That Happens

This week on That Happens, Spencer sits down with Steph and Brad from SteelCityMTG to talk about basically everything except the thing we're supposed to be talking about, and then also the thing we're supposed to be talking about. We cover the important stuff first: Game Boy hoarding, cloning Pokémon in Crystal like absolute criminals, and the golden age of buying cheat codes from magazines because the internet wasn't invented yet. Then we get into how Steph and Brad met in college, bonded over a truly cutthroat Yu-Gi-Oh vs. Magic debate, and somehow turned "playing cardboard games in the basement" into a whole streaming operation without losing their minds or their life savings (mostly). We talk shop about running a Magic: The Gathering content channel that's actually built for two people instead of chasing the algorithm, the delicate art of getting bulk commons out of your house before they achieve sentience, and why the internet's ongoing beef with blue mana is just a skill issue wearing a costume. Also featured: birria bombs, aggressively burnt apple fritters, sea lion propaganda on TikTok, nostalgic decks from the "$5 build-a-deck" era, and a heartfelt plea for Wizards of the Coast to make full-size sets again instead of whatever we've been getting lately. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin's out this week, which means Spencer is left completely alone with a car, a phone camera, and 39 miles of gas to somehow make a podcast happen. What follows is an existential spiraling about needing other people to function, a full eulogy for Dolly Parton reimagined as a vampire-hunting vampire from a 2000s anime nobody fully remembers, several attempts at "free associating" like a TikTok improv guy that spin wildly out of control, and a confession about relapsing on weed and inventing a cannabis breakfast cereal. Eventually Editor Spencer cuts in to save us all, reading listener emails about Mountain Dew TikTok guys, why Madame Web should be defended passionately, the ongoing Dan Harmon relationship check-in, an AI-and-coding existential crisis that gets a surprisingly thoughtful non-answer, and a crocheted minion-flower-pot sighting from an anime convention. It's a solo, stream-of-consciousness, driving-around episode that somehow still finds time for a giant 256-episode bracket tournament pitch, a Trinity Blood lore dump, and a promise that Kevin will return to restore order. A solid hour of anime deep cuts, AI anxiety, minions, vampires, and podcasts that fall apart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We hit a real milestone this week and decided the only appropriate way to celebrate was with the triumphant return of the Dour Hour, a healthy dose of existential dread, and a time-travel plot so convoluted it makes the MCU look coherent. A mysterious, dying visitor claiming to be "us, but from the future" shows up begging for help preventing a mysterious anomaly from destroying the podcast (and possibly the universe), and against our better judgment, we go along with it. What follows is a multiverse-of-madness style show where we bounce between branching timelines, run into past versions of ourselves who definitely do not remember any of this happening, and try to figure out if the real threat is a cursed shirt, a hot sauce marketing meeting, an AI-generated void slowly eating a bedroom, or just the concept of getting canceled. Naturally, the only way out involves some extremely questionable cybersecurity practices, and the return of a gun that shoots people through the internet. Along the way we revisit some all-time deep cuts, including several increasingly unstable Spencer-from-the-future variants, appearances from Ariel Day, and the eternal question of why Spencer only owns one shirt. Is it a clip show? A time travel story? A cry for help? Yes. Join us for 250 episodes of this nonsense as we attempt, and mostly fail, to save the timeline, the podcast, and whatever's left of our dignity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alright, chat, We're back with a Robert De Niro impression that doesn't have legs, a hostile takeover of Schrab Home Video, and a heartfelt discussion about whether saying "chat" out loud in real life is a bit or a cry for help. Spencer breaks down why this podcast is basically a turtle? Surviving 249 episodes purely by refusing to move, grow, or improve, because maybe, just maybe, the Spleen bit has plateaued.Then it's soda review corner, where we crack open an Italian blood orange beverage and a Canada Dry strawberry ginger ale, and we workshop a full unified theory of why "refreshers" are taking over gas stations. From there we spiral into an extremely legally-vetted, extremely non-political metaphor involving an uncle, a barbecue, a stroke, six million dollars of prime rib, missing missiles, and Crazy Jeff doing butterfly knife tricks near the children... pure coincidence if any of it sounds familiar. We also get into some real talk about masking, meatspace vs. podcast-space personalities, psychic drawings, being wrongly (or rightly??) diagnosed as bipolar via email, and why internet micro-celebrities are the new tabloid targets now that actual celebrities are too rich to care. Grab a refresher and settle in. Nothing happens, but it happens with maybe a good episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Kevin has lost his voice, so in his place we welcome a very special honk-based replacement guest who may or may not be an actual honk-girl (spoiler: it's Amelia Marino, Doughboys associate producer, professional poop-reviewer, and reluctant TikTok comment-section warlord). We cover the essentials: why air conditioner repairmen are secretly all undercover conservatives who gaslight you about humidity, the deep lore of curly hair maintenance, and a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Biao, the TikTok legend who dries wet things and wets dry things for reasons no one can fully explain. We also get a rare and vulnerable look behind the curtain of Amelia's ongoing identity crisis: she's tired of being known for her poop-adjacent humor and wants a full image rebrand. So we workshop options like Amelia Bedelia, Ameals on Wheels, and Salvation Armelia, none of which fully escape the poop of it all. Along the way: a surprisingly deep dive into the emotional economics of being a Doughboys PA, a mutual confession of unclockable improv-anxiety, a very good "Scorpion Tales" podcast pitch involving Amelia's dad, and a rousing round of "What's Kevin's Deal" that gets solved almost immediately, threatening the very structure of the segment itself. Also: bug reviews, marine biology dreams, thrifted Brooks Brothers sweater vests, and a passionate defense of humidity as a personality trait. This week's focus is mental health, chronic illness, honking, and the eternal question of whether you can ever truly rebrand away from diarrhea-heavy content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices