Episode 8

The eighth episode of Lecture Hall, uploaded on November 18, 2020. This is the first episode with an official guest, Devon Bostick. It's clear that Broti and Dylan are adjusting to having a guest, as this episode has less the wild energy of future guest episodes. Devon does a great job fitting in, however, as his topic is actually interesting while being short enough to fit into the usual timeframe. All of this made this episode hard to recap because it isn't as full of bits and references as many others.

recapped by Kevin on 10/24/21

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## Episode Summary

### Introduction

* Dylan is very formal, and quickly introduces guest Devon Bostick
* Devon starts off with a confusing reference to CATS (not the one you or anyone else was thinking of) when asked about his theater career
	+ The causes Dylan to reflect that they’ve all played old men on stage
	+ Broti, in her classic improv style, says she’s only played cats
* Dylan calls out Broti for disrespectfully eating a mango snack, and we learn that Broti’s definition of family is “whoever you eat mango in front of” and we learn about Broti’s tramp stamp
* The absolute chaos of even the first two minutes really sets the tone for what future Lecture Halls with guests will be like, with frequent talking over each other and jokes having to be repeated
* Dylan admits that there is a price ceiling on the amount of dentistry she is willing to get, and everyone agrees going to the dentist is really for children
	+ They also reflect on the meaning of “Big Yellow Taxi”
	+ Dylan brags that she robbed her mom as a child and did not finish high school, something Karen did not deserve
* Canada corner
	+ Dylan calls it “basically the same but a little wrong”
	+ Devon says they met in the “Texas of Canada”, or Calgary
	+ Broti feels forced to talk about fracking, something Dylan doesn’t understand
* B&D talk about beautiful girl names that are also diseases/disorders
	+ Melanoma
	+ Ascocia(?)
	+ Scoliosis (but for a boy, come on)
	+ Tuberculosis for an uncle, shortened to “Tuberc”
* Dylan has a real showstopper, which leads to her revealing they cannot edit
* Dylan says they had mini-lessons to supplement Devon’s major lesson
	+ Dylan thinks hers is incredible
	+ Broti thinks the concept is fun but she has also come up with a non-fun game, a first for the pod (but Dylan points out they have played games before)
	+ Devon mentions The Queen’s Gambit, a show none of them have seen, and Broti and Dylan both think about a good joke they could make from the title
	+ Broti reveals she sexualizes the chess pieces
* Dylan says she has a clean one-and-a-half pages about something which, unbeknownst to her, will become probably one of the most referenced topics in Lecture Hall’s history
* Broti tells an unfortunate Bitcoin story, but this just leads to Dylan asking her to tell another story
	+ Broti was kidnapped by a group of tourists for a photo in an incidence of “family fracking”, or perhaps the NBC Diversity Program
* They decide on a Devon sandwich re:topic order, and ending with Broti’s not-fun game

### Dylan's Topic

* Dylan starts by admitting she does not know how to pronounce her topic, Tarrare
* Interestingly, one of the first facts Dylan shares is that possibly Tarrare did not exist
* Dylan declares Tarrare the biggest freak ever talked about on the pod, even more of a freak than Walt Disney
* Devon calls Tarrare “a real bishop” and B&D agree he’s a “gorgeous bishop”, a nice callback to Broti's fetishizing of chess pieces
* Dylan regrets not being recruited by roving gangs of violent lesbians and reveals they wound up going with Anya Taylor-Joy instead
* Devon decides he is more disgusted by Tarrare eating an entire basket of apples than snake meat
* Broti compares Tarrare to Gaston and his dozen eggs a day diet
* Broti decides Tarrare is a cartoon that someone had a weird dream about
* Everyone has a good laugh about Tarrare’s disastrous military career
* Devon asks an important question, why do people keep feeding this freak
* Dylan describes several methods of trying to cure Tarrare and realizes Broti and Devon are sick of hearing about him
* As Dylan’s topic progresses Tarrare sounds more and more like some kind of monster or vampire instead of just a freak
* Dylan’s topic abruptly wraps up with a chilling accusation that Tarrare ate a baby before being chased away
* Dylan claims an autopsy of Tarrare, again a person that may not have existed, reveals him to be a totally normal guy
	+ Dylan then accuses Broti of being on her phone
	+ Broti disagrees, one of many fights on the pod
* Dylan then teases covering Balloon Boy (something that will not come up for over a full year)
	+ Balloon Boy corner
		- Broti knows too much about him already
		- Dylan says he is a dream guest
		- Devon imagines Balloon Teen now just hides places
		- Dylan mentions a famous Alyssa Milano Balloon Boy Tweet
		- Broti says he in a heavy metal band now and Dylan aggressively says she knows

### Devon's Topic

* He starts his segment with a random animal fact: Woodpeckers start off smart and slowly become dumber because of head trauma
	+ Broti’s theory is that woodpeckers play football and get CTEs… then just a long pause
	+ Dylan then says that “Aaron Hernandez had woodpecker disease” which doesn’t need any further analysis
	+ B&D both agree that they are much dumber now than when they were younger
	+ Dylan asks if Broti remembers when people were impressed with her and she admits she does not
* Devon then pivots to the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, the “O.G. Fyre Fest”
* Dylan, known wildcard, teases that she is related to Christopher Columbus, so she asks Devon to not talk too much shit
	+ She then says she is not but is related to Benjamin Harrison, a crappy president who is the grandson of the one that got Tuberculosis, or old Uncle Tuberc
* Broti makes a joke about Olmstead that lands weird and tries to save it, but not very hard, and Dylan suggests they end the pod over it
* Devon admits he picked this building-centric topic because as Dylan says, men are so people-averse
	+ Broti then has a deep thought about buildings, men, and feelings
	+ The poetic nature of Broti’s deep thought scares Dylan and she calls her “Broti Whitman”
* At one point, Devon says that B&D make this seem really easy, an incredible compliment for the hosts
	+ Broti reminds everyone that her segment will basically be a not fun game
	+ Dylan then imagines a podcast of people just playing Zip Zap Zop
	+ B&D shoutout to possible sponsor Codenames
* Dylan goes on record saying the Great Fire of 1871 was not so great, a bit from her standup
* Broti takes an opportunity to distance herself and the pod from Tarrare’s behavior
* Devon revisits the “how acoustics work” question from the very first episode
	+ Broti then declares that “the amphitheater” is a big theme of the pod
* Devon shouts out George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., writer of Ferris Beuller’s Day Off and inventor of the Ferris Wheel (in that order)
	+ Dylan has a great “is this anything” - “Ferris Wheel’s Day Off”
	+ Broti keeps asking listeners to sound off in the comments below - this is the first “comment with this or that” on the pod
		- Listeners are encouraged to “comment below” if we think it is anything
		- If not, we’re asked to comment with our favorite Bible verse
		- If undecided, pick a fun photo but nothing gross
		- Broti again mentions they are unable to edit
* B&D confuse showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody with fictional serial killer Buffalo Bill
* Hoochie Coochie Corner
	+ Broti says this 19th century dance became the Macarena
	+ Dylan says it is the Cha Cha Slide, a dance white people lose their minds for
	+ Devon then says the Hotline Bling, a dance Broti hasn’t thought about for a while
	+ Devon mentions Sol Bloom and the snake charmer tune he invented for the hoochie coochie, but Broti imagines a version where he played Fur Elise, and finally Devon suggests Halo instead
* When Devon tells a story about Katy Perry wishing she was in the crowd of her own show, Dylan says she feels the same about the pod - she wishes she was listening instead of doing it
	+ B&D take the opportunity to celebrate the “absolute thrill ride” of Teenage Dream
	+ Devon then mentions pod-fave Firework, which he claims is a big part of his life, and utters the important quote “like a house of cards” to surprisingly little reaction
* Devon lists the great inventions introduced at the fair
	+ Cracker Jack - Broti reacts to this with an aborted “that’s what I call…”
	+ Aunt Jemima - “RIP!”
	+ The zipper - which Broti and Dylan agree would be more entertaining if there was no TV
	+ Juicy Fruit
	+ PBR
	+ The dishwasher
	+ The moving walkway
	+ The Ferris Wheel
* Broti says if she didn’t have TV, she would just sleep a lot so as to dream about episodes of TV
	+ Dylan says even without TV, Broti would still invent The Golden Girls, a topic that Dylan says she is sick of hearing about
	+ Broti recounts a recent episode she watched about Dorothy’s anti-semetic friend
	+ Dylan then calls out Broti for her sixth grade homework where she “doesn’t agree with the Holocaust” which does not mean what you think it means
	+ Broti’s one question for the Nazis: “Why?”
	+ Broti’s alternate version of Elie Wiesel’s "Night" is just a fun coming of age story about how it’s not shameful to masturbate, a joke that makes Devon want to leave the podcast
* Devon wraps up his topic with a wild Ferris Wheel conspiracy theory
	+ Broti contends that before real crime solvers came on the scene, you could get away with killing someone by naming the murder weapon after yourself, apparently
	+ Dylan make a similar point that a great way to cover up a crime would be to then cover it as a topic on their podcast
* Broti reveals she made a wish a few years ago and will never die, so Dylan can never refuse her ashes
* Dylan makes a joke about Lovett or Leave It, but Devon mishears she just goes with that instead of repeating it
	+ Broti suggests Devon goes on a podcast tour, starting with This American Life, or perhaps This Canadian Life
* Devon finishes at “a cool hour” and Broti seems like she doesn’t want to do her topic/game - Ask Jeeves

### Broti's Topic

* Ask Jeeves was Dylan’s first crush
* Dylan reminds Broti of her earlier poem which she has already forgotten
* Dylan asks about a search engine with a dog, which was not Jeeves’ dog
	+ When it’s revealed to be Dogpile, Dylan is very upset
* Broti recommends the Jeeves and Wooster series of books as “humor”
* Broti recounts an inspiring quote from Jeeves himself but Dylan compares it to Tarrare’s baby eating
	+ Everyone is incredulous about Jeeves’ claim he was popular with British audiences, something Dylan says she also wants to start doing
* Everyone pitches some alternate Ask Jeeves for American audiences
	+ Devon suggests Ask James
	+ Dylan suggests Ask Jake
	+ Broti’s suggestion is interrupted by Devon, sadly, so I can’t make it out
* Dylan promises she will add a picture of Pregnant Clippy to the patreon
* Generally Broti reads lots of marketing copy by the Ask Jeeves team that sounds really sad after the fact
* Broti reveals Tarrare and Jeeves are working on a COVID vaccine together, but Tarrare just won’t stop eating the vaccine and Jeeves is having a jolly nightmare
* Broti’s game is revealed to be “Do you have any questions for Jeeves?” which would actually just be her googling things
	+ Broti then goes to a mysterious website about sex toys and audibly takes a screenshot of it for sharing, but evidently it is not askjeeves.com
	+ Another phone call interrupts at this point just as Broti shares her sex toys screenshot
* Dylan’s brother texts her about Serbia as they wrap up the pod
* Devon has nothing to say to listeners of the pod
* Devon is teased as a repeat guest, an honor he wants to tell his mom about
* Dylan says, “try a little bondage” and Broti echoes this, then plugs the anti-semetic friend Golden Girls episode as the pod ends