Episode 25: Josh Popped a Squat at my Sister’s Wedding

An inaugural episode for our new recording venue, this episode finds us talking for quite some time about genetic algorithms and Josh’s Genetic Football project, and also Josh’s role transition at Metafilter. Along the way, we touch on genetic cars, a (theoretical (we hope)) Metafilter Markov Commenter Bot, site culture, My Pet Monster, Battle Action He-Man, and some pro tips for performing wedding ceremonies.

Music this go-around is a couple passages lifted from “Drunk Again” off Josh’s concept album Inchoatery.

Episode 24: D & D is Someone Breaking Your Heart

After the Scat Hour, join our intrepid hosts to learn (??) about lent, creative obligations, boxes of moldy skulls and spines, Josh’s twitter D & D character and D & D memories in general, naming podcast networks, whether Jesse has read Dune, and fractional staves. We’re delighted to be joined again for this episode by the inestimable Eran Haas, and the episode features three slightly older MeFi Music songs from Josh: Nathan Fillion’s Theme, Old Man, and Wicker Man.

Episode 23: Ghosts on the E.T. Ride

Skip Worthington returns to attempt another Dungeons & Dragons Adventure, this time with a first-time adventurer. Afterward, it’s part 2 of our Crapshoot double episode, aka Episode 22B, aka Hellbanned from Podcasting, wherein we discuss halloween, compare Universal Studios to Enchanted Forest, talk beer, and solicit input on Jesse’s soon-to-be-announced-if-all-goes-well podcast network.

Music is two genre-shifters from Josh: Margaritahell and Subterranean Homesick Dylan

Episode 22: Hellbanned

Airing this time after Dungeons & Dragons Adventures, The Crapshoot returns for our 2015 debut. In part 1, Josh and Jesse reconvene to talk about audience feedback, The Harvey Girls, geologist humor, the Xs do it Y joke format, Paul Ford and Tilde.club (here by the way are links to Paul Ford’s The Age of Mechanical Reproduction and its incredible Postscript), but also; not reading Metafilter threads, the glories of the hellban, backfiring twitter campaigns, clickhole, Poe’s law, Kevin Smith.

Music this episode comes from a couple of Josh’s acoustic deconstructions; Istanbul (monotoned) and Nine Inch Niles 2.0.

Episode 21: XOXO 2014

The long-overdue, field-recorded episode from XOXO Fest 2014, episode 21 finds Josh and Jesse mostly in drunken snippets as we are subsumed into @xoxo, along the way joined variously by Matthew Bogart ( @matthewbogart ), Brad Sucks ( @bradsucks ), Phil Nelson ( @philnelson ), and Monk Funkster ( @jimmythehorn ) in situ.

Episode 20: Discourse on the Disc Course

What’s the score? Join Raaaaaaad Radley and co-host Chomp Wigglestein for another jaunt through A) a literal park, and possibly B) pandimensional space, for their celebrated long-running podcast Discourse on the Disc Course.

Afterward, slip back into a more familiar dimension as Josh and Jesse chat about Beverly Crusher, Space Ghost, Gary Larson, and Bill (Hicks-)Keane. Finally, as an afterthought-slash-coup-de-grâce we blithely solve every remaining mystery in the universe including how sewers work, quantum theory, lizard people, and all religion.

Episode 18: Bros Scotching Bros

Airing this time after the subtle and sublime “That’s Beer In Your Eye” podcast, The Crapshoot returns with the same malarkey you’ve surely come to love and forgive us for, with Josh and Jesse spitballing about possibly-corporate-sponsored viral videos, video games and the growing renaissance of games that don’t revolve around point-and-kill mechanics or even around “fun” as a primary goal, necessarily, and about the upcoming XOXO 2014 conference which you, the listener, should confront us at, if you somehow remember/know what we look like and are also physically located in/at when the time comes and it is underway, by which I mean, again, XOXO 2014.

Oh, and Smirnoff Ice, which we cannot seem to find a way to shut up about.

Music this episode: two tracks off Josh’s band The Harvey Girls’ upcoming album, Complicated Lady. Help support the record by pre-ordering a copy of the LP, why dontcha?

Episode 17: Eran Haas Is A Serious Enabler

After a bit of a delay, The Crapshoot is back (right after the fake podcast The Fake Podcast) with special guest and friend Eran Haas, also the regular In The Cut cohost. Conversational topics include (but are not limited to (and in no particular order)):

Eran– the champagne of beers
– return on investment w/r/t free beer
– cardigans
– burrito ingredients
– bourbon
– just beer, like, generally
– neuroses
– teddy bears
– stepping on cracks in the sidewalk
– a Sisyphean undertaking in television calibration
cookie clicker, candy box, frog fractions, and frog fractions 2
– social expectations for seven-year-olds
Larp Trek
Willow
– unsubscribing from the podcast
– the secret of website moderation finally revealed
– beer

Episode 16: Don’t Let This Be a Figment of a Fever Paula Deen

Coming up on the tail of The Frugal Floutist, it’s episode 16 of The Crapshoot! This time, we talk about: having a cold, the aesthetics and classism of beer cans vs bottles, how to design bad t-shirts, binaural recordings, erudition, beer rhythm aka beer something, getting hung up on the idea of doing a thing instead of just doing it, crapchutes, and Jesse’s excellent rhino joke.

Crowd participation question: what do you call the moon of a moon?

Music this time out: the long-awaited, breath-bated, can’t-be-overstated arrival of round two of songs Josh recorded based on listener reviews of the podcast on iTunes. Want your own song? Go review us on iTunes!