How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah Bayer

You've heard Claudio Sanchez sing about fantasy worlds as the frontman for Coheed And Cambria but have you heard him pontificate on a dish known as Chicken Rondelet? Get ready for that, plus we talk about Claudio's experiences playing Nintendo on the way to school, dig into the history of the Potato Skin (and Tato Skins) and recall some of our favorite commercial jingles of the eighties. We also discuss Jonah's doppelgänger as painted by Pablo Picasso, the time Claudio bought musical gear from the voice of Folger's coffee crystals and lovingly recall the days of COD (Cash On Delivery.) Finally, the three of us play an action-packed round of YESTOLGIA OR NOSTALGIA where we debate the merits of Hocus Pocus 2, Van Leeuwan's Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ice cream and hair scrunchies. If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out Coheed's latest album "Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind" and Claudio's new comic series "My Brother's Blood Machine." Who knows? If you're lucky, you might even be able to buy a dragonfly-branded scrunchie at an upcoming gig. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this very special holiday edition of HOW DID WE GET WEIRD?, Vanessa and Jonah recount some of their favorite Thanksgiving memories from controversial food choices to taking the Bolt Bus to Philly and the complex family dynamics at play each November. We also discuss the most overrated and underrated sides, give an update on new parade floats and wonder why Wonderbread is still relevant. We also explore the history of the pumpkin spice latte and riff on millennial slang. As if that weren't enough, we close things out by introducing a special segment called CEO TAKEDOWN: THE TURKEYS COME HOME TO ROOST, where we examine the actions of CEOs from Butterball, Nestle and General Mills to decide which one of them needs to be taken down a notch. While they're on their ski lifts reviewing their record profits, we'll the ones getting the last laugh. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate Vanessa's birthday we are joined by a very special guest: JEWEL! That's right, we caught up with the acclaimed singer, actress and author to discuss the era before Starbucks where coffee shops were places to see live music and maybe even see Jewel demo songs that would go onto be nineties radio staples such as "Who Will Save Your Soul?" and "Foolish Games." We also discuss Jewel's career journey from a living on a remote homestead in Alaska to becoming a household name, Vanessa and Jewel's mutual love of Cyndi Lauper, how Jewel was able to channel her trauma into lasting art and how she came up with her own mental health curriculum by channeling her own "bunny nature." Finally we play a round of BACK TO THE PRESENT where we reminisce about The Body Shop, Dutch Apple Pop-Tarts and other nostalgic things that Jewel is a very good sport about discussing with us. Be sure to check out Jewel's new album Freewheelin' Woman and the other incredible work she does at jewelneverbroken.com and notalonechallenge.org . If you're looking to be as entertaining as you are inspired, you will not want to miss this episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we are joined by musician and comedian Whitmer Thomas for a very fashion-focused episode of HOW DID WE GET WEIRD? We discuss the difficulty of finding cool jeans in rural Alabama, how the film TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY influenced Whitmer's aesthetic and why fingerless gloves were his accessory of choice. We also discuss Jonah's denim journey from JNCOs to Girbaud and the way that Vanessa's creative use of yarn as a form of budget hair extension helped our mom land a job at the Jewish Community Center. We also discuss Whitmer and Jonah's mutual love of punk and hardcore music, the time Vanessa educated the band Underoath on Bar Mitzvah culture and the time that Whitmer's mind was blown apart by discovering the existence of American Apparel retail stores upon moving to Los Angeles during their heyday. We also play a spirited found of "Legit Moan or Unnecessary Groan" where we debate the ethics of lowlifes stealing golf clubs, gentlemen filming doo-wop concerts and doctors favoring pharmaceutical reps over patients. To quote the Terminator, we hope that Whitmer can say, "I'll be back [on the podcast]" again very soon! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In honor of today being Halloween, we thought we would reminisce about some of our favorite Halloween memories from childhood costumes to shaving cream hijinks. We also discuss the condescending nature of giving out healthy snacks (don't be this person), Vanessa talks about having a dance recital at the famed Orange Jubilee and we explore why a chain buffet restaurant with fluorescent lighting is Jonah's equivalent of a haunted house. We also discuss feeling pressured to dress up for Halloween parties, people who get very into decorations and the time we replaced our American flag with a pirate flag at a childhood home (amazing, this was not Halloween-related.) We also dig into a holiday-fueled round of change.dork where we discuss petitions that make a case for giving students the day off after Halloween, wearing costumes to school and making Halloween fall on the last Saturday of October every month regardless of what our calendar or the Farmer's Almanac wants us to believe. Whether you're dressing up as a friendly ghost or an embittered CEO, you'll find something to boo-lieve in on this episode of the podcast.   EXCLUSIVE: Change.org petition to make Jonah Bayer a notable alumna at Orange High!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've seen comedian and writer Adam Conover break down important topics on his hit TV shows "Adam Ruins Everything" and "The G Word With Adam Conover," but his intellectual expertise also extends to nostalgia. On this episode of the podcast, Adam tells us about the video games he played on his graphing calculator in school, his his indie rock/funny folk music band and why he hopes no one listening to this podcast will ever hear it. We also dive deep into the educational television series Square One Television, Vanessa and Jonah reminisce about Ben Affleck's memorable role in "Voyage of the Mimi" and we trace the career traject of the vocal group Rockapella from Carmen Sandiego's house band to Folgers instant coffee fame. Finally, we play a round of YESTOLGIA OR NOSTALGIA where we debate the merits of Cinnabon-flavored cereal, the return of Taco Bell's Enchirito and the rebooted Teletubbies. If you're looking for a podcast that's entertaining as it is educational (especially when it comes to the properties of the number nine) look no further, podcast listener! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the Bayers are joined by bestselling author, Dan Ozzi whose book "Sellout" comes out on paperback tomorrow! To celebrate we reminisce about the time Dan had a VIP experience with Jonah and his parents at a New York Yankees game (thanks to Vanessa and Lorne Michaels) and which corporations have the best snacks, ranging from free Luna bars at Dan's ex-employer VICE to the time he loaded up on free desserts at Google. From there we get into our topic, where Dan compares his job working at a Toys "R" Us on Staten Island to Jonah's experience of working at a Kids "R" Us in suburban Ohio. It turns out Dan's job was like a Coen Safdie brothers movie with Simpsons figurines while Jonah's job was more like a movie directed by a very boring director that ends with him getting fired for playing a Tori Amos song on the local news. Finally, we play another round of "Legit Moan or Unnecessary Groan" where we debate if the United States are Un-united, discuss how littering with garbage is different than littering with language and recap the basic tenets of tipping for those Cleveland Plain Dealer readers who feel that working at Pizza Hut for minimum wage is a job that you should be grateful to have. Did we mention Dan's book is coming out in paperback? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we welcome lead singer of "Lamb of God" our friend Randy Blythe! We talk about everything from Indiana Jones movies to real-life encounters with Keanu Reeves, like when Vanessa recently talked to him for twenty minutes about his star turn in the Paula Abdul "Rush Rush Video" (uh oh are they best friends now?) plus Randy and Jonah try to teach Vanessa the difference between punk and metal, concert etiquette and much more. We also dive into the classic Old El Paso taco kit and how the seasoning still holds up today. And we get into the allure of Boboli and Digiorno pizza, which made you feel you were really making the real stuff/delivery! We also discuss classic family recipes like chicken tetrazzini, noodle kugel, and Jonah's ultimate favorite: orange juice (according to our Grandma). And we play another exciting game of "Legit Moan or Unnecessary Groan" that covers texting at dinner, holding the door at post offices, and radio stations playing Christmas music around Thanksgiving. If you miss this episode you might get a visit from Krampus, and if you don't know who that is, you will learn from this episode- obvi it's a must-listen!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's impersonation-heavy ep, the Bayers are thrilled to welcome their friend, the hilarious Jay Pharoah!! Jay and Vanessa reminisce about SNL impressions they did based on their childhoods and some celebrity impressions they did later on (speaking of- who does a better Denzel Washington- you'll have to listen to find out!) The Bayers and Jay also talk about a fave show from growing up, Nickelodeon's "Doug" and Jay and Vanessa are so proud to learn what their tv son is up to today: winning a Daytime Emmy! ("tv son" is kind of nuanced in this instance but again, ya gotta listen to find out how!) Plus, in an exciting game of "Legit Moan or Unnecessary Groan" they all debate new moves being made by The History Channel, how transparent restaurant commercials need to be, and whether texting your parents is a sufficient way to communicate. You're gonna love this ep so much you'll be saying "Alright, Okay!" for the rest of the week (AGAIN, this might not make sense now, but that's why you have to listen!"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's new episode, Jonah and Vanessa welcome fellow Ohio native and host of Spotify's "60 Songs That Explain the 90s" Rob Harvilla to the podcast. They revisit their senior projects, which included organizing record bins, helping the community, and surfing the Internet. Jonah and Rob reminisce about their time working together at Alternative Press, including towers of promo CDs and their reviews of up-and-coming bands. Don't worry, they were nice and honest! Vanessa showcases her amazing Fred Durst impression as they navigate which song Limp Bizkit was known for performing. They discuss tablature music and their grunge band rankings, which leads to a discussion about their parents' collection of records from all genres of music. True Colors, Prince, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross and much much more. All this talk really gets the Bayers thinking about getting a record player. Sponsors, are your ears open?! We end the pod with a round of "Legit Moan or Unnecessary Groan?" where they review the Plain Dealer for complaints among the Greater Cleveland area including cable networks going to hell, unrealistic expectations of punctuality, and school deficit politics. You will not want to miss this music-filled episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.