Your favorite podcasters just celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary! Blow the confetti cannons, and prepare to get jealous because we're here talking about showering each other with love in its many forms. And we're talking about how too many relationships are based on being transactional, and what we think that can do to people and their outlooks on romance. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

It's weird that these days a helping hand is so often met with cynicism, and even weirder that it's often offered with strings attached. What happened to lending some help, or even just some empathy, without keeping score? That's what we're talking about. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking them.

Think about how many songs have been written about lying. Really, just think about it for a moment. ...Now, why do you think that's a thing? Because lies are everywhere! And they always have been, from Santa Claus to Watergate to telling someone they look fine in those jeans to NOT telling someone they have spinach in their teeth. Are they harmful? Are they harmless? Can they be either? Or both? That's what we're talking about. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

We're back from a big tattoo con weekend, and it's got us talking about the cost of doing business. And the cost of doing art. ...Making art, you know what we mean. Not just in terms of money, but also in terms of time, and labor, and money. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

The standard seems to be that in order to demonstrate progress you need to feel some sort of pain for it; artists suffer for their art. You know your workout was good if you feel that burn. A hard day's work leaves you dead tired but full of pride. Right? And that's a good thing! ...Right? Well, as creatives, we think so. So that's what we're talking about. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

No, not like with airplanes or ocean depths. We're talking about the real human cost of not allowing time for personal comfort. Hypertension may be "the silent killer," but some stress can get super loud. Can you ever really keep it quiet? Is that really the impossible dream these days? And why does achieving it make people so dang uncomfortable?! That's what we're talking about. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

But this time, if you do, you get a lot more than slimed. People are out there with their torches and pitchforks just waiting to tear up and burn down anyone with the unmitigated gall to do, say, or even think something different or "unpopular." ...Didn't we used to call that bullying? It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.

There's so much snow, and it's our birthday week, and we like surprises, and something about media distractions, and french Canadians may or may not eat people.. This one is definitely a grab bag episode. It's amazing what you can learn about someone just by talking to them.