Pizza and is intimidated by it. He also tries in vain to play roll-a-day, listens to some Phil Collins, and observes Mother’s Day.
Alli’s parents stay at the Ace Hotel. They all visit the World War II Museum and have dinner at Peche. Alli shares a grilled fish en papiotte recipe. Also she participated in a protest march against Leon Cannizzaro’s management of the DA’s office. He and his aides and political allies seem to be very Not Mad about it.
Jeff boiled a bunch of crawfish.
Open pitch to the mayor to appear on the show.
Bonus taco recipe.
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Predictions!
And that’s it (two hours ought to be enough.)
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In this brief outtake from Episode 31, Varg tries to share his review of the S-Town Podcast only to find Jeff and Alli are too busy being Online As Fuck to pay attention. Mayhem ensues.
Happy May The Fourth! (It’s probably like May 11th or later when you listen to this. Sorry.) We are recording this May 4th episode “live” (but not really) from the World Famous Deurty Boys Gallery on Dumaine and Chartres in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. So soak in the atmosphere with us as we take in the sounds of customers stepping in to browse and friends coming by for cameo bits. Billy Nungesser never shows up for whatever reason. Mitch Landrieu has an open invitation, though.
Segment one (Open - 45:00)
Jeff and Alli and many others witnessed a melee on May Day in front of the Jefferson Davis Monument. We re-cap those events as well as the mayor’s feud with Frank Stewart and the fact that Pat doesn’t know there are actually two Mackels. Later we play Marry/Fuck/Kill with the remaining three monuments and look forward to a march on the following Sunday.
Incidental music: Glen David Andrews and TBC Brass band
Segment Two (47:00 - 1:28:00)
Jeff went to an event hosted by The Lens about the effects of coastal loss and climate change on rural Louisiana communities. Varg lays out a shit happens take on climate change.
We remember our friend Deb Cotton who passed away this month. Here is a column by Jarvis Deberry about Deb accepting the Avodah New Orleans Partner In Justice Award. Here is Deb recently writing to the New York Times about the bullying tactics prosecutors use toward victims of and witnesses to crime. Here is a video of Deb accepting the Ashley Morris Award at Rising Tide X.
We spend a few minutes talking about some of the issues that were important to Deb. Leon Cannizzaro is a dick. His dickish tactics were also recently written up in The Guardian, Court Watch NOLA reported on various instances of dickishness The Lens reported on witnesses being issued “fake subpoenas” Meanwhile, the state’s DAs are successfully whittling away at criminal justice reform in the legislature. The Times-Picayune found that Second Line clubs pay a lot more in parade fees than, say, the Krewe of Bacchus does. And Clark Brennan is a dick about it.
Impromptu interview with Jackson Square performer, “Peter”
AHCA passes the House. What now? Punt?
SOSO (1:30:00 to end)
Varg reviews the S-Town Podcast.
Jeff goes to Jazzfest
Alli goes to a bunch of protests and marches and stuff, visits Paradigm Gardens, and checks out the latest “Fake News” at New Movement.
Predictions!
Recipe Minute! (Barbecue Shrimp)
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Hello. It is late April. How did your brackets do? Well those college sports are certainly difficult to predict. As is our show this time around when Lance and Alli have no idea what topics they might be asked to discuss. Let’s see what happens! Oh also, it took extra long to edit and fix some of the audio problems with this episode which means that it’s late. So there are some fun predictions that turn out not to have been so hot. Keep an ear out for those too. For the record, it turns out that Bill O’Reilly will, in fact, be “fine” with his $25 million buyout.
Segment 1
Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser has been clinging to monuments and antagonizing museum directors. We discuss and then decide to give Billy a call for follow up.
Varg wants to take down the monuments with his pickup truck.
The Legislature is in session. We talk a bit about the major issues as lawmakers try to avoid the “fiscal cliff” and do criminal justice reform. Here’s the Gambit on ways to contact your representatives. Here also is a story about JP Morrell’s tampon and diapers tax exemption.
Segment 2
This annoying American Way Magazine article about Bywater is annoying. Also annoying, Chewbacchus people and their fake controversies. Also Chewbacchus is doing a thing that appears to rip off ‘tit Rex. Also Varg thinks Chewbacchus won’t last another 10 years.
SOSO
Varg recaps Wrestlemania, French Quarter Fest in the Square, and creates a freaking huge piece of art out of a door. Then there is an extended rant from our resident found object artist about recycling.
Alli went to see Radiohead. We get a full review of that show plus Radiohead memories from Alli’s younger days. Also there was a “beer dinner” hosted by Treo and Wayward Owl Brewery.
Jeff and Alli saw Dean’s List’s “Fake News” show at New Movement. Jeff is also anxious about running the Crescent City Classic. (He ended up doing ok)
Alli has gotten involved in organizing a local chapter of Democratic Socialists Of America.
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So here is your bonus Freebird for this week. Jeff completes the Phil Collins at Live Aid stunt recording a show with Varg on Thursday night Uptown and then hopping on the Concorde to record Friday night in Mid City with Alli; who, like Varg, is not his wife although they do order food together.
Speaking of which, Mike Pence is a weird mama jamma. Alli doesn’t know Mary Poppins, apparently. Pat participated in the Finn McCool’s St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. He went from looking like Sean Bean to looking like David Koechner in one day.
The Saints added a Notre Dame guy. But they might add a Stanford guy so.. well...
Alli ranks her college football hate schools. Jeff tries to translate that into a worst case scenario Saints draft. Anyway, the NFL is bad.
SOSO:
Jeff talks about his experience at Square Root. This eventually leads to a quick rundown of “standard” New Orleans restaurants which may be over or underrated.
Alli toured a replica Dutch clipper ship docked in the city for the week.
Speed Round:
LaToya Cantrell is running for mayor. We talk about the disconnect between issues people care about in New Orleans and issues the candidates seem to think people care about.
The mayor’s plans for Bourbon Street are coming more into focus. They are not encouraging.
And that’s it for this week. If you have tuppence to rub together be sure and invest it wisely.
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This is the first part of a double feature we’re giving you this week. We couldn’t all get together on the same day so Jeff recorded sessions with Lance and Alli separately. This is from the Thursday night session with Lance. He’s a tough but rewarding interview in much the way Mike Tyson is.
We kick things off with an inspirational reading from Sidney Torres’s Facebook page. It yielded some good things. Sidney has had an interesting week.
Tom Benson has ripped off the city in a way you may not even have known about. Jason Berry’s latest story at American Zombie takes a look at that. We discuss that and then catch up on news from the Saints’ offseason. Jeff has bad news about Manti T’eo. But Varg has what may be very good news about Manti T’eo. Also Varg can’t say Manti T’eo.
Also, too, Varg can’t say meme.
We break down some of the mayoral candidates including Frank Scurlock, JP Morrell, Troy Carter, Leon Cannizzaro, and the possibility of Engineer Pat getting involved some day. The day after we recorded this, LaToya Cantrell made her candidacy official. Jeff and Alli get a chance to comment on this in Part 2.
Also we learn about Varg’s crush on Stacy Head.
In other news, Varg is pumped for Wrestlemania but also a bit stressed about French Quarter Fest, Jazzfest, Fest Fest, and other sundry fests. We somehow manage to mention the Falcons blowing the Superbowl again.
We make sure to read through Sidney’s beautiful prose one more time before shutting it down.
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It’s the grand finale of our three part review of Mardi Gras 2017.
We learn about Varg’s Box Of Wine Appreciation Society and Varg learns a little bit what it’s like to be in charge of children who are not his own. Do you get too drunk on Lundi Gras? Sometimes it can’t be helped. Jeff and Alli talk about seeing Proteus and Orpheus. Somehow, Varg is, again, in charge of some kids.
Finally we get to Mardi Gras Day when everywhere else except for in certain neighborhoods, it’s just Tuesday. Varg talks about what it’s like to have”costume commitment” and about what it’s like to "have a ‘97." Also, there was lots of “gattin’ it” at the Deurty Boys gallery.
Alli spends Fat Tuesday with the St. Anthony Ramblers. We learn about life saving hot dog sandwiches, something about the “beautiful expression of public space and collective action” and/or just being tipsy in the Quarter when the music is playing. Apropos of Bart Everson’s The Heart Of Carnival column, Jeff talks about what the Carnival pageant reveals about the city. Lance talks about throwing a doctor out of the gallery.
Jeff spends Fat Tuesday uptown with Zulu, Rex, and the Wild Magnolias. Jeff doesn’t costume. Alli wants to go to the Rex ball. We end the show talking a little about the class politics of Carnival. Everyone agrees that this was a good one. Maybe not "a 97" exactly, but what can be?
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Part Two of the Hunkerdowncast Mardi Gras review. In this bit we learn about Varg’s foster parenting abilities, the art of parade staging, where to find the best Korean food from some white guy, and where to buy an orange daiquiri that might actually be red.
Also, we ask which parades made the worst jokes? Which parades made the best jokes? Which parades were the most racist? Why did every parade make a Mike Yenni joke? Is Nyx a Superkrewe yet? Was that really Andrew Ridgely in Muses? And what was the deal with Phil Collins anyway?
Here is a NOLA.com article about planning your parade party. Alli talks about her very nice Endymion party. Varg talks about how much he hates the Endymion shit show. Endymion is closely bound up with the Krewe of Chad’s origin myth. As it happens, a Chad ran over some people at Endymion this year. An Advocate photographer was injured during the ensuing mess
More parade talk: Jeff explains Iris’ “100th” year and tells us that Tucks is underrated generally. Varg explains the Chad Family Tree.
Did you make a costume? Do you still have hot glue burns? When is the “Peak” day of Carnival season? Jeff talks about riding in Thoth. We discuss some examples of “divisive” throws. Alli finishes Sunday by watching the Oscars. And that’s where we leave it until Part 3. Phil Collins plays us out.
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Okay here we go with our (now annual) Mardi Gras retrospective. We got together on a Saturday night at Jeff’s place to drunkenly and exhaustively go through every last minute of it. We recorded over three hours of material. As a favor to you, the listener, we’ve broken them up into more manageable bites. The plan was to go chronologically through the season. For the most part, we stuck to that. This first chapter takes us from Krewe Du Vieux through the first weekend of parades. The final bit here is a discussion of the #KreweOfChad. Here’s a quick rundown of topics.
- There was a movie called The French Quarter. It starred a young Becky Allen
- A Port-O-Let shot somebody
- Alli’s great time at KDV failed to grab Trump’s attention
- Femme Fatale is a great parade
- Freret and Alla are not so great parades
- Alli loves Chewbacchus
- Lance hates Chewbacchus
- Barkus is probably a bad idea
- There are too many parades on Sunday
- Alla is garbage
- There is an actual Krewe of Chad parade
- The sociology and politics of Chad
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That’s right. This is a “Freebird” show. This week, it’s just Jeff and Varg and Varg’s hourglass. We set out on a mission to only talk for one hour this week and… almost… make it work. Turns out there was a lot to cover and we barely got to any of it. Mostly what we do is look back at the Superbowl (Hey did you hear the Falcons blew a 25 point lead?) and then look forward to Mardi Gras.
Do you feel extra pressure to have a good Mardi Gras this year? Is The Time Of Trump liable to make it less fun? What about the NBA All Star Game? And, of course, there is always the #KreweOfChad problem. Jeff thinks he has some advice. Varg has some slightly different advice. It gets weirdly philosophical. Anyway, here are some items that get referenced along the way.
- Kevin Allman’s review of Krewe Du Vieux for Gambit.
- Maria Hengeveld on the contradictions in Nike’s “Girl Effect” ad campaign.
- Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
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Hello it’s us making our 2017 debut during the final week of January. Sorry Tim en em. We’ll try not to leave you in the bar by yourself for so long in the future.
Segment One (about 57 minutes)
Dizneylandrieu is back! The mayor unveiled a “security plan” that involves various heresies such as mandatory bar closing times. What does this mean for the future of nightlife in the Quarter or for the character of the city in general? What if it pushes more tourists into the neighborhoods? What will the peacocks do?
We live in the Time Of Trump now and people are doing #Resistance in the streets. The results so far are…. decidedly mixed. Jeff went to the Inauguration Day protest at Duncan Plaza. Alli went to the following day’s Women’s March. Varg experienced the aftermath of the Women’s March in the Quarter. We compare notes and talk political strategy. More grass roots organizing. Less David Brock.
SOSO (app 30 minutes)
Varg once harassed Poppy Tooker on the street. Alli had a steak at Doris Metropolitan, planted some trees, saw Rogue One, and is into a Japanese reality show called Terrace House. Varg shares a vignette from Molly’s at The Market where the remnants of the Women’s March met collided with the remnants of a friend’s memorial service. Jeff talks about the awkwardness of being at a protest and anticipates the joy of Carnival.
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Hey, Tim en 'em. This is a special bonus episode we made out of a very long outtake from Episode 26. Here you'll find Jeff, Lance, and Alli get into a somewhat heated argument over the so-called "fake news" phenomenon. We don't really resolve anything. But we do yell at each other an awful lot which is fun. This lasts about 45 minutes altogether. Enjoy!
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Apologies to Foster Campbell who we know wanted to be with us this week. We couldn’t make it happen. Yet another thing about this election cycle is now our fault. Alli did meet Foster at an LSU game but, unfortunately no one there did a keg stand. How a candidate drinks is very important.
Segment One (about 55 minutes)
In the first segment we try to talk about the Louisiana Senate race but end up getting sidetracked as the conversation, as most political conversations do nowadays, comes under the shadow of Donald Trump and his various foibles. Also there are some odd ideas for monetizing the podcast. Somehow we misattribute the US official recognition of the One China policy to Nixon and not Carter. We regret the error. Alli has a personal connection to Betsy DeVos which yields a somewhat creepy story. Ben Carson floated off the planet. Ben Carson was a scam. We also complain that Democrats spend too much time yelling at each other.
Segment Two (55 - 1:08)
Speed Round topics this time are 1) Sidney Torres 2) Newell Normand 3) Stuart Fisher
SOSO
Jeff wants to talk about people not showing up for Saints games.. Which makes this kind of a sports segment. Jeff also went to Pavo Real which leads to a confusing New Orleans geography discussion.
Lance saw Dolly Parton at the Smoothie King Center.
Alli went to Chicago for Thanksgiving. She also talks about the turkey gumbo she made.
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Episode 25. Or 6 to 4. Whatever the hell that means. Also It’s TEOTWAWKI whatever that means. What are your favorite apocalyptic songs and/or movies. What does the Doomsday Clock say right now, anyway? Has anybody checked? Anyway we’re in this mood because, well, reasons. This show is just one segment and it’s us kvetching about the election. Sorry/Not sorry.
Trump wine tastes like it should come from a box. Election results theater should also come from a box. The Lens does a really great results map. Also everybody was super-wrong about how this thing would go. But somehow it is all Jeff’s fault.
Or maybe it was Hillary’s fault. Or maybe it was something else. We get deep into it. This NYT story about a Carrier plant in Indiana comes up. So does this Advertiser article about Cameron Parish. Voters there are worried about jobs in offshore drilling. David Hammer’s latest investigation shows that “regulations” aren’t really what’s slowing that industry down right now. How do you reach the voters Hillary couldn’t?
How bad can Trump actually be, by the way? (It might be very bad) Does he know or care what he is doing or what a President is supposed to do?
What do we do next? One thing would be to not elect John Kennedy to the Senate, although that will be hard when Caroline Fayard is still causing problems. Beyond that, though, how do people find ways to organize both inside of and independently of their political parties? Alli has some ideas inspired by this Jonathan Schwarz article. Lance has a short sermon on constructive communication.
Twitter responds to our call for Trump cabinet suggestions.
Finally Varg has a question about Williams Supermarket.
Other than that, there’s no regular features. No Jivewire or SOSO. Just needed to get the Trump stuff out this time. We’ll be back in form next time out.
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There’s a cold open where we try to play a name your favorite NPR personality game but end up naming Saints quarterbacks.
Anyway, it’s our first “Freebird” show in some time. Alli is not available this week. Next week we anticipate Varg being gone so she can talk behind his back as well. Happy Varg Gras. This is a celebration of Varg’s birthday but also of all things in life more or less. It goes on for a week or so this time of year. In these Freebird episodes, we talk loosely about a list of stuff. Here’s some of what we touched on.
The City Council’s short term rental vote went about as badly as one can have expected. What will be the fallout from that? Jeff is the Tito Santana of the gentrification process.
The Being NOLA Twitter project is ending. Did we all have the power to Be NOLA all along. Lance describes a failed conspiracy to possibly hi-jack the account.
It’s early voting week so we talk a little bit about the Senate and Presidential races. A bit about the unlikely possibility of getting two Democrats into the Senate runoff. Also, what’s next for the Republican Party after Trump?
City Budget hearings are underway. The mayor wants to double the number of traffic cameras. Varg hates this shit to the point of wanting to “get civil disobedient with a fucking pellet gun” But he also has further issues with revenue collectors that may exacerbate the matter. Aside: Revenue schemes based on fees collected through aggressive policing is basically what caused Ferguson.
The Saints are bad but that is fine. We’re both going to the Seahawks game on All Saints Weekend. Varg remembers a terrible looking college football uniform
BONUS CONTENT: Twitter questions from Tim en em. Something about 70s TV shows. A song.. Sort of. Life down on de bayou. And finally, going to court is like getting drugs.
Next week: Probably more Freebird with Jeff and Alli.
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Congratulations to us on one full year of spectacular podcasting! We celebrate by totally botching and having to re-record a whole segment. It’s okay because it gives Alli a chance to sing more and we learn fascinating new Varg facts. Seriously, though, we appreciate the (mostly) positive reception from Tim en em. We’ll have those satin jackets ready any day now.
More than anything else, we’re proud of the way things we’ve imagined on the show seem to have come true in reality throughout the year. It’s a running theme throughout this episode and a sign that we have arrived as a podcast that matters.
Segment One: (About 32 minutes long)
We talk reconnect with episode one a bit with an update on Louisiana’s coastal master plan. (Things are still not good.) In a somewhat related matter we spend some time talking about the Governor’s lawsuit against the oil and gas industry particularly as it relates to which Senate candidates are and are not supporting it. We follow up with a quick look at the field in the Senate race and some of the stranger ads that have been running including one where John Kennedy loves his handgun and Caroline Fayard appears to use children as human shields.
Segment Two: (About 40 minutes long)
Varg is a jerk about Mike VI and cancer patients in general. Although “Child stars or college mascots: who dies quicker?” is an intriguing topic. But really this is all about the LSU - Florida game getting postponed. So we fight about that a while too before going in to the regular college and pro football talk. Stanford and Notre Dame is about to happen. Notre Dame’s season is in the shitter. Wait til basketball season. The Saints/Chargers game was so ridiculous that Jeff got blocked on Twitter by another public figure. Life is weird in the Upside Down. Varg asks if anyone thinks about pro sports teams in terms of how bad their owners are. And it turns out that yes this happens a lot.
S.O.S.O.
Lance is currently reading some Louisiana true crime books. Mr. New Orleans, the ghost written memoir of Frenchy Brouillette and Murder In The Bayou by Ethan Brown. The latter of these is of some relevance to the current Senate election so we talk about it for a while. Then Varg has to split. Alli participated in a pirate themed pub crawl through Mid City. Jeff attended a destination funeral. Alli mentions a benefit for Hatian hurricane victims coming up Sunday night.
The Jivewire: Sponsored by We Met In The Air
Finally another big thanks to Tim en em. It’s been a fun year. We’ll see y’all in 2017.
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Cold open is a debate between former Saints head coach Jim Mora and himself from twenty and thirty years ago.
There are a few spots during the show where the audio isn’t so good. Sorry about that.
Are we here to discuss Alt-Right memes? Are we here to talk about other podcasts we like? Not really. Actually we’re here to introduce some man-on-the street reports collected by Lance over the past week. We end up talking a lot too, though.
Segment One: (About 30 minutes long)
Our first report comes from Jackson Square artist Reggie Ford who, along with Varg, witnessed the #TakeEmDownNOLA protest there last weekend as well as a sorry counterprotest by David Duke who Lance managed to flip off. Other points of interest. There were developments in the monuments lawsuit the day we recorded. Also “The Overton Window” After Reggie’s interview, Jeff reads a passage from Cross To Bear by John Maginnis about David Duke’s sexual exploits during the 1991 governor’s race.
Segment Two: (About 30 minutes long)
Next we have sports content. First a re-cap of the Saints-Falcons Monday Night game. Then, Lance’s bizarre Les Miles to the Saints theory. Oh and some stuff about DaCOACHO and the state of college football coaching generally. After that, a special guest commentary from Deurty Boy Jeremy Hebert on Les Miles and his legacy.
S.O.S.O.
Actually we talk a bit about the upcoming City Council hearing on short term rentals. All three of us went to a Tweet-up at the Bayou Beer Garden.. Which turns out to be kind of a controversial venue. Also Varg slags on Mid City pretty hard. Then there’s more man on the street reporting from Alli, Lance, and Ros at the Beyonce concert somewhat drunk and contemplating Bronze Tom.
The Jivewire: Sponsored by We Met In The Air
Finally, a note on fireworks.
That’s it. We did it again. If you like our show, share it and tell your friends. Thanks for listening.
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The theme this week is “shipping.” Your favorite potential couple. Will they or won’t they? Lance and Alli sharing a mic? Jeff and Mark Ingram having a spat? You never know when sparks are gonna fly. We talk about how Ingram owned Jeff on Twitter even as the two of them came sooo close to being on the exact same side of a thing. Will they ever kiss and make up? Tune in next time.
Segment 1: (about an hour and fifteen minutes)
Varg wants to re-litigate Kaepernick. Alli just wants to sing. Also know your meme with the Harambe Explainer! And Yeti Butts. (look it up) John Bel Edwards said some dumb things on his radio show. Is police violence increasing? Statistics say it is?
Football talk:
LSU beat Mississippi State. This satisfied exactly zero LSU fans. LSU plays Auburn this weekend but Alli and Lance won’t watch it because they are negotiating for Beyonce tickets while recording this show. Also there’s a fairly comprehensive look at this weekend’s college games. We joke about what might happen if LSU loses or if Notre Dame loses to Duke or if Oregon loses to Colorado. Little did we know…
The Saints are bad. Are Loomis-Payton overrated? Are they “dug in?” Or are they gone when Benson is gone? How drunk is Alli at this point in the show? (Quite) Also the SEC is being taken over by Purdue transfers and Alli doesn’t watch the Saints anymore.
Lance has a weird idea about how high school sports should work.
SOSO: (about 20 minutes)
Alli is drunk. Jeff really wants everyone to know how drunk Alli is. Also Jeff is pretty drunk.
Alli talks about her trip to Cape Cod, her visit to the Ogden museum, and a book signing by Etgar Keret.
Varg has more adventures down the bayou. Eats at Flanagan’s in Thibodaux, attends a flood victims’ benefit show at Beck’s bar in Raceland, and then goes to Chauvin to check out an art show. Back in town for dinner at Sac-A-Lait.
Jeff chooses to spend his portion of this segment talking about the fake kale gumbo controversy. His idea is to link it to the increasingly slick phenomenon of social media astroturfing but we run out of time.
Recipe minute: Gumbo Z’herbes. Because you can put fucking kale in it if you want to.
The Jivewire: Sponsored by We Met In The Air
That’s it. We did it again. If you like our show, share it and tell your friends. Thanks for listening.
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This episode runs long because it was recorded in two very long sessions that were later mixed together. One with Alli and Jeff and the other with Varg and Jeff. Each session consists of a Football segment and a SOSO segment. In the show they appear as two segments that jump between sessions. We’ve marked the times in these notes for your convenience.
Intro: Jeff and Lance ( Open - 18:47 )
One time in Florida somebody beheaded a goose. Thanks to TK Wharton for setting our levels for us. Jeff and Varg try to parse out some local Twitter drama neither of them understand well which leads to Varg telling a story about a time he got catfished. Did the election make everybody on Twitter oversensitive?
Segment 1: ALL FOOTBAW
Alli and Jeff (19:04 - 56:41)
Alli and Jeff talk about LSU’s faceplant in Wisconsin and the LSU fan overreaction. What should a college coach even be? What are the political and moral implications of being a football coach, player, or fan. We discuss this Deadspin piece about labor issues in college football and this amazing Spencer Hall article about the wider notions of football fandom and American citizenship.
Alli also recaps Notre Dame’s thrilling loss to Texas. Can either Notre Dame or LSU recover from their opening day losses? What are the challenges for each the rest of the season? Can pro coaches develop college players? Or do they have “NFL AIDS” all over them? The knives are already out for Les Miles. Should they be, though?
Do the Saints have too many Stanford players on the roster? They have two. That may be too many. Consider, for instance, this story about Sean Payton’s relationship with Stanford coaches, players, and their families. Do the Saints have enough Notre Dame players on the roster? They have zero.
Lance and Jeff (56:58 - 1:37:30)
Jeff and Lance pick up the Les Miles thread for a while. Is there added pressure on LSU this year to “lift the spirits” of fans after the flood? What’s the deal with Louisiana sports fans. Someone should write a book. (There are actually a lot of books about this) When will we win our oil spill championship?
Sean Payton remembers things "like it was yesterday." The Saints are probably gonna be bad. How bad? The guys make pointless predictions. Also Lance describes some exotic bets.
HALFTIME SHOW: “Football For Pussy” by Wagon Train
Segment 2: SOSO
Alli and Jeff (1:42:15 - 2:03)
Alli takes a Faulknerian road trip to Memphis and does all the things there. Drinks at Madison Hotel, food and drinks and stuff at Loflin Yard, drinks again on Beale Street. You get the idea. Also something called “aerial silks” happens. Other points of interest: Shelby Farms Park, Paula and Raiford’s Disco. On the way back through Mississippi, Square Books, the Windsor Ruins, the Ole Miss campus, and “The Grove” which is apparently bullshit.
Jeff and Lance (2:03:20 - end)
Jeff wants to talk about the fan experience at the Superdome. Mostly, though, he just complains about beer prices and the “South Market District” gentrification nearby. Varg GOES OFF on Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest.
Also Lance has been watching TundaMinous on the Cajun Nerd Media YouTube channel and closed out summer with a day drinking event called Seersucker Wednesday.
There is also a recipe minute in here somewhere.
And that’ll do it for this week. Thanks again for listening. Sorry this thing ran so long. Thanks for bearing with our little experiment.
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Back after yet another week off. We gotta quit meeting this infrequently. It’s hard when everybody has stuff to do. Varg is still busy, actually. Thankfully our good friend Valerie McGinley is here to sit in. And hey she’s here to help us break in the Ira Wray Soundboard Presented By We Met In the Air. (IWSPBWMITA… or something.. We’re working on it) Anyway, how do we sound?
Segment 1 (approximately 50 minutes)
The Great South Louisiana Flood has dominated the news since we last recorded. Consider donating your money or time to help flood victims. We recommend a few favored charitable organizations. Second Harvest,Baton Rouge Food Bank, Zeus’ Rescues, Animal Rescue New Orleans, Cara’s House, Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana.
Is the proliferation of highly individualized donation streams helping, hindering, or “disrupting” recovery efforts? What are the pros and cons of the GoFundMe disaster response?
Is Louisiana so used to disaster recovery now that we might actually be learning to do it better? Do we know what to do with Federal aid money wants it starts flowing? Do we have the political muscle necessary to start it flowing?
How are we planning to mitigate and share risk as climate change makes these types of disasters more commonplace in Louisiana and around the world? Are we focused on protecting people or profits?
Segment 2: (lasts about 30 minutes)
While we’ve got Val, let’s talk about the Orleans Parish School Board which just approved a plan to re-incorporate those schools taken over by the Recovery School District just prior to Katrina. Val speaks highly of Superintendent Henderson Lewis. Here is video from a recent interview with Lewis hosted by The Lens. Other stuff that comes up: The controversial differentiated funding plan, the role of the “new” OPSB, the state of the charter movement itself, the state of teachers’ unions in New Orleans, and, interestingly enough, the most recent Gambit poll results.
SOSO:
Alli is about to go on a trip up to Cape Cod. Val just got back from a trip up to Cape Cod. They talk about the joys of escaping the butt end of the New Orleans summer. Jeff went to the Saints pre-season home opener and didn’t much care for the big video screens. Jeff and Alli look forward to football season. Val looks forward to the Louisiana guns and ammo tax holliday.
And that’ll do it for this week. Thanks again for listening.
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We’re back after nearly a month long layoff to bring you… severe technical difficulties. Somehow our board got fried during the downtime so we’re recording this one huddled together around a single microphone. Sure, it’s quaint and all, but we do still manage to find ways to talk over each other.
Segment 1 (approximately 50 minutes)
We spend some time catching up after our break. Alli made a bunch of oatmeal. Varg has a story to tell about what it’s like to poop in Austin. And that’s just one leg of a longer Cormac McCarthyesque road trip through Texas he endured.
Anyway, Austin. Is it cool? Or is it to poop on? For instance Austin seems like a city especially prone to over-commodified “AirSpace” design one might find in “Hipster Disney World.”
Jeff sat through 4 hours of people yelling at the City Planning Commission over short term rentals on Tuesday. In the discussion we reference figures on median income and affordability in the rental market published in this study. Also, building affordable housing is very difficult without planning and subsidies. See this calculator Alli mentions.
Is the tourism industry actually making New Orleans worse off than Austin,culturally speaking? Varg: “Don’t come here. Fatalist motherfuckers live here!”
Segment 2: SOSO (lasts about 30 minutes)
Varg re-caps the Guns N Roses show at the Superdome. Also reviews Suicide Squad.
Alli went to Compare Lapin and had dinner seated adjacent to some porn actors. Also started watching Stranger Things on Netflix, and caught a comedy open mic at Twelve Mile.
Jeff went to Gautreau’s where may be found those who will be first against the wall when comes the Revolution.
The Saints kick off Thursday night. There’s a party at Deurty Boys on Dirty Linen Night.
The Jivewire: (Sponsored by ???)
And that’ll do it for this week. Thanks again for listening.
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Inspired by Sebastian Bach (yes, that one) and Debbie Reynolds, we’re resolved to begin work on our off-off Broadway production Thinderella. Please contribute to our kickstarter. What are your favorite Very Special Episodes of 80s and 90s TV? What can they teach us today?
Segment 1 (approximately one hour)
Let’s talk about the week in horrific police violence from Baton Rouge to Dallas and back again. Along the way we mention a few news items that deserve notation. One is this story about police arresting protesters peacefully standing on private property. Also BRPD’s history of unconstitutional behavior comes up with regard to enforcement of outmoded sodomy laws as well as treatment of New Orleans evacuees after Katrina.
Gun control discussion actually gets us to turn the mic over to Engineer Pat for a few seconds so he can explain a recent Supreme Court ruling on the question of banning domestic abusers from owning firearms. What is the appropriate policy response? Alli: Fire all the cops and start over. Varg: Sue the hell out of everyone and make em all feel it in the pocketbook. Jeff: Anything but a goddamned Unity march.
Also Twitter is full of “outside agitators” including everybody in this week’s Y@ Speak as well as Deray McKesson who spoke at Rising Tide X about these very issues.
Segment 2: Speed Round! (lasts about 15 minutes)
David Duke for Congress?
The mayor’s cousin Kenneth has a badge (sort of)
Another Hollywood South scandal involving the Saints
Irvin Mayfield
Steppin on Steppin Out (SOSO):
Alli went to the mall and got yelled at for no justifiable reason.
Varg went to a Chris Isaak concert. Deurty Boys were #OpenforEssence
Jeff went out to eat or something. It doesn’t matter because Jeff and Varg have a plan to destroy Uptown now.
Recipe Minute: Alli made some noodles.
The Jivewire: (Sponsored this time by We Met In The Air Communications and Such)
And that’ll do it for this week. Thanks again for listening.
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Yeah so this one was recorded Tuesday, June 21. We’re exactly one week late getting it uploaded. There were problems. They’re mostly fixed now though. Thanks for sticking with us.
Segment 1 (approximately 50 minutes)
What are some annoying ASMRs? What sends you into a “sneaky hate spiral”? Do you know how to apportion blame properly for your customer service challenges? What flavor of regurgitated Doritos would be the best running mate for Donald Trump? And most importantly, what is the deal with Neil Abramson?
In this segment we explore that last question in depth paying special attention to this Tyler Bridges article as well as this one by Lamar White. We use the Neil discussion to talk about everything that went wrong during the legislative sessions this year and, basically, why the Republicans are winning at politics in Louisiana right now. We’re recording during the USA vs Argentina soccer match which the US lost very badly so the whole discussion is appropriately backed up by an atmosphere of dread.
Speed Round:
-Mayor’s State of the City address from the roof of a Whole Foods talked about “Demographic Tsunamis” or something
-Jeff got blocked on Twitter by the Saints’ PR guy for picking on a completely dignified and certainly not at all funny photo of Tom Benson and President Bush (41)
-Mandatory cursive handwriting
Trump montage bumper via Thomas Tullis on Youtube
Segment 2 (lasts about 50 minutes)
Still talking about State of the City a bit because we have Twitter poll results to share. Also Canada has a thing called Speech From the Throne. The term WLILF is coined.
Steppin on Steppin Out (SOSO):
Madden Tournament at Deurty Boys gallery featuring our pals Ryne @rHancock19, Whit @Whitzerland, Jeremy @jrmyhbrt, and Ros @nolarr who won the big prize. Oh also Linda Hamilton was there. Mayor Landrieu and Neil Abramson were invited but did not show. Neil did come by the next day, though. It was a little weird.
Varg and Alli rip the hell out of Fellipe’s… sort of.
Jeff boiled some crabs.
Alli played bar trivia at Twelve Mile and lost. Would y’all like to do a bar trivia night, Tim en em? Maybe if we invite Neil?
Alli has been doing some sort of fancy white lady exercise thing. Somehow this leads to some heavy thoughts from all of us on diet, aging and mental health. It uh… it gets a little weird.
Recipe Minute: Alli made a plum cake.
The Jivewire: (Sponsored by We Met In The Air Communications and Such)
Bonus content lead in to this about the NBA Finals.
And that will do it for this week. Sorry about the delay. Thanks again for listening.
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Frivolous cold open this week. Then, it’s Episode 16! Sing with us!
Segment 1 (goes about one hour)
Some talk about beer and music which becomes kind of a shout out or at least reference to the Beer and MP3s podcast. Then we try to recap the final day of the legislative regular session with NFL FIlms background music but Jeff doesn’t quite get it right. At one point we mention being reminded this week that the health care portion of the budgetary crisis could have been avoided were it not for Bobby Jindal’s political posturing. That came up in Baton Rouge this week.
Bart Everson has an idea to ban cars from the French Quarter one day a week. We argue about that a little bit.
It’s Hurricane Season again. We talk about hurricane names and hurricane evacuations and generally our fondest hurricane memories.
Finn McCool’s (a bar that is relevant to Alli’s interests) has new owners.
Segment 2 (lasts about 30 minutes)
Help our very good friend Chef James (@AccidentalCajun) Cullen raise some money to fry chicken with. If you do, hopefully he will forgive us for picking on him a little.
Steppin on Steppin Out: Varg eats a chili cheese fry burrito at Mutz (with an umlaut). Later he goes to Big Al’s Seafood in Houma which apparently sucked. Also he saw The Lobster at the Broad Theater and filed an on site report.
Alli went to New York City for a work thing. She also went to Georgia on a non-work thing. We all have tips for playing Geoguesser.
Jeff hasn’t been out on account of a smoking cessation project. He managed to make it to Greek Fest, though.
Also there are various TV reviews in this segment.
Recipe Minute: Alli describes making a greek chicken salad. Is interrupted frequently.
The Jivewire: (Sponsored this time by We Met In The Air Communications and Such)
And that’s it. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned after the closing theme for Varg’s on the street interview and movie review with Katie Leese at the Broad Theater.
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Alli isn't here but we're not calling this a "Freebird" episode because Karen Gadbois is sitting in for her "Badstreet" style. We set out to at least try and fit this week's topics in under an hour. We failed to do that.
Segment 1
An attempt to organize a union at Lusher Charter School failed last week. We talk to Karen about the Lusher vote and the Lens's experience trying to cover charter schools. Charters often don't think of themselves as public entities subject to open meetings laws. At one point we mention this Five Thirty Eight article about the importance of the teaching profession for the city's black middle class. Later in the week, International High successfully unionized its faculty.
Ken Havard is a fat guy who wants to regulate the weights of strippers... because "political correctness".. sort of. Ken Havard is a doughy guy. Also we can make his argument better than he can.
Sidney Torres for mayor? The new Torres-inspired TV show is coming out next year.
Bayou Boogaloo Fence: Varg's theory is the fence was about restricting access to Ideal Market. Boogaloo is "Mid-Summer Endymion" We get a little carried away knocking the Boogaloo and Mid City in general. We're (kind of) sorry about that.
Why do we always celebrate when somebody opens a CVS? Especially when this Wall Street Journal article congratulates us for not shopping at Rite Aid.
City Council approved the Bywater "Poshtel" which may or may not be a "hook up hotel" with its own app. Is there a "constant drumbeat" to push more tourists into neighborhoods? What does this mean for our neighborhood peacocks?
Thanks to the Mayor for personally rescuing the HogsHeadJesus Studio from a potential sinkhole.
Thanks to the NFL for not putting another SuperBowl in New Orleans for a while.
And thanks to Karen for sitting in with us.
Segment 2
Twitter questions: The Lens maps. Open invitation to the Governor to come on the show. Favorite snoball place?
SOSO: Jeff didn't leave the house. Lance went out to Doris Metropolitan and to Bayou Beer Garden.
The Jivewire: As always, brought to you by Magnolia Builders.
Thanks again for listening.
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This is a full episode but you should stop right now and go listen to all the Freebirds because they are very good.
Segment 1
Bomb scare at the state Capitol. There’s barely any time to make a 1,000 piece slideshow about it. This is actually one of the least dangerous “visions from God” that happen in Baton Rouge. A lot of bomb scares turn out to actually be the bomb squad’s fault. What is the real life bullshit to bomb ratio? Jeff has a somewhat coherent rant about Cameron “Frogman” Henry’s TOPS vs hospitals budget ploy. (Later written up here.) Cameron Henry looks like Dabo Swinney. Neil Abramson is being suspicious again. Meanwhile the Republicans are purging their ranks. What this means for us, mostly, is Bryan Adams karaoke. DID YOU KNOW: Bryan Adams and Ryan Adams share a birthday? This is a true fact.
Two separate child pornography scandals in one week cause Jeff to confuse Chris Young with Chris Roberts. Also it leads to a discussion of the chilling effect of surveillance on intellectual curiosity. Also a bit about the Facebook trending topics controversy.
Segment 2
Gumshoe reporting from Engineer Pat on upcoming civic hearings and proceedings on the Short Term Rentals issue.
Chris Rose wrote a clickbaity thing about go-cups that was actually a rip-off of another go-cup article from three years ago. Somewhere during the ensuing fray, Rose blames “the Rising Tide folks” We end up being kind of nice to Chris Rose at the end of this.
Actress Ruby Rose threw some french fries at a waiter. Later she apologized to the fries.
Wendell Pierce apparently attacked a woman during an argument over the Democratic primary. We stop ourselves before we get too too far into a Bernie Bro rant.
Stepping On Stepping Out
Varg goes to see The Cure at UNO Lakefront Arena. He also interviewed a concert-goer about the time MCA picked up trash at the UNO Arena parking lot. Listen until the end of the show for that. Lots of 90s nostalgia discussion.
Jeff wins the Hunkerdowncast Round Robin Darts Tournament at the Half Moon. Jeff and Varg do not know Pony by Ginuwine.
Alli is a featured guest on Bar Politics Episode 2 at the Broad Theater. Catch the next Bar Politics at Twelve Mile Limit sometime in June.
Recipe Minute
Varg makes some sort of pork chop in a crock pot thing.
The Jivewire: As always, brought to you by Magnolia Builders.
And we’re done. Thanks again for listening but stay tuned for Varg’s on the street report about the UNO Arena glory days.
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Freebird time again. Lance and Jeff. Jeff is always in these for some reason. He is like Tilapia. Also where Varg lives there is a community peacock.
Segment 1 is all politics
We’re recording on the night of the Indiana Primary. Ted Cruz has dropped out of the race ending one of the worst weeks in the history of politics for any individual. Varg has prepared a list of the bad things that happened to Ted. And this was before he elbowed his wife in the face. Jeff talks about Vice Presidential follies but somehow has confused Tom Eagleton with Richard Schweiker. Anyway, watch this video and tell us did Carly fall or did she jump?
Bobby Jindal started the week talking about how to beat Trump. Ended the week saying he’ll vote for Trump. Is Kasich the last best hope? (Answer is no, he’s dropping out but we didn’t know that yet.)
Hillary vs Trump is a dismal proposition. Is Hillary a lock? Maybe Does Donald Trump really want to be President? Maybe.
Segment 2
NFL Draft re-cap: The Saints didn’t stupidly trade up. But then they totally did. Jeff is a little weary of the draft day Twitter feuding. Sean Payton made Vonn Bell pull an Uncle Rico. Varg liked (Phillip) Michael Thomas’s Players’ Tribune journal entry. Thanks to Ryan at Black and Gold Review for humoring us with this “Bell Curve” graph.
This Eric Paulsen story looks suspicious to us for several reasons including the station’s official follow up statement.
Airbnb is all over the news this week. These signs popped up during Jazzfest. STR regulations are back on the City Council agenda this week. Jeff went to The Lens’s April “Breakfast With The Newsmakers” event covering STRs. A strict set of regulations took effect in Berlin this week. How does one pronounce "Zweckentfremdungsverbot"?
Sinkholes are one of Varg’s top phobias. New Orleans loses roughly 40 percent of its water to underground leaks. Sinkhole prevention seems like a pretty “shovel ready” project. An engineering pundit guessed the Canal Street sinkhole wrong. Jeff nurtured his own pet sinkhole for 5 years. Are infrastructure failures fun or frightening? Is “Sinkhole De Mayo” a good idea, a bad idea or a nothing idea? What is your favorite sinkhole of all time?
Hipsters again.. blah blah such and such. Life is hard these days for young Millennial termites.
Don’t swim in the Jazzfest mud. Go see Bar Politics next Monday. Deurty Boys gallery is moving.
And we’re done. Thanks again for listening.
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Hey we’re all back and we’re here to deliver more hockey talk. Because that is our brand now. No actual hockey is learned. Something about fights, we think.
Segment 1
Varg fends off Prince haters on Facebook. In the haters’ defense, Prince was a Jehova’s Witness, though. The rest of this segment is all Prince. Prince and gender politics, Prince in New Orleans, Prince at the Superbowl,
Prince at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Varg’s personal relationship with Prince. When we get tired of Prince tributes, who do we kill next to change the subject? Varg gives us a re-cap of the Prince second line. Prince wrote a song about the Minnesota Vikings that was pretty bad. Also Jeff confuses the Skids with the Shins.
Segment 2
Jeff and Varg have a wager on the outcome of the Cardell Hayes trial. Law enforcement professionals with Italian sounding names are all the same person. Every character in Lord of the Rings is also the same person. This leads to random movie discussion. Future segment: Engineer Pat Nerdsplains the Movies.
NFL Draft preview. Because this show is being uploaded after the draft is over, be sure and listen for how wrong we are about everything. Alli reads
passages from Carson Wentz’s douche diary. (Every quarterback is probably a douchebag, though.) Donald Trump still has some advice. Varg and Alli have a wager over whether or not Johnny Football ever footballs again. What does a quarterback’s name tell you about his potential?
Seed Round!
Zephyrs name change
Tulane’s Monkey Disease Disaster
Gusman in federal receivership
State budget shortfall is only $600 million now
Steppin On Steppin Out
Varg saw Dave Rawlings Machine at House of Blues. Are Jazzfest art sales down because BP ad money is gone? Alli went to Jazzfest on a Friday when it was not crowded. SEC Bingo. “Techbro ratio.” Coop’s is authenticity tourist central. Alli also saw Janelle Monae’s Prince tribute Are Pearl Jam fans the new Deadheads? Segment descends into the Jerry Lewis Nirvana tribute.
Recipe Minute
Potatoes au gratin
The Jivewire sponsored by Magnolia Builders LLC.
And we’re done. Thanks again for listening.
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Varg can’t be with us because he is out mourning the death of an American icon. So this is a Freebird episode. Except Jeff and Alli forget to mention that. Probably because they are distracted by the fact that they are recording from Finn McCool’s. It won’t be the last distracted moment.
Segment 1
Alli explains how hockey works. The New York Times seems to think Nashville and Magazine is a “remote” corner of the wilderness. Somehow this leads to a long wonky discussion of public transportation policy. RTA is expanding service. Washington D.C.’s transit system is a shit show. New Orleans is taking bids for a “bike share” operator. Other cities have implemented similar programs and so far the death toll is zero. Alli tries to explain that as well as the “stupidly complicated big mish mash” of transit infrastructure funding. And then we need more beer.
Segment 2
Hockey is still happening. Jeff wants to talk about the NFL draft but, it turns out, he has no idea when it actually happens. We decide that the NFL Draft, whenever it happens, does have something to do with Jungian archetypes, though. Alli lobbies once more for drafting Notre Dame players. The Saints might pick another Stanford offensive lineman. Trading up is stupid. The Rams are stupid. Also the Rams are in Los Angeles again. What does it mean?
Jazzfest is starting. Alli talks about everything she’s going to see on Friday. What is it with frat bros and Pearl Jam? After Jazzfest comes the shitty weather part of the year which no one is looking forward to. We kind of lament not getting to hear from Varg about Prince. We do remember that he wrote a song about football once.
And that’s it for this little experiment. We’ll try to be back with a full episode next week. Thanks for listening.
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Before you dive into this one you should know the sound is totally crap and that we are well aware. It’s probably Jeff’s fault. We did what we could to try to make the crap recording listenable. We probably did not succeed at that. It’s a shame, though. Because this was a fun show to record and we can’t bear to shitcan what we think is some good stuff just because it happens to sound like we are all talking into a cassette recorder. So we’re putting it out there anyway. Think of this one as you might an album from your favorite 90s “lo-fi” indie band. It takes some work to listen but there may be some reward in it.
Joining us for Episode 12 is Josh Murphey the Magnola Builder himself. We talk to him a bit about recent business. He has brought us some beers and foodstuffs to try and rate. One of those things is a package of dried shrimp. Mostly the whole first segment is people eating. Also, this week we took everyone’s suggestions for specialty potato chip flavors. We read a bunch of those on the show.
Denizens of a specific neighborhood uptown nearly rioted over some bread. We rapturously read through and enjoy Brett Anderson’s hilarious article about the controversy over changes (?) at La Boulangerie bakery. The conclusions here are 1) Nextdoor.com is terrible. 2) The universe will eventually sort everyone out.
A recent UNO survey says New Orleanians are more pessimistic than they’ve been since 2004. Crime is a major reason. But does that mean we should be spending more money on police? Not everyone thinks so. We explain the Police/Fire frankenmillage on the ballot this weekend citing columns on the topic by Bart Everson and Arielle Schecter.
Meanwhile, Mitch Landrieu hasn’t been as visible lately. Is he ok?
Random Festival Generator fun. Where Are They Now documentary Shrimp and Petroleum Fest queens.
The entertainment segment is now called “Still Steppin Out” or possibly “Steppin on Steppin Out” we really don’t know anymore.
Josh had a long relaxing bike ride around town. Varg went to a Wrestlemania party and officiated a wedding. He also has a new favorite bar. Alli went to Houston (again.) She also put up some shelves and went to the City Park Garden Show. Jeff injured himself running the Crescent City Classic and has concluded therefore that all food is bad. Jeff and Alli went to see the initial production of Bar Politics at Cafe Istanbul.
Josh shares a secret way to listen to some of the extra long Hunkerdowncast episodes.
The Jivewire brought to you by Magnolia Builders LLC
There’s a lot more in this episode for those of you with the fortitude to tolerate the poor audio. But for those of you who would prefer not, trust us, we do not blame you. But please join us next time when we promise we’ll build it better.
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Welcome to Episode 11. Please tell us about our levels. Engineer Pat worked hard on them. We think Alli’s singing really benefits.
Segment 1
Is the drummer the “loser position” of a band? It apparently is when Jim Letten does it. The weather service controls everyone’s phone. New Orleans is under attack by Jade Helm.
It’s Super Tuesday Three (Make Tuesday Super Again) Results are coming in as we record so we try to keep up a bit. John Kasich really hates The Roots. Also he looks a lot like character actor JT Walsh.
The legislative special session failed to fix the budget. We talk a little about how and why that happened. It happened because the House Republicans are toddlers and it’s never good when toddlers show up in the news.
Segment 2
Daylight savings inspired discussion about technological obsolescence. Impromptu film review of The New Kids (1985) starring James Spader. Saints free agency is happening and Alli still hates every Stanford player. She makes the case for drafting Jaylon Smith despite his injuries. Drew Brees will endorse anything no matter how sketchy. The scam reminds us of a charter school naming exercise that happened on Twitter this week. Anyway, it’s possible that every quarterback is actually a terrible person. Mark Sanchez is the new Jeff Garcia.
WWOZ is in some sort of turmoil. We take the opportunity to discuss whether or not WTIX is actually more “authentic” than the Nolier-Than-Thou OZ these days.
Segment 3
Twitter questions: 1) New Orleans James Beard Award finalists. We endorse Isaac Toups. 2) Why is Jeff so smug? 3) OPSB funding plans 4) Airbnb regulations
That’s Entertainment (Perhaps re-named “Still Steppin Out”): Jeff went to the Irish Channel Parade. Lance ate at Taqueria Del Fuego, saw Tom Hook and Wendell Brunious at Dos Jefes and then saw Meschiya Lake show at Chickie Wah Wah. Alli did the Lafitte Greenway hike, volunteered for the Once In A Brew Moon event at City Park, went to an International Women’s Day brunch, built a raised bed garden, and learned how to drive a stick.
The Jivewire brought to you by Magnolia Builders LLC: Be sure and listen for the part where Jeff almost forgets about and then utterly fails to deliver his own stupid joke for this week
Thanks again for listening
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It’s the history making Episode 10 of Hunkerdowncast. The Louisiana Presidential Primaries are days away and we’ve invited our buddy Mark (Oyster or sometimes @Erster) to help us make nonsense of it all.
Segment 1
Was Ben Carson’s campaign a scam? What signage have you seen around town? Who is leading in the polls? We discuss the Republican horse race and possible paths to the nomination for Trump or Not Trump. Trump talked about his penis size during the debate. This turns out to be a well established campaign tradition, however.
Can Trump even run a third party campaign? Ross Perot might be a precedent. Also we might be able to do a Ross Perot impersonation. (Does anyone remember Ross Perot?) Differing opinions on chances of an actual President Trump. Concurring opinions on political fault lines exposed by Trump.
Trump is the #JustDoStuff candidate. Is he a “tameable Hitler,” though? Varg wants to know why everyone keeps pooping in the potable water.
Segment 2
In media res we jump into a grab bag of current events from the week.
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Porn for Gusman’s inmates. Jeff has questions about a specific post-publication edit to this article.
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Marques Colston was cut this week. Bacchus still sucks. There’s a Marques Colston song based on Tootsee Roll @mrclio taught us.
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Susan Guidry wants to make people’s lives slightly less difficult vis-a-vis marijuana possession. Leon Cannizzaro and Newell Normand won’t let her, though. Meanwhile, watch out for the “weeder maids.”
You know the segment is over when we devolve into USFL memories.
Segment 3
We try to address some Twitter questions. We don’t get far with it.
“Are You Not Entertained” is now “That’s Entertainment” for some reason. Just go with it. Anyway, Jeff and Varg lost a football game. Mark tells us about the challenges of homework help in foreign languages. This has something to do with po-boys. Alli has a bunch of restaurant reviews. (Commander’s jazz brunch, Cane and Table, NOLA Brewery Tap Room, and Kenton’s) Varg was in a fashion show at Rock N Bowl. Also some drama happened with an ex-truck of his.
Recipe Minute: Alli entered a mole style chili into a competition. It was a good recipe but did not win.
Finally, as always, the Jivewire sponsored by Magnolia Builders.
Have fun voting against your least favorite candidate this weekend. Thanks to Mark for sitting in with us. Thanks, again to everyone for listening.
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Alli is back from Mardi Gras or possibly from The Dead. Turns out we were right about Nyx.. at least as far as Gambit is concerned. We discuss our outfits, Kanye, some other things. Mostly we have no idea how to segue into this week’s agenda which is as follows.
Topic A: The Legislative special session has begun as has much absurd and unreasonable bitching and moaning. A budget crisis is a suboptimal time for a legislative political revolution. Nor is it a great thing to base John Kennedy’s Senate campaign on. “Conrad Appel and his Gang of Gaggling Goofoffs” are mentioned. T-P’s Julia O’Donoghue produced a great pre-session budget primer. Someone created a parody Twitter account of John Kennedy’s “400 ways” to fix the budget.
Topic B: The Superdome has been designated an historic landmark. There are good and bad things about this. We like the Superdome and talk about it. Is the Tom Benson Statue protected? Are there even many “historic” stadiums left? What are your favorite Superdome memories?
Topic C: Varg really liked the Beyonce video that got the whole internet’s attention last week. There was much political and cultural outrage and a little Nolier Than Thouism and whatnot.
Are You Not Entertained: Alli went to the Mary Queen of Vietnam Tet Festival. There were scenesters present. Varg went to Mosca’s. James Carville was not there this time. Varg also saw Hail Caesar. It was “blah.” You could probably sneak into the Prytania without paying. Jeff is looking forward to Stupor Bowl 3 this Sunday at The Fly. Background on Stupor Bowl here. Some background on the controversy at The Fly here.
Some sort of a song happens
CD Reveiw: Varg reviews Rain All Day by Seth Hitsky and The Black Dragons.
Recipe Minute: Jeff talks about the two pounds of red beans he always makes for Mardi Gras day.
Finally, the Jivewire presented, as always, by Magnolia Builders.
Varg briefly apologizes for leaving the re-verb on in a segment we had to cut. If there are any other audio issues with this episode, consider sponsoring our efforts to improve them.
Thanks, again, for listening!
This is the third of three parts to our Mardi Gras review. Jeff and Varg talked for a very long time about every single thing that happened. (Freebird style because Alli was out sick) You can find Episode 8.5-A and 8.5-B at Hunkderowncast.com By this point there has been much drinking over a period of several hours so.. try to bear with us.
Jeff, again, pitches the idea of moving Orpheus to Fat Tuesday night. Varg hates this idea and does not let up on it at all. Much drunk talking in circles ensues but it seems like this might be an Uptown vs Downtown thing.
It’s impossible to do everything on Mardi Gras Day. Jeff hit the regular tirfecta of seeing Zulu and Rex and the Wild Magnolias signing Indian Red Later on there was the traditional live-tweeting of the Rex ball.
Varg saw many strange things; babies driving cars, people dancing on cars, people twerking on an Uber.. probably some other things involving cars. Varg describes his costume as well as the concept of “accidental larping.”
Jeff reads through his final parade rankings again. Varg reads through his Mardi Gras rules. (They’re somewhere in his Twitter feed ) We answer a list of Twitter audience questions. (How does Mardi Gras change as we age? What is the worst Mardi Gras injury you’ve seen? How much crap did you eat this year? What were the best costumes? Politicians in parades? A few others.) We agree this was a good Mardi Gras… maybe not a great one.
Also thanks to Seth Hitsky and the Black Dragons for the CD. We’ll work it into an upcoming show.
Thanks again for listening to the Mardi Gras triple episode.
This is the second of three deluxe recordings of Jeff and Varg recapping Mardi Gras (Freebird style because Alli is out sick) Check out Hunkerdowncast.com for Episodes 8.5-A and 8.5-C. They're one big tandem float.
Already many beers in, Jeff expounds on the beauty of standing around outside drinking. Then it’s back into recapping every parade (or at least trying to) in chronological order (which becomes more difficult as the drinking progresses.) We defend the Krewe of Druids’s right to exist and be not very P/C so long as they are at least serviceably clever about it.
We pick on the “Self-proclaimed Superkrewe” Nyx (even though many of our friends rode in it and we had a good time watching.) What is a “Superkrewe”? Lord do we ever examine this mystery. Every Superkrewe needs: 1) A C-list celebrity, 2) At least one truck with spotlights, 3) At least one stupidly huge signature float 4) Original floats (clever theme preferred but not necessary). 5) To throw heavily. There were probably some other criteria mentioned.
Is Muses over? Some say yes, Jeff emphatically says no. What is the best way to stage a parade? What is the best way to enjoy a parade? Should Jeff write a novel about Solange’s ring?
Friday night: Hermes was pretty. D’etat’s parade was almost a carbon copy of Chaos’s. Varg took the night off and yelled at some people camping out for Endymion instead.
Saturday: Iris has navigational issues. Tucks is the best Tucks ever. Drones and hoverboards everywhere. Varg skipped Endymion to make a costume and to burn things in the back yard (NSFW) Jeff also skipped Endymion. Skipping Endymion might have been the right idea all around given what happened.
Sunday: Varg goes to Thoth and some idiot has to involve politicized throws. Box Of Wine rituals. Serendipitous Bacchus. Jeff rides that day and brings politicized throws with him. He also almost has a ruinous experience but recovers. In the past, Varg has lost 2 phones during Mardi Gras which sucks. LaToya Cantrell does not care for the politicized throws. Bacchus had lasers and shit Folks out on the neutral ground had televisions so you could watch the Superbowl there. At some point in the infinite universe the Saints will play in the Superbowl in New Orleans on Thoth-Bacchus Sunday.
Finally, we raise the question of whether or not Orpheus belongs on Lundi Gras or should be moved to Fat Tuesday. But we’ll cover that in the next upload.
Alli is still wiped by Mardi Gras so it falls to Varg and Jeff to re-cap the whole thing in this extra long Freebird episode. But first Jeff insists on mentioning the fact that politics are happening and saying a few cursory things about the looming state budget process. That out of the way, though, the drinking can begin. And it does and it goes on for a very long time. We recorded all of it and broke it out into three separate mini-episodes for your convenience. Think of this as one large compound float of Carnival reminiscence.
In this, the first part, Varg tells about marching in Chewbacchus as well as the inspiration behind his Prince Voltan costume, the delicious treats available there, and the experience of being rescued by a squad of Jedi. Chewbacchus is more chaotic than it appears. People get lost, floats malfunction, an out of control rocket cycle wreaks havoc.
Jeff reveals that he has seen almost all of the Uptown parades and ranked them. The first weekend is a time to get used to parading, walk up and down the route and get the lay of the land. Sometimes there are interesting items for sale. Krewe of Freret seems like it is in pretty bad shape what with not having any riders and all. We talk some shit about the parades at the bottom of the rankings.
After that we decide to take a break. Catch part two of our Superkrewe in the next upload.
It's the Great Big Hunkderdowncast Mardi Gras Preview SpectacularFest. Kind of like Family Gras if you could listen to it on your phone.
Segment 1
This show is supposed to be all about Carnival but for whatever reason we start off talking about Star Wars and then go off on several other odd tangents. Learn how Japanese vending machines work. Learn how to read menus. Imagine how Sarah Palin might read your menu to you. That kind of thing. Also Jeff tried to book Donald Trump on the show to no avail.
Anyway let's do Carnival season. Heavy parading season hasn't even begun yet and Varg's metaphorical football team is already in cap hell. Alli marched in Krewe Du Vieux. We re-cap that as well as review KDV in general. Parade was good. Jeff took shitty pictures of it. Flickr is the Abe Vigoda of social media.
We talk for a while about which celebrities are dead and which are not dead. We also find a song about dead Abe Vigoda co-written by our dearly departed friend Greg Peters which you may enjoy.
Krewe of Spank's theme may of may not have killed Varg's FloraBama Chad character. We do know that they've proved beyond any doubt that #KreweOfChad has arrived and gone big time. Meanwhile, we suggest that there also exists a "Krewe of Courtney" and decide that the Hunkerdowncast audience will henceforth be known as Tim en 'em.
Varg and Alli talk about the David Bowie second line which they participated in.. insofar as they were out in the crowd while it was happening. Varg previews his Chewbacchus costume which is apparently, this. Chewbacchus is super huge now. Does this prove we can still have multiple parade routes?
Segment 2
There might be hidden tracks in your "Da Mayor/Big Freedia/Chewbacca In Your Pocket" thingy so try to find those. Try and pair different beers with cookies and see what you can find. AANYWAY more Mardi Gras.
Alli once yelled at this year's King of Bacchus at a Saints game for dissing Marques Colston. Varg tells us about previous Kings of Bacchus who were good. Which is nice because this year's cannot possibly be. This is going to be one of those years where Bacchus goes up against the SuperBowl. Is there a way to handle that? Yes there is.
How do you best capture the moment on Thoth/Bacchus Sunday?
How do you train your body in the weeks leading up to heavy parading season?
What are your favorite parade watching rituals?
Which parades do you hate?
Segment 3
Are You Not Entertained
Varg is entertained by some Chads at a Rebirth show. It's always a good idea to threaten to shoot first and ask questions later. Other things happen. Movies and whatnot.
Then there's the Jivewire.
And then there's a quick look ahead to the Iowa caucus. And then that's it for this week. Thanks for listening, Tim en 'em!
This week we realize the show's mission to record and examine the process of alcoholic descent into incoherence in its platonic ideal of downward sloping trajectory. Somehow it makes for compelling radio anyway. Consider this the Russian dash cam video of podcast episodes.
Alli has jury duty, Jeff has car trouble and Varg has a bathtub. Nobody is really back from the holidays and now we have to start Carnival. In the meantime, Jeff tries to make the show pretend news is happening.
The news: Gene Mills is a terrible person, Jeff is strangely optimistic about the new governor, the river is in flood. It is suggested that the river can be calmed by throwing a sacrificial football into it.
The other news: A comically hip Bywater spot closed this week. (Surprise! It was a Pop-Up the whole time.) Everyone shares their favorite Booty's memories. Predictably, Doug MacCash is involved. Varg recommends several places you can still eat in Bywater. Somehow this leads to Alli explaining what a caganer is and also showing us that she has one.
In sports, Sean Payton really loves potholes. Probably because he's on drugs. Also probably because nobody wanted to hire him... probably also because he is on drugs.
Meanwhile, thanks to the intrepid reporting of @angrywhodat, we learn that Sean Payton's brother is a vaguely racist professional magician. Because of course.
Also some college football happened.
Other items of note: Alli's mom says "Phat," Kenny Chesney is the Drake of football, and Varg really likes Les Miles's style. Also Jeff is strangely optimistic about the 2016 Saints.
In this week's Are You Not Entertained Varg has some oysters and harasses Sugar Bowl fans. Jeff and Varg check out the Phunny Phorty Phellows. Alli watches baking shows and plays laser tag.
This segment is where things really start to come off the rails. Bonus points if you can spot the many edits. Somehow we still manage to learn that Varg really likes scrunchies, Jeff wants to be homeless when he grows up, and that people who live in different regions sometimes talk funny. Also Flora-Bama Chad drops in for a few words.
Jivewire this week features a few submissions this week from Kevin Allman. (Submit your gig to us via twitter, email, etc.)
Alli shares a recipe minute, and then the whole show collapses in the traditional drunken moment of self-actualization.
Thanks again for listening.
Settle in, y'all this one runs long. But we're sure it's worth it. Probably. We don't want to get involved in grading this episode or anything but, if we did, let's say it's a solid C.
Just kidding. It's the Hunkerdowncast 2015 Year In Review (Not to be confused with Gambit's "Best of") and of course you will want to listen to the whole two hours.. at your leisure.
In this one, we each take turns sharing our individual lists of the stories and events that made 2015 what it was. Topics will definitely include but not necessarily be limited to the following.
VARG'S 2015
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Winning Mardi Gras
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Katrinaversary angst and Katrinaversary angst angst.
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The Tenth Rising Tide Conference
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The Smoking Ban
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Jazzfest crowd control
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More layoffs at the Times-Picayune
ALLI'S 2015
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The Lafitte Greenway opens
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The public library millage
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Movies about space
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Exhibit Be
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Twitter comedy
JEFF'S 2015
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The Gubernatorial Election
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Bobby Jindal's (sort of) Presidential campaign
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NOLA Gentrification
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SELA project and road construction
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Monument angst
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Many many sports things
Along the way we learn about how to score Mardi Gras like football. We encourage the public to troll Engineer Pat on the internet. Allen Toussaint maybe sort of drove like an asshole a little bit. Jeff is particular about where he parks his bike.
Assorted media commentary: We really lay into poor Doug MacCash for some reason. We also get after Jeff Duncan for.. well.. obvious reasons. We're also quite nice to Alison Fensterstock. Tyler Bridges and Jeremy Alford are working on a book we will want to read.
Varg explains that there are C, B and A level assholes. Alli likes movies that have fun sound effects. Muppet baseball is some sort of a thing. Also, it doesn't matter if you are a child or a city official, you probably will enjoy some art.
Other things happen. Alli explains that the city of New Orleans is built on top of wet coffee grounds. The first hint of the long promised "Moseley on Moseley" sketch appears. Jeff begins the show being kind of mean to Mayor Landrieu but later on is nice to him.
Finally we share some 2016 predictions. And, just in case that isn't enough, we run you through the Jivewire again.
Special thanks to @Peris for the King Cake vape question. Thanks also to Scott Colesby (@socalledsomeone) for this bluesy "Ace of Spades" cover. And, of course, our friend and honoree @NotBobbyJindal You may pick up your prize if and when we figure out what it is.
Anyway thanks for listening. Happy New Year. Come back and see us in 2016.
So it's Christmas Eve Eve.. or as the popular culture has deemed it.. Festivus. Are we recording tonight from Carrollton? West Carrollton? Hollygrove? Varg thinks it's "the non-shooting side of Hollygrove" but the map may not agree.
This week we're gonna just take Twitter questions for a while. Thanks to Tim and Karl and also Shira for your submissions.
Varg very badly wanted to be the mastermind behind the scenes profiting from the monument controversy but it didn't quite work out.
The Confederate Museum has become the "Up" house.
"Aggressive tweeting" is usually not a good outreach strategy. If you'd like to be on the show tweet at us tactfully in 2016.
Jeff and Pat are the Pullman/Paxton of the Hunkerdowncast Universe. Various other famous (and not so famous) people look like other famous or not famous people. For instance, Alli has a thing for Kliff Kingsbury and/or Ryan Gosling. This leads to us looking at our phones for a while.
The Texas Tidy Bowl is coming. Texas Tech cunningly plays no defense. Les Miles goes Christmas shopping in the way that you would expect Les Miles to go Christmas shopping.
Is Drew Brees gonna play or what? Do you even need a plantar fascia anyway? The Saints' season wasn't good but this doesn't mean it was boring. We re-cap some of our favorite moments.
Marques Colston is old. Varg asks for help differentiating Ralph Marbrough from Bradley Warshauer. Anyway.. Marques Colston is old.
What is the best local Holiday recording?
Varg likes this song. Varg actually has a whole list. Alli forces us to talk about the 12 Yats of Christmas. We discuss our Christmas plans and try not to be too glum about it despite the crap weather. Everyone seems like they're in a strange mood about it. Varg hates Mr. Bingle, for example, and he takes it out on the LaBordes for some reason.
In "Are You Not Entertained" this week, we all went to a soccer game which was ruined by Tom Benson somehow. In a related matter, Varg once tripped while wearing an alligator costume. Also the St. Louis Cathedral is a crappy music venue.
Congratulations to Alli on her academic achievement. But more importantly, Jeff is still really sick of Bronze Tom.
Recipe Minute with Varg's Manhattan-inspired cocktail.
Jivewire (Please get out and see Drunk Ros Fest if you can)
Have a great Holiday, everybody. Thanks for listening.
Hey congratulations to us on not even knowing what number episode this is supposed to be. We're gonna celebrate by drinking. Thanks to the listeners. If you are a listener we will probably say your name on the show.
Mid-City looks a lot like Metairie these days. The Greenway is nice but...
Aaaanyway let's talk about Confederate monuments. The City Council held like the 50th public hearing on monument removal Thursday night and Engineer Pat created a Bingo board for those of you playing along at home. (Of course every player blacked out the board by the end.) In any case, we liked watching the hearing. It was fun to watch people we know on TV. It was also fun to watch some people we don't know say crazy things. Also, learn about the French Revolution in your spare time if you have any. Meanwhile, LaToya Cantrell wants to be mayor. That might mean something here.
Some people who live in the Lower Pontalba apartments are getting their rent jacked up. One of them thinks Jackson Square is a "cesspool." Varg takes issue with that. Jeff has difficulty pronouncing the word, "Pontalba" It is legal to edit Wikipedia pages.
In sports, we lament the demise of the USFL 30 years later because Donald Trump is the worst. Steve Spurrier might have been a fun NFL commissioner. The Saints are bad, still. Brandon Browner is not particularly great. Sean Payton may or may not be sleeping with his possibly imaginary esthetician. There are 4 games left but the Saints have already shut it all down for the year.
Notre Dame lost to Stanford which is a thing they don't like to do. Alli explains some bowl pairings and the College Football playoff. Apparently, people like Michigan State. We ruminate on Tiger Stadium memories and try to find out if people can hear a photograph we are looking at.
This week's Are You Not Entertained segment finds Varg checking out the holiday decorations and cocktail service at the Roosevelt Hotel. What is the correct seasonal liquor? What is the correct "old man" liquor? What is the correct "cool weather" liquor? What is the correct "the Saints are having a shitty year" liquor? One festive holiday activity at the Roosevelt involves watching drunk people do faceplants.
Alli visits Houston and has fun there. They have an Ikea and some tacos and other starches and breads. There's also food you can buy between Houston and here. Alli shares a very short Recipe Minute.
Jeff went to a bar and endured multiple Scott Weiland jukebox tributes.
Which famous musician dies next? Tweet us your thoughts!
Jeff has had so much beer that he cannot pronounce the word, "Jivewire." Also, check out the fancy acoustic Stone Temple Pilots bumper music courtesy of Engineer Pat. Thanks again, everyone for listening!
A different kind of Freebird. (Jeff and Alli. No Varg this time)
So Louisiana elected a new Governor and sent David Vitter off into the great beyond and it is at least partially due to Bobby Jindal saving the day. Now it's up to John Bel Edwards and his friends at Confederate General Hall to Make Louisiana Great Again.
It was Thanksgiving weekend and we have many many recipe minutes to share. One of those involves burying turkeys in the back yard and... waiting for them to sprout.. or something.
In sports, Les Miles Lives! The Detroit Lions have a fun fight song. Huey Long invented great football fight songs. "John Bel" is in the great tradition of Louisiana Governor names.
Finally, some extended commentary on the crime of refrigerating tomatoes. (As seen on Shutdown Fullcast)
Next week... Episode 4? Or do we examine Zeno's Paradox again?
Hey look Alli is back and she is everyone’s favorite. Bobby Jindal is quitting the Presidential race so we stoop so low as to do a “Breaking News” sound effect. But it’s okay because Alli sings a song. It’s not Bobby’s time. When was Bobby’s time anyway? Get ready for the Bobby Jindal Legacy Mystery Tour. We try to figure out what went wrong with Bobby and decide it’s because he’s a nerd but not in a fun way. Also he is phony and just generally not good.
Oh but uh oh now we have to go get a new governor. Can John Bel Edwards win and how badly will he suck? Is David Vitter a “dork” or an “asshole”? Alli officially endorses John Bel. Syrian refugees sort of become a campaign issue. NOLA.com runs a Q&A on the topic.
Jeff promised to put more refugee links in the show notes. Here are two.
Juan Cole: Paris terrorist attacks: Can France avoid trap of fear and exclusion?
Lydia Wilson: What I Discovered From Interviewing Imprisoned ISIS Fighters
A very shouty debate happened this week. How many “goofy” governors have there been? David Vitter wants us to ride around in purple party buses or something.
Some… um… experimental bumper music happens.
In sports, we… well we had to do a second take because the first time we left the reverb on. Alli really wants to talk about Notre Dame but we have trouble getting excited about that. Otherwise, we’re very sad about the Saints. We’re sad about Rob Ryan. There are sad ways to watch sad football such as from airplanes and The Orient. We’re sad about many things because sports are sad nowadays.
Sean Payton trolled the press because Larry Holder wrote this and Nick Underhill wrote this. Saints defensive coordinators are ritually fattened and harvested. Sean Payton is a dick and Rob Ryan is a great man who will be missed. We rank New Orleans sports mascots.
New segment! “Are you not entertained?” Varg sees Pucifer at the Saenger, Neid Degrasse Tyson also at the Saenger, and James McMurtry at One Eyed Jack’s. Alli tours the various subway systems of Japan and Singapore. Jeff visits the emergency room.
The Recipe Minute is back and longer than ever. The Jivewire also is back.
This was a good show. Thanks for downloading and listening.
Yet another “Freebird rules” episode while Alli is away conducting serious international diplomacy. This week we power through a bit about the Governor’s race. What did Jay Dardenne get for endorsing JBE? Inspired, Varg goes ahead and endorses several politicians in hopes of one day receiving favors. Meanwhile, we try out our Kaare Johnson impressions for some reason.
In sports, are the Saints forked? Is Basketball Season already over? Does anybody remember Lynell Hamilton? Defensive coordinators are the nation’s clowns. Brad Wing has done things. The Tennesee Titans may or may not be like David Vitter in certain ways. Also Kai Forbath kind of looks like this one guy.
Varg promises to write a poem called “Redemption of Snead”
Finally, Twitter changed a thing and a bunch of people freaked out about that. This leads to an extended esoteric discussion of what the internet is even for. (Either it’s about reading the news or it’s about learning who pooped.) We wisely refrain from reading tweets on the air.
Next week, we’re pretty sure Alli will be back. Thanks for Hunkering.
- more freebird rules
- alli is drunk somewhere
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- WTF is Halloween?
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- waves of twitter hate
- Solicit offerings?
- All about your base are belong to us
- Fix my Treats!
- Only in Nola!
- Yes, Jules Bentley
- Attack of the Planet class!
- Is Pants a snob?
- SPONSOR MESSAGE
- -Louisana dseserves better / to be entertained.
- Elections are boring
- Free / C. Ray Nagin
- Vitter ran. Weed or SuperPac?
- Vitter is a pussy. So says JBE
- What is a klatch?
- Bad ninja filming
- Newell Norman can intimidate you
- Tracking the Nolagarchs
- Cummings are coming
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- Vitty aint no outsider
- Pants/Mr. Smith talks about govenrment
- Fuck parking meters
- Chaos makes money
- Saints defense is doing what it is supposed to do.
- Stephon Anthony is doing wehat he is supposed to do
- Deurty Boys is open! All is good!
- Satire and tomfoolery is good!
This week we take the show on the road. If you sponsor our podcast we will air all your dirty laundry. We get into a serious thing about the Governor's race and the minimum wage. In sports, a weekend of college football where all the good guys won.. except Florida if you are Varg. Also don't bring your cat to a football game. Finally, the mayor wants to jack up the price of parking in the Quarter. All this plus a new Recipe Minute. And the Jivewire is back, too. Listen and share with your friends!
Episode 1.5
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Subtext of misogyny in Back to the Future movies
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Mary Steenburgen is hot
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Streaks should stay
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Fuck Boston
- "Freebird rules"
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Schmaltzy Jeff likes to vote
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WTF is an AltWeekly?
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An AltWeekly in New Orleans is Clancy
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Dardenne is a safe, even handed, non boat rocker
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Jeff reads an editorial with melodrama
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Jindal is Stannis
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Gambit is chickenshit
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Oh, there was a Democrat debate
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Jeff wont finish his list
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Drug testing welfare recipients isn't conservative
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F.L.A.
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Dardenne is a dick
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Jeff is so drunk
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More endorsements stuff
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Who writes this Times - Picayune shit?
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Vitter is an asshole
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Everything the Times-Pic says is bullshit
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Gambit is a pleaser
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A Langston Hughes poem
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Who is the optimist here?
Well, here it is. You all hunkered for so long and here is your reward: an amateur podcast brought to you by Jeff, Alli, and Lance. We talked about bogus love letters to New Orleans, sea level rise, where Sean Payton is headed next, Steve Spurrier and the upcoming LSU-Florida game, and we closed with Recipe Minute and the Jive Wire (patents pending). Oh, and there was a Battlestar Galactica joke in there somewhere. Thanks for listening and share with your friends!