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PODCAST

This Thing Rules

Brian Altano and Max Scoville

This Thing Rules is a show where we celebrate our favorite things. What kind of things, exactly? All kinds of things! Movies, foods, cities, bands, shows, books, albums, toys, pictures, moments. Each episode, join long-time collaborators and best pals Brian Altano and Max Scoville as they focus on a different subject, ask themselves what’s so great about it, share some anecdotes about how they grew to love it, unearth some trivia about it, and celebrate the fact that it exists.

leisure hobbies

All Episodes

00:36:35

Autumn Rules!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/10/31

Or wait, is it fall? Whichever, it's great, and not just because of Halloween. You know, aside from our vestigial back-to-school anxiety, rapidly approaching seasonal depression, the looming threat of bad weather, and the fact that we have no idea what time of year at any given point anyway because California barely has seasons. In any case, it’s a chance to talk about changing holiday traditions, pagan rituals and our kids’ classmates with stupid names. It would totally rule if you helped

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00:45:33

Bats, Gum & Nice New Pens Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/10/17

This week, Max has a surprise grab bag for Brian! Will he think these things rule as much as Max does? We discuss everyone’s favorite flying rodent that isn’t a flying squirrel, gum of the chewing and blowing variety, and the thrill of getting a nice new writing implement. It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s

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00:34:37

Gingerbread Houses, Snaggletooth & Stegosauruses Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/10/03

This week, Brian prepared a special surprise variety pack grab bag of things that he thinks Max might be a big fan of. Gingerbread Houses, those once-seasonal edible wiccan domiciles that have since become a year-round architectural novelty, Snaggletooth, who is one (or two) of the most iconic cantina aliens from Star Wars, and Stegosaurses. A dinosaur, that probably had feathers but almost definitely didn’t have long flowing hair like a beautiful woman or a show dog.It would totally rule if you

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00:51:13

Album Covers Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/09/18

How music looks isn’t as important as how it sounds, but it certainly plays a role. This episode, we talk about our relationship with album covers, which sometimes look like the music they’re promoting, sometimes look like something else entirely, and sometimes don’t look like anything at all. Huge thanks to Patreon backer Thijis Van Sise for suggesting the topic.It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following

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00:46:40

Grilling Rules!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/09/12

At one point, using fire to cook stuff outside was part of daily life, but now it’s just a way of microdosing caveman life. Whether you’re using gas, charcoal, or a hot sidewalk, there’s something wonderful about preparing food outdoors, so crack open a cold one and join us as we discuss our favorite recipes, methods, anecdotes, near-disasters, and questionable tips about this great pastime. It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also

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00:49:48

Toy Commercials Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/09/05

This week, we’re delving into a very special sort of generational brain damage that we can specifically blame/thank the Reagan administration for: toy commercials! Growing up the 80s and 90s, children’s programming was practically indistinguishable from advertising, so why shouldn’t we have equal amounts of nostalgia for this particular type of bite-sized marketings? Let’s take a look back at some of the most infamous toy ads, the most famous people who popped up in them, and of course, Judge

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00:24:15

Travel Rules! (Live From Düsseldorf)

This Thing Rules ·

2025/08/29

This episode, we tried something new and recorded on location from a restaurant in Düsseldorf, Germany. We sampled the local beer and talked about some of our adventures in Deutschland, including regional varieties of gummi candy, museums, kiosks, cities in which you can actually get around on foot, bees, yellow jackets, and other stuff. Apologies for the background noise, this was an experiment! We’ll be back to normal next episode.

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00:54:38

Keith David, Fire & Bread Bag Clips Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/08/08

This week, we’re tackling a few extremely unrelated things that rule: fire (the element), Keith David (the actor) and bread bag clips (the clips that come on bags of bread.) Why, you ask? Well, it was your idea - specifically, the suggestions of our Patreon members Mikhail Kaban, Krystal Stewart, SuperMecha, Bruce Wayne Brady and Jack Peterman. It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and

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00:45:24

Comic-Con Rules!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/08/01

Comic-Con! What was once a niche gathering of outcasts has become a massive pop-culture spectacle, and even with the infusion of blockbuster media franchises, it’s still a wonderful time, whether you’re in San Diego, New York or somewhere in between. This episode, we reflect on the rise of comic book and sci-fi convention culture, our first exposure to it, some of our most bizarre adventures there since.It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules,

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00:48:15

Swimming Rules!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/07/11

Come on in, the water’s fine! This week, we’re talking about one of the most simple, possibly primordial, occasionally deadly pleasures in life, which is traversing a body of water for recreational purposes. Y’know, swimming! It’s an essential survival skill, but also just a nice thing to do when it’s hot out, whether it’s in a pool, ocean, lake, river, pond, watering hole, crick, spigot or some combination thereof. But, that’s assuming there’s not an abundance of mud, trash, weeds, slime, or scary

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00:49:25

Concerts Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/07/04

Concerts! One of the most expensive and exhausting ways to lose hearing and form lasting memories, this week we’re discussing our own histories seeing live music. From Brian’s countless hip-hop shows in New York City to Max’s repeated accidental patronage of Jefferson Starship, we have plenty of anecdotes. Are they more entertaining than attending an actual concert yourself? No. Is the audio quality better? Eh, debatable. Would we charge you 23 dollars for a beer? Never!It would totally rule if you

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00:45:18

Hot Dogs Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/06/27

Hot dogs, dogs, frankfurters, franks, wieners, weenies or tube steak, whatever you call these silly cylinders, they’re a good time! Whether you’re eating them in the backyard, at a ball game, on the street, or hunched over your kitchen sink, stupid dudes like us would have starved to death ages ago without their questionable sustenance. Join us as we discuss some regional varieties, questionable practices, fan theories, controversial opinions, and a classic column from The Onion that was definitely

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00:51:35

Trucks (The Non-Ice Cream Kind) Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/06/20

Last week we talked about our love of trucks that have ice cream inside, and this week… we’re talking about all the other kinds! But hold on, what’s a truck? A pickup? A steamroller? The Power Loader from Aliens? What we lack in expertise or first-hand experience, we make up for with an appreciation of wheeled wonders that also sometimes have big tank treads. Little trucks, big trucks, old trucks, expensive trucks, monster trucks, and other modern dinosaurs of the road, whatever they are, we love

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00:46:24

Ice Cream Trucks Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/06/13

Easily the most beloved vehicles exclusively designed for selling dessert on the street, ice cream trucks are a staple of childhood, a beloved tradition, a lucrative side-hustle and a pretty hilarious human invention. Brian has prepared a short presentation on ice cream trucks, but not ice cream bikes or ice cream boats, as well as some of the better delicacies served by them.It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support

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00:58:58

Mountain Dew Rules! (Featuring Seth Macy)

This Thing Rules ·

2025/05/30

Ya-hooooo! Mountain Dew! This week, we’re joined by good friend, esteemed colleague, and X-treme Dew-ficionado Seth Macy to talk about the history of a highly caffeinated, neon yellow soft drink. From its bootleg backwoods origins to its role as a pseudo-sports drink, to a staple of nerdy all-nighters, we have some fond memories slamming various flavors of Dew - and there have been a lot over the years. It’s probably worth noting that this episode is in no way sponsored, paid for, endorsed,

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00:45:49

Sandcastles, Breakfast Pastries and Pocket Knives Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/05/23

This week, it’s a bit of a grab bag. A grab bag full of beach sand, cinnamon rolls and sharp objects! This week, we’re a bit fried, so we’re trying shaking things up and doing scatterbrained variety pack episode on sandcastles, one of the most fun things you can legally do with a bucket, breakfast pastries, those glorious desserts of the ante meridiem, and pocket knives, a timeless must-have accessory of handymen, ne’er-do-wells, and wannabe tough guys the world over.It would totally rule if you

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00:48:29

Dive Bars Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/05/16

You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy (and quaint charm) than a dive bar. But what makes a good dive bar, aside from underwhelming decor and moderately-whelming beverages at an equally moderate price? Let’s discuss the charms of the American pub, tavern, watering hole and/or dank pit. It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our

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00:58:29

Game Boy Rules!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/05/09

Oh boy! The original portable gaming device may not exactly fit into most pockets, but it sure found a warm and cozy place in the hearts of countless gamers, from young children to important Tetris-addict businessmen. We take a look back at Nintendo’s original grey, AA-battery devouring brick, and its place not just as an important part of our childhoods and gaming history, but as a landmark piece of technology that was way ahead of its time. It would totally rule if you helped support the show on

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00:47:42

Sunglasses Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/05/02

Whether you’re crying, hungover, a spy, a Terminator, trying to see if aliens are running society, or if it’s just really bright out, sunglasses are a must-have item. This episode, we don our rose tinted glasses of nostalgia (which are prescription, making everything in hindsight 20/20) and look back at the history of light-blocking eyewear. From the earliest iterations in the 12th century made of whalebone and geodes, up through modern marvels like BluBlockers, Pit Vipers and the immortal Ray-Ban

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00:52:20

Airplanes Rule!

This Thing Rules ·

2025/04/25

Of all the stuff human beings have figured out, the ability to travel by air is definitely one of the most impressive. Even more impressive, this stunning achievement has become such a ubiquitous form of travel that it’s actually a little boring! But let’s take a moment to appreciate just how cool it is that flying machines exist, but that we’re allowed to go on them as long as we briefly take our shoes off before we get on board and don’t tamper with the smoke detectors in the lavatories. If

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50 results

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