Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving? How did Black Friday get started? Did America really celebrate Thanksgiving in April? And are we REALLY that thankful for Don and John? Folklore expert Cory Hutcheson has all the answers!
Tough times for the supply chain - there are thousands of shipping containers full of the stuff you want for Christmas piled up on the docks of Los Angeles. Nick Roman tells us about the mess and whether it'll be cleaned up in time for the holidays.
A baseball team has lots of coaches. What do they do, and why are so many of them getting fired this year? Sweeny Murti talks about coaches, why minor leaguers are important, and what to expect this offseason. (Bet on this: Don and John will not be hired as coaches.)…
Hip-checked by a llama! Hit on by a lemur! Zookeeper Christie Yurkovic has some tales to tell about mingling with animals. Now that she's talked with Don and John, she has new tales to tell about mingling with animals.... Check out these websites: Association of Zoos and Aquariums - https://www.aza.org/…
Halloween will not die! It rises from the grave to present folklore expert Cory Hutcheson, who carves out the Jack O'Lantern of truth about the origins of Halloween!
It's been hard for adults to wrap their heads around the 2020 election, let alone small children. Don and John talk with educator Dr. Abby Mahone, who gives advice on how to talk with toddlers about the election and politics in general. (And our hosts give a shining example of…
Halloween is coming, so naturally bio-ethicist Art Caplan is talking about cadavers! And pig kidneys! And COVID! Just what you need to kick off the fall holiday season!
Another of Bill Cosby's accusers, Lili Bernard, has filed suit, accusing him of drugging and raping her. Nicole Weisensee Egan, author of the book CHASING COSBY, covered both of Cosby's trials, and talks with John and Don about Lili and his other victims, the twisted logic of Cosby's release from…
How is it that "dark" rides at theme parks are put together by a fellow with such a sunny disposition? Meet Chick Russell, creator of rides featuring Harry Potter, the Transformers, and Mario. (The Don and John ride is so dark you can't see it....)
The 20th anniversary of 9/11 brings back many stories and memories. Here's one you must hear: the story of Mike Hingson, who walked down 78 flights of stairs to escape Tower 1 of the World Trade Center after it was hit -- a feat he couldn't accomplish without the help…
"A code red for humanity:" fire, floods, extreme heat, and a lack of ice at the poles. Can we reverse climate change? Weather Channel meteorologist Carl Parker has some answers and ideas in this Musical Innertube. Don and John just have huge electric bills. Read the Climate report https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf For…
Salsa, the condiment -- it's mild, it's spicy, it's hot. Salsa, the music -- it's mild, it's spicy, it's hot -- it's all types of Latin music wrapped up in one name. And nobody delivers salsa music like Alma Del Barrio, the 48 year-old weekend radio dynamo on KXLU in…
Julie McKelvey is attempting to climb the world's seven tallest mountains. Last month, she attempted the summit of Denali in Alaska -- and she missed it by a foot. Her foot. Don and John talk to Julie about what happened and about her plans to go to the top of…
Are you fully vaccinated? Art Caplan says you have to have BOTH shots. Should you mask up in the supermarket even if you've had both shots? Art Caplan says yes! Plus, our bio-ethicist doesn't think much of the Phillies, and that includes not getting their shots.
Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor at Atlantic Magazine and Senior Political Analyst for CNN, has written a book about how 1974 was a watershed year for culture and politics in Los Angeles. --Wait!! Don and John were living and working in L.A. in 1974! Coincidence? I think not!
Head on down to your local Wawa for a hoagie and some wooder ice, as John and Don talk with former Philadelphia Inquirer TV critic Ellen Gray. They'll be discussing all the Philadelphia quirks and references in the HBO murder mystery "Mare of Easttown." It's more fun than a vegan…
John and Don are huge baseball fans, and so is Sweeny Murti of WFAN Radio and the New York Yankees. Listen in as Sweeny tells the Innertube boys about his hour with Billy Crystal, Tom Jane, and Barry Pepper, the boys of 61*.
John and Don re-unite with Art Caplan, the Mitty Professor of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center, to get the hows and whys of vaccine hesitancy and herd immunity. But, unfortunately, no Bill Gates divorce jokes. Darn!
(Please hum Star Trek theme) Bruce Betts, Chief Scientist of the Planetary Society, takes John and Don where no Musical Innertube has gone before (except maybe our first episode with Mat Kaplan)! To Mars! In an airplane!
Don and John talk with Julie McKelvey, who's climbing the seven highest mountains in the world! She's doing it for a sense of accomplishment AND for a good cause. SPOILER: if you'd like to pledge as Julie climbs Denali, go here: https://pledge.giftofsound.org/summitforsounddenali
Making a return appearance to the Musical Innertube is educator Abby Mahone, who, along with fellow educator Courtney Hart, tells Don and John how students, teachers and parents in their school are coping with COVID.
Don and John talk to old friend Mike Hingson, who is many things: author, motivational speaker, and someone who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11th of 2001 by walking down the stairs from the 78th floor with the help of his guide dog Roselle.
What can a city's architecture tell us about its health and growth? John and Don find out by talking with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Inga Saffron, who talks about her city and trends in general.
Finish off 2020 with John and Don and bio-ethicist Art Caplan, who, like all of us, wants the pandemic to be over -- he's just not optimistic about that happening right away.