In Episode 3 of Season 5 Mike welcomes back a listener favorite from Season 4 (S4E1 guest Rachael Lawrence-Lupton) and THREE other members of the Lawrence-Lupton family: David, Daniel and even Elle (all three are also good friends of Mike’s!) for a spirited discussion of the 2023 Michigan football vs UNLV game.

Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmiked

Email the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.com

Key moments from the pod:

0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E3 and breaks down the plan for the episode.

3:00: Mike then corrects a few embarrassing errors from S5E2, including Mike using the term “native city” for the City of Detroit, mixing up the shows Hey Dude! with Salute Your Shorts, and when the first Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special happens in the sequence of the show.

8:15: Next up Mike recounts his recent trip to New York City, from taking advantage of public transit to seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (and not showing up his tour guide) to food and drink tours to the Tigers/Yankees game as well as checking out the One World Observatory and 9/11 Memorial Museum.

17:15: Mike then explains his special attachment to UNLV and honors that attachment with his favorite Vegas-themed song.

22:00: Mike welcomes on his three guests for this special episode (Rachael, David, and Daniel Lawrence-Lupton) along with a cat. David then gives some background on himself as having grown up in Ann Arbor along with Rachael. Daniel then introduces himself to the podcast community by talking about his personal friendships with several University of Michigan football players.

27:30: Daniel then vividly describes how excited he was to attend his first Michigan game in person.

28:30: The crew talks about the last time they all saw each other, including when Daniel took down Mike in chess as well as how they were feeling about Michigan football heading into the 2023 season.

30:00: Next up: passionate and well reasoned thoughts from the Lawrence-Luptons on how they thought Michigan was going to do coming into the 2023 football season.

32:30: Miike sets the stage for the UNLV game

34:00: The gang talks about their shared passion of tailgating and the tradition of David, Rachael and their families stopping by with Rachael’s signature shortbread, a KEY ingredient to Michigan home victories!

37:45: Next up is a detailed/vivid recap of the game itself.

46:30: The crew talk about what they were feeling coming out of this game about the Michigan team and the rest of the season, including Daniel NEEDING to get to more games (but NOT a night game).

51:00: The Lawrence-Luptons talk about what it is about Michigan football keeps them coming back year after year.

In Episode 2 of Season 5 Mike welcomes two listener favorites back to the podcast (S1E7 guest Kelly Worman and S2E9 guest Kyle Urek) for a rousing discussion of the 2023 Michigan football vs East Carolina game.

Follow the podcast on Twitter: @friendsofmiked

Email the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.com

Key moments from the pod:

0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to S5E2 and breaks down the plan for the episode.

3.00: Mike then gives the listeners an update about what’s been going on with him, starting with an epic triple trip to the Motor City all facilitated by the D2A2 bus (D2A2.com).

4:00: First up was a trip up to Hamtramck to catch a Detroit City FC soccer match.

5:25: Next up was checking out the NFL Draft and a sea of humanity in the best possible way.

6:30: The epic week of Detroit outings ended with the Tigers/Royals baseball game.

8:00: Mike then describes a new (well, new to him) TV show called Gavin and Stacey that’s caught not only his eye but also his funny bone and his heart.

15:00: Mike welcomes his dear friends Kelly Worman and Kyle Urek onto the podcast.

20:00: Kyle and Kelly then give some updates on what’s been happening with them.

23:40: The guys then discuss when they last saw each other.

26:15: Mike lays out the plan for the rest of the episode and the guys talk about their overall feelings on Michigan football coming into the 2023 season.

33:00: Kelly talks about how special a weekend it was to come up to Ann Arbor with his two oldest daughters and Kyle goes over the bond he’s been building with his daughter over Michigan football.

34:00: The guys talk through the Michigan/East Carolina game, including the grave injustice of a suspension laid on Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh and how this was the first Michigan football game on Peacock.

44:20: Did anything about the guys’ feelings about the chances of the Michigan football team the rest of the season change from this game?

46:40: Kyle and Kelly finish the episode by breaking down why Michigan football keeps a special place in both of their hearts.

Mike kicks off season 5 with a true “setting the table” episode where he lays out the concept for the season ahead. It’s going to involve a lot of things, including life lessons, friendship, obstacles, overcoming obstacles, travel, music, and memories.

Follow the podcast on Twitter/x: @friendsofmiked

Email the podcast at talkingfriendship@gmail.com

Key moments from the pod:

0:30: Mike welcomes listeners to Episode 1 of Season 5, a very special podcast season focused on a very special season of Michigan football and friendship.

2:40: Mike then discusses why Season 4 was only a few (albeit amazing) episodes.

4:10: MIke gives an update on what’s been going on with him. Spoiler alert: A lot, including a major trip to the United Kingdom.

4:45: Mike breaks down his trip to Scotland and England, starting with Edinburgh and then London.

5:50: Mike discusses a song from his favorite Scottish Band that encapsulates his trip to their hometown Ediburgh.

10:10: Mike then pivots to the London portion of his trip, discussing various sites he absorbed, including taking a guided walk of SoHo, a trip to the Sir John Soane Museum, eating a lovely dinner with his dear friends Emily and Guy, and taking in a Tottenham Hotspur football/soccer match.

15:30: Mike then discusses an English punk song he loves to play on jukeboxes wherever he goes.

22:25: Mike finishes the episode by discussing the theme for Season 5.