Fill Me In

Latest Episodes:

Fill Me In #387: It may not be sultry, but it slaps. Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

This week, Brian is joined by musical theater connoisseur Rachel Fabi for an in-depth analysis of Bad Cinderella. Actually, yes -- but we also talk crosswords and most notably draw your attention to These Puzzl3s Fund Abortion, a charity puzzle pack in support of reproductive healthcare. All that, plus a new contest puzzle (!!!) from Stephanie Lane and Norah Sharpe (aEiS).

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our show, and you'll be inducted into the Quintuple Decker Turkey Club.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

We're putting these words here to help with search engine optimization. We don't think it will work, but you probably haven't read this far, so it doesn't matter: baseball, crossword, crosswords, etymology, game, hunt, kealoa, movies, musicals, mystery, oscar, pizza, puzzle, puzzles, sandwiches, soup, trivia, words

Fill Me In #386: There's a whole suite of obfuscators. Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian are joined by Norah Sharpe (aEiS) for a recap of the first ever Naked Crossword Challenge! (It's not what you think.) Also: bassless accusations, "facts" about Mountain Dew, and Kealoa featuring CREED vs. CREDO.

Stuff to click:

Norah Sharpe aka Shannon Rapp – website and Twitter
lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings (boneless wings are nuggets, not wings)
Alex Boisvert's Crossword Nexus
Lemonade Disco #006

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #385: These things don't have guacamole in common. Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

You know what an extra long show (usually) means? More Ben Zimmer! This week, Ryan and Brian are joined by their dear friend The Barnacle who educates on demonyms and other wonderful topics. Also: a week in crosswords and a rousing edition of Kealoa featuring EON vs. ERA.

Click ahead to read Ben's Wall Street Journal articles on "hoosier" and "dude."

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #384: The natural gaseous amalgamation. Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian learn about Michigeese, Saturn's Hexagon, the seaplanes of Canada, and some lyrics from a musical Ryan has to guess. Also: a week in crosswords and a rousing edition of Kealoa featuring ASAP vs. STAT.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #383: I kept this secondly for a reason. Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian learn about Jupiter, flying to the moon, Velma, the Underwater Music Festival, charity puzzles you get by donating to the Red Cross, and the values of TSA PreCheck. There's a week in crosswords, some algorithm tweaking, and a rousing edition of Kealoa featuring AVER vs. AVOW.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #382: What is keeping Jupiter together? Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

This week, Brian can't seem to do anything right, Ryan is tested on his knowledge of music, and we leave the opening countdown in the MP3 for no discernable reason. There's a week in crosswords, some interstellar existentialism, and a rousing edition of Kealoa featuring LENTO vs. LARGO.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #381: It happened, and you weren't in it. Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

At roughly twelve minutes per viewer mail, we can all only hope Ryan didn't get his wish of 7+ "My Cousin Vinny" messages. (HINT: He didn't.) Also: Puns & Anagrams (and why they are good), crosswords for charity (and why they are good), and Split Decisions (just kidding).

Stuff to click:

Hayley Gold & friends stream cryptics on 2/17 at http://twitch.tv/bewilderingly
Francis Heaney may or may not still be offering puzzles at http://puzzlesforprogress.francisheaney.com
Phil Hollinghurst won't shake your hand at https://bakeoffthemusical.com

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #380: Milk is before Mr. Baseball. Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

This week's episode is loaded with late 1980s nostalgia, the 12-Guess Movie Game, an excessive rant about some bad decisions from the New York Times, a rousing game of "Kealoa" featuring A TON vs. A LOT, and a bold reminder to make a donation to get some puzzles from Grids For Kids.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

Fill Me In #379: Waaay better than an anary. Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

It's a long show, but it's worth it, as Ryan and Brian are joined in the studio by Shannon Rapp (aka Norah Sharpe / an Expert in Sconces / "the name is fake but the puzzles are real."™). We've got surprising homophones eunuchs/UNIX, more Eric than you knew was possible, a Thunder Round of non-NYT delicacies, and a new segment of "Kealoa," featuring UGH vs. ICK.

Stuff to click:

Daily Crossword Links: every puzzle you could dream of
Grids For Kids, launching this Saturday, February 4
The Jargon File (not a "secure" link, so it may not show up in some podcast apps)
Sniglets, which apparently don't have their own website?
This week's Thunder Round, with Twitter links where we have them:
- My Jewish Learning by Rebecca Goldstein (this link goes to the 1/27/23 puzzles, but we talk about the 1/20/23 puzzle)
- Autostraddle by Rachel Fabi (we did this puzzle)
- Black Crossword by Juliana Pache
- The Modern Crossword
- Crossword Club by Kelsey Dixon (we did this puzzle)
- Xtra Magazine by Ada Nicolle (we did this puzzle)
- Crucinova by Quiara Vasquez

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

We're putting these words here to help with search engine optimization. We don't think it will work, but you probably haven't read this far, so it doesn't matter: baseball, crossword, crosswords, etymology, game, hunt, movies, musicals, mystery, oscar, pizza, puzzle, puzzles, soup, trivia, words

Fill Me In #378: It's a little like radio signals to Saturn. Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian learn about the Eric Conspiracy, dip into the FMI time capsule courtesy of fans who are listening to shows from 2019, and tackle a Sondheim-themed Learned League quiz. Also: this week's "Kealoa," featuring ELUDE vs. EVADE.

If you get bored, write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon.

Drop us a note or a Tweet or a postcard or a phone call — we'd love to hear from you.

Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
Google Play link: https://player.fm/series/fill-me-in-2151002
Amazon/Audible link: https://www.amazon.com/item_name/dp/B08JJRM927
RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google Voice (315-510-9892)

We're putting these words here to help with search engine optimization. We don't think it will work, but you probably haven't read this far, so it doesn't matter: baseball, crossword, crosswords, etymology, game, hunt, movies, musicals, mystery, oscar, pizza, puzzle, puzzles, soup, trivia, words

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