Shows
Fill Me InFill Me In #502: 'I'm not sure how to help you with that.'This week, Brooke Husic drops by the FMI studio to offer the Announcement of the Year — who is making puzzles for Lollapuzzoola! Is there more? Well, yes: how to count, how to order food in Russian, how to alienate a brilliant web designer ... typical stuff. If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon. Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners find our sho...
2025-07-291h 43
Jean & Mike Do The New York Times CrosswordWednesday, October 23, 2024 - A crossword with a lot of SPARK and FIREThis was a lovely Wednesday crossword by veteran cruiciverbalists Matthew Stock and Brooke Husic, with a theme guaranteed to warm the cockles of academics everywhere, and inspire everybody else to Google "cockles" 😀. Deets inside.Show note imagery: Nothing runs like a DEEREWe love feedback! Send us a text...Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!
2024-10-2414 min
female intern with danielle deluty87. Brooke Husic{int. starts ~6:45} This conversation RULED. Brooke is brilliant and thoughtful, and her passion for her creative medium - Crossword construction - is infectious.
Crossword galaxy brain, A. Lady, science PhD, German, Xword criticism and philosophy.
brookehusic.com ; Puzzmo
2024-09-091h 31
Fill Me InFill Me In #455: Reflecting on this quirk of English.This week, Ryan and Brian get big news from Brooke Husic and Sid Sivakumar about Lollapuzzoola, which happens in less than two weeks (August 24, 2024). Learn who's writing the puzzles, and sign up now at bemoresmarter.com to get all the content while it's still hot and fresh. If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon. Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new listeners f...
2024-08-1345 min
Fill Me InFill Me In #403: Everybody stumbling on the red carpet and just kind of collapsing on their way into the grand hall.This week, Brooke Husic and Sid Sivakumar visit the studio to drop the big news of the week — the Lollapuzzoola constructor lineup! Ryan's also got a new favorite sandwich, plus at least one viewer doesn't have rabies. If you haven't clicked Lollapuzzoola yet, you should do that. If you get bored (how could you?!), write something for the Fill Me In wiki. And if you're feeling philanthropic, donate to our Patreon. Do you enjoy our show? Actually, it doesn't matter! Please consider leaving us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. This will help new...
2023-08-081h 17
Jean & Mike Do The New York Times CrosswordWednesday, July 12, 2023 - Endure some DURIANS 😷You know you're in good hands when the byline reads Brooke Husic and Brian Thomas, who between them have published 19 (Brooke) + 14 (Brian) = 33 NYTimes crosswords, no mean feat. To see why they keep getting puzzles accepted, you just have to look at today's exemplar, or listen to our description right here, right now!Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!
2023-07-1313 minJean & Mike Do The New York Times CrosswordThursday, March 30, 2023 - Need to left off some steam? Head for the RAGEROOMS!A very pleasing Thursday crossword by Adam Wagner and Brooke Husic. Jean's overly large vocabulary got her into slight difficulty in the middle of the grid, whereas Mike's smaller lexicon, once again and just as ironically as always, came to his rescue! There were numerous TWL (Today We Learned) moments in today's grid, for instance, 28D, Two-stringed Chinese instrument, EHRU; 26A, Faith that follows the teachings of The BáB, BAHAI; and 32D, Spaces where people pay to destroy household objects with sledgehammers, RAGEROOMS (yikes!). A great crossword, without doubt worth a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.
2023-03-3119 min
Fill Me InFill Me In #367: "Why?" is the bigger one … and "How?" comes in second.This week, Ryan and Brian welcome Shannon Rapp back to the program with a fantastic extended Thunder Round all about indie puzzles! It's quite spoiler-laden, so if you want to check out the puzzles first, here are links to the sources: girlbosswords: Themeless 20: Difficult Women (September 15, 2022 by Malaika Handa and Brooke Husic) Completing the Square: Puzzle 44: Quadz (October 16, 2022 by carter) AVCX: "Can We Solve It? Yes, We Can!" (October 14, 2022 by Rafael Musa and Kate Chin Park) crosstina aquafina: themeless no. 19 [feat. erik agard] (October 12, 2022 by Kelsey Dixon) Crossword Nexus: All In Love Is Fair (October 21, 2022 by Alex Boisvert...
2022-10-251h 49
Fill Me InFill Me In #354: People could just pin a beard straight onto my face.This week, Ryan and Brian seek value in Taylor Swift, Usain Bolt, Bojack Horseman, and the musical Wicked, and struggle pronouncing words like "restaurant" and "comfortable." All that plus a new contest crossword, which you can download at https://www.dropbox.com/s/g4pvk5sqfsl9qoh/fmi354con.puz?dl=1 Stuff to click: Lollapuzzoola! Coming to NYC or your computer on August 27 Daily Crossword Links (because it's waaay better than a repository) People we mentioned on the show who make puzzles: Lila Goldenberg, Steve Mossberg, Paolo Pasco (the latest post features Chandi Deitmer, also mentioned...
2022-07-261h 43
CrossnerdsOFF BRAND | AMI at the Love ShackRebecca Neipris and Brooke Husic review New York Times crossword puzzles from 7/26/21 thru 8/1/21 and talk about other Pressing Issues in Crossworld, but all you really need to hear is DJ Cummerbund & The B-52's "Love Shack (Tik Toxic Remix)." You are welcome. Enjoying Crossnerds? Give us five ⭐️s and comment in iTunes! Or just keep listening. Or both. Ideally both. But we'll take either. Word-upped: Themelesses by Brian Thomas: puzzlesthatneedahome.blogspot.com Matthew Stock's 21x's: happylittlepuzzles.com
2021-08-0638 minCrossnerdsSTAR SEARCH | E.T. home phone⭐️✨Star stuff everywhere!✨⭐️ That is what you can expect from this stellar. New. Episode. Of. What? CROSSNERDS! Rebecca Neipris and--in-person in our NYC "studio"--Brooke Husic review the last week in New York Times crossword puzzles (7/19/21 - 7/25/21). Pardon the tangentialos... If you like us, please rate us stars and comment in iTunes! Or just keep listening. Or both. Ideally both. But we'll take either. Word-upped Lollapuzzoola: https://bemoresmarter.com/lollapuzzoola/ Brooke's puzzle site: xwordsbyaladee.blogspot.com Adam Aaronson's puzzles: https://aaronson.org/crosswords/ Ricky Cruz's Cruzzles: https://cruzzles.blogspot.com/
2021-07-2735 min
Fill Me InThe goal is the sauce, not the chicken.This week, Brian and Ryan strategize how to get fried chicken into what is allegedly a no-chicken zone in California, spend more time than usual talking about crosswords (hello, super long episode), but the highlight of the day is a chat with Ben Zimmer! There's a contest crossword from Sid Sivakumar (you can download it at http://bit.ly/fmi288con), and you should check out our twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Stuff to click: Brooke Husic's self-proclaimed "stunt puzzle" on Chris Piuma's b...
2021-03-231h 30Fill Me InI listen best if I'm not also talking at the same time.This week, Brian goes back to school, Ryan suffers no sophomore slumps, and both agree that old candy is old. There's a brand new non-crossword contest (you can download it at http://bit.ly/fmi282con), and you should check out our twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Stuff to click: Mokelfish's new blog and puzzle site Boswords.org Kameron Austin Collins's essay on XWordInfo Amanda Rafkin's blog Brooke Husic's blog If you get bored, write something for the Fill Me In wiki.
2021-02-091h 02Fill Me InI lured you in with baseball, and then slapped you in the face with the prime minister.This week, Ryan and Brian hang out for a while with self-proclaimed computer girl and crossword maker Malaika Handa, creator of 7xwords.com. We have a contest crossword (you can download it at (https://bit.ly/fmi280con), and you should check out our twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Stuff to click: Malaika Handa on Twitter (and her bot) - and of course, her 7x7 crosswords project at 7xwords.com Boswords, and the Winter Wondersolve Grids These Days, puzzles by Paolo Pasco Steve M...
2021-02-021h 09Fill Me InAre you happy or are you frustrated?This week, Ryan and Brian have the great privilege of talking crosswords and more with the illustrious Brooke Husic! We also have a new contest puzzle (you can download it at http://bit.ly/fmi275con), and you should check out our twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Stuff to click: Brooke Husic's crossword blog: xwords by a ladee and Twitter feed @xandraladee Article about FSU and the Seminole tribe Desert Bus (8 hours of driving in a video game) Women of Letters (the crossword c...
2020-12-221h 19Fill Me InWe are not to be trusted.This week, Ryan and Brian discuss cancel culture, the Cleveland Spiders, and Japanese onomatopoeia. We have a currently impossible contest puzzle (you can download it at https://bit.ly/fmi273con), and you should check out our twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Lots of stuff to click this week! Advent of Code - and join our leaderboard with code 1292270-d88e4b58 Fireball Newsflash Crosswords American Dialect Society's Word of the Year Livestream ComedyCrosswords.com Datalexic.com (Enrique Henestroza Anguiano) SidsGrids.com (Sid S...
2020-12-151h 15CrossnerdsLet's Be Friends with Brooke and SidWhat's it like to write a crossword puzzle for the New York Times, and why does it matter? Co-constructors of Saturday's puzzle and frequent collaborators (and FRIENDS) Brooke Husic and Sid Sivakumar spill the crossbeans on: Authorship in crosswords The editorial process at the NYT The joy of synchronized puzzling Plus ever so much more! Check out Brooke's and Sid's puzzles at Lollapuzzoola 13 (this Saturday, 8/15!) and on Sid's indie puzzle site, sidsgrids.com. They're also active on crossword Twitter: @xandraladee and @sid_sivakumar. Masks up, ducklings!
2020-08-1148 minFill Me InIt's not slowing me down any.This week, Ryan and Brian learn how to pronounce cities in Massachusetts, where to find "Weltanschauung" on the internet, and glorify the typesetting of The Westing Game (briefly). There's a contest (which you can download at https://bit.ly/fmi252con), and a twice-weekly Twitch stream at https://www.twitch.tv/nextdoorcomics on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Stuff to click: Grids For Good – BUY THIS! Daily Crossword Links (Matt Gritzmacher's list) Panda Magazine Fireball Crosswords Stella Zawistowski's Tough As Nails blog Brooke Husic's crossword Twitter If you get bored, write something fo...
2020-07-141h 04CrossnerdsA. Ladee Made Your Crossword Puzzle, Ep. 12 many DEBUT!!!!s 2 count in our first-ever two-part episode, which features our first-ever female guest (Brooke Husic) and is accompanied by Rebecca's first-ever crossword puzzle (available here)!! Did we mention: !!!!!!!?!?! Since solving her first New York Times just six months ago, Brooke's taken Crossworld by storm, publishing in USA Today, the American Values Club Crossword, and several other indie outlets in the last month alone. Many thanks to Sid Sivakumar (who recently made his own DEBUT! in the New York Times crossword) for hosting the Crossnerds collabzzle on his site, Sid’s Grids. ht...
2020-07-0354 min