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PODCAST

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A short, fun and occasionally not unintentionally educational podcast in which two fans of the New York Times crossword describe their puzzle-solving travails.

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All Episodes

13:27

Thursday, September 4, 2025 - Things are looking up! 😉

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/09/05

This was a delightfully intriguing and decidedly crunchy Thursday crossword, penned by Colin Ernst and adroitly edited by Will Shortz. It took both cohosts, working independently as is their wont, no little time to figure out what was happening, theme-wise: but both eventually did, and appreciated the mental gymnastics. Deets inside, so have a listen, and please let us know what you think. The NYTimes has recently introduced a family subscription plan; so if you want to treat your loved ones ...

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10:57

Wednesday, September 3, 2025 - ZHUZUP. Gesundheit!!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/09/04

This was a fun crossword by Michael B. Berg, his second for the NYTimes. The theme was terrific, revolving around a word that neither cohost had heard before, ZHUZH. Fortunately, the crosses were fairly forgiving (except when they weren't: we're looking at you, KATZ). All in all an excellent middle-of-the-week crossword, we hereby bestow upon it with 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Show note imagery: KATZ's Delicatessen, doing a booming business. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contac...

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14:53

Tuesday, September 2, 2025 - Ah, MATCHA 😀 ☕️

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/09/03

In keeping with the nursery rhyme, we would argue that today's crossword was full of grace ... or at least some very cool clues. Mike's favorite was 10D, Certain parent overseeing a child's career, in showbiz lingo, MOMAGER; Jean's was 66A, "This decision is hard!", IMTORN. Both agreed that they would love to do a podcast from 37A, Caribbean hot spot, ARUBA. Besides the crossword, we have a Triplet Tuesday segment, in which Mike, well, let's just say that he tried to swing for the fenc...

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11:17

Monday, September 1, 2025 - A labor of love for Labor...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/09/02

Today's crossword marks Lynn Lempel's 103rd for the NYTimes, and was a great way to usher in September. While there were no debut answers, quite a few of the clues caught our fancy, including 64A, Flexible Flyer, for one, SLED; the almost onomatopoetic 4D, Smooth-talking, GLIB; and what sounds like it ought to be delicious (and surely is), 21D, Russian pancake, BLINI. Bravo, Lynn! Show note imagery: An absolutely stunning view of LAPAZ, the capital of Bolivia We love feedback! Sen...

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19:44

Sunday, August 24, 2025 - Corporate chaos, or crafty...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/25

Michael Lieberman was definitely playing against type when he dreamed up this crossword, because he spends his days at his law firm fighting corporate mergers, but his nights -- apparently -- trying to encourage them. You'll see what we mean when you have a listen to today's episode, or wander over to (warning: it's spoiler city if you click that link!) the solution at xwordinfo.com. In addition to the crossword, we have identified our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) fo...

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11:43

Saturday, August 23, 2025 - ITSGOOD - in the grid and...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/24

The fifth NYTimes crossword by Ryan Judge made for a very nice Saturday; not a walk in the park, by any stretch, but more straightforward than last Saturday's "let's scale Mt Everest barefoot" uber-challenge. There were some great clues in today's grid. Jean in particular was fond of 35A, Drew Carey once called it "crossword puzzle cheese" on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", EDAM. Mike was glad to learn about 32D, It's formed in Pittsburgh, OHIORIVER, and even gladder to discover the na...

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18:25

Friday, August 22, 2025 - Wanna know which country's...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/23

Our cohosts were surprised and delighted to learn, thanks to today's crossword, that there are four countries whose national anthems have no lyrics, and so people instead hum, or sing something along the lines of "na, na, na". The four countries in question are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, San Marino, and Spain. One of those appears in today's grid, and to preserve an air of suspense and mystery, we will defer identifying that country here in the show notes. We will say, though, that the c...

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18:26

Thursday, August 21, 2025 - Five out of five doctors...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/22

Once again, the NYTimes crossword has delivered the perfect blend of joy and education in one neat bundle. The joy comes from, primarily, the theme -- which we will say no more about here, but we have plenty to say about it in the podcast. The education comes from clues like 69A, Yani ___, youngest pro golfer to win five major championships, TSENG), and our absolute favorite, something that sounds like it came from the pen of Douglas Adams, 57A, Early PC game whose nonsense working title stuc...

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7:43

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 - SEITAN makes its debut!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/21

One of our favorite foods is SEITAN - healthy, delicious, and, up until now, never mentioned in the NYTimes crossword. Ah, but the times they are a changin', as evidenced by today's 50D, Wheat-based meat alternative, SEITAN. There were many other clues worthy of admiration in today's grid. There was the somewhat sardonic 25A, "I had something come up," maybe, FIB; the (to us) surprising 32A, Custom in Japanese food service, NOTIPS; and the good-to-know 20D, January and November have the...

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17:20

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - MONITORLIZARD, available...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/20

This was a fine Tuesday crossword by Eric Rollfing, marking his fourth overall in the NYTimes, and his Tuesday debut. There were a bevy of TWL (Today We Learned) clues in today's puzzle. Most notably, we had 7D, Color whose name comes from the Greek word for "cuttlefish", SEPIA; the interestingly named 36A, Reptile that can reach up to 10 feet in length, MONITORLIZARD; and finally we went with the only loch we knew in 65A, Largest loch in Scotland by volume, NESS. In other news, it's Triplet ...

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9:55

Monday, August 18, 2025 - Ha-ha-ha-HA-ha!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/19

Today's crossword was truly a labor of love for one of the greatest voice talents of all time. We speak, of course, of the immortal, indomitable, indefatigable Mel Blanc, pretty much the reason why the Golden Age of American Animation came into being. We'd like to say more, but we have an overwhelming urge to go take in some Looney Tunes shows! Show note imagery: The cast of The Jack Benny Program, with Mel Blanc on the far right. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love list...

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14:25

Sunday, August 17, 2025 - Red Alert! It's a Sam...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/18

Sam Ezersky is known for making devilishly difficult crosswords, and he does not disappoint today. Jean found this to be a bit of a challenge; Mike has decided that ... the intersection of Sam's wheelhouse and his own is the empty set. We have all the deets inside, as well as our latest JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winners (yes, plural!) so please, download, listen up, and enjoy! Show note imagery: MINORCA, not to be confused with MAJORCA, or PENTATONICORCA. We love fe...

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14:02

Saturday, August 16, 2025 - Byron Walden puts it to...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/17

Byron Walden has had a whopping 109 crosswords published in the NYTimes, including an astonishing 70 Saturdays. Frankly, it shows, because today's was perfect: highly challenging, but sprinkled with just enough toeholds to move it out of the realm of the impossible. Bravo! Show note imagery: BOARDIES, when you need to look good on the beach! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel f...

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16:10

Friday, August 15, 2025 - This was a BOSS crossword!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/16

Depending upon what you've squirreled away in your wheelhouse, you may have found today's crossword a) straightforward, or b) a Friday crossword wrapped around a zesty Saturday mini-crossword. In the case of our cohosts, Jean was the former, Mike, inevitably, the latter. While their puzzle solving journeys today did most definitely diverge, they were both agreed that this crossword, the third by Dena R. Verkuil, was a delight: we hope for more, soon. Beyond the crossword, we have a fabulous f...

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20:02

Thursday, August 14, 2025 - We'll take "Awesome...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/15

A few Sundays ago we had a puzzle paying homage to Star Trek, and now we've moved on to another iconic show, Jeopardy! While we feel that the editors missed a fabulous opportunity to play the Jeopardy theme in lieu of the usual ditty upon solving the puzzle, we nonetheless had a great time with this crossword, for reasons that we outline in today's episode. Show note imagery: WHATSTHETEA, by Mary Cassat We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, c...

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15:02

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - Hola, OLLAS!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/14

Just like the answer to 29D, "Too ___" (2024 #1 Hozier hit), this was a SWEET Wednesday crossword, and we're not just saying that because Jared Cappel took the time to introduce us to a magnificent book and movie (17A, Acclaimed 2004 science fiction work by David Mitchell made into a 2012 film, CLOUDATLAS). However, between that, and the appearance of our favorite 18th century Austrian composer (51D, "Surprise symphony" composer, HAYDN) we are compelled to give this a full and enthusiastic 5 ...

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15:43

Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - The planet with the most...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/13

This was an Erik Agard puzzle, meaning the clues were fabulous; but it was a Tuesday Erik Agard puzzle, which means that the clues were not too difficult. We loved 45D, He or I, but not she, ELEMENT 😀; 6D, Like some R's and oats, ROLLED; and our favorite Australianism, the clue in 44D, "No worries", THATSOK. In honor of Tuesday we have another Triplet Tuesday segment, so have a listen, and see if you can do better than Mike (which we definitely hope you can!). Show note imagery: In days...

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11:50

Monday, August 11, 2025 - At long last we have it:...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/12

Rebecca Goldstein has won awards for her crosswords, and today's is another fine example of why she has been so afforded. Jean, as is so often the case, made short work of today's puzzle, while Mike took more of a tai-chi-like meander through the grid. We have all the deets inside, so hit that download button post-haste, repeat with the like/subscribe/follow button, and then, of course, enjoy! Show note imagery: A MINIFIG, out for a hike We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We lo...

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18:14

Sunday, August 10, 2025 - The EYES have it 😀

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/11

This was an elegantly crafted crossword by Adam Wagner and Chandi Deitmer. We were thrilled and delighted to welcome back the rebus, which we have not seen in several Sundays (or so it seems). Jean was able to solve the puzzle quite readily, whereas Mike had to dig (much) deeper to get to the happy music. We have the deets inside, as well as the announcement of our latest JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award™️) winner, so have a listen, and let us know what you think! Show note...

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16:51

Thursday, August 7, 2025 - No DROSS in today's grid...

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword ·

2025/08/08

This was a splendid crossword by Ben Zimmer. There were no rebuses, but the ingenious theme was a surprise and a delight. We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, and for the reasons why, have a listen to today's episode. A logistical note: we are going to be taking Friday and Saturday off, due to anticipated connectivity issues. But we will, of course, be doing the crossword, and will be back to talk about our cruciverbial exploits on Sunday. Show note imagery: The Minceta Tower (Dubrovnik...

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