This week, Julian—hoping to crown the true MVP of the animal kingdom—drafts the ultimate basketball beast, while Trace turns up the heat to find out whether we’re actually sweating in hot showers and, more deliciously, how many workouts it would take to perfectly season an omelette with his own hard-earned salt.

In this emergency rerun episode, Trace’s quest for answers takes him to a magical fantasy land of wizards, frozen keys, and bodily fluids. Meanwhile Julian discovers that there are about 3 degrees of separation between chickpeas and dynamite. Yes, really.

P.S. Turns out pipes have strong opinions about podcasting schedules...mine burst. 🫠 We’re drying out and will be back next week with a brand-new episode—ideally aired from somewhere that isn’t classified as an above ground pool. - Trace

Both Julian and Trace did ‘a journalism’ this week! First, Julian learns that electricity is NOT magic (but will kill you) by calling a relative who makes lightning in a lab. Then, TracecalledaprofessorfromUCLAtoseehowmuchspacethatwouldsave.

Turnsoutnotthatmuch. AlsoitmakesEVERYTHINGsomuchhardertoread.

This week Julian hunts the medical mysteries behind the mystical unicorn horn, and Trace reads a loooooooot of government regulations looking to get tripped up by one tiny thing.

Anyone who’s ever had to educate a talking donkey would know, onions have layers (just like ogres). But, just like in the story with the giant, green, scottish (?) ogre — it’s important to remember the lessons behind the fables! Like the tortoise and the hare, which reminds us that even if the tortoise doesn’t win the race, it’ll outlive a rabbit by several decades. Take that RABBIT.

This week Julian takes a pleasant trip down to his local Egyptian library and tries to save it from burning to the ground and dramatically altering the course of history. And returning guest host Ralph Crewe explores the solar system in the most macabre way possible!

It’s our first episode of the new year! Welcome to 2026! In this, wild episode Trace (recording from his parent’s sun room) explores the chemistry and power of the lasagna battery. Then, Julian flies off the handle about helicopters as a gift for himself for his birthday (Happy Birthday, Julian! 🎂)

Like Boromir said, "It is a gift! Let us use it against them!" The internet has been taken over by #lofi girls, so we commissioned an artist to turn Julian and Trace into our own #lofigirl for the holidays! (Is it a lofi girl? are we lofi guys? We're honestly not sure. Either way, we did it!!)

We love you all! Thanks for making 2025 such an amazing year (for our little community) even though it was generally a terrible year for gestures broadly. Hope this can being a little light to your holiday season. Enjoy the wintery lofi beats interspersed with #holiday-themed fun facts! See you in 2026!

Support your giving goals this holiday season! Go to GiveDirectly.org/Absurd and get a 100% match by Giving Multiplier! (Don't dilly-dally this match is only until the end of the year!)

This episode aired around Easter, prompting us to ask: where does that weird Bunny get all the eggs? And why are there eggs in the first place? Guest Yasmin Khan (The Young Turks) has an answer. Meanwhile, Julian explores the word of bat-style crime fighting on a budget and Trace explores if living on Mars would make us super aggro!

If your life had a soundtrack what would it be? Up-tempo action music? Epic orchestral swells? Romantic… xylophones? Are xylophones romantic? We don’t know, we’re podcasters, not EGOT-winning music producers of screen and stage. Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t hear what’s in our heads… aside from on this show where we say everything in our heads, obviously. In this episode Trace explores what it might be like if the music in your head had a public feed. Meanwhile Julian tries to figure out what he couldn’t do even if he had all the time in the world. Seriously, all of it.

We did another live show!! I’m not sure how we convinced the Bay Area Science Festival that we are a legitimate podcast, but, hey, people actually showed up to watch the show in-person in San Francisco. We had an extremely tight window, and are famously (infamously?) long-winded, so in this episode special guest Dr Wallace Marshall ponders the nightmare of giant tardigrades, and Trace looks into the availability of gluttony… you know, for science.

If you want to have our show on the road to you — send us an email at hello at thatsabsurdshow.com !

Happy American Turkey Consumption Day! 🦃 In honor of the national holiday we've let Kyle out of his editing dungeon and let him celebrate with his family. We're doing the same, and we hope those of you who are celebrating have a beautiful holiday. We're thankful for YOU, not just saying that, we put time and effort into this ridiculous show, and y'all keep showing up week after week. That means so much to us. Thank you. We decided in honor of the release of "Wicked 2: We Swear It's Good," we're re-releasing episode 39! Don't let it melt!

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This episode Trace travels to the magical land of Oz. It’s disgusting. Meanwhile Julian is going to meet him there as soon as he can fill his head with 7 cement trucks of gas.

If we say: Making whoopee. Polishing the broomstick. The pickle tickle. Shagging. Enjoying Taco Tuesday. Parking the beef bus in Tuna Town. Waxing the carrot. Boinking. Glazing donuts. Going downtown. … I think you get what we mean (right?)

This week, special guest Danielle probes the terrible scenario where ‘Doing Taxes’ was more like actually filing financial paperwork than going for a roll in the hay. Meanwhile, Trace gets stuck in some kind of time loop (no groundhogs were harmed in the answering of this question).

In case the above wasn’t clear: This episode definitely acknowledges the existence of sex.

You know what's passé? Chemical rockets. Powering a space ship by harnessing the expanding gasses of a controlled explosion and shooting off to parts unknown guided only by fire, math, and spite for the force of gravity? Yawn. What if instead you got like, 40 cyclists with thighs as big as tree trunks that just won't quit, stuck them on some stationary bikes, and used them to power your spaceship like it was a sci-fi trireme from the year 30,000? WOULD THAT SOLVE ANYTHING??? Trace is going to find out.

Meanwhile Julian is very concerned with the structural integrity of some fairy-tale pig houses, because they aren't up to code and there's a storm a-comin'. And that storm's name is Wolf. Big Wolf. Big Bad Wolf.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over my quaint and curious human egg, forgotten I should stretch my leg— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door

“Though thy egg be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from a non-avian shore— Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s ratetian shore!” Quoth the Raven “No birds no more.”

In this special HALLOWEEN EPISODE ⚡️ Julian and Trace wear out Kyle’s lightning button ⚡️ and answer some SpoOOoOooOOOoky questions about ⚡️ dangerous animals ⚡️ vampires and in true Millennial fashion…⚡️ ⚡️ ⚡️ alcohol ⚡️

When can we all admit that we’re all scrolling instagram while sitting on the toilet? When will we admit that foods with more surface area are just darn tastier? And when will we admit that … well we’re still on the toilet because of constipation. Julian and Trace will cover all of this in this week’s episode.

Except the instagram thing, that’s still a mystery to science because no one will admit it!! WHEN CAN WE ALL ADMIT THAT WE’RE AL—sounds of being stuffed into a truck

Locusts, Squirrels, and Birds OH MY! In this wild episode of the show, Julian drones on like the queen he is all about airplanes and bees. Then, Trace finds some fuzzy commandos to gnaw at infrastructure of New Jersey. Squirrel away this knowledge for a rainy day — as long as the locusts don’t attack your airplane.

Dearest Listeners,

We write from our recording studio's trenches. The air is thick and oppressive. The relentless heat tests our resolve. Our studios, once creative havens, now resemble the crannies of camels. The temperature rises each hour, and so do tempers. We are tired–Listeners—bone-tired, the kind that settles deep into one's soul. Yet we press forward, driven by our duty to document the absurd. Julian hasn't fared well; the heat has frayed his nerves, making him snap at small provocations. Sophie has started doing karaoke and wears strange accents. Trace is... indescribable. We all persist, for absurdity waits for no one, and neither shall we. Onward to the 100th And a Halfth.

Your faithful servants of nonsense, warmed like croissants, but unbroken.

WE DID IT.

WE MADE 100 PODCAST EPISODES WITHOUT MISSING AN UPLOAD (almost).

To celebrate Trace and Julian decided to do it big. How big? TEN WHOLE QUESTIONS BIG. SO BIG THEY HAD TO ASK THEIR FRIEND SOPHIE SHRAND TO HELP THEM OUT BIG. BIG ENOUGH TO.... BE... LIKE... REALLY LONG... BIG.

You get the idea.

We pulled out all the stops for this absolute marathon of an episode because we owed it to you all. You have made making each episode such a delight with your weird thoughts, running gags, and delightful dispositions. As just a couple of dudes riddled with ADHD and science nerdiness... what did we do to deserve you?! We're so grateful that y'all have showed up for this show week after week. Thank you.