Jan 28, 2020
This week, Ryan and Brian talk cryptics, metas, Cheez-Its, a mostly-good #NYTXW week, and a very special Contest of Now that you have to download (hint: it's a crossword puzzle).
Other links:
Jan 21, 2020
This week, Ryan and Brian battle a cryptic crossword, weigh the values of a Philadelphia roll, and render apologies. The first five minutes are about baseball, but after that, we talk puzzles. Links: Scott Weiss's Anti-Match Quiz • Ben Zimmer's 2019 nominees for Word of the Year
If you get bored, write something for...
Jan 14, 2020
This week, Ryan and Brian spend the first 30 minutes of this way-too-long episode on Learned League and baseball — that's a warning to you. Skip ahead to 28:26 for Viewer Mail. But also: cryptics, Centuplicates, and Brian gets no thunder of his own. Last week's Contest Of Now is still available at
Jan 7, 2020
This week, Ryan and Brian get a second report on Two Across, practice saying 4-digit numbers and words with silent letters, and offer a two-week contest which can be found at http://bit.ly/fmi225con. Also, Beauty and the Beast may have closed, but the puzzles live on!
If you get bored, write something for the Fill Me In...