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(upbeat music)

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- I hope that everyone had a safe,

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socially distant memorial day weekend

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and that your masks didn't get in the way

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of getting your perfect tan
line or eating a hotdog.

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Now that we're back to
the work from home grind,

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I thought I'd give you
some recommendations

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of some of the things that
I'm watching and listening to.

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First up is a Netflix show
called Middleditch & Schwartz.

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That's Thomas Middleditch
from Silicon Valley

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and Ben Schwartz,

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who's probably best known
for his ultra-hyper role

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of John Rafio in Parks and Rec.

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The two comedians went on an improv tour,

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pre COVID of course,

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and then they turned three of those shows

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into Netflix episodes.

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They create scenes based
on audience suggestions

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and the results are sometimes
laugh out loud funny.

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It's perfect quarantine viewing.

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It's good natured and
generally positive vibes.

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In the absence

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of actually being able
to go to a standup show

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or an improv show, this
is the next best thing.

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And it's cool to see two
recognizable faces doing it.

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While it doesn't always hit the mark,

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it's a testament to how
hard improv really must be.

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To think on your feet so spontaneously.

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I mean I can't even do these
videos without a script.

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Next on my list is a podcast episode

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from the guys at Reply All,

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the podcast that's obsessed
with all things internet.

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A few months ago their episode

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The Case of the Missing Hit

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really blew up on Twitter

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and led some publications to say

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it was the greatest podcast
episode of all time.

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That episode delved into a musical mystery

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and for last week's episode of Reply All

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the guys found yet another one.

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It centers around a guy

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who happened to write a
casual Christmas jingle

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three years ago.

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Then walks into a Kroger supermarket

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and hears his song playing
on the loudspeaker.

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He put his song on YouTube

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and gotten like 37 likes.

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How could Kroger have
found it and taken it

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without breaking music licensing laws

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and how would they have even
found it in the first place?

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The episode hooks you in

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and gets you thinking about

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things you hadn't
thought about in the past

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like how do supermarkets

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formulate playlists for shoppers.

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Turns out it's a pretty intense process.

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As the investigation goes in

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it's clear that it's hitting

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one guy's word against another.

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The music composer versus
the playlist curator.

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And they both happen to be called Brian

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which is why the episode is
called Brian versus Brian.

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And our video producer
is also called Brian.

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So there's way too many
Brians to deal with.

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Ever heard of a chaiote?

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I hadn't either

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until I got stuck into
my third recommendation.

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A lot of people have been
sharpening their cooking skills

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during the quarantine

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and I've been enthralled
by a YouTube service

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by cooking brand Epicurious.

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It's a how-to series,
but not any old how-to.

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It's the most in-depth,
extensive how-to you've ever seen

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with episodes like how
to chop every vegetable,

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how to crack every nut,

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how to open every shellfish.

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They're really not kidding about every.

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The episodes last about 45 minutes

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and you'll get sucked in and watch all 45.

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It's all fun and tongue and cheek,

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but you're actually
learning some new skills

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so that you're not chopping your hand off

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along with that red cabbage.

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So I encourage you to tune in

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and go find out what a castle franco is.