Fill Me In

Latest Episodes:

Fill Me In #527: Flower power, Monet. Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian discuss levels of pain (some of which they inflict on each other), listen to 50-year-old music, and dismiss potentially quality sandwiches by virtue of poor personal relationships.

Stuff to click:

The Globe and Mail Puzzles and Games
"Cover of the Rolling Stone"
Manet & Morisot
a cat eating salami, as a treat (it looks like bologna, but whatever)
a Weltanschauung

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Helpful links:

Apple Podcasts link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fill-me-in/id1364379980
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RSS feed: http://bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/rss
Contact us: Email (fmi@bemoresmarter.com) / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

Fill Me In #526: One of the two words is crab. Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian plan on matching dinners, nearly break records, and appreciate that an overseas listener wants America to find more positive new vocabulary. Go watch some Catherine O'Hara movies this week. She was a legend. (This has nothing to do with the podcast, we're just fans.)

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

Fill Me In #525: I had it with the back side to me. Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

This week, it's truly the highlight of any Fill Me In Season, because Ben Zimmer joins Ryan and Brian to talk about the 2025 Word of the Year! There's still plenty of the same slop there's always been, but jump ahead to about the 31-minute mark if you're just here for The Barnacle.

Stuff to click:

Ben Zimmer on BlueSky, Facebook, and Slate
The American Dialect Society
Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe
Scott Weiss's Oscars Anti-Match Quiz and info on Zoom-based escape rooms

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

Fill Me In #524: I can't think and see at the same time. Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

This week, Ryan is off doing Ryan things, so Shannon Rapp (aka Norah Sharpe, an expert in sconces; the name is fake but the puzzles are real) steps in for discussions of crosswords, sandwiches, and thunder gods -- yup, even without Ryan, the topics still don't really change.

Stuff to click:

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

Fill Me In #523: The power of the preposition. Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian continue to suffer from bronchial ailments despite having both gotten all the appropriate vaccines. To be clear, we still believe in vaccines! Things we don't necessarily believe in: whether we should move to Malta, whether Hello Kitty is a cat, and whether the host of a murder mystery party should be a critical part of the story.

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

Fill Me In #522: A quasi fictionalized version of what i saw that day. Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian attempt to launch into 2026, but Brian is exhausted from a trip to Portugal and Ryan has "a throat thing." All that plus recording the show on a Friday just means that the year is off to a stumblier start than anyone expected.

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

*Our choice.

Fill Me In #521: Smaller in people, bigger in land. Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian don't really recap 2025 -- but it is the last show of the year. With that, we all wish you a happy holiday season, and look forward to continuing our weekly delivery of top*-tier, high*-quality, information-packed* podcast content in 2026!

*not any of those things

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

*Our choice.

Fill Me In #520: Some Mexico is the same amount of north as some Texas. Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian dig deep into butts, shoulders, clams, and Caesars. How do you take yours? Try out the Contest of Still Going On (a standard crossword), and win either a puzzle subscription or a brand new car*.

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 DM 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
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 / Instagram / Bluesky

*Our choice.

Fill Me In #519: It's a conversation ender. Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian dive into Lucky Charms, question the motivations of the Kingston Trio, and discuss a challenge to the "get what it's called" rule. All that, plus there's a brand new Contest of Now (a standard crossword).

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 DM 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 / Bluesky

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 #518: Ump for Anatevka. Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

This week, Ryan and Brian don't know which cities are fictional, which currencies are spelled which way, or how much a baseball is worth. There's a Contest of Still Going On (which is a Rows Garden puzzle), and here's a link to the next season of Fireball Newsflash Crosswords.

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 DM 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 / Bluesky

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