Lunch Box Podcast

John just got back from a very sweet Rosh Hashanah. Ed has a new job. Together, they discuss John's new novel manuscript and why he wrote it, Ed's ongoing musical adventure, why it takes a while to write back, whether it's OK to get rid of your friends' books, John's parents' weird neighbors, the people who buy specialized hardware, and what it's like for a baby to learn to snap his fingers. Follow links to Blacksmith Bolt & Rivet Supply, the White Horse Machine catalog, the weird narratives of Lee Hazlewood, 24th and Meatballs, Smitten Kitchen knishes (please double the caramelized onions), The People's Pig, za'atar spiced beet dip, The New Best Recipe, Maangchi's eggplant side dish, Ina Garten's banana sour cream pancakes, and Shalom Y'all.

Ed’s on a diet and is mad at poetry. John’s worried about his new books going unnoticed. Together they discuss some pretty OK TV shows, a few books published during the pandemic, whether artists should edit themselves, and what’s the point of book criticism. Follow links to Bob James’s “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”, Klara and the Sun, John’s GbV playlist, Work in Progress, Postcolonial Love Poem, Deaf Republic, office meetings held in Red Dead Online, and Idyllwild Writers’ Week.

Ed’s washing machine has become sentient, and John is looking a little gaunt. Only Ed has acquired a tuba, but both of them have gochujang in the fridge; and nine months into the pandemic, they’re not sure what other people even are anymore. They discuss teaching online, what to name Ed’s brass quintet, good people who recently died, and recent books worth reading. Follow links to Jamkazam, NRBQ, Arthur Russell, Shocking Blue, Miranda Popkey, Tony Rice, more Tony Rice, Sebastian Castillo, Priya Krishna, Maangchi, and Fanny.

Covid-19 had Ed and John feeling low, but now they’re all riled up. John’s avoiding joggers, chopping vegetables, and working on his Grease 4 spec script. Ed’s in a logjam at Target, trying to remember the bones of the hand, and getting schooled on roller skates. Together they discuss the unproduced Grease 3, escalators for grocery carts, H. C. Carrillo, the Brooks Brothers Riot, what Some Lovers try, The Country of Ice Cream Star, John Boos, Maangchi, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Jessica Lee, Lockwood on Updike, and the new Otessa Moshfegh.

Here’s another episode nipping at the heels of the last, because why not? Ed prefers homeschooling to regular schooling, and John prefers fun tasks to following the rules. They reminisce about teachers good and bad, then discuss the superfluity of certain pre-pandemic rituals, Covid truthers, country-influenced easy rock, and the car crash that took out Ed’s New-Yorker-funded cultivars. Follow links to Tomie dePaola, Fountains of Wayne Hotline, Fulks on Lightfoot, Rootsy Ramble, Eddie Rabbitt, Midland, Jessica Anthony, Amanda Eyre Ward, Elisa Gabbert, Samanta Schweblin, Thousand Dollar Car, and the Yamaha PS-20 home keyboard.

John’s under quarantine. Ed is now a full-time second-grade teacher. They discuss their respective escapes from their universities. All the restaurants are closed, so they don’t talk about that. John has been making electronic music; Ed has not softened his position on sports. John tries to persuade Ed to buy his kid Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ed reluctantly agrees. Follow links to Songs to Wash Your Hands To, “The Little Car”, the new Ultimate Fakebook song, Buchla Synthesizers, Suzanne Ciani, Amber Sparks, Thom Gunn, William Maxwell, Stewart O’Nan, How to Rebuild a City, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers, and The Monster Project.

Ed’s eating sprouted breads for his high blood pressure. John’s lox and scrambled eggs were a little too salty. Together they discuss analog recording, men’s clothing, TV shows good and bad, seventies music, John’s daughter’s burning car, and upcoming literary events. Follow links to the guayabera, Joe Pera Talks with You, Jackson Browne’s “For Everyman”, Zappa’s “Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me?”, more Barefoot Jerry, Grown Ups 3, The Best Show, Copper Canyon AWP new books event, and Idyllwild Writers’ Week.

Ed’s getting over a cold, John’s sabbatical is over, and they reunite for a mildly glum conversation about death, death, country music, mushroom cookery, editorial etiquette, good books, movies about writers, and death. Follow links to Bjork’s home studio, Ottolenghi’s mushroom recipes, Hands Across America, Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve, Larry McConkey filming Goodfellas, Watchmen episode 3, Barefoot Jerry, John and Stephanie’s country playlist, Blanco Brown, Sam Hunt, Marie-Helene Bertino, Audrey Schulman, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Juan Martinez, Mona Awad, and A Fine Madness.

Ed’s in Missoula, missing his family; John’s back from a couple of weeks out of town. They discuss the cuisine of the Canary Islands, passing a kidney stone on a bus trip, legendarily terrible literary readings, and good new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Special guest Justin Taylor stops by to talk with John about video games. Follow links to Canarian wrinkled potatoes, Steelcase Think chair, Ed’s poem in the New Yorker, Terro ant baits, Martin Logan speakers, “Truck Driver Divorce”, “The Dangerous Kitchen”, the Airstream Poetry Festival, Oasis Bordello Museum, butternut squash lasagna, Cuphead, Control, and books by Bordas, Ogawa, Bambrick, Row, Mockett.

Ed’s in Missoula; John’s uncomfortable. Changes have come to John’s office and posture, and Ed imagines being chased by tiny police. They discuss John’s wedding-celebration party in the Catskills and Ed’s culinary adventures in Missoula, a distinctive way of signing a book, chairs and people’s opinions about chairs, restaurants and thrift shops, and new experiments in claymation. Follow links to the Spillian Mansion, Dr. Banjo, Double Front Chicken, Mi Goreng noodles, Circle Square Secondhand, The Terror: Infamy, Tony Tost’s Johnny Cash book, NEEMFest 2019, and Claire Saffitz on Gourmet Makes.

John has given his graduation speech, to mixed reviews. Ed eats at a hibachi restaurant, to mixed reviews. The two of them mix it up over eggs fried and raw, cake that is also quiche that is also kugel, covering the Dead, androids that sweat and ants that don’t, how to learn to read and also fend off attackers, and whether Walt Whitman is great or just OK. Follow links to crispy rice and egg bowl, cauliflower and parmesan cake, Justin Taylor’s memoir of his father, an excerpt from Adam Price’s novel, the new Ben Lerner, the Big Book of Jewish Humor, the wise men of Chelm, tweet of the day, Goldmund Unleashed, I Saw in Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing, Utah Beach to Cherbourg, Tokio Table, Pawnsylvania, Old & in the Way, Alyssa Harad’s memoir, and the child ballads.

That’s right—Ed and John are back, sooner than expected. Ed’s doing better off of his diet than he was on it. John’s cooking up a bowl of revenge grits. Together they discuss Jane and Phil’s upstate vacation, elaboration in prose writing, trying not to repeat yourself, bluegrass innovation, passed appetizers both comestible and musical, John’s novel idea, and the appeal, to children, of advertising. Follow links to Graywolf’s Literary Soireé on May 15, Elvis’s Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits, David Chesworth’s 50 Synthesizer Greats, Bridgetown Bluegrass Festival, Zachary Lazar’s Vengeance, Susan Choi’s Trust Exercise, and Rhiannon Giddens.

John’s grappling with some technology. Ed’s got a child’s drum kit in his office. In this episode, they discuss AWP, graduation speeches, some good and underappreciated country music, the misery of social media, long-haul trucking, the most dangerous birds, Passover and other notable meal occasions, and John’s new ambient music act. Follow links to ducks in a row pajamas, the cassowary’s crime, “Tulsa Turnaround”, “Trucker’s Speed”, “Broke”, The Friendly City of Paragould, Franco’s Pizzeria, “New Used Car and a Plate of Bar BQ”, and Witch on Horseback.

In this episode of America’s favorite imaginary restaurant, John has been visiting the haunted gym and went on a voyage to specious lagoon. Ed’s wearing maritime camouflage and receiving bacon from a mysterious cast member. They discuss eating in Disney World, returning to social media, diet and exercise (verdict: boring), and a bunch of good new books. Follow links to Whispering Canyon Cafe, the Dole Whip, Zach Schomburg, fake Epcot twitter, C.D. Wright’s Casting Deep Shade, Sandra Newman’s The Heavens, Michael Dickman’s Days & Days, and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo.

The holidays are done, and John has got himself a new desk and some opinions about Cheesecake Factory. Ed’s been furloughed and is taking liberties with dinner. He’s also planning a big party at AWP, and you should come. They’ve read a few good books and visited some artisanal web pages. Click through to follow links to Artie Butler, Around Midvale, John’s desk, So Fine, The Show that Never Ends, Abe Vigoda’s status, Joe Pesci’s short speech, Forged in Fire, “Sunny”, and books by Sandra Newman, Sally Rooney, Tory Dent, Catherine Barnett, and Ben Lerner and Alexander Kluge.

Ed’s gotta run—it’s time to take the Cinnamon Bear Cruise. John impersonates a man twice his age by complaining about bureaucracy, and cannot believe what the Elf on the Shelf is actually about. Both of them have written songs about women in clerical roles, and they welcome a guest to the show, Oscar, co-host, with Ed, of the new podcast Water Adventures. They also recommend some new books. Follow links to Cinnamon Bear, Sweet Pea Baking, Punk Rawk Labs, Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson, Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, Mother Winter by Sophia Shalmiyev, and The Word Pretty by Elisa Gabbert.

In this snowy week before Thanksgiving, Ed’s been mushroom hunting and visiting a haunted mansion with his brother, and John’s been making brisket and cooking in a videogame. They discuss getting lost in the woods, creepy houses on creepy roads, synthesizer shops, what to put on popcorn, putting Pernod into a martini, and favorite spicy flavors. Follow links to Big Action Spice Rub, Pittock Mansion, Shades of Death Road and a house for sale there, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Crystal Hot Sauce, Control Voltage, the King Bolete, and All the Rain Promises and More.

Ed’s birthday cake was consumed by ants. John’s delivering furniture and dining under sexy angels. In this conversational smörgåsbord, they discuss literary road trips, music festivals, meat experiences, and teaching unwoke books. Follow links to Rosie’s Bistro Italiano, Winter in the Blood, 49 Venezuelan Novels (again), The Bemus Point, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, 4505 Meats, “The Making of Ashenden”, The Displaced, Air Traffic, Fishtrap, Terminal Gravity Brewing, potato sidewinder controversy, and the Rotato.

Ed went to the Winfield Bluegrass Festival, and John went to the New York State Fair. They talk about pigeons, Aaron Neville’s farm, a good meal’s reliance on the right circumstances, why candy and Cool Whip constitute a salad, and the horror of the walking family taco. Follow links to Molly Tuttle, Maren Morris, frillback pigeons, Freville Farm, Aaron Neville, Jimmy Scott, Dizengoff Hummus, frozen limonana, Zahav, Le Pigeon, The Pesthouse, The Buried Giant, Ling Ma on Severance, Diana Khoi Nguyen, John Mahoney, Succession, The Death of Stalin, and the first photograph of a human being. (Sorry that John sounds lousy. Skype updated itself, wiped his settings, and recorded him through the laptop mic instead of his real mic.)

Ithaca has stolen Portland's weather, Ed's shed is nearing completion, and John is worried about how much context is too much. Also: Idyllwild nearly burned down, John's watching TV, and Ed plans to go to Missoula and to eat the whole bread bowl. Follow links to Cynan Jones's Cove, Nicole Krauss's Forest Dark, Dominique Fabre's The Waitress Was New, the weirdness of season 2 of Friday Night Lights, Foyle's War, Attic Institute, Jimmy Martin, Motorcyclez on Instagram, Baerlic Brewing, Frickin Fried Chicken, and Charm School Social Club.

Ed has to go build a shed with his father-in-law, so let this short episode be your sountrack to America's imminent demise. Hear about Ed's misbegotten road adventures and social media replacement plan, and John's amateur upholstery, covers gig, and and bumper-sticker grievances. Follow links to Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, The Lyres, Valley View Auto, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Blue Heron Rescues, and adoptable pigeons.

John's new desk is kinda sticky. Ed's new desk is a large pile of books. They talk about John's move, funeral eats, Ed's hurt foot, the joys and pitfalls of rotisserie chicken and old houses, and some restaurants and books. Follow links to Rachel Cusk's Kudos, Sebastian Castillo's 49 Venezuelan Novels, Mother Foucault's Bookshop, Rodney Koeneke, Fred Haefele's Rebuilding the Indian, Elizabeth Bishop's "The Bight", The Terror, A. P. Bio, Neverwinter Nights, 24th and Meatballs, and Pizza Jerk.

Smelly ants are emerging from Ed's ceiling, and John is trying to eat fewer carbs. Not no carbs, just fewer. They talk about harmonicas; artisanal ice cream sandwiches; quitting a band and committing even harder to a band; what you get when you slice off a bit of pyramid; a bunch of books; and the imminent demise, or perhaps eternal eminence, of Donald J. Trump. Follow links to the Hohner 280/64, the Dead in Ithaca, frustum, The Iron Horse in Missoula, Andrew Martin's Early Work, Nicolas Freeling, Nicholas Blake, Mount Hood Meadows, Trader Joe's Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, Ruby Jewel, and Phở Oregon.

Ed's back from AWP in Tampa and sleeping peacefully, and John has brought a delicious beet dip to dinner for his low-carb friends to eat. They talk about Thai food, dessert hummus, archiving a writer's papers, eggs, Hershey's Gold, the boundaries of obscenity, and our glorious leader Donald J. Trump. They do not discuss the feature film The Florida Project. Follow links to Wat Tampa, Brian Hall's Fall of Frost, ambulance-chaser William Mattar, the Zero Bar, Joey Sweeney and the Neon Grease, Za'atar beet dip, Off the Cob chips, Good Hangups, and Taco vs. Burrito.

Ed and John are joined by frequent guest Alice Bolin, to talk about her forthcoming book, and also about good bookstores in Memphis, songs you write to sing at home, Los Angeles, terrible jokes, remote hoarding, ill-conceived cookbooks, and the state of Florida. Follow links to Joy Williams's Ill Nature, Karyna McGlynn's Hothouse, Alissa Nutting's Tampa, Debra Lafave, "I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Kill a Girl", Elegant Meals with Inexpensive Meats, Xanadu Music and Books, Burke's Book Store, Two Rivers Bookstore, neural networks recognizing sheep, "Sheep" by Robert Francis, The Arrow Book of Jokes and Riddles, and belt balancers.

Ed's thinking about getting a non-poetry job, and John has been living in an alien-infested space station for three weeks. They discuss Ray Bradbury, smokey cheesers, chocolate chip cookies, keeping your car alive, and café menus from distant towns; John describes his dream about a haunted hallway, and Ed describes his dream about getting a ride home from Paul Reiser. Follow links to books by W. S. Merwin, Jonathan Dee, Zadie Smith, and Mary Gaitskill.

Christmas is coming, and John and Ed are decorating their trees with ornaments and lights. Ed played a gig that went just right, and John is a little embarrassed at his collection of LPs. They discuss the feminist divorce ballads of the seventies, guitar amplifiers, the tension between the sentence and the line in poetry, typography, and the Microsoft spaghetti horror. Follow links to Boon's Treasury, Aimee Mann's "I've Had It", Truck Stop Love, Frank Zappa's "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me", Helen Reddy, John's random poem idea generator, Polina Barskova, poets writing during the siege of Leningrad, and Trebuchet.

Back from Thanksgiving travels, Ed and John discuss school library preoccupations, works in progress, the toxicity of twitter, rock and roll reunions, bookstores and record stores, and John's encounters with death and renewed life. Also, Ed has some thoughts about John's novel-in-progress.

Ed's headed for the Harry Potter Orchestra, and John is trying to throw a tennis ball through a brick wall. Together, they talk about a controversy involving pizza, no-league baseball, date night at a mediocre restaurant, fasting for Yom Kippur, Tom Petty and Kazuo Ishiguro, and wet-hop ale. Follow links to the thorn, Geoff Edgers on "American Girl", 101 American pizzarias, the Portland Pickles, the Rockland Boulders, Matthew Dickman's "Lents District", quantum tunnelling, the Delani/Sonnabend Halls, Plus, The Unconsoled, Ithaca Beer Company, wet hops, and White Dialogues.

Ed has volunteered to help kindergartners punch numbers into a keypad, and John is gearing up for a holiday fast. They discuss Trump's war against football, school lunches, library book marginalia, whether or not to trust seafood, how to cook a lot of scallops all at once, and the cryptozoology of Australia. Follow links to Rachel Ingalls's Mrs. Caliban, The Department of Homeboy Security, chef Jamie Shannon, Tim the Yowie Man, the Canberra Air Disaster, and The Screen Door.

Ed's writing in coffee shops before the rainy season begins, and John doesn't know what to do with his rosebush. They discuss the challenges of writer social media, aversion to your old apartment, Twin Peaks: The Return, tiny chairs at the kindergarten, putting hot dogs in miso soup, and fryin' up a fennel bulb. Follow links to Danielle Steel's desk, the Airstream Poetry Festival, Heart Coffee Roasters, and See See Motor Company.

Ed and John briefly land simultaneously at home, and get on the horn to reflect on the pressing issues of the day, such as a 65-year old barbecue chicken recipe, eating cereal with drool in it, why food suggestions are totalitarian, and teaching poetry in prison. Follow links to Cornell chicken on Atlas Obscura, Act V from This American Life, David Grann, Kevin Young's Bunk, Paul Maliszewski's Fakers, Antaeus, the stories of R. D. Skillings, and Elif Batuman's The Idiot.

s had a root canal and couldn't be happier. John's 47 and has a new microphone. They talk about John's upcoming book tour, the pleasures of not very good television, the greatest product placement of all time, the Pinesburger, writer/artist dialogues, and New Jersey Pronunciation. Follow links to S. P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden, The Log Cabin Motel, Fortitude, A Ford advertisement in Designated Survivor, Glenwood Pines, Andrew Sean Greer's Blue Lusitania, Jeff Vandermeer's Borne, and Receipt by Carl Adamshick and Andy Buck.

Ed's in training for the Oscarlympics, John's bemoaning the global rise in dangling modifier tolerance, and the Skype Stormtroopers are on the march. Nevertheless they manage to discuss coffeemakers, the literary form disappointingly known as flash fiction, career regrets, Vladimir Putin's magic Antarctic potion, and postapocalypse eats. Follow links to the Spring Writes Literary Festival (and hamster ball video), Sorry Meniscus, One Hundred Apocalypses, Know the Mother, Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, The Frog and Peach, and We Gon' Be Alright.

John is frustrated by changes in hat culture. Ed is calmly weathering a dog vomit situation. They talk about recent political catastophes, why small presses should sell books at Jiffy Lube, the midwest's greatest big and tall stores, and Ed's collages and tuba longings. Follow links to Garden and Gun, Dave's Fox Head Tavern, Guitar Moves with Dean Ween, Nail Polish, the Lost Dog Café, Ventura's, Zachary Schomburg's They Vow to Be Dragons, and Featherproof Books.

Ed's dog ate his mic cable, and John is infected by buzz. On this lo-fi, future-friendly episode, they discuss the coming darkness, shooting deer from your livingroom window, Chekhov and Beckett and Proust, and good cheap meat. Follow links to Laurel Diner, the rufous-sided towhee, Dapifer, Sixth Finch, Human Skin font, The Sandy Hut is not dead, "Gooseberries", Junky, "The Little Mermaid", Herman's Meat, Pine Street Market, cop shoots pet deer, and Prairie Wolf.

Ed and John are joined once again by Alice Bolin, for a sometimes jolly, sometimes morose conversation about funny names, Russian heavy metal, New Jersey delicacies, and the complicated history of McDonaldland and Barbie. Follow links to Ghosts and Projectors, Josh Fruhlinger's tweets, McDonaldland, Emily Jones on Trump, dreamy cream scones, Alice's favorite sentences from the Skipper Wikipedia page, Masterchef Junior, The Sporkful on Pork Roll, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, Beatlebone, and Transit.

Castro's dead, Trump's president, and everything's falling to pieces. What better time to read actor Michael Paré's fan mail? That's what Ed and John do, as well as discuss the diners of New England, the seafood of Seattle, favorite skillets, how to get good customer service, and how to hang out with deer. Follow links to the 15 best diners in New England, "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)", Eddie and the Cruisers II, Dear Michael, the best skillet, Finex cookware, Commander's Kitchen, the Tabard Inn, steamed cheeseburgers, geoduck, Omega Ouzeri, Porkchop & Co, Joule, Red Oaks, Catastrophe, John Beer's Lucinda, and Japanese Westworld.

John got a check in the mail for services rendered...in the future. Ed is escorting a kangaroo...with a human face. In this very spooky episode, Ed and John discuss a late-night encounter at the convenience store, when the seventies actually ended, how much patron food assembly is permissible at a restaurant, and the maximum allowable variation from the canonical BLT.

Ed and John are flawlessly on-message in this episode that is firmly about literature and food, but is also about tweakers' preferred cookware, repurposed Christmas Carols, trends in boomer mansplaining, semi-legitimate use of photocopiers and folding machines, and the interchangeability of shlubs.

Ed's new bathroom is finally complete. John just finished reading an actual entire book. Together, they celebrate the centennial episode of the podcast by talking about other podcasts, the Bible, the best restaurant in Portland, and the election.

Welcome to Episode 99, home of dogs tiny and enormous, noodles fresh and mushy, ships lost and found, Columbuses seated and standing, and scrimshaw regular and erotic. John's a little tired of New York City, Ed's afraid his child wishes him dead, and everybody's watching TV.

Ed's house is under construction, John's on a writing retreat, and they discuss commas, italics, and copyediting before settling into a long chat about shame-snacking, salt overdosing, Simon Le Bon, and New York City eats. Also, Ed has a book coming out soon and will read from it in his brother's living room, and John moonlighted on another podcast.

Ed and John have returned from their hiatus to a thrilling new world of D&D magazines, animal encounters, New Haven pizza, and insect infestations.

Ed and John are getting ready to head to LA for the joys and horrors of AWP. But first, they sit down for a chat about parental permissiveness, workout criticism, synonyms for "walk," problematic Kansas poetry, and SoCal eats.

John has finally gotten rid of the skunk, he thinks. Ed's pet goat turns out to be a human child. They talk about the death of the era of internet doodad chat, Rhian's grease refuse recollection, recently ingested tasty pizzas, and how to organize a collection of literary artifacts.

Ed and John are joined by former ice cream maker Alice Bolin for this Very Special Episode about old cars, angry towns, truck stops, waiting in line, Italian sexual-harrassing cousins, and the continuity errors of Scooby-Doo and its progeny.

John has suffered a Skunk Incident and Ed is trying to remember how to be a writer. They talk about pop stars' DIY reality shows, eyebrows, how much time it takes to ranch, the joy of unmarked pastries, beets that are actually pig blood, and a five-minute poetry anthology.

Another new year, another new patriotic action on so-called "government" land. Ed and John discuss their efforts to liberate America from America, and also revision again, goose jerky, podcasting on horseback, The Force Awakens, novelizing and poemizing, and the origins of ketchup.

John's depressed, Ed realizes he is trashy, and the two discuss what Flavor Flav owes Johnny Cash, getting stabbed to death, lit fun in Miami, winter dining habits, and meeting Paul Giamatti at three in the morning.

Ed and John talk about literary readings again, but also the political campaign, pro wrestling and funerals, puppetry, beards, and potty training.