The Complete Guide to Everything

Dolly Parton wrote thousands of songs, gave away millions of books and somehow managed to get everybody to like her. This week Christine joins us to remember her favorite person and discuss Dolly’s music, generosity and ability to play “Yakety Sax” backwards. Also, we have a bad experience with Domino’s, consider the practical limitations of being a ghost and get distracted by someone in the building across from Tim’s apartment.

Get ready to "hang ten" and do various other surfing things, because this week's episode is about riding the waves on those big ol' boards (surfboards). We discuss surfing’s ancient Hawaiian roots, the invention of the surfboard leash, Duke Kahanamoku and all of the Beach Boys’ cool surfing songs.

They’re older than trees, older than the rings of Saturn, and covered in thousands of tiny teeth instead of normal scales. That’s right, this week we’re diving deep into the ocean's apex predators: sharks. Are they terrifying man-eaters, or are crocodiles and hippos doing all the actual dirty work? Also, Tim recounts a harrowing tale of bartender gastrointestinal distress, and we question why anyone would ever want to live on the moon.

Since we didn't really talk about summer jobs last week, we're spending this episode militantly on-topic. We discuss the weird psychology of group job interviews, the most common summer jobs for teens today and whether the boomers are right that nobody wants to work anymore. Plus, Tim talks about nearly escaping his butcher shop job for the glamorous world of Old Navy and Tom recounts his prowess working the register at the Apple Store.

This week on TCGTE Presents: HOT SUMMER, we’re diving into the classic teen rite of passage: summer jobs. Tim details his storied career slinging meat at a butcher shop, ignoring civic emergency phone calls while listening to Cher's Believe album on loop, and attending a Gallagher show with his ex-girlfriend's family. Plus, we get the facts about the Dave Matthews Band Chicago river boat disaster, the child labor laws around water slides, and famous celebrity summer jobs.

It’s summer and we’re hot, so this week we’re talking about air conditioners: how they work, whether they’re actually bad for the environment, and why portable ones with one hose stink. We also invent a better kind of pants pocket for carrying wet spaghetti, celebrate clip-on sunglasses, and explain how a lake can be a battery.