Shows
Four Books a FortnightEP9: The French and French LickThis episode includes, among other things, "the most French thing editor Chris could find on the Internet." Can you guess which book that might be for? If not, you better listen, because we've got four very different books, despite two of them being written by women named Rebecca. Maybe we should do an episode in the future where all the books are written by someone with the same first name! Or one where all of them are set in Ipswich, MA! Put a pin in that. Anyway, this fortnight, we read: "Murder Bimbo," by Rebecca Novack "The Memory o...
2026-02-2635 minFour Books a FortnightEP3: Go Deep! (sports and future crimes) We've got some biggies this week, from one of the leading Dad-gift books of the season to the latest from from a few literary powerhouses. See which one gets the whoopie cushion! This fortnight, we read: "American Kings," by Seth Wickersham "What We Can Know," by Ian McEwan "A Guardian and a Thief," by Megha Majumdar "The Four Spent the Day Together," by Chris Kraus What sound effects did we give each of these books? You'll just have to listen and find out!
2025-12-0435 minFour Books a FortnightEP92: Sense of an EndlingOh, was the sound crappy last week? Well, we've fixed that. New mic! Holy smokes! You're really going to like this. It's so much better. And now that we're done with Newburyport Literary Festival and Independent Bookstore Day, it's all systems go heading into summer, and we've got lots of books to talk about, including: - "The Lion Women of Tehran," by Marjan Kamali, who was the star at Newburyport, and who really captured the audience. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, a meta sort of novel set in Ukraine and grappling with the Russian invasion and how...
2025-05-1535 min
The Next EpisodeEp 289 -Political Music-Oh, dip! Look who's back! Chris and Jared have returned to discuss just what is political music.
2025-01-231h 05Four Books a FortnightEP54: Hannah's Happy, Sam Did Not FinishThis week, Hannah and Sam are just back from the New England Crime Bake, where crime-fiction authors gather, along with murder consultants and the like — don't miss people like Elly Griffiths, Deborah Crombie (the new one was "A Killing of Innocents"), and Chris Fabricant, who calls into question the way prosecutors use evidence in "Junk Science." Then we move into Hannah's love for "The Unmaking of June Farrow," by Adrienne Young, which has strong "Time Traveler's Wife" vibes, with time travel, romance, and mystery. Don't worry: It's not like "The Girl on the Train." Sam isn't quite as enamored wi...
2023-11-1647 min
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 16: Several Kinds Of TruthMike is out. Wolf is in. There's a "superfan" behind the board. Old songs and fresh blood. Just goes to show, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. How did the final Van Halen album come to be? Well, it almost didn't.
2023-04-302h 49Four Books a FortnightEP29: Unpacking the NYT Top 10 Books of the YearWhy and how do books make it to the top of the "New York Times" best books of the year list? We have no idea, but we go through the top 10 and give our thoughts as to why these books are so big and what we think about them. We love Jennifer Egan! The rest of these? Well. You'll see. For some of them, we're not sure about the hullabaloo. We also get into why and how we bring books like these into the Shop and how we make our buying decisions. Should we have ordered more of these...
2022-12-0748 min
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 15: Fan, meet sh!t.All the chickens come home to roost in these dark times. Even a "Greatest Hits" record and a reunion with Sammy can't slow the freight train. Of the rare highlights, most of them were musical. We're going to listen to those too. It was either Jesus , or Gandalf that once said, "It's always darkest before the dawn."VH forever.
2022-04-051h 29
2022-01-312h 26The Next EpisodeEpisode 270: "On Letting Go" Circa Survive (2007)This week, with Chris out on assignment, Peter joins Jared in the "117 Studios Compound" to discuss one of his favorite second albums.Circa Survive's second album, "On Letting Go". Jared is just not that into it, historically. Will he change his tune? Will Peter slander Led Zeppelin? Will both of our hosts admit that it's not worth the work to be "cool"? Turn up and find out on The Next Episode.
2022-01-091h 41
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 13: C'mon Dave. Gimme a break.For the first time in perhaps ever, The Mighty Van Halen are forced to take an "L". When Dave can't seem to keep "monkey hour" in check on live TV, all future plans with him are put on ice. However, we did get a couple new tracks out of the deal. That was cool.This episode is all about the proverbial "he said, she said bullshit".
2021-12-011h 47The Next EpisodeEp 267: Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" (1983)Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They just go together like the best of them. Lennon and McCartney, Hall and Oats, and Gin and Tonic.Chris is back in the country and in studio. For real. Let's go.
2021-11-111h 37
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 12: 1995 Balance, Cruel Irony.They did it! Van Halen held their own against the grunge tide. While many of their contemporaries fell under the wheel of the new "corporate rock" paradigm shift, Eddie and Co. managed to keep their trajectory. For a while. All that goes up, must come down. I think that's in the Bible somewhere. Cracks are starting to form in the once impenetrable unit. Eddie and Alex are battling the bottle with mixed results. Sammy is expanding his family. Mikey? Right now, Mike really might be envisioning that solo album. All that said, "Balance" is a fine album with even better B-si...
2021-11-102h 41
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 11: 1991 Van Halen Spells It Out For You1991 was a strange year for pop music. "Grunge" was in. 80's metal was out. Unless that is you were actually a 70's metal band who happened to influenced a lot of these Seattle upstarts. This is where Van Halen finds themselves at the turn of the decade. Ascending to "Elder Statesman" status while still keeping it in the top 10. Perhaps that is why they are "America's Greatest Rock Band". If you don't agree, go ahead and hit that back button. We don't serve your kind here.
2021-10-062h 38
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 10: 1988 "OU812 and Other Dad Jokes"Once again, it's all success. Turns out 5150 was not a fluke. Our heroes can apparently drop hits with or without a producer. Who could blame them for a solid "victory lap" with the "Monsters of Rock" tour? Not us. Especially a young El Pagano who saw this one in person. Let's do it til we're black and blue!
2021-08-212h 12
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 9: 1986 Toppermost of the PoppermostHello baaaaaaaaby! Van Halen Mach 2. Van Hagar. Whatever you want to call it, smells like somebody stepped in hit. Junior Gen Xers like ourselves welcomed Sammy with optimism. We also stayed in touch with Dave. As far as we were concerned, it was joint custody. The band now found themselves with a fresh set of downs and a pocket full of plays Eddie (QB) has been sitting on for years. They . Could. Go. All. The. Waaay!!!!!
2021-07-121h 57
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 8: 1985-1986 Enter Sam, man.The middle of the 80's found VH at a fork in the road. Pack it up or soldier on. One of those was never actually an option. Who could step into these be-dazzled, platform shoes? Very famous/not famous names were thrown around and jam sessions were had. But nothing "jived" until they hooked up with the "Voice Of America" himself, Samuel Roy Hagar. The "Red Rocker". That "Dude From Montrose". The "Whitest Teeth In Rock and Roll", Sammy Hagar. And Diamond Dave? He's studying spanish motherf**kers! Estudiando espanol. Never say the man doesn't tap dance his ass off. The re...
2021-05-291h 15
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 7: 1983-1984 Too good to lastVan Halen was poised to take over the world in late 1983. Eddie had just finished his new "5150" studio and was enjoying the creative freedoms that came with it. Alex had finally found that drum sound he'd been looking for. Dave was wondering if he needed these dudes at all. Last, but not least, Michael manages to get screwed over by EVERYBODY. Endless growth is unsustainable. The center will not hold. Things fall apart.
2021-04-122h 00
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 6: 1981-1982 and the release of "Diver Down"Do you love it when Van Halen does a cover song? Do you have sheep in need of hiding? Is 5150 Studio still technically a "racquetball court" in the eyes of the Los Angeles Permitting Department? We answered none of these questions but we tried really hard. In fact, I'd say we gave this episode the "Full Bug".
2021-03-251h 39
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 5: 1981 and the release of Van Halen's "Fair Warning"Well, well, well. Isn't this the episode we've all been waiting for? Hands down, our favorite Van Halen album unanimously. No shit. We named the show after it. Join us as we try to contain ourselves while gushing all over this record. Want fair and balanced coverage? Go somewhere else. We love this shit.
2021-03-011h 15
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 4: 1980 and Van Halen's release of "Women And Children First"3rd album in the can. Took a whoppin 3 weeks. Go on tour for 8 months. No problem. What could possibly go wrong for our heroes?
2021-02-162h 11
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 3: Van Halen II and the Never Ending RoadYou just had one of the hottest debut albums ever. You have opened for your heroes and blown them off the stage. What next? Sit back and take it all in? We think not. Time to get right back into the studio and do it all over again. Strap in. Van Halen won't be taking their foot off the gas anytime soon.
2021-02-021h 23
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 2: The Debut Album Van HalenJoin Augie, Chris, and Jared as they dig deep into the making of Van Halen's first album and the tours that followed. How did Eddie get the idea for the iconic striped guitar? Where did Diamond Dave get all those moves? What will guitar players in the 70's going to do now that the book has been rewritten? Tune in and find out as we delve into the history of "America's Greatest Rock Band" VAN HALEN
2021-01-211h 35
Fair WarningFair Warning Episode 1: From The Broken Combs to Van HalenHow do 4 kids from Pasadena become one of the hottest bands on the planet? Turns out it's kinda easy if you know how. This is the history of Van Halen.
2021-01-211h 14
The Next EpisodeEpisode 239: Requiem For A MaestroThis is the first episode of our new Van Halen podcast, FAIR WARNING. Jared Britt, Chris Pfeifle, and Augie Pagan bring you an in depth look at the history and shenanigans of America's greatest rock 'n roll band, Van Halen. This episode, we just play a few songs and share some Eddie stories. Rest In Power EVH.
2020-10-211h 54
Episodes - The Next EpisodeEpisode 208: Wylde Tymes (01:02:07)We start this week's episode with a call to our friend Jager and make plans to see Tool. Then we talk about seeing Zakk Wylde play, Dave and Melissa getting married, getting pulled over by the cops and movies. Chris Cornell passed and the world is a little less bright. Van Haven is coming!
2017-07-2400 min
Episodes - The Next EpisodeEpisode 190 Earl Harbor (01:14:49)On this episode we celebrate an anniversary, nutty neighbors and stand up comedy. Jared and Chris plan a trip and our hero is out for the season. Enjoy!
2016-12-1400 min
Episodes - The Next EpisodeEpisode 181: Quigley (01:13:13)Chris Quigley join us in the studio this episode. He's a coach, a teacher and an all around excellent person. Really, it does him an injustice to try and sum him up here so why don't you just listen. Thanks for sitting in with us, Chris!
2016-09-1600 min
Astonishing LegendsThe Mary Celeste - Ghost Ship Part 2The mysterious disappearance of ten souls would not be the last of the misfortune to befall the ill-fated Mary Celeste. Insurance fraud, lost revenue, madness, and suicide would all become dreadful notches in the gunwale of her sad history, along with the premature deaths of three of her captains. Whether you believe in curses or not, often the best insurance is to leave fate untempted.Tonight’s Quote:“The sea has never been friendly to man. At most, it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.” — Joseph Conrad, novelistShow Links:We’ve found t...
2016-08-111h 08