Welcome to Simple Joe. I’m glad you’re here.

In today’s episode of Simple Joe, I start with a strange and fascinating idea: astronauts say space smells like hot metal and seared steak once they’re back inside their spacecraft, which leads me to wonder how something so empty can still leave a trace. We check in on the weather for Perth, Australia, where Christmas week brings intense heat and sunshine, and for Cincinnati, Ohio, where winter feels surprisingly mild this year. I celebrate birthdays ranging from Otis Redding to Eddie Vedder, reflect on the lasting impact of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas and the release of Titanic, and acknowledge Festivus along with a handful of lighthearted December 23 celebrations. The heart of the episode is Tuesday’s Random Questions, where I think out loud about courtesy, overengineering, small competitions we don’t even realize we’re in, and whether life would be better with background music or a perfectly timed laugh track. As Christmas approaches, I end with a reminder to slow down, resist the pull of stuff, and focus on what really lasts: time, laughter, love, and memories with the people who matter most.

Tuesday Random Questions

• Why do you think people apologize to inanimate objects when they bump into them?


• What food do people pretend to like because it feels socially unacceptable to dislike it?


• What is something humans clearly overengineered that probably did not need that much thought?


• Why do you think people feel oddly competitive about things that do not actually matter, like parking spots or grocery checkout lines?


• Would you rather have background music follow you everywhere you go, or have a laugh track play at random moments in your life?

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