Brad drags himself into Episode 209 on three hours of sleep after a brutal midweek UB road trip that involved buses, airports, dead headsets, and setting up a half-functioning studio 45 minutes before airtime. The whole first half of the show is a foggy, funny confession about trying to run Riter Radio while living inside a travel hangover — mismatched cords, uncooperative mixers, a missing light, unfamiliar microphones, and a rundown sheet that contains exactly one note: “3 hours of sleep.” He catches up on the news he missed while trapped in “Macworld,” reacts to the end of the government shutdown without being able to read paywalled stories, riffs on concert plans (Joe Jackson!), and spirals into music history, clickbait sports rumors, and memories of falling asleep on UB’s postgame bus while trying to get home from the middle of nowhere.
By the back half, Brad leans into the show’s lack of structure, clearing open tabs one by one: ESPN vs. YouTube TV blackouts, Little Feat’s farewell tour, Elton John yelling backstage, Queens of the Stone Age playing zero hits, Men At Work appreciation, early U2 tour dates, Cleto from Kimmel passing away, and whatever else floats past his exhausted brain. He explains why he won’t dive into the Epstein files on-air, teases meetings about the future of Riter Radio, reflects on the UB loss and the punter-as-player-of-the-game dilemma, and previews a night of kid logistics, concerts, and baseball practice. Eventually, he calls it — ending the show early to regroup, rehydrate, reboot the studio, and promise that tomorrow’s episode will be fully functional.
