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Love: Shazam Alex starts this episode up by talking up maybe the last great example of a smartphone app that does an unequivocal public service, Shazam. He talks about it’s tech bro origins, the game show based around it, and even tells a story involving “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies. Andy, meanwhile, learns that there …

For Love Hate Relationship’s 85th episode, we come back with our second Triple Relationship Special! We start with Jessica Day (New Girl) who wonders if she’s the asshole for peeing in the cat’s litter box when her boyfriend’s IBS forced him to hold the bathroom for a crazy long time. Alex makes a few confessions …

Love: Cracked Andy turns up the early 2000’s nostalgia to reminisce on the halcyon days of Cracked.com. He discusses the site’s history, including a weird pseudo-connection to Mad Magazine, the incredible careers it’s launched, and the bedrock it laid for Internet comedy as a whole. Alex meanwhile, uses the opportunity to lament the awfulness of …

Love: Josie and the Pussycats Alex takes us back to the perfectly innocent era of 2001 to talk about one of his favorite underrated movies, Josie and the Pussycats. He, of course, spends considerable time on the incredible soundtrack, its underappreciated satire, and why it’s better than Fight Club. Andy meanwhile, tolerates him, but does …

Love: Benny Blanco Andy takes a page out of Alex’s playbook this episode and does a love on music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. He schools him on the man’s legendary credits, his hilarious turns on Dave and TikTok, and his ghoulish looks. Alex learns who Charlie Puth is sort of, and we all agree …

Love: Public Libraries Alex gets both nostalgic and literary for this episode’s Love where he dives into the history and benefits of public libraries. He talks up their value as a universal public good, the trouble they’ve been in over the years, and even calls out a book or two he would’ve never read without …

Love: The Expanse Andy takes his Love to talk up the sci-fi masterwork, The Expanse. He talks the book and its authors’ connection to good old George R.R. Martin, the value of space zombies and class struggles, and why he thinks Jeff Bezos should just pony up for more seasons. Alex, meanwhile, gets weedy about hard vs. soft sci-fi and admits that Star Wars is neither. Hate: Lawns Alex takes a moment for a history lesson as he takes everyone through the problematic history of lawns. He discusses their roots as an aristocratic status symbol-turned-toxic suburban aesthetic, and better alternatives. Andy meanwhile acknowledges the crime against God that is grass in the desert. Relationship: Monica Geller A question-asker from Relationships.txt looks for advice about her friend being co-opted for right-wing, anti-vax propaganda. Andy takes time to discuss economic considerations for hot takes from small business owners, Alex reminds everyone that there is a right and a wrong way to handle medicinal side effects, and everyone agrees that you just lose some people by being honest.

Love: Tim Pierce Alex starts this episode with the latest installment of his “People You Didn’t Know Made Everything You’ve Ever Loved” series to discuss session guitarist, YouTuber, and sweet old man, Tim Pierce. He relays Pierce’s understated journey to becoming one of the most prolific session players since the 80’s and his extensive work for everyone from Adele to Phil Collins on the Tarzan soundtrack. Andy, meanwhile, learns that the people in the band aren’t always the ones on the records, and that the guy who played the Power Rangers intro also filled in for Shinedown and played for Shakira. Hate: The PMRC Andy gives a music history lesson for his Hate to discuss the Parents Music Resource Center. He tells the story of how they attempted to (and sort of succeeded in) censoring music in the 80’s, their “Filthy 15” list, and the legacy of their Parental Advisory stickers. Alex meanwhile, rants about Dee Snider and John Denver, and we find one more reason to hate Mike Love. Relationship: Hank Moody (Californication) This episode’s question from Relationships.txt sees an asker trying to navigate the discovery that his hook-up from two years prior is his now-girlfriend’s mom (who never told him she was married). Andy sympathetically reminds him that he did absolutely nothing wrong, while Alex reminds him that doing the right thing frequently results in losing everything you love.

Love: Rum Andy takes it alcoholic for this episode to discuss his favorite of all liquors, rum. He gives some chemical, geographic, and historical context for it, discusses its versatility, and even calls out a favorite brand. Alex tells a traumatic story of why he barely touched the stuff for over a decade, and we discover the three genders of Cowboy, Pirate, and Russian. Hate: Capital Punishment Alex takes his chunk of the episode to talk about everything Hate-able about Capital Punishment. He talks over its storied history, including exceptional past cases of its abolishment, the crappiness of the criminal justice system, and (obviously) the dangers of State Authority. Andy, meanwhile, reminds us of both spanking and Saddam Hussein. Relationship: Ally Wernick (Dave) From Relationships.txt, this episode sees a question-asker looking for advice on dealing with the fallout of her roommate walking in on some analingus between her and her boyfriend. Alex talks about the necessity for discussions of boundaries with communal spaces, Andy demands a steam-cleaning of the couch, and everyone agrees that eating ass is fine as long as everyone involved is consenting.

Love: 16-Bit Video Games For Alex’s Love this episode, he takes it more than a little old school and outside of his usual wheelhouse to talk about 16-bit video games. He gives some history, both personal and non, talks up the accessibility and creative possibilities of the format, and talks about being a crappy high …

Love: Michael K. Williams Andy’s less-than-timely-but-no-less tragic Love for this episode is the late Michael K. Williams. He talks up highlights of his work, from the Trapped in the Closet video to Omar in The Wire to The Atlantic’s “Typecast” short film (which he asks all of you to check out here for the sheer excellence of Williams’s performance. Alex meanwhile re-remembers the song “100% True Love” (the video for which featured Williams’s dancing and choreography), and everyone gets a short PSA on the importance of testing your drugs and shaming people who shame those with addiction struggles. Hate: Corporate Wokeness Alex takes it back to Pride, Black History Month, and assorted other occasions for corporate entities to perform at support for marginalized communities without any material change for his Hate on Corporate Wokeness. He draws a line from the old 60’s/70’s commercials from GM and Coke about Civil Rights and littering to Pepsi’s idiotic BLM stunt, Andy talks the weirdness of rainbow-washed logos (looking at you, Oracle), and we all agree that Ben Jerry’s is good, but not great. Relationship: Paul  L’Astnamé  (30 Rock) This episode’s Relationships.txt question comes from someone who seems to not understand the problem with spending his life savings on an NFT, and using that to propose to his partner. Andy reasonably asks if everybody has just plain forgotten that the Dot-Com Bubble ever happened while Alex gets into a rare rage about the idiocy of ever feeling particularly confident about investing, and we all struggle with comprehending that Doge-Coin even exists.

After a brief hiatus to relocate Andy up to the mountains of Western North Carolina, LHR is back with our first Triple (or maybe more like Sextuple) Relationship Special! We begin with Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty, not the dead guy briefly played by Matt Smith on The Crown) who looks for some help with his partner’s sudden and concerning need to take in stray and wild animals. There’s some discussion of regression, some of respect of personal space, and even a little rundown on the Top Three ways to get rabies! Next is Yugi Moto, whose real-life partner Joey thought enough to get her a puzzle for her collection, and it just happened to be one she already had. Apart from making anime shippers happy, Alex and Andy talk about the tribulations of lying to protect feelings. After that, we have Zelda Fitzgerald and her fresh new potential boyfriend, who totally took credit for her awesome cooking skills on his social media, and she’s wondering how to respond. Andy rightly calls out some red flags, Alex weeds through the nuances of carefully structured second chances, and everyone agrees that there are too many dudes who pull this kind of crap. For a quick two-fer, Homer Simpson and Stan Smith write in for perspective on renting a billboard to go after someone who owes him money and his wife making awkward suggestions that he bang old ladies for money, the answer to both of course being variations on, “No. Don’t do it.” Finally, they close out with Buster Bluth, who looks for advice on dealing with her parents’ discomfort with her having a baby with her notably older husband, and it’s…a lot of no one looking particularly good at the end, y’all.

Love: Meet Me @ The Altar Alex uses his precious Love time to talk up what he considers to be the most exciting new act in guitar-based music today, East Coast Pop Punk band Meet Me @ The Altar. He discusses their unique, internet-based origin story, their fresh take on a sort of Paramore sound, and why he thinks they’re going to be one of the newest, biggest acts in music. Andy, meanwhile, gets to be reminded that his favorite Fall Out Boy is nearly a decade old, and what that whole Fueled by Ramen sound did to us as teenagers. Hate: Subtitle Haters Andy used his Hate to take to task everyone out there who hates on Subtitles in film and TV. He talks up some terrific works from other nations that are horribly missed by the general public, the lameness of excuses against them, and of course, racism. Alex, meanwhile, defends closed captioning and learns everybody a thing or two about anime dubbing. Relationship: Bonnie Lopez (The Luck of the Irish) The Relationships.txt question for this episode has someone writing in about her boyfriend’s weirdly obsessive, hyper Irish pride/British hate. Andy recs some good, good cinema to hopefully expand his horizons, and examples of healthy engagement with cultural heritage. Alex takes a chance to yell about the IRA and encourage mockery of unexamined patriotism.

Love: Warhammer Andy takes his time this episode to discuss his Love of all things Warhammer. He explains the history and nature of the game, his personal attachment to the painting and construction of it’s (weirdly expensive) figurines, and his struggles with wanting to get back into it. Alex, meanwhile, offers a class dissection of who it’s maybe intended for, fails to ask more questions about Space Orcs. Hate: Dietary Supplements Alex takes his Hate to discuss everything wrong with Dietary Supplements. He rails against their various dangers, inaccurate labeling, and all of the reasons why almost none of you should take roughly any of them. Andy meanwhile, reminds everyone of the time he did Keto, and is sufficiently horrified/satisfied when cancer comes up as expected, but in an unexpected place. Relationship: Mandy Milkovich (Shameless) This episode’s Relationships.txt question this comes from a girlfriend dealing with her boyfriend’s father sending him random nudes of random women throughout the night. Alex reads it for the first time and obviously advises confrontation and communication about this super off dynamic, Andy ruminates on the sadness of parents whose only friends are their kids, and we all question the veracity of anyone claiming to have bunches of nudes of people they’re banging.

Love: Hanif Abdurraqib Alex uses his Love time to talk up poet, cultural critic, and music journalist extraordinaire, Hanif Abdurraqib. He reads a selection of his work, discusses his expertise on music ranging from Fall Out Boy and Stevie Nicks to Carly Rae Jepson and the Weeknd to Celine Dion and the Four Seasons, and the tragedy that more people haven’t heard of this quiet genius from Columbus. Andy meanwhile calls out stereotyping about names and cultures and adits to casually liking A Tribe Called Quest. Hate: The Olympics Andy takes the Hate to admit that despite having some really great memories of and generally enjoying the Olympics, they’re an absolute disaster riddled with IOC corruption, the destruction of host cities, and gross jingoism. Alex piles on to yell at Americans who only really like sports that their own country is good at (despite Weightlifting being awesome) and to tell everyone to go read Dave Zirin’s Brazil’s Dance with the Devil. Relationship: Dr. Jean Milburn (Sex Education) The Relationships.txt question this episode comes from a concerned mother whose ex-husband doesn’t see what’s wrong with asking out their son’s really spectacular therapist. Andy rightly calls out the abject selfishness and ridiculous nature of the entire scenario, and suggests good communication with the more level-headed parties involved, while Alex spitefully recommends planning for the worst case of all scenarios and making sure that their son knows exactly why he’s about to lose his counselor.

Love: Laura Kinney Andy uses this episode to wax affectionately about a comic book character perhaps marginally familiar to most fans, but completely off the radar to the layperson, Laura Kinney AKA X-23 AKA Wolverine. He discusses her origins as a barely-more-than-one-off character in a lesser-known X-Men animated show to her character history in the comics, all the way to her current-ish status as Wolverine in Marvel Comics. Alex joins in to talk about cool commercials, cooler representation, and everyone agrees that it’s awesome when you can read a character’s entire history in a matter of months rather than decades. Hate: Joe Rogan Following his glowing review of Lewis Black last episode, Alex takes the Hate this time to talk about the dangerous idiocy of Joe Rogan. He discusses the issues with Rogan’s supposedly unique (read: unexamined) politics and the problems with giving such a huge platform and amount of grace to someone with so little care for responsibility, power dynamics, or the damage he can do (plus, platforming fascists). Andy, meanwhile, awakens depths of distaste, calling out everything he’s hated for years about the man, and everyone agrees that WTF with Marc Maron is a way better show. Relationship: Brienne of Tarth This episode’s Relationships.txt question comes from someone unable to decide what to do when he finds that his wife shared their intimate videos with her sister. Andy talks about consent and creepiness, while Alex spends some time reminding everyone that gender identity plays no role whatsoever in whether or not it’s f*cked up to send nudes without all parties aware and into it.

Love: Lewis Black For this episode’s Love, Alex takes everyone into the history and work of comedian, author, and actor Lewis Black. He relays Black’s surprisingly full life as a Yale-graduate and successful working playwright and actor before his breakthrough as a stand-up at age 50, his equally surprising turns as a writer and essayist, and just what he meant to a young, pre-anger future podcast host looking for bits to recite on a playground. Andy, meanwhile, is charmed by a story about an essay on golf, and reveals to everyone how he’s never watched The Daily Show despite being a millennial. Hate: Celebrity Abusers Andy takes his Hate to get into the wide and varied and infinitely sad world of Celebrities using their influence and power to abuse people and keep right on working. He touches on examples ranging from child porn loving anime writers to comics who just barely missed out on successful comebacks to convicted and admitted sex offenders still working on Disney Channel shows. Alex joins in to list the various sins of just so many artists and actors and musicians, and asks us all to think about where we draw our lines (looking at you, Fassbender). Relationship: Saul Silver For this episode’s Relationships.txt question, our asker inquires if she should say something to her friend who is having his barely legal f*ck buddy move in with him rent free in exchange for sexual favors. Andy reflects on the grossness of an age difference, Alex spends some time talking about power dynamics, and everyone agrees that no one can be described as “giddy” when discussing “trying out” BDSM for the first time has any business doing anything of the kind until they learn a whole lot more about communication.

Love: Patrick Stewart For his Love this episode, Andy talks up one of the acting titans of the Sci-Fi, Comic, and Shakespearean Nerdoms, Sir Patrick Stewart. He discusses Stewart’s 60+ year career with everyone from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Star Trek to American Dad, and the special place that Jean-Luc Picard holds in his heart. Alex, meanwhile, mentions the sole version of Dr. Charles Xavier that doesn’t totally suck, and both of them fanboy on his activism and general adorableness. Hate: The “Genius” Myth Alex gets weedy with his Hate topic, all on the contemporary concept of “Genius.” He talks about how the term has evolved in Western culture, everything wrong with assuming some (usually well-off, privileged) people are just born smarter. Andy rightly points out how rare it is that the term gets applied to really any women, and not nearly enough time is spent shitting on Elon Musk. Relationship: Tara Knowles This episode’s Relationships.txt question has someone asking how to deal with her husband drunkenly hitting on her somewhat estranged, potentially murderous(?) mother. Alex reminds everyone that when kids are in the picture, some things you just don’t work out, Andy concurs with some ethical musing on what else could be happening, and everyone agrees that it’s pretty ludicrous when the potentially murderous mother is the least interesting part of the story.

Love: Adam Neely Alex’s Love this episode is Bassist, Composer, and Youtuber Adam Neely. He talks up his work, including electro-jazz covers of “Hello” and “Run Away With Me” and his instructional videos on subjects ranging from music theory to the controversial key of “Hey Joe.” Andy meanwhile learns that music theory is super racist and just where his cohost gets all these musical hot takes about the Star-Spangled Banner and Celine Dion. Hate: Them Andy uses his Hate time to discuss the new Lena Waithe-produced racial drama/horror show, Them. Specifically, he discusses the marketing and its weird invocation of Jordan Peele, and the odd lack of actual black people behind the cameras and scripts. Alex, meanwhile, manages to shoehorn in some discussion of the boundaries of horror, and what constitutes good gore and bad–also, a random X-Men reference. Relationship: Lip Gallagher A Relationships.txt asker brings in a query about how to handle online hatred over naming their new kid after their Nana when the name was already used for a now deceased child. Andy dabbles in legalistic arguments while Alex tries to remind everyone that the Internet isn’t overwhelmingly real, doubly so when your time is better spent with your newborn.

Love: RA Salvatore Andy (quite literally) takes the stage at the top of the episode, as he first of all sums up the discussion around the 20-or-son minutes of audio that were sadly lost for this recording which, douchebag buffer aside, are all about fantasy author RA Salvatore. He talks up the man’s prolific commitment to the craft, his dynamic character work, and his incredible attention to detail in fight sequences. Alex meanwhile manages to sneak in a Thundarr the Barbarian reference up top, and no one is the better for it. Hate: Dave Ramsey Alex breaks the typical rules of politeness to discuss money, age, AND religion all by hating on perennial Boomer finance favorite, Dave Ramsey. He discusses Ramsey’s outdated, class-blind, almost folksy wisdom, and why it’s so dangerous that he’s so popular with so many of our parents. Andy, thankfully, learns everything he’s ever known about the man in this segment, and is relieved to know that the snowball method of paying down debt probably isn’t that bad. Relationship: Winnie Gecko A Relationships.txt patron writes in for advice on what to do about her socially awkward accountant boyfriend’s weird invoicing of their first trip together. Andy discusses the possibilities of and approaches to neuroatypicalities in new relationships, and Alex concurs, while reminding everyone of the importance of talking about the weird stuff early on in the dating life.