Write That Down, I’m In Trouble | Ep. 313

The guys talk Stranger Things Season 5, do the bleak math of middle-aged drinking, and the perverse little happiness spike that follows a truly harrowing puke. Speaking of puke,  the guys discuss the sacred childhood joy of sick-day daytime TV (Judge Judy supremacy, soap operas as emotional concrete) and finally, Daniel and Soren spiral into TV industry doom: Netflix getting into the podcast game, prestige TV existing only as a side quest for tech companies, and the impossible task of ending a beloved show without stepping on an internet landmine—aka Finale School. 00:00 Introduction and Podcast Dynamics02:32 Reflections on Aging and Drinking05:22 Hangover Remedies and Personal Experiences08:16 The Nature of Vomiting and Its Aftermath11:06 Parenting and Children’s Fear of Vomiting14:00 Nostalgia for Childhood Illness and Daytime TV17:35 Soap Operas and Acting Experiences26:28 The Unique Challenges of Soap Opera Acting33:33 The Evolution of Television and Soap Operas40:43 The State of Modern Television51:52 The Art of Writing and Ending a SeriesThanks to Rocket Money for sponsoring. RocketMoney.com/qq. Reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.Thanks to Fabric for sponsoring. Apply today in just minutes at meetfabric.com/QQ. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

On this episode, Daniel concludes his year-long feud with a New Jersey restaurant regarding false promises of post-race soup. Meanwhile, Soren gets physically trapped inside the trunk of a Chevy Volt while attempting a battery change in the rain. Plus: The dark science of motivating children with stories about drowning mice, proper running hand placement (T-1000 vs. Potato Chip), and the economic impossibility of fairness in arcade prize redemption.Chapters: 0:00 - The history of Cracked books (and the one that failed)04:25 - The Resolution of the Free Soup Saga5:15 - Motivating children with the "Drowning Mice" experiment24:00 - Why we look terrible when running27:50 - Running form: T-1000 vs. Holding a Potato Chip35:00 - The Arcade Fairness Doctrine (Zootopia 2)38:30 - The tragedy of the heart bells47:00 - Soren gets trapped in a Chevy Volt trunk56:00 - Remembering how to fix cars pre-InternetSupport the Show:Patreon: www.patreon.com/quickquestionInstagram: www.instagram.com/qqsorenanddanielCredits: Hosts: Soren Bowie & Daniel O'BrienTheme Song: Me RexProduced By: Gabe HarderAsst. Editor: Liam HarderThanks to Factor for sponsoring this episode. FACTORMEALS.com/qq50off and use code qq50off for 50% off your 1st Factor box + free breakfast for 1 year. Offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase.Thanks to ASPCA for sponsoring this episode. To explore coverage, visit ASPCApetinsurance.com/QUESTION.  The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

A listener email from Danielle turns into a full-on behind-the-scenes autopsy of visual gags in adult animation: marquee jokes, fake brand names, book titles, and who actually adds what—writers, artists, animators, or a chaotic mix of everyone. Soren breaks down what tends to be scripted versus what often comes from the production/art side.Daniel relates it to his own show’s graphics pipeline, including the infamously over-specified “opposite snakes” ordeal on Last Week Tonight. Plus: the American Dad! theme-song detail Danielle noticed—Roger’s intro disguise being pulled from the writer’s prior episode—and why it’s basically a present from the animation team.Thanks to DripDrop for sponsoring this episode. Get 20% off your first order: dripdrop.com and use promo code qq.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Everyone on the internet is suddenly obsessed with tin fish. Sardines. Anchovies. Baby eels. Luxury cans that cost more than a real dinner. This week, Daniel and Soren try to understand how canned fish became a personality, why British men in fezzes are eating fish spines on camera, and what it says about internet culture when the worst foods get rebranded as delicacies. Along the way: debate videos, reaction content, copied sketches, algorithmic brain rot, and the creeping feeling that the internet might need to be turned off for a few years. We will not be decanting the tin. ----🔗LINKS:Search Engine episode: https://www.searchengine.show/an-anthropology-of-gooning/Daniel Kolitz' piece: https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/Pablo Torre Finds Out: https://www.pablo.show/p/high-goonTinned Fish Reviews: https://tinnedfishreviews.com/Thanks to Rocket Money for sponsoring this episode. RocketMoney.com/qq. Reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Daniel has been obsessing over the part of Beatles lore where tensions are high, everyone hates each other, and the only thing keeping the world’s most famous band from imploding was… Billy Preston. That launches a full tour through the guys’ own history with morale-saving personalities — the people who walk into a room and immediately make everyone behave, write better, or at least stop threatening to quit.They cover behind-the-scenes moments from Cracked, the sets where one good vibe could salvage a 3AM shoot, the gravitational pull of Sam Richardson, the sorcery of Ben Schwartz, and the peculiar negotiations that happen with network standards when your show involves nudity, violence, or hot dogs with speaking roles.Thanks to DripDrop for sponsoring this episode. Get 20% off your first order: dripdrop.com and use promo code qq. Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Daniel struggles to stop fidgeting with studio equipment and recalls a disastrous coin-based incident on another podcast. Then, the guys analyze the decline of video quality in the Zoom era and the baffling visual language of TikTok mic-holding. Later, Soren unveils his new workspace, sparking a heated debate about whether garages are actually for cars or just "stuff." Daniel shares his home inspector’s unsettling advice about ventilation, and Soren worries his new glass door will turn his driveway into a neighborhood spectacle. Plus: boxcar cigarettes, the evolution of acceptable language, and why teenage boys are more disappointing than dangerous.Thanks to RocketMoney for sponsoring this episode. RocketMoney.com/qq. Reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Daniel discovers two prestige TV shows that apparently materialized out of thin air, Soren admits he gets all his entertainment news from bus benches, and the guys spiral into how impossible it is to know anything that’s on television anymore. They talk canon mishaps in writers’ rooms, Roger’s theoretical bang bus arc, Haley’s secret basketball obsession, lore in Tolkien and Game of Thrones, and why Ethan Hawke might genuinely be the last cool man alive. Plus: a shocking Thanksgiving twist.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Interesting day to debut a mustache as the guys dig in to the newly released Epstein emails, but first Daniel takes us through the big midpoint ultrasound and the creeping realization that doctors are still just tired guys with bad phrasing and weekend plans. Then Soren takes the darkest possible left turn into Jeffrey Epstein’s newly released emails, dissecting his unhinged notes-to-self, what they reveal about power, and why real-life monsters are so much dumber and more boring than any movie villain you’ve ever seen.-Thanks to DripDrop for sponsoring this episode. Get 20% off your first order: dripdrop.com and use promo code qq.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Starting today, we're putting ad free episodes of the podcast on patreon! Get ad free eps + extra episodes a month for $5 at www.patreon.com/quickquestion----Daniel takes his parking ticket all the way to Zoom Court and learns that the judicial system runs on inconvenience. Soren applauds his righteous fury, then admits he once faked photo evidence to beat a ticket of his own. From there, the guys wade into the murky ethics of parking enforcement, the secret rules of tap-dancing arms, and why some songs you love make absolutely no sense.Follow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Daniel and Soren spiral from a question about fatherly virtue into the unglamorous rituals of homeownership: cleaning dishwasher filters, testing fire extinguishers, inspecting crawlspaces, and worrying about phantom basement leaks. Daniel confesses to following a Redditor’s “psychotic” home maintenance spreadsheet, while Soren admits he’s never once tested a smoke detector. Along the way they cover the delicate art of writing jokes for Last Week Tonight, a formative childhood fire incident, and the existential dread of discovering a wasp nest the size (but not shape) of a dog. Support The Understudy on indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/nataliefrost/the-understudy-a-feature-film/rewardsThanks to Shopify for sponsoring this episode. Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/qqFollow the guys on Bluesky!https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.socialBonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts