worldsbeyondnumber / Fireside Chat for WWW ep7 "Kahuna"

Hey Brennan i chose to eat dog food out of the bowl next to our dog many many times when i was a toddler because the dog was my best friend and whats good for him is good for me!

Christopher Underhill

2024-03-27 23:12:10 +0000 UTC

I’m not even done but Unky Deauk softly beginning to sing that song BROKE me - I don’t know why it was the perfect choice but I cackled. Also Hobnobs are amazing and if those dog biscuits tasted like that I would’ve eaten like eight as a thirteen year old.

Marisol

2024-03-25 22:26:30 +0000 UTC

Warlocks are absolute scabs who are selling their soul to skip being good at their job for the worst contract imaginable just by scamming with a good smile. On the other hand hard working wizards had to work their way and be smart into getting magic unlike the sorcerers who got mone-i mean magic in their veins from birth. Bards are just the actors guild or grifters and artificers are the engineers Elon mu-i mean shitty bards take all the credit from

Ash Styles

2024-03-08 13:36:31 +0000 UTC

Lotr and Kotor being two of the most influential media's during my childhood also, crazy

Jacob Steele

2024-02-29 16:55:01 +0000 UTC

I've definitely done the same thing as Brennan on accident. I feel attacked lol

Ursa

2024-02-14 20:07:22 +0000 UTC

Strongest Man in Silbry carries intense Prince of Shoeburg energy and I'm here for it.

GrumpyTrees

2024-01-17 01:44:05 +0000 UTC

On the storytelling question I was fully expecting someone to mention Tamora Pierce

Cur

2023-12-17 23:44:55 +0000 UTC

The books that changed how I viewed story telling and were "Anne of Green Gables", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "Of Mice and Men". As much as I love fantastic settings, the stories of ordinary, simple people enraptured me.

Melanie

2023-12-08 01:21:56 +0000 UTC

Man, I am SO with Brennan on the dog biscuit thing - a bone shape is NOT inherently indicative of a dog treat, I would not expect every bone-shaped treat to not be for happens (we have bones, too!!), and a savoryish weird biscuit is acceptable to eat among lots of bad snacks!

Calix

2023-11-29 00:21:55 +0000 UTC

i feel like scooby snacks wouldve been the perfect out for Brennan and, as a mid-twenties individual, i did grow up with butterfly-shaped cinnamon cookies. perfectly justifiable

yemi olajubu

2023-10-27 18:11:38 +0000 UTC

When I was a kid they'd always give us two dog treats at the bank if we had a dog in the car. I don't know why two but my parents would give one to me and one to my dog. Is that me accidentally eating dog treats? Or my parents intentionally feeding me dog treats? Both?

Luke Lu-LaLiberte

2023-10-21 14:53:51 +0000 UTC

A core memory I have now is hearing Lou, in The Ravening War, yell "You LIED!" Changed my idea of what funny DnD games could be.

PhillyMoe

2023-10-18 20:29:06 +0000 UTC

Taylor can't be trusted... 🙃

Baauer0

2023-10-17 06:20:32 +0000 UTC

What is "sleep no more" that Erika mentioned?

Nicholas Conliss

2023-09-29 20:45:17 +0000 UTC

Thanks from the deepest part of my heart for the storytelling in LotR love. It was A Time. One that I've kept extremely closely guarded for years. This conversation was an amazing and exuberant reminder of that love. What a delightful conversation!!!

Jonesey

2023-09-08 16:36:55 +0000 UTC

I had to stop listening to add this comment. I am a professional equestrian and let me tell you, I’ve tried ALLLLLL the horse treats. There are rankings—a list in fact. It doesn’t come up often, but it does come up.

Sky Rowan

2023-08-29 20:22:46 +0000 UTC

The dog biscuits made me smile so much. Back in high school, we were sitting around working on our beer can pyramid, and we dared my buddy to try a "Sausage". He did, and said it wasn't bad. Cut to a few hours and many beers later - and we all noticed he was snacking on something, and we had no snacks. We then realized he was now munching on them!

Michael Carter

2023-08-18 20:48:55 +0000 UTC

Lou singing incoherently while Brennan and Erika sidebar made me laugh so hard, I adore these people

Liv

2023-08-11 06:19:12 +0000 UTC

Where is your bulb now, Brennan?! 💡

Chris Newport

2023-08-08 02:56:08 +0000 UTC

I'm catching up, and just wanted to drop in the media that changed my brain about storytelling: the tv show Babylon 5. It was my first experience with a intricate, tightly planned story that took place over 5 years, and it blew my teenage mind that had only ever seen episodic tv before that.

Elizabeth DeYoung

2023-08-06 00:21:21 +0000 UTC

Brennan’s dog treat scandal 2023

Katlynn

2023-08-04 10:02:18 +0000 UTC

A 20 minute Lord of the Rings hype fest is just proof that y'all are my favorite creators period. (Sorry Aabria, you're just as incredible for other reasons)

Joseph Ho

2023-07-10 19:54:36 +0000 UTC

You can really, really tell that the Little Guy part of the lord of the rings is central to Brennan's storytelling. I'm just Little but I'm here so I guess I'm gonna do this. Big vibe in Calamity and much D20!

Cabbage

2023-07-07 00:00:31 +0000 UTC

The MBMBaM energy of the first 15 minutes of this was stellar.

CV

2023-07-05 19:45:19 +0000 UTC

Had the exact same thought process

Josh Moore

2023-06-20 00:34:52 +0000 UTC

"The Song of the Lioness" was incredibly important to me as a young reader and feminist. I think I ought to revisit those books.

Kiera Faye

2023-06-15 17:46:34 +0000 UTC

Does this work with Spotify? What do you do after copying the link?

Piping Plover

2023-06-14 23:40:56 +0000 UTC

I agree - I alsp appreciate that Tolkien encourages people to contribute what they can as they can

Kitty Stryker

2023-06-14 05:06:47 +0000 UTC

I don't know if she's still writing, but one I like a lot is Tamora Pierce.

Carrie Mook Bridgman

2023-06-11 17:37:13 +0000 UTC

Do you guys keep up with any contemporary fantasy authors? If so, what ideas have you taken from them and incorporated into your own creative works?

Mandokarla

2023-06-10 08:51:31 +0000 UTC

#WGASolidarity !!!!

Moss V

2023-06-10 04:22:01 +0000 UTC

I come for the story telling and stay for the tangents!!! 🤣

Am3thystFlam3

2023-06-09 10:11:42 +0000 UTC

If you grew up with the Scooby Doo graham crackers that were bone shaped, you will always look twice at dog treats! #IStandWithBrennan

HexMix

2023-06-08 14:13:06 +0000 UTC

Please drop the pinterest I'm begging

Cricket Carletta

2023-06-07 16:48:30 +0000 UTC

It's OK Brennan, please look up Scooby Snacks graham crackers

Xathonn X

2023-06-06 21:23:13 +0000 UTC

yeah taylor has mentioned that he's spending some time on the detailing/soundwork I believe. saw it on Twitter somewhere

Jaron Williams

2023-06-06 16:00:51 +0000 UTC

Is the next episode running late? There is still a new one today, right?

Mark Koehr

2023-06-06 15:08:53 +0000 UTC

They do have Scooby-Doo branded graham cracker cookies shaped like bones, so it's not too far out there.

Taylor Morris

2023-06-05 14:34:41 +0000 UTC

Thanks! This worked beautifully 👍

Riki Shimoda

2023-06-05 10:42:37 +0000 UTC

There are plenty of critiques to make about Tolkien and all the LotR stuff, but in my opinion it absolutely beats GoT hollow on nearly every axis. GoT is like "hey shitty things happen, even to people you like, even if they had more stuff to do; the world is brutal and uncaring and trust gets you killed" (caveat: I only read the first book and did not watch the show). Which is pretty typical of a lot of grimdark stuff, and why none of it resonates with me. Reward cynicism and merciless brutality, punish trust and hope. The show couldn't end in a satisfying way (again, I didn't watch it, this is my opinion based on what I have gathered from being online) for the same reason the Harry Potter (fuck terfs) couldn't end in a satisfying way: it wasn't trying to say anything, and/or didn't know what it wanted to say. Not every story needs a fairytale moral or whatever, but plot doesn't happen in a vacuum, the author decides what to reward or punish and in so doing presents a value. Grimdark shit isn't trying to have a value beyond "hey swords and stuff are cool and cynical characters are awesome." Or HP's "magic is cool, and you can't fix any of the problems in the world because that would mean admitting something is wrong with how we've done things for centuries, so just kill a bad guy and pretend everything else still works fine." I could talk all day about stuff I have a problem with in Tolkien's work, plenty of it didn't age great. But the books and movies are still powerful because Tolkien was making a clear statement: War is hell, but avoiding the issue or conceding to aggressors or just generally being defeatist will absolutely not solve anything; you have to hope for better things and do the hard work of making them happen. When it's dark and scary, you FIGHT to make it better. And everyone can help, and everyone should.

Hex Sharpe

2023-06-05 06:28:35 +0000 UTC

If you go to the show patreon page and click Membership there is a private RSS feed you can use. Your podcast player should have a “private feed” option as a each patron has a unique link.

DaveBauer

2023-06-05 02:31:36 +0000 UTC

To be fair: they make real Scooby snacks, which are in fact shaped like dog bones.

Merissa McClure

2023-06-05 01:36:40 +0000 UTC

I'm curious about the war that this Empire is waging. All the media I've been brought up would not just assume that "The Warlike Empire" are the good guys. And I know that Brennan wouldn't take that for granted. I suspect Suvie is going to be in for some upsetting revelations as the show goes on.

PK Eiselt

2023-06-03 19:03:30 +0000 UTC

I'm all better now! This boy has NAPPED ;)

Worlds Beyond Number

2023-06-02 21:23:03 +0000 UTC

Just a shout-out to WBN's Taylor Moore, who is a guest on the wonderful Even More News podcast today. Long story short, Taylor really needs a nap! ;-)

Jeff W

2023-06-02 19:17:43 +0000 UTC

It’s all because of the bulb above

Ramil Karimov

2023-06-02 15:44:40 +0000 UTC

I just wanna say... The Attack on Brennan about the treats is CHARACTER ASSASSINATION!

Kyle Thompson

2023-06-02 11:26:03 +0000 UTC

Hey yall, I'm not too good with Patreon and this question may have already been answered, but I'm curious why theres no download option for these episodes?

Riki Shimoda

2023-06-02 09:54:41 +0000 UTC

https://brennanleemulligan.com/if-you-had-gueesed/

Jen Sadler

2023-06-02 01:27:47 +0000 UTC

I saw “Dog Beer” in a refrigerated section at a cafe once and it was the most confusing 15 seconds trying to discern if I was meant to enjoy it or not (it was for dog)

redolent forsooth

2023-06-01 20:15:27 +0000 UTC

I’m tired of the tropes in our stories that always seem to suggest rich people are deeply sad in a way unlike most people, as if their money gives them an elite sadness that’s even more heartbreaking than what us poors can afford. Brennan’s story was a refreshing reminder that real wealth exists in our world and would baffle most of us. Does anyone know where to find his short story on the catering event?

redolent forsooth

2023-06-01 20:08:49 +0000 UTC

A lil late to the party but the correct taste ranking is fancy cat food > regular dog biscuits > wet dog food > regular cat food > fancy dog biscuits > dog kibble. Kibble is astoundingly bad. Everything else is mostly bland.

FiendishNoodles

2023-06-01 16:12:14 +0000 UTC

This is why I want to work with these guys, because Brennan is out here repeating something I got asked in my PhD defense about disallowing monocausal arguments and everyone on the pod (Unkie Deauk included) is already onboard.

Sarah

2023-06-01 15:50:41 +0000 UTC

I too have fallen victim to bone shaped snacks

Casadeleche

2023-06-01 14:30:55 +0000 UTC

Fun fact, last year my friend bought me some artisanal cookies and they were 100% bone shaped. And I was like “dude are you sure these aren’t dog treats?” And they weren’t. So it goes both ways 😂

Derek

2023-06-01 13:06:40 +0000 UTC

Erika - there’s so much of Misfits and Magic that lives in my brain

Megan Dunbar

2023-06-01 11:47:39 +0000 UTC

Absolutely love these. always enjoy listening to both the deep and well-thought-out conversations and the insane rants

Jake the Cake

2023-06-01 07:42:04 +0000 UTC

I love Lou's KOTOR Dilemma Jolee: Come on man, you really gonna kill me? You know there's only like five black people in the entire galaxy!

thatoneguy

2023-06-01 02:58:55 +0000 UTC

The dog treat tangent is so funny 😂 when we were kids my dad got us to try out the dog biscuits they give out at the gas station (they’re just really plain honest it’s like just flour and water or something lol) but my dad seriously got my little sister to believe that the pink one would be better because it was strawberry flavored! 😂 we all had a good laugh ! 🚗 ⛽️ 🦴

Ravyn Mitts

2023-05-31 21:43:06 +0000 UTC

Actually the story about the dog treat was very relatable to me, unfortunately. They just look like cookies!

Rishab Kotak

2023-05-31 21:34:43 +0000 UTC

The way everyone talked about how important Lord of the Rings was for them was so beautiful. I’m from New Zealand and I would pay far too much money to get the WBN crew over here to see the hobbit hideaway, the Weta Workshop, and experience the Shire 😍

Tom Butler

2023-05-31 20:45:35 +0000 UTC

"It's a dangerous business, Eursulon, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to." Don’t mind me, just customizing my favorite lotr quote for WBN 😍

melanee

2023-05-31 19:49:14 +0000 UTC

KOTOR!!!!!!

GingyGinger

2023-05-31 19:09:33 +0000 UTC

A friend? Yikes!

Ebony Beck

2023-05-31 19:08:39 +0000 UTC

Oh man do I relate to Brennan's catering story. I used to bartend private events for the super rich and was like these people are straight up living in an entirely different reality lol. (they were also the worlds worst tippers)

Dana Heide

2023-05-31 18:53:47 +0000 UTC

I was totally unprepared for Brennan to drop such a visceral, real world connection to Sam's "there's still good in this world", especially after Lou told his story about not being able to defeat the Sith Lord at the end of his game. Stories like this and the ones being told on this podcast are so important. Thanks for sharing with us ♡

katarina

2023-05-31 17:00:41 +0000 UTC

I feel the story about eating the dog treat so hard. My friend once let me eat what I thought was a fancy oatmeal cookie, but turns out it was soap.

Nathan Sloan

2023-05-31 16:34:41 +0000 UTC

I absolutely love Sleep No More (saw the show 3 times in 2 week)

Kenny Silver

2023-05-31 16:16:49 +0000 UTC

I need to mention a book that inspired me, from wayyyy back in the day: The Phantom Tollbooth. That book blew my mind about how storytelling works.

Melani

2023-05-31 15:50:01 +0000 UTC

I worked catering to afford to do a City Year job in Boston. Flashbacks.

Christie Joesbury

2023-05-31 15:02:08 +0000 UTC

Brennan- specifically your rant during the EXU roundtable about “not done!” is an absolute joy and comfort every time

Megan Dunbar

2023-05-31 14:02:32 +0000 UTC

Aabria- the way you describe when you catch a spell, absolutely incredible!

Megan Dunbar

2023-05-31 13:59:51 +0000 UTC

Lou- “It’s important to dream” from EXU

Megan Dunbar

2023-05-31 13:56:36 +0000 UTC

Talking about LOTR, and wanting to tell stories in a way that impacts listeners in the same way- HEY WORLDS BEYOND NUMBER YOU DO THAT!! You already do that. You have been doing that. Both with this podcast and with other work you’ve done.

Megan Dunbar

2023-05-31 13:55:18 +0000 UTC

I will freely admit to being tempted to eat dog treats knowing full well that it's a dog treat lolol

Mae Worthington

2023-05-31 13:34:11 +0000 UTC

SO EXCITED FOR ERIKA'S CAMPAIGN

Mae Worthington

2023-05-31 13:33:27 +0000 UTC

Omg thank you, I will try this out!!<3

Lara

2023-05-31 13:26:25 +0000 UTC

Your mileage may vary, but I love using beyondpod (on googleplay) to download and keep my patreon-exclusive podcast episodes. You can download on wifi and listen during your commute. I used the RSS link under "membership" to import them over. Only have to upload the RSS link once and every time there's an episode of bone cone, it shows up in my app. Hope this helps! It made sense in my head. :-D

malsherlocktyrion

2023-05-31 13:24:51 +0000 UTC

Not a single one of them has ever eaten a scoobie snack???

Jacob Ickes

2023-05-31 12:57:52 +0000 UTC

I love these fireside chats so much, but would it be possible to have them be downloadable again? 😭 they're so nice for long car rides but I can't afford to blow through all my data to listen to them :(

Lara

2023-05-31 10:51:28 +0000 UTC

You GOTTA love the 20 minute conversation about the new guest's name and how they are a very real human. every show

Harrison Muir

2023-05-31 10:24:25 +0000 UTC

In Brennan's defense, I have also accidentally eaten dog treats, but they were homemade, in a tupperware container in my parents' fridge, so I thought they were just really bad peanut butter cookies. Which, technically, they were.

AJ Carol

2023-05-31 08:34:09 +0000 UTC

The LOTR chat resonated with me, when I was 7-8 or so we read The Hobbit in class one chapter at a time and then talked about it and made art and that is how I realised what high fantasy was and I fell in love and never stopped

Ric Freeman

2023-05-31 05:53:14 +0000 UTC

Having also worked in catering, I have seen some vulgar wealthy shit. That job will definitely push you towards anti-capitalism.

Matt Rise

2023-05-31 00:24:26 +0000 UTC

Huge shoutout to Uncie Deauk for referencing KOTOR literally my absolute favorite video game of all time and one of my favorite stories ever. And shout out to Unc Jolee’s crazy ass living on the forest floor of kashyyyk. i shouted and scrome with joy so hard in my car my seat reclined

Kakashi Rhodes aka Pink Doberman

2023-05-30 23:08:50 +0000 UTC

rashomon and KotoR such god tier shoutouts. Fantastic recs

Dukinator

2023-05-30 22:20:13 +0000 UTC

Such a big Unky Deauk stan, may his feet be warmed by the fireside

Kyra M Rodriguez

2023-05-30 22:15:23 +0000 UTC

Bwahaha! Brennan - I completely did the same thing. My wife had made home made dog bone shaped cookies. I thought they were cookies - cuz my daughter loves dogs. One bite I’ll never forget. And I was an adult! #youarenotalone

Micah Baird

2023-05-30 22:02:49 +0000 UTC

Drop that Pinterest board link asap pls

Quinn Ryall

2023-05-30 21:58:37 +0000 UTC

one, did brennan fully say shitass at the end or was i dreaming? two, brennan, you could have just said you thought they were scooby snacks and got got. three, love the guests yall keep bringing on while lou is away, truly such a fun experience i love hearing the outside perspective and commentary. four, erika continues to be hilarious and insightful and such a fucking treasure. five, well wishes to aabria, you were missed!

Joules Sage

2023-05-30 21:51:50 +0000 UTC

I’m with Erika 100% I tried beggin strips cause I had to know how bad they were. But I can’t imagine doin it on accident

Thomas Hegarty

2023-05-30 20:20:18 +0000 UTC

Brennan's citation of Gandalf's quote from LotR... that's from the same part of the book of another one of his great quotes, where he says to Frodo, "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." That's a quote that means a lot to me, and there's another one I keep right next to it: Patrick from _Strong Female Protagonist_ saying, in not too different a context, "You just can't murder your way to a better world." I hope the connection between the two was intentional...

Matthew Elmslie

2023-05-30 19:43:25 +0000 UTC

Someone search "Scooby Doo cookies" for Brennan, they are made for humans but they look like they SHOULD be dog treats. A client of mine has them and they seem like a trick every time I see them

Caroline Bauserman

2023-05-30 19:14:45 +0000 UTC

Listening to y'all geek out about LOTR really got me in the feels because oh my goodness I love it so. Love all y'all also x

Clairodactyl

2023-05-30 19:10:50 +0000 UTC

Crackle Crackle

Siverbullets23

2023-05-30 19:09:48 +0000 UTC

The whole storytelling discussion, especially the Knights of the Old Republic part, hit me personally. Amazing Fireside.

Anthony Ockerman

2023-05-30 19:07:45 +0000 UTC

I hate to be that guy but Um Actually, when the LOTR movies came out, A Game of Thrones and the next two books had already come out! Obviously the TV show is what Erika meant, but reading A Game of Thrones in middle school did similar things for me that the LOTR movies did for you all :)

Trey Lord

2023-05-30 19:05:34 +0000 UTC

I was in the same spot post college. I remember catering a grand opening for a dog hotel with hosted champagne, raffles of signed guitars, free dog nail painting, in Thousand Oaks. Then I went home and stole potato chips from my roommate cus I was hungry.

Kyle Epperson

2023-05-30 18:56:27 +0000 UTC

I genuinely teared up hearing about how formative lotr was for you all stories are really everything to humans!

Mushroom Morgan

2023-05-30 18:54:03 +0000 UTC

Lou's story about playing KOTOR is sooo good! I love the way I can relate to these three about the power of stories from our teens.

Alex W.

2023-05-30 18:47:13 +0000 UTC

I have seen homemade dog treats that I've had to ask if they were for dogs or people

Ryne Drogemuller

2023-05-30 18:31:32 +0000 UTC

If Erika has "never seen Lou laugh so hard" as in this upcoming mini-campaign, I can't wait, because watching Lou Wilson hysterically laughing/sobbing/gasping for breath is one of the joys of my life.

Carrie Mook Bridgman

2023-05-30 18:20:51 +0000 UTC

Dogfood CEO incoming

Chaz Allee

2023-05-30 17:23:39 +0000 UTC

IF UR A SCAB GET THE FUCK OUTTTA HEEEREEE

FusRohNahSon

2023-05-30 17:18:37 +0000 UTC

Here’s a link to the short story Brennan wrote about catering! https://brennanleemulligan.com/if-you-had-gueesed/

Sam T

2023-05-30 17:15:42 +0000 UTC

Brennan expressing he would be down for tuna gogurt made me flashback to a childhood treat of mine, the Swiss brand Thomy makes Tuna Mayo which comes in a tube and is excellent on crackers. So just saying, it exists!

Nathalie Schoenauer

2023-05-30 15:56:25 +0000 UTC

Uncie Deauk broke Brennan to the point where he had Hilda-Hilda-voice

Calvin Worm

2023-05-30 15:53:35 +0000 UTC

I'm on Brennan's side for this. The Scooby snack graham cracker snacks are bone shaped so it's absolutely a possibility.

Shawn Ritz Arthur

2023-05-30 15:25:31 +0000 UTC

Brennan just casually dropping that he catered the Eyes Wide Shut party...

Borangehat

2023-05-30 15:19:18 +0000 UTC

This was my thought too, I'm a HUGE fan of creating boards for characters or settings to help flesh out what influences them and what inspirations to pull from. It would be amazing to eventually see these (once there's no spoilers any more)

Micah

2023-05-30 14:52:37 +0000 UTC

I need a list of all of the occupations each of special guests sitting in for Lou has done. Personally I think Unky Deauk being fired is the rallying cry we should gather round to get him back on the air!

Julie

2023-05-30 14:45:06 +0000 UTC

Scooby Snacks are full on a cinnamon graham cracker cookie shaped like a tiny bone. Young Brennan merely thought they were delicious Scooby snacks. 😤

MagnaniMel

2023-05-30 14:37:39 +0000 UTC

I love the rants and tangents

Evil Laugh Gaming

2023-05-30 14:28:20 +0000 UTC

I love how when Brennan's gone, they all scheme to call him a "nasty little man", yet when Aabria's gone it's only compliments and love for her playing. Love this group.

Markdragonrunner

2023-05-30 14:27:58 +0000 UTC

This episode gave us the first real inkling that the Citadel and the Crown/Empire are separate and not always aligned. Origin of why Suvi's parents bit it?

RNietzsche

2023-05-30 14:17:58 +0000 UTC

Fun fact, there are also Scooby Snack dog treats, they come in multiple shapes and colors and kind of look more like human snacks than the meant-for-humans Scooby Snacks. We only had the dog treats in my house as a kid so I didn't know about the human variety so I once accused a kid of eating dog food when they came into lunch bragging that they had Scooby Snacks. Luckily the kid thought I was trying to be funny.

JXDkid

2023-05-30 14:09:27 +0000 UTC

The question about media that influenced your storytelling is really fascinating! I'm a little bit older than the cast, but here are a few highlights from my list: Teen Wolf (Film - 1985) - The idea that the protagonist can be a bestial monster, and that doesn't make him inherently evil. This is one of the biggest ones for me, as I still gravitate toward monstrous/bestial characters who are not bad guys. Ender's Game (Book - 1985) - The military-industrial complex will use anyone and everyone, even children, to further the goals of the hegemony. War is, in fact, Hell. The Paradise War (Book - 1991) - You can take an average, normal human, plop him into a fantasy world, and chronicle how he reacts to his new surroundings. This one was huge for my development as a writer and a storyteller. I think it also taught me a lot about authenticity of setting, as Lawhead's research into the Celtic mythos was clearly exhaustive. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Book - 1984) - I was not allowed to play D&D growing up because my mother was deeply affected by the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. I discovered DragonLance in the early 90s and it really cemented in me the concept of a complimentary party made up of unique individuals with personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, who can only succeed through teamwork. Also, Caramon Majere has been a template for every musclebound golden retriever himbo I've played since.

Jeromy Roberts

2023-05-30 13:55:00 +0000 UTC

Only halfway so this may be answered, but any chance we could eventually - because timing is everything - see these Pinterest boards?

StWindsor

2023-05-30 13:47:36 +0000 UTC

They're coming for Brennan way too hard about the dog biscuits.....not to incriminate myself but depending on the situation, it's not hard to accidentally eat a dog treat. And i will never forget the time I watched my sister's expression rapidly transform after she took a bit of what definitely appeared to be a delicious human snack that was on the counter

Esoteric

2023-05-30 13:42:01 +0000 UTC

This FSC was hilarious. Had the biggest smile all the way through

Kafillen

2023-05-30 13:38:28 +0000 UTC

Been there Brennan. Granted the one I "accidentally" ate was homemade and had a normal cookie shape. I also only ate 1 and spit it out right away. So... you lost me when you admitted to eating "a few".

Phil

2023-05-30 13:37:48 +0000 UTC

Whenever I give my cat wet food with pork in it, ngl it smells like spam and I fucking love spam, so I've been tempted

Z3DT

2023-05-30 13:22:11 +0000 UTC

I love how they never actually talk about the episode.

Michelle Spurgeon

2023-05-30 13:19:48 +0000 UTC

Omg can we please have a media inspiration list from you guys? As a writer (though mostly reader) I'd be fascinated to see what kind of stories were thrown into the melting pot to inspire this wonderful campaign. ...Also Players planning vs logical NPC Action is 10/10 comedy.

RoseWitch

2023-05-30 13:14:43 +0000 UTC

Listen, I work in a retail store that has a lot of different dog treats. Some are straight up packaged and designed to look so close to human food. I have had to stop a number of customers over the years to let them know it’s for dog. What is ever worse is the people who try to buy bags of wax melts thinking they are bags of candy. I stand with Brennan, super easy to accidentally eat a dog treat.

James Murtha

2023-05-30 13:14:22 +0000 UTC

In defense of Brennan eating a dog treat, I did love those Scooby snack biscuits growing up, and they were made to look like dog treats, but were really cinnamon graham crackers

Holton Hester

2023-05-30 13:10:52 +0000 UTC

My situation just didn't make any sense. I was in a warehouse store, can't remember if it was a Sam's Club or Costco, and they had a freaking sample tray of them sitting out for people to take. Adolescent me was like, clearly some weird cookies. And as Brennan said, came across as a mealy biscuit. Screw it, if it were cost effective and wouldn't cause health/digestive issues I'd buy a box to eat. Shit, just realized that's what Riggs does in Lethal Weapon. Not sure that's a good sign, lol

QuantumLeeP

2023-05-30 13:09:37 +0000 UTC

I was fed a dog biscuit that looked like a round cookie once. I don't know why I thought my wife would have found real cookies in a Pet Smart

RNietzsche

2023-05-30 13:02:44 +0000 UTC

Brennan's story regarding catering definitely hits home. 'Money doesn't buy happiness' and 'starving artists produce better art' are things told by the ones who don't want you to have money or the ones who desperately want to convince themselves it's true. Sure, there's a point where it probably won't buy you more happiness - but that's a really, really high bar.

SvenTS

2023-05-30 12:52:29 +0000 UTC

Ahooooo to you too on this fine day!

MC Rose

2023-05-30 12:48:19 +0000 UTC

Gilear meets Balnor vibes

Merissa McClure

2023-05-30 12:41:38 +0000 UTC

@Brennan I too have accidentally eaten bone shaped dog treats not realizing they were for dogs. Erika and Lou were way off base.... they gotta be. lol

QuantumLeeP

2023-05-30 12:30:34 +0000 UTC

I have accidentally eaten dog food twice in my life, so Brennan is not alone! I was like 8 yrs old and 12 yrs old, and both times I was fed said dog food by my mother (who also had no idea it wasn’t people food 😂)

Tara Capel

2023-05-30 12:25:00 +0000 UTC

"They're not dog shaped, they're bone shaped!" - Brennan in mid-realizing this does not help his argument. Also, of course Brennan wants tuna go-gurt.

SvenTS

2023-05-30 12:21:06 +0000 UTC

Unky Deauk

SvenTS

2023-05-30 12:14:25 +0000 UTC

Let the Crackle Crackle begin!

SvenTS

2023-05-30 12:12:05 +0000 UTC

Can't believe I'm the first one. Crackle crackle!

Trey Lord

2023-05-30 12:11:08 +0000 UTC

Fireside Chat for WWW ep7 "Kahuna"

Comments

Hey Brennan i chose to eat dog food out of the bowl next to our dog many many times when i was a toddler because the dog was my best friend and whats good for him is good for me!

I’m not even done but Unky Deauk softly beginning to sing that song BROKE me - I don’t know why it was the perfect choice but I cackled. Also Hobnobs are amazing and if those dog biscuits tasted like that I would’ve eaten like eight as a thirteen year old.

Lotr and Kotor being two of the most influential media's during my childhood also, crazy

I've definitely done the same thing as Brennan on accident. I feel attacked lol

Strongest Man in Silbry carries intense Prince of Shoeburg energy and I'm here for it.

On the storytelling question I was fully expecting someone to mention Tamora Pierce

The books that changed how I viewed story telling and were "Anne of Green Gables", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "Of Mice and Men". As much as I love fantastic settings, the stories of ordinary, simple people enraptured me.

Man, I am SO with Brennan on the dog biscuit thing - a bone shape is NOT inherently indicative of a dog treat, I would not expect every bone-shaped treat to not be for happens (we have bones, too!!), and a savoryish weird biscuit is acceptable to eat among lots of bad snacks!

i feel like scooby snacks wouldve been the perfect out for Brennan and, as a mid-twenties individual, i did grow up with butterfly-shaped cinnamon cookies. perfectly justifiable

When I was a kid they'd always give us two dog treats at the bank if we had a dog in the car. I don't know why two but my parents would give one to me and one to my dog. Is that me accidentally eating dog treats? Or my parents intentionally feeding me dog treats? Both?

A core memory I have now is hearing Lou, in The Ravening War, yell "You LIED!" Changed my idea of what funny DnD games could be.

Taylor can't be trusted... 🙃

What is "sleep no more" that Erika mentioned?

Thanks from the deepest part of my heart for the storytelling in LotR love. It was A Time. One that I've kept extremely closely guarded for years. This conversation was an amazing and exuberant reminder of that love. What a delightful conversation!!!

I had to stop listening to add this comment. I am a professional equestrian and let me tell you, I’ve tried ALLLLLL the horse treats. There are rankings—a list in fact. It doesn’t come up often, but it does come up.

Lou singing incoherently while Brennan and Erika sidebar made me laugh so hard, I adore these people

Where is your bulb now, Brennan?! 💡

I'm catching up, and just wanted to drop in the media that changed my brain about storytelling: the tv show Babylon 5. It was my first experience with a intricate, tightly planned story that took place over 5 years, and it blew my teenage mind that had only ever seen episodic tv before that.

Brennan’s dog treat scandal 2023

A 20 minute Lord of the Rings hype fest is just proof that y'all are my favorite creators period. (Sorry Aabria, you're just as incredible for other reasons)

You can really, really tell that the Little Guy part of the lord of the rings is central to Brennan's storytelling. I'm just Little but I'm here so I guess I'm gonna do this. Big vibe in Calamity and much D20!

The MBMBaM energy of the first 15 minutes of this was stellar.

Had the exact same thought process

"The Song of the Lioness" was incredibly important to me as a young reader and feminist. I think I ought to revisit those books.

Does this work with Spotify? What do you do after copying the link?

I agree - I alsp appreciate that Tolkien encourages people to contribute what they can as they can

I don't know if she's still writing, but one I like a lot is Tamora Pierce.

Do you guys keep up with any contemporary fantasy authors? If so, what ideas have you taken from them and incorporated into your own creative works?

#WGASolidarity !!!!

I come for the story telling and stay for the tangents!!! 🤣

If you grew up with the Scooby Doo graham crackers that were bone shaped, you will always look twice at dog treats! #IStandWithBrennan

Please drop the pinterest I'm begging

It's OK Brennan, please look up Scooby Snacks graham crackers

yeah taylor has mentioned that he's spending some time on the detailing/soundwork I believe. saw it on Twitter somewhere

Is the next episode running late? There is still a new one today, right?

They do have Scooby-Doo branded graham cracker cookies shaped like bones, so it's not too far out there.

Thanks! This worked beautifully 👍

If you go to the show patreon page and click Membership there is a private RSS feed you can use. Your podcast player should have a “private feed” option as a each patron has a unique link.

To be fair: they make real Scooby snacks, which are in fact shaped like dog bones.

I'm curious about the war that this Empire is waging. All the media I've been brought up would not just assume that "The Warlike Empire" are the good guys. And I know that Brennan wouldn't take that for granted. I suspect Suvie is going to be in for some upsetting revelations as the show goes on.

I'm all better now! This boy has NAPPED ;)

Just a shout-out to WBN's Taylor Moore, who is a guest on the wonderful Even More News podcast today. Long story short, Taylor *really* needs a nap! ;-)

It’s all because of the bulb above

I just wanna say... The Attack on Brennan about the treats is CHARACTER ASSASSINATION!

Hey yall, I'm not too good with Patreon and this question may have already been answered, but I'm curious why theres no download option for these episodes?

https://brennanleemulligan.com/if-you-had-gueesed/

I saw “Dog Beer” in a refrigerated section at a cafe once and it was the most confusing 15 seconds trying to discern if I was meant to enjoy it or not (it was for dog)

A lil late to the party but the correct taste ranking is fancy cat food > regular dog biscuits > wet dog food > regular cat food > fancy dog biscuits > dog kibble. Kibble is astoundingly bad. Everything else is mostly bland.

This is why I want to work with these guys, because Brennan is out here repeating something I got asked in my PhD defense about disallowing monocausal arguments and everyone on the pod (Unkie Deauk included) is already onboard.

I too have fallen victim to bone shaped snacks

Fun fact, last year my friend bought me some artisanal cookies and they were 100% bone shaped. And I was like “dude are you sure these aren’t dog treats?” And they weren’t. So it goes both ways 😂

Erika - there’s so much of Misfits and Magic that lives in my brain

Absolutely love these. always enjoy listening to both the deep and well-thought-out conversations and the insane rants

I love Lou's KOTOR Dilemma Jolee: Come on man, you really gonna kill me? You know there's only like five black people in the entire galaxy!

Actually the story about the dog treat was very relatable to me, unfortunately. They just look like cookies!

The way everyone talked about how important Lord of the Rings was for them was so beautiful. I’m from New Zealand and I would pay far too much money to get the WBN crew over here to see the hobbit hideaway, the Weta Workshop, and experience the Shire 😍

"It's a dangerous business, Eursulon, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to." Don’t mind me, just customizing my favorite lotr quote for WBN 😍

KOTOR!!!!!!

A friend? Yikes!

Oh man do I relate to Brennan's catering story. I used to bartend private events for the super rich and was like these people are straight up living in an entirely different reality lol. (they were also the worlds worst tippers)

I feel the story about eating the dog treat so hard. My friend once let me eat what I thought was a fancy oatmeal cookie, but turns out it was soap.

I absolutely love Sleep No More (saw the show 3 times in 2 week)

I need to mention a book that inspired me, from wayyyy back in the day: The Phantom Tollbooth. That book blew my mind about how storytelling works.

I worked catering to afford to do a City Year job in Boston. Flashbacks.

Brennan- specifically your rant during the EXU roundtable about “not done!” is an absolute joy and comfort every time

Aabria- the way you describe when you catch a spell, absolutely incredible!

Lou- “It’s important to dream” from EXU

Talking about LOTR, and wanting to tell stories in a way that impacts listeners in the same way- HEY WORLDS BEYOND NUMBER YOU DO THAT!! You already do that. You have been doing that. Both with this podcast and with other work you’ve done.

I will freely admit to being tempted to eat dog treats knowing full well that it's a dog treat lolol

SO EXCITED FOR ERIKA'S CAMPAIGN

Omg thank you, I will try this out!!<3

Not a single one of them has ever eaten a scoobie snack???

I love these fireside chats so much, but would it be possible to have them be downloadable again? 😭 they're so nice for long car rides but I can't afford to blow through all my data to listen to them :(

You GOTTA love the 20 minute conversation about the new guest's name and how they are a very real human. every show

In Brennan's defense, I have also accidentally eaten dog treats, but they were homemade, in a tupperware container in my parents' fridge, so I thought they were just really bad peanut butter cookies. Which, technically, they were.

The LOTR chat resonated with me, when I was 7-8 or so we read The Hobbit in class one chapter at a time and then talked about it and made art and that is how I realised what high fantasy was and I fell in love and never stopped

Having also worked in catering, I have seen some vulgar wealthy shit. That job will definitely push you towards anti-capitalism.

Huge shoutout to Uncie Deauk for referencing KOTOR literally my absolute favorite video game of all time and one of my favorite stories ever. And shout out to Unc Jolee’s crazy ass living on the forest floor of kashyyyk. i shouted and scrome with joy so hard in my car my seat reclined

Just a shout-out to WBN's Taylor Moore, who is a guest on the wonderful Even More News podcast today. Long story short, Taylor really needs a nap! ;-)

"They're not dog shaped, they're bone shaped!" - Brennan in mid-realizing this does not help his argument. Also, of course Brennan wants tuna go-gurt.