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Turning This Car Around — Comedy
Turning This Car Around

America’s number one best and favorite podcast about fatherhood hosted by Lex Friedman, John Moltz and Jon Armstrong.

Turning This Car Around is a podcast about parenthood from three dads, Lex Friedman, John Moltz and Jon Armstrong. You can follow us collectively on Twitter as @ttcashow

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Lex Friedman is the Chief Revenue Officer at ART19. He is a pretty important guy in the world of podcasting. He’s also a writer; he authored humor books like The Snuggie Sutra and The Kid in the Crib.

He was also a senior contributor to Macworld, an author of technology books, and the co-host of Not Playing, a podcast where Dan Moren and Lex watch movies that everyone else has already seen. Mr. Friedman was formerly the cohost of Unprofessional.

Lex’s blog is called Lex, Briefly.

Lex lives with his wife and three kids in New Jersey.

Follow Lex on Twitter

You might know John Moltz as a person on the Internet. Many people do! However, he also appears in other guises, sometimes as a large, golden bull and others as a phalanx of beautiful swans! Usually, however, he appears as a guy working at a desk. Other important points that John Moltz would like to share:

John Moltz is fluent in English and conversational in two other languages.

John Moltz is the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs. He’s fast enough for you, old man.

John Moltz is actually made up of thousands of smaller John Moltzes, all furiously working tiny little gears to keep the larger construct you know as “John Moltz” functioning.

John Moltz is a little too comfortable talking about himself in the third person.

Jon Armstrong is a long time blogger at the barely alive Blurbomat, a UX/UI consultant, a web/business developer, a photographer and the impetus for this show. In a past life he executive produced a popular blog and ran the business. Yes, business. Turning This Car Around marks Armstrong’s first foray into podcasting.

You can see his photos on Flickr and Instagram.

Follow Jon on Twitter

Jon splits time between Brooklyn, New York and Salt Lake City, Utah. Armstrong has two wonderful and amazing biological children and two also wonderful almost-stepchildren.

Copyright: © All rights reserved

Latest Episodes:

52: Performance Anxiety Mar 05, 2015

Show notes

Let's talk about performances. Music, plays and kicking ass. First we talk about the weather. There's so much snow on the east coast planes are sliding off the runways but in Washington state there isn't enough snow on the volcano to play in. Jon's daughter just nailed a recital. Moltz's son doesn't like performing much anymore unless it's breaking boards. Certain faiths might help you get used to public speaking. The Parental Guilt Industrial Complex is run by Barbara Streisand. Speaking of performances, Pee Wee Herman is coming back. Our thanks this week to Bluum. Bluum sends a monthly box of five full-sized high-value products that are perfectly suited to your child's age, gender and stage of development. The retail value of the products always exceeds the monthly subscription fee. They only send products that are relevant to your child right now because you can customize what you receive. A baby needs three things: Mom, dad and Bluum. Go to bluum.com/turning and use promo code "CAR40" for 40 percent off the first month of all plans. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

51: The Hard Questions Feb 28, 2015

Show notes

This week we talk about explaining the hard things, like death. Jon knows some girls who are literalists like Amelia Bedelia or Drax the Destroyer. Sometimes explanations get hard. Lex uses Dead Man's Switch which will send out pre-written emails in the event of his untimely demise. This whole episode is a real downer. Our thanks this week to Bluum. Bluum sends a monthly box of five full-sized high-value products that are perfectly suited to your child's age, gender and stage of development. The retail value of the products always exceeds the monthly subscription fee. They only send products that are relevant to your child right now because you can customize what you receive. A baby needs three things: Mom, dad and Bluum. Go to bluum.com/turning and use promo code "CAR40" for 40 percent off the first month of all plans. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

50: Fears and Dogs Feb 20, 2015

Show notes

This week we talk about fears. Eventually. Sometimes you just start a podcast and then you figure out what it's about during the podcast. Jon recounts a treatment he's heard of for OCD. Lex's daughter is considering donating her hair and if your or someone you know is doing that, go with Pantene Beautiful Lengths rather than Locks of Love. Moltz's son is not a fan of loud noises and he helpfully tried to pass that along to Scott Simpson's son. Our thanks to Fracture for sponsoring this week's episode. Fracture prints your photographs directly on glass. It's like hanging your iPad on the wall. Colors pop and it comes ready to hang. We're Fracture customers and you should be too. Go to their web site and use the code "TTCA" for 15 percent off. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

49: And his name shall be Cody Feb 13, 2015

Show notes

Dogs, dogs, dogs. Lex is getting a new dog. This dog, to be specific. Jon recommends The Art of Raising a Puppy. Lex and Moltz aren't so sure. Moltz recommends a squirt bottle for raising a dog. Uber for puppies is a thing. Jon offers a cautionary tale about Beverly Hills Chihuahua. If you don't want a dog, you might get away with getting your kid a Fur Real. Our thanks to Fracture for sponsoring this week's episode. Fracture prints your photographs directly on glass. It's like hanging your iPad on the wall. Colors pop and it comes ready to hang. We're Fracture customers and you should be too. Go to their web site and use the code "TTCA" for 15 percent off. Our thanks also to Loot Crate, a monthly subscription box service for epic geek items. For less than $20 a month you get 6-8 items that include licensed gear, apparel and collectible items. And they are awesome. Go to LootCrate.com/TTCA and enter code "TTCA" to save $3 on any subscription. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

48: Anal Vacuuming Technique Feb 06, 2015

Show notes

This week we talk about chores. Jon rudely brings up the last five minutes of the Superbowl. This episode is not brought to you by Febreze, Swiffer or the shredding industry but it might as well have been because those are good chores for kids. Moltz doesn't recall having to clean up his Star Trek action figures when he was a kid. Jon used to vacuum every time a Senator Jake Garn came over. Moltz's kid likes to help cook, particularly if it's omurice. Our thanks to Fracture for sponsoring this week's episode. Fracture prints your photographs directly on glass. It's like hanging your iPad on the wall. Colors pop and it comes ready to hang. We're Fracture customers and you should be too. Go to their web site and use the code "TTCA" for 15 percent off. Our thanks also to Loot Crate, a monthly subscription box service for epic geek items. For less than $20 a month you get 6-8 items that include licensed gear, apparel and collectible items. And they are awesome. Go to LootCrate.com/TTCA and enter code "TTCA" to save $3 on any subscription. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

47: Rabbit Poop Jan 23, 2015

Show notes

This week we talk about pets because we're so sick of talking about kids. Moltz recommends guinea pigs as small pets but his info on bedding is out of date and backwards. There's not conclusive evidence, but you probably shouldn't use either pine or cedar shavings but should use fleece or paper. It's important to learn the difference between rabbit poop and brown Sixlets. Guinea pigs and rabbits have to eat their own poop because... well, they just do. Jon has also owned dogs, the Internet-famous Chuck and Coco. If you're in LA, Jon recommends Animal Crackers. This episode is not brought to you by Nature's Miracle but it should have been. Lex wants to get a Morkie. Here's a picture of Moltz's dog when they first met him. Moltz believes poodles look better with the puppy haircut which is to say no haircut. Here's Grant in action as a pup. That video also features Hank with a Salvador Dali mustache. (Some of these Flickr links weren't working in Safari for some reason, but do work in Chrome.) If you have a poodle, sometimes you have to overcompensate in his dress. Training is as much for the humans as it is for the dog. Always agree with your spouse on what kind of haircut the dog will have before he goes to the groomer or you might end up with this. If you do get a dog and you totally should because what else are you doing, get the dog this squirrel thing. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

46: Vomit Jelly Beans Jan 15, 2015

Show notes

We start with a discussion of hygiene and then move into more game talk. The Armstrong kids (and Jon) enjoy a nice game of Tripoley or Apples to Apples. The Friedmans like Blokus and Jishaku and the Moltzes like Risk and Sushi Go. We also reminisce about Green Stamps. Jon and Moltz do, anyway. Jon likes The Last of Us which is decidedly not for the kids. Pee-Wee's Playhouse on the other hand, is great for all ages. As is The Tick animated series. For some reason we also discuss Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Our thanks this week to Loot Crate, a monthly subscription box service for epic geek items. For less than $20 a month you get 6-8 items that include licensed gear, apparel and collectible items. And they are awesome. Go to LootCrate.com/TTCA and enter code "TTCA" to save 10 percent on any subscription. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

45: Happy Puberty Jan 07, 2015

Show notes

First we review our respective holidays. Lex has seen and recommends Boyhood. Jon has some choice words for the people who took down the Playstation Network on Christmas. So instead of playing Minecraft, they played the LEGO Movie game. Lex talks about some troubles playing Minecraft on the Kano. The Friedmans also watched Home Alone. Moltz considered watching Die Hard with his son but then thought better of it. Our real subject today is how we play with our kids. Lex does projects with the kids (Snap Circuits are pretty cool, by the way). Moltz used to run obstacle courses with his son. There were not American Ninja Warrior caliber. Or even Wipeout caliber. Jon's girl got the LEGO Rapunzel castle and Moltz's son got the LEGO Minecraft cave. Moltz's family plays a lot of Monopoly and poker. Trouble can be a fun game to try to extract vengeance on someone. And as you do on a parenting podcast, we talk about The Deer Hunter. Lex likes to beat his daughter at Typeracer. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

44: "Jews Don't Drink Eggnog" Dec 20, 2014

Show notes

In this episode we catch up with Lex and discuss our holiday plans. You know what? You've been great this year. You should buy yourself a Drobo 5D like Jon did. And you should totally use that affiliate link to do it. Win-win. Happy holidays to all our listeners! Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb.

43: Holiday Johns Dec 12, 2014

Show notes

Lex was traveling this week so we have a guest, one John Gruber. He's apparently some guy in the Internet. Not coincidentally, this is our longest episode ever. What was the deal with bearer bonds back in the 1980s movies? They were basically what every villain was after. In the upcoming SPECTRE, it's probably something else. Don't take the kids to see American Sniper for the holidays. We talk again about our Frozen experiences. A holiday trip to FAO Schwarz seems dicey but if you're in Manhattan how can you not? Also, Dylan's Candy Bar. Oh, man. Playmobil has some great robbery sets that Gruber and Moltz speak highly of. Their kids might, too. Not sure. Moltz's kid is getting a PC laptop for Christmas and Moltz is already having trouble with it. Moltz wants to know if Jon's and Gruber's kids are getting his Minecraft book for Christmas. Gruber's kid might be getting a Playstation 4 with LEGO Batman 3 and FIFA Soccer. Jon's kids might be getting Minecraft for Playstation. One wants an Easy-Bake oven. If you don't follow the Grubers on Twitter, they had an interesting time setting up their Christmas tree this year. Moltz's tree contribution is putting up his Star Trek ornaments. He doesn't have this one but it's on his wish list. Follow us: @ttcashow. Lex Friedman can be found @lexfri, John Moltz can be found @Moltz and Jon Armstrong is @blurb. You can also follow John Gruber here: @gruber or @daringfireball

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