Shows
Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 95 - 3Q3D's Totally Excellent High School ReunionHIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS! 30 years ago, Amanda Adams, Matthew Jordan and Chris Mikolay matriculated from the same suburban high school. Fast forward three decades and they're now slugging back beers large and small (literally) while unpacking their 30 year high school reunion. Do people change as they age? Do social hierarchies still matter after decades have gone by? And how, exactly, should one prepare themselves for a pending reunion? Well, pull up a barstool and join another lively conversation that proves - while time has certainly passed - great questions and great drinks remain as cool as ever. DRINKS IN THIS E...
2026-01-261h 14Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 94 - 2026: The Year of the Cheez-ItRESOLUTIONS! A new year has arrived, which means it’s time to make bold promises you’ll quietly abandon by mid-January. But fret not: Chris, Amanda and Matt have returned from a long podcasting hiatus with 3 drinks and a plan to ensure 2026 is your best year ever. Unfortunately, things quickly fall apart after Amanda pours a drink laden with half a stick of butter while admitting she has no ability to track her schedule. Matt then attempts to raise the conversational IQ by questioning whether it’s harder to start a good habit or to break a bad one, but the gr...
2026-01-011h 11Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 93 - Ask Your Doctor if 3Q3D is Right For YouMORTALITY. After a jarring family event flips his world upside down, Chris confronts some of life’s biggest questions: What does it mean to live knowing our time is finite? How do we find purpose in the face of our own impermanence? And can confronting death actually teach us to live more fully? Joined by 3Q3D regulars Amanda Adams and Matt Jordan, this conversation about life’s ultimate deadline proves delightfully refreshing – just like the 3 cocktails shared by the group.DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE: Chambord Old Fashioned >> 2 oz Bulleit rye wh...
2025-07-201h 11Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 92 - Get Rich Quick with 3Q3D!MONEY & WEALTH! Chris kicks Episode 92 off with a (clearly very legitimate) pyramid scheme sales pitch to Amanda and Matt, who prove, yet again, that there's a sucker born every minute. But the talk quickly shifts to hard-hitting money truths—childhood lessons we ignored, what “F-you money” really means, Rockefeller’s quip about craving “just a little bit more,” and how ego sabotages our savings. Along the way, Amanda reveals her Cadbury Egg obsession knows no budget, Matt dreams of cruising in a Saab 900, and Chris suggests tipping valet drivers with $2 bills like a benevolent Bond villain. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE:...
2025-05-051h 11Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 91 - Teaching Rocks To ThinkARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! These days, AI is all the rage, but it’s also fueling more late-night doomscrolling than many care to admit. Whether we like it or not, though, Artificial Intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction — it’s here, it’s evolving faster than we are, and in some unsettling ways, it feels like we’ve begun teaching rocks to think (what could go wrong?). On the bright side, the rocks in 3Q3D’s cocktail glasses are still cold, and the conversation – at least for now – still involves real people. While Chris Mikolay appears to welcome our n...
2025-04-281h 07Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 90 - Genetically Enhancing the JetsonsBIG, DIFFICULT, FASCINATING QUESTIONS (THAT WE’LL HAVE TO FACE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE). It seems only fitting that Matt Jordan – with his genetically perfect beard – should assume command of the USS 3Q3D for a conversation that tackles the toughest bioethical questions of our not-at-all distant future. Joined as usual by Amanda Adams and Chris Mikolay, the group wastes no time discussing whether we ought to genetically enhance our children, the second and third order consequences of dramatically increasing lifespans, and whether it’s a good idea to implant a computer chip in our heads to make us...
2025-03-241h 10Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 89 - The Stylish Man's Guide to Clothes Shopping at CostcoSTYLE! (Part 2). In the final installment of a special two-part series on Style, serious style is apparently found at…Costco? While Chris begs to differ, Matt makes a case for a closet full of Kirkland Signature and – provided Roman chic someday makes a comeback – at least one quality toga. Clearly, the 3Q3D crew is not afraid to break all the rules as they arrive for this second serving of style with a fresh batch of questions (including a frenetic lightning round finale) and 3 new drinks that are as varied (and, in one instance, as regrettable) as the style...
2025-02-101h 07Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 88 - Cocktails & Catwalks: Fashion Week at 3Q3DSTYLE! (Part 1). In the first of a special 2-episode double feature, Fashion Week has made its way to 3Q3D headquarters and the drinks aren’t the only thing in vogue. Amanda, Matt and Chris have upped their sartorial game, arriving to the studio dressed to the nines and ready to pour cocktails that are as elegant as their names (Tuxedo No. 2, where have you been all our lives?!). The group wonders whether fashion’s future is formal or if it’s cooler to be comfortable, how much we ought to cultivate our own personal style, and why a woma...
2025-02-031h 07Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 87 - Lean Into WinterWINTER SURVIVAL TIPS. With over a foot of fresh fallen snow blanketing 3Q3D headquarters in Northeast Ohio, Amanda, Matt and Chris wonder why they live in a locale with such harsh winter conditions. However, as the drinks go down and the conversation warms up, the group looks at the bright side of shorter days and colder nights, debates which animal has winter figured out (hibernate like a bear, or fly south like a bird?), and reminds listeners to keep that moisturizer nearby. So get out of the cold and join the conversation – all are welcome to hunker down in th...
2025-01-201h 12Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 86: The State of Our Union is ________ (fill in the blank)ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC ABOUT AMERICA? Despite recording from a sun-drenched back patio on a postcard perfect Autumn afternoon, anxiety is running high among the 3Q3D crew. This year, October’s beauty is bittersweet, with red and blue political signs competing with Fall’s glorious oranges and golden yellows - and raising the nation’s collective blood pressure. But is everything truly terrible, as Matt initially suggests? Or is America making a slow and often imperceptible march toward a brighter future, as the ever-optimistic Chris seems to believe? As the team explores both the pessimistic and optimistic sides of Ame...
2024-10-241h 24Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 85 - The Man Who Taught James Bond how to Play PokerRISK, RANDOMNESS & DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY.Caspar Berry has led many lives, from screenplay writer, actor and director, to professional poker player, poker commentator and renowned keynote speaker. He also once served as the poker coach to Daniel Craig and the actors in Casino Royale, and beyond coaching others to merely look like they know how to gamble, Caspar believes there are parallels between poker strategies and navigating life’s uncertainties. So ante up for an unusually spirited episode of the 3 Questions, 3 Drinks podcast, where Chris toasts Caspar from across the Atlantic to explore the complexities of decision-making, risk, and th...
2024-10-241h 17Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 84 - 3Q3D's Summer Travel TipsTRAVEL & VACATION TIPS! Before you pack your bags and load up the station wagon, make sure to download 3Q3D’s long list of summer travel tips. From why it’s okay to spend every morning away from your vacation companions, to proper picture taking techniques (sorry not sorry, but it’s a big thumbs down on the coordinated family beach photo), this episode is as spicy as Amanda’s Chile Salt Michelada. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE: GIN & TONIC COCKTAIL >> 2 oz Bombay Sapphire Sunset Special Edition gin; 4 oz Fever Tree cocktail, lime wedge. Fill a highball glass with ice, then a...
2024-07-181h 00Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 83 - Boss Mode ActivatedHOW TO BE A (LITERAL) BOSS. After several months of working sunup to sundown for The Man, 3Q3D’s long sabbatical is finally over. But fear not, 3Q3D Nation: Amanda, Chris & Matt waste no time getting back in the saddle to show you who’s boss – while discussing how to actually be a boss. Whether you’re a seasoned executive, an aspiring leader, or just someone curious about what it takes to be an actual boss, Episode 83 is all about leadership lessons both practical and philosophical. Oh, and when it comes to the actual cocktails, let’s just say that i...
2024-07-081h 13Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 82 - 3rd Birthday Special! Recreating Episode 1To celebrate 3Q3D’s third anniversary, the original crew regroups and recreates the show’s very first episode down to the exact same questions. While Amanda, Chris and Matt are certainly more comfortable on air, they begin to question nearly everything (including *gasp* backing into every parking space) and end up lamenting democracy writ large. While the questions from Episode 1 return, the drinks are decidely better this go round: the team brings back a few favorite cocktails from 3Q3D’s quixotic 3-year journey, including the Old Cuban, a perfect Old Fashioned, and, fittingly, the Birthday Cake Martin...
2024-03-181h 20Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 81 - Here's Looking at You, 3Q3D NationTHE MOVIES! Amanda Adams sits in the director’s chair for this big, buttery episode about the movies we love – and the movies we love to hate. And, as she guides the OG 3Q3D crew through a conversation about the films that framed our youth, what makes a movie objectively great, and why we love some movies that are objectively terrible, Amanda can’t help but get sentimental about a certain Legendary movie from her formative years. If you’re a Gen X’er and a film fan, this energetic episode is for you. Drinks in this Ep...
2024-02-191h 22Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 80 - The Parents Are Not AlrightPARENTING! With 13 children between them, Amanda, Matt and Chris debate unconventional parenting do’s and don’ts, discuss whether parents today spend too little or too much time with their kids, and ponder how much our parental actions ultimately determine our children’s fate. In classic 3Q3D fashion, this conversation zig-zags between the insightful and the absurd while steadily building to a third cocktail crescendo (and supercharged, at the halfway mark, by THE GREATEST DRINK IN 3Q3D HISTORY). If you’re the kind of person who might shame a child into having excellent taste, then this episode is for you...
2024-02-071h 23Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 79 - The “Non-Drinking Drinking” Episode w/ Colt & AmandaDRINKING & ALCOHOL. Alcohol is the only drug where, if you don’t use it, people assume you have a problem. Kind of weird, right? It seems that alcohol – and our culture of drinking – are topics worth exploring. Hence, in this special “crossover” episode, 3Q3D regular Amanda Adams, and occasional 3Q3D visitor and fan favorite Colt McCutcheon, sit down with Chris Mikolay at the halfway mark of his Dry January goal to pour a few (booze free) drinks to discuss several questions that are interesting no matter how much you’ve imbibed: why are humans compelled to drink to excess? Will...
2024-01-261h 09Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 78 - 3Q3D’s 3rd Annual Year-in-Review / Bold Predictions for the FutureTHE YEAR IN REVIEW / THE YEAR AHEAD.For the 3rd time, Amanda Adams, Matt Jordan and Chris Mikolay record a New Year’s episode that reviews the year’s biggest headlines – from events both consequential and alarming, to stories immaterial but impossible to ignore. After lively discussion (and Amanda’s cocktail redemption), the group turns the page on 2023 and makes bold predictions for the year ahead. Fans of the classic 3Q3D format will enjoy this episode as it slaloms swiftly between the silly and the serious and, in true 3Q3D fashion, gets more interesting with every sip. ...
2024-01-031h 24Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 77 - Sip, Sip, Hooray! A Yank, a Brit, and an Aussie Walk Into a Podcast Studio...AUSTRALIA vs. ENGLAND vs. AMERICA! In this special transcontinental episode, Chris invites an awesome Aussie, Belynda Thomas, and Englishman extraordinaire, Elliot Grey, into the studio to spill the tea on what it’s like living in America from an ex-pat perspective. As the group sips and snacks on Elliot's "posh pigs in a blanket", things escalate faster than American portion sizes – from friendly banter to an epic showdown that seeks to determine which great nation reigns supreme when it comes to music (The Beatles, case closed), animals (50 million kangaroos can't be wrong) and culinary delights (your country is automatically disqualified if y...
2023-11-211h 20Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 76 - The State of Politics in AmericaTHE POLITICS EPISODE. With an introduction as long as the Gettysburg Address, Chris explains (by using his beloved Cleveland Browns as an incredibly strained metaphor for political tribalism) why he has actively avoided political conversation on the podcast thus far - and why it's now finally time to analyze our nation's current political divide. Chris is joined by longtime 3Q3D cohost and political junkie Amanda Adams, as well as an actual living, breathing politican: Ohio State Representative for the 34th district of the Ohio House of Representatives, Casey Weinstein. Over drinks both sophisticated and unrefined, the group discusses the...
2023-11-061h 27Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 75 - Diving into the Entrepreneurial Deep EndTHE SHARK TANK EPISODE. At some point in our lives, we all have a million-dollar idea. The biggest difference between a successful idea and one that fails, though, is often simply this: whether or not one takes action. In today's episode of 3Q3D, you'll meet three women who not only have big ideas, they’re turning them into reality. Over three great drinks – including a cocktail inspired by one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history – Chris mimics Mr. Wonderful and challenges Kris Leigh, the founder of FÜZI Pets, and Sarah Filipovitz and Ellen Velez, the co-founders of Flip...
2023-10-301h 18Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 74 - Welcome to My Mid-Life CrisisFEELING BURNED OUT – AND FINDING BALANCE.If you’ve wondered why it’s been a minute since a new episode of 3Q3D dropped, well, Chris has been totally burned out, man. But fear not, because Matt and Amanda come to the rescue with a few great questions about the nature of burnout and how one can restore balance to a busy life. While the questions are excellent and the conversation vintage 3Q3D, the cocktails are a bit on the questionable side: after Matt pours a delightfully creamy concoction, Amanda makes something like an Old Fashioned, only awful, and Ch...
2023-10-231h 24Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 73 - Death, Immortality and Betting on An AfterlifeWE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE. RIGHT? Matt Jordan takes over for the second time as host of the good ship 3Q3D, and in so doing, leads a fun and fascinating conversation with Chris Mikolay and Sam LiPuma – an author, professor and 3Q3D newcomer – that explores several of the most interesting questions ever posed on the podcast. Over 3 drinks as unique as each question, Matt, Chris and Sam debate whether it’s ever okay to take a life, ponder the pros and cons of immortality, and finally, bets are placed on what happens when the lights go out. The thre...
2023-08-081h 14Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 72 - 3Q3D “Afternoon Delight” Series, Part 3: MYSTERY TOPICMYSTERY TOPIC! In the final installment of a 3-part series of shorter episodes designed to pare nicely with one quick drink, Chris experiments with variations on the classic Aperol Spritz – and pays dearly for it. However, just as Amanda Adams and Matt Jordan were in the dark on the topic of this episode, you, dear listener, will have to wait and see what topic might prompt a discussion about soggy cereal enthusiasts, peeing in swimming pools, and the greatest decade of the 20th century. If you want to get to know a friend or family member better, take note of th...
2023-07-0535 minThree Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 71 - 3Q3D “Afternoon Delight” Series, Part 2: WOULD YOU RATHER?WOULD YOU RATHER? While this second round of a special 3-part series of mini episodes may indeed be shorter than the typical 3Q3D fare, it isn’t short on controversial conversation.While Amanda Adams serves up a super sweet Tequila Sour, Chris asks a series of increasingly ridiculous “Would You Rather” questions that leave Matt Jordan feeling quite flustered. Apologies in advance to anyone similarly offended, but for those who enjoy contemplating the absurd, this episode is for you. *That’s what Mikolay says Drink in this Episode:Tequila Sour >>1 ½ oz tequil...
2023-06-2730 minThree Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 70 - 3Q3D “Afternoon Delight” Series, Part 1: Underrated, Overrated and Properly RatedUNDERRATED / OVERRATED / PROPERLY RATED. In a special 3-part series of shorter episodes designed to pair nicely with a relaxing summertime hammock ride or walk in the park, Amanda Adams, Matt Jordan and Chris Mikolay debate everyday items and activities that are either “Underrated, Overrated or Properly Rated.”This episode is a lot like fireworks displays, s’mores and brunch: you’ll either love it or hate it. If it’s the former, we’d appreciate if you let the world know 3Q3D is highly underrated by giving us a 5-star review; if it’s the latter, well, we suggest you...
2023-06-1932 minThree Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 69 - Cat Ladies, Fur Babies and the Loving Embrace of a Gentle PandaPETS & ANIMALS! According to 3Q3D regular Amanda Adams, how you speak to your pet speaks volumes about you. In this episode featuring the OG 3Q3D crew and bound to become an instant classic, you’ll find out why Amanda refuses to refer to her pets as “fur babies” and what she’s naming her future podcast (spoiler alert: it’s called “Stats on Cats”). This conversation is as wide ranging as the animal kingdom, and no matter if you’re a dog person, cat person, vegan or meat lover, you’ll surely have an opinion about the first two question segme...
2023-05-081h 19Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 68 - The Fascinating Las Vegas Lives of “Mash & Ash”LIVING LA VIDA LAS VEGAS. Vegas gal pals Mahsheed Parsons and Ashley Bryant Dowd, with their billboards and bling, could easily pass for reality TV stars. They lead a life wholly unfamiliar to 3Q3D creator Chris Mikolay, but over several drinks designed to cure his Sin City hangover, Chris finds that “Mash and Ash” are so much more than skin deep. Hear how Mahsheed used the power of positive thinking to turn her life around and become THE name in Las Vegas Luxury real estate (and learn what passes for “luxury” in Vegas these days), and find out how Ashley w...
2023-05-011h 16Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 67 - I Get By With a Little Help From My FriendsWHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU? As he mixes up an old timey cocktail that smells like your Grandma’s favorite jar of potpourri, Matt Jordan captains 3Q3D for the first time, hosting the original podcasting trio for a thought-provoking and wide-ranging conversation about the evolving nature of friendship and community. Over drinks both hot and cold, the group ponders the declining state of friendship in America, whether your spouse should be your best friend, and debates the most important traits a true friend should have. Drinks in this Episode:Wassail >> 1 gallon apple cider, ½ T who...
2023-03-201h 05Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 66 - If You Build It, They Will ComeRUBBERDUCKS, JUMBO SHRIMP, AND THE JOY OF MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.At just 32 years old, Ken Babby left a thriving career at the Washington Post to purchase a struggling minor league baseball team in Akron, Ohio, a city completely unfamiliar to him and located several hundred miles from his hometown. Akron, though, had a beautiful ballpark in the heart of the city, and Ken had a vision for transforming the franchise. His formula – including a creative but controversial name change and spending millions on improving the fan experience – not only worked, Ken used the formula twice, first with the Akron Rubb...
2023-03-061h 21Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 65 - The World’s Most Interesting Uber DriverFATHER, SON, GAMBLER, THIEF. At just 14 years of age, George Berk gambled for the first time, placing a $4 longshot bet on a horserace at an Off Track Betting parlor in New York City. As luck would have it, that longshot bet paid off and returned $73 – and ignited a compulsive gambling addiction that would lead to financial and personal destruction. Over the course of 4 decades George would experience 3 bankruptcies, gambling losses totaling at least $2 million, a divorce, and multiple prison sentences for the crimes committed to fuel his compulsive gambling. Now sober from gambling and alcohol for over a de...
2023-02-211h 26Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 64 - The Choose Your Own Adventure EpisodeLUCK, FATE & SERENDIPITY. Leaving every major decision to chance – where they go, what they do, and even what drinks to order – Amanda, Chris & Matt embark on an unusual Friday night adventure that ultimately proves providential (well, at least for two of them). As they depart the cozy confines of their suburban enclave for the big city lights of Cleveland, the 3Q3D crew is picked up by an Uber driver with a past – and who it seems no coincidence they should meet.As they move deeper into the night and many new friends are made, the group discusses the ro...
2023-02-081h 17Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 63 - Dad Jokes, Bad Jokes, and More Fun with Colt and DougDAD JOKE CONTEST! Did you know that if you sneeze and fart at the same time, your body takes a screenshot? It’s true. Also, if that joke offends you, then you should probably just go ahead and skip this episode (seriously). But if not, and you need a few good laughs, then you’re in for a treat. Like a bad rash, Colt McCutcheon and Doug Harvey return once again on the 3 Questions, 3 Drinks podcast, only this time they’re armed with curdled drinks, warm beer and a variety of Dad Jokes – some that are awful, some questionable, and others s...
2023-02-011h 07Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris MikolayEp. 62 - It’s Not Your Fault vs. Yes, It’s Totally Your FaultPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Lamenting the current state of his Dad Bod and looking for sympathy from his wife but finding none, Chris assembles the OG 3Q3D squad for a discussion on Personal Responsibility. The group begins by throwing caution to the wind and downing a shot of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, and then ponders how much of their success in life is self-determined, whether to be offended by “you didn’t build that”, and how much we are responsible for the well-being of others. This episode’s conversation is as compelling and thought-provoking as Fireball is terrible, and in true 3Q3D fashio...
2023-01-171h 15