Today the Bayer siblings are thrilled to have hilarious comedian, actor and writer Tim Baltz on the podcast! You may know Tim from his brilliant work starring as the character BJ in "The Righteous Gemstones," but did you know that he and Vanessa are old Chicago pals? They talk about that time, from auditioning for SNL in Chicago and how Vanessa may have been through an unintended but genius stress test in the process, to the vivid memory they both have of speaking French to each other at Chicago comedy institution IO. And speaking of, they get into what is punk in Chicago other than Jonah's band when it would tour there! And also how Vanessa would bomb every time she opened for them! And Jonah and Tim get into how one of them is really a mental health counselor, one of them played one on a show, but both of them used their therapists for various kinds of research. Plus we're talking everything NERF! From Nerf Herder(s) to Nerf Footballs, to the Nerf Whistler Football (not a great swing by the Nerf ppl), to Tim's elementary homeroom classes where there was a Nerf basketball league that seems to have taken what some might call "too much" time in his school day? And finally, in an incredible game of LEGIT MOAN OR UNNECESSARY GROAN, we're discussing the lore of Cleveland radio's own John Lanigan, the overuse of the term "ya know," and using earplugs to block out the noise of people talking on their cellphones? Or something like that? Either way you've gotta check out this fantastic episodes with one of Chicago's finest!

You may know our guests today from their popular podcast series "Buffering: A Rewatch Adventure," but did you know they also co-wrote a fantastic new book “Slayers, Every One Of Us” that is out now! Are you noticing a theme? That’s right, this week the Bayer siblings welcome their DREAM guests and old friends: Musician Jenny Owen Youngs and producer, speaker and consultant Kristin Russo! The group dive into the world of nostalgic TV from Buffy to Angel to My So-Called Life. And speaking of, they each call out their own Jordan Catalano’s of yore and you wouldn’t believe what some of them are up to these days… Plus the crew dives deep on vampires, why we live them, why and how some of us dressed like them and how did the ending of Interview with the Vampire differ from book to movie. (Warning: there will be spoilers!)(Other Warning: Vanessa tries out the term “smoke show” to describe Christian Slater and honestly it goes pretty well?) Finally, in a wonderful game of LEGIT MOAN OR UNNECESSARY GROAN we’re talking swooshing and banging on tv, a former DHL driver with a controversial car and sandwiches on flights. None of the topics make a ton of sense but we have a great time discussing them! So check out this vamp-tastic episode and be sure to pick up Jenny and Kristin’s new book, "Slayers, Every One Of Us” out now!!

Today we are joined by actor Shane McRae, the current star of the Apple+ TV series "Silo"! We talk about McCrae being a huge David Bazan fan and hanging out house shows with Jonah back in the day. In that spirit we also reminisce about Williamsburg in the early 2000s, Shane's early auditions alongside some of today's biggest actors and how he a kid from Mississippi was exposed to underground music. We also get deep into the culture of hanging out in 24-hour diners from useless non-smoking sections to tipping etiquette for teenagers. Finally in a game of LEGIT MOAN OR UNNECESSARY GROAN, we discuss forgetting parents' birthdays, justice in advertising and should people walk on bike paths? (Vanessa has very strong opinions about this last one.) Don't forget to check out Shane on "Silo" and say hi to him at the next Bazan show!