Ep33 - Ben's Destroyed Thumb, Rowing on an Escalator & The Principality of Sealand

Ep34 - Cornwall Is Hotter Than Bangkok

Ed and Ben are back, back again, and it's too hot to function. Ben has the weather stats to prove just how unhinged this heatwave actually is, including one number involving Cornwall and Bangkok that will make you feel significantly worse about your commute. There's a deep dive into why you can't cool down, a ranked breakdown of cooling techniques (spluting, death shrouding, and the warm drink debate all feature), and the news that a famous Parisian landmark is currently six inches taller than it should be. Ed's been busy on the franchise trail and Ben nearly had a very exciting van encounter. Music this week goes full summer vibes. One track comes with a backstory so wild it deserves its own podcast, and the other is built on a 1964 Mariachi sample that has absolutely no right sounding this good in a heatwave. They also stumble across possibly the most unlikely festival act in existence. Tracks of the Week: 🎵 R.L. Burnside - Someday Baby https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZBUC1YafitJgLt8dgZYTW?si=39689685d34b4c55 [https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZBUC1YafitJgLt8dgZYTW?si=39689685d34b4c55] 🎵 Delinquent Habits - Return of the Trey https://open.spotify.com/track/5qVF2rEf75oPrZHhmZmDKk?si=3a8f1ea648e248d4 [https://open.spotify.com/track/5qVF2rEf75oPrZHhmZmDKk?si=3a8f1ea648e248d4] Mic Drops: Ed: It's never too late...to change your music taste or to find success. Just keep going, stay cool, you'll get there. Ben: Slow down and enjoy the heat. Our European cousins have had this figured out for years. Accept you won't be moving as fast or doing as much and just enjoy it. We don't get it often. Make the most of it. BEN's LINKS: Empty again!

Ep33 - Ben's Destroyed Thumb, Rowing on an Escalator & The Principality of Sealand

They're back. There's been a gap because Ben went to the Pyrenees and came home with a written-off bike and a thumb that doesn't bend like it once did. Ed has Scotland in the sweepstake and is genuinely optimistic about this. We get into: * The 2026 World Cup and why forty-eight teams takes all the jeopardy out of it * A Cape Verde player who ignored a LinkedIn message for a year and ended up at the World Cup * Norway fans acting like Vikings on an escalator * Why football is basically religion and why that's actually also a franchise model * Ben's holiday: mountains, a drone, a van, a taxi, a bus, a hire car, a thousand kilometres to Calais, and sitting on a bag on the back of someone else's bike * Gemini as a translator when neither party speaks the same language in the Spanish mountains * The Principality of Sealand: sovereign nation, own currency, size of a shed Tracks of the Week: 🎵 Tiptoeing — Senses ("emo friendly and punk curious") https://open.spotify.com/track/4kPKoyxPvLJN8urNcdFDV3?si=6d29897899174f7d 🎵 Playing God — Motionless in White feat. Corey Taylor (Ben music. Goosebumps. You'll see.) https://open.spotify.com/track/6EbyODHz4Pn3rkQXiMg1TQ?si=da0ba90c727a4fb0 [https://open.spotify.com/track/6EbyODHz4Pn3rkQXiMg1TQ?si=da0ba90c727a4fb0] Mic Drops: * Treat your work like a community. If it doesn't feel like one, find one that does. * Read your messages. Cape Verde might be calling.

Ep32 - The Birthday Paradox

It's a Birthday Special! Ben took last week off because it was his birthday and he simply wasn't coming in, and Ed's turn was just around the corner. Things get philosophical via shuffleboard, balloon breath, and the maths that will ruin your next house party. Ben kicks things off with a birthday revelation that hits harder than expected: there will be a last time you pick up your kids, and he found out on his birthday, so naturally he immediately went and picked up his 14-year-old. From there the guys dig into the surprisingly deep history of birthdays, from pharaohs becoming gods in ancient Egypt to the Romans gatekeeping celebrations to adult men only, and the Germans finally letting kids join the party in the 19th century. Ed drops the copyright bombshell on Happy Birthday To You, a song that cost $25 million to acquire, earned Warner Music $2 million a year, and explains why every restaurant chain has their own weird version. It was also the first song ever sung in space, which almost (almost) changes Ben's mind about it. Ben introduces the birthday paradox and Ed doesn't believe it. Ben's maths teachers brother has the workings on a piece of paper somewhere. There's also: * why we celebrate the wrong person on birthdays * the Mexican cake face-slam tradition * birthday cards going straight to the junk drawer * and whether the Wigan Warriors "you want some?" bloke has a Cameo. Track of the Week: Ben - Dammit by Alexandra Kaye (originally Blink-182) - https://open.spotify.com/track/0fQIh3kxy3MeDDuHuJMEXN?si=f752665c144d4f7d Ed - Happy Birthday Ben! - EPIC Happy Birthday Song by Epic Happy Birthdays - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7zzD5q4YpU&list=RDZ7zzD5q4YpU&start_radio=1 BEN'S LINKS: The History of Birthdays - Article - https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/birthday [https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/birthday] Warner Music - Official Site - https://www.warnermusic.com [https://www.warnermusic.com/]

Ep31 - Trust Gaps, Attention Spans & the 2 Bike Splits

Ed and Ben are back, and this week things get philosophical - via afternoon tea, motorcycle mishaps, and the furthest humanity has ever travelled from Earth. Ben's suspension saga takes an unexpected turn when a moment of impatience leads him to buy a second motorbike he didn't need, which kicks off a brilliant conversation about how our shrinking attention spans are fundamentally changing the way we make decisions, consume content, and engage with brands. From the three-second rule for video to the F-shaped reading pattern, the guys dig into what it actually means to capture and keep someone's interest in 2026. Ed introduces his concept of the Trust Gap and explains why most franchise brands are essentially asking prospects to go on a blind date. Spoiler: they won't show up. There's also: subtitles vs. dubbing, why we love lawns (it's evolution), Artemis 2's broken toilet, a full bladder as a productivity tool, and Ben's son's name going around the moon. Tracks of the Week:Ed - Venom by Wind Waker https://open.spotify.com/track/6Yj0FdKYs2qgDunRV8AW3t?si=559c946693704454 Ben Masters of War by Grandson (originally Bob Dylan, 1963) https://open.spotify.com/track/0EJlSUNoYL931cYAQspN5i?si=e7173fc80f744e1b

Ep30 - Vibe Coding, Moral Narcolepsy & Angine De Poitrine

They're back! Three weeks late, zero apologies. The clocks have changed, Ben's been angry about it ever since, and Ed offloaded his kids on the in-laws and had a lovely time. We get into: * Ed's webinar on franchise recruitment in the AI era and why brands are losing prospects they don't even know they had * Ben's vibe-coded CRM that turned 10 leads into 4 meetings (and what that says about attention spans) * Why AI might be doing to music what cameras did to painting - hello cubism, goodbye chord shapes * Angine de Poitrine: microtonal alien jazz from Quebec that means "chest pain." Which tracks. * Enter Shikari's new album and the concept of "moral narcolepsy" (look it up, it's brilliant) * President live at the LCR, £45 merch, and a support act dressed like Squid Game * Snake jazz. Don't ask. Just listen. TRACKS OF THE WEEK Ed: SARNIEZZ by Angine de Poitrine - https://open.spotify.com/track/6iDKiCR13L8Ba6bkK6cqqt?si=0f636791bca146e9 [https://open.spotify.com/track/6iDKiCR13L8Ba6bkK6cqqt?si=0f636791bca146e9] Ben: The Flick of a Switch I. by Enter Shikari - https://open.spotify.com/track/6sZQXNlRl4GRKhopNSD3pO?si=3a5a77d2343c438d [https://open.spotify.com/track/6sZQXNlRl4GRKhopNSD3pO?si=3a5a77d2343c438d]