From the Hollywood sign in LA where Anne lives to the mountains near Boone, North Carolina where Bill lives, come hang out and talk sports and pop culture. Listeners can count on learning something and at least a couple of laughs each episode.
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Sure, having three offices is a blessing, but I also struggle to get them all organized and decorated. In this episode, my sister Anne and I dive into the puzzle of workspace setups and talk through the ways we fail—and occasionally succeed—at organizing our lives. Plus, Anne shares a few podcast recommendations, and we make a big decision about the future direction of the show (starting with Ted Lasso S4E3).
Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 2 titled “Curiouser and Curiouser!” inspires conversation about feminism, inequality in men’s and women’s sports, and we cover a road trip to take Izzy to college that spanned from Boone, NC to Salt Lake City, Utah. What would you say was the “big news” of this episode? Best line/s: What … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 and College Road Trip to University of Utah"
In this post, Anne and I discuss what makes home home, role models, and if we have a responsibility to use our talents in our profession. These topics were sparked by the Ted Lasso season four premiere and the entire season of Widow’s Bay. We’re going to start with life updates, and we’d love for … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 and Widow’s Bay: Home, Role Models, and The Jobs We’re Born to Do"
Ted Lasso Season 4 is coming, when do we think we’ll retire, women and the Kalshi prediction markets, and Information Sickness with David Shields are the texts we’re using to generate conversation this week. Questions for the Reader: Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of July 27, 2026 “Information Sickness” by David Shields “Jason … Continue reading "Ted Lasso Season 4 is Coming, When to Retire, Women and Kalshi, and Information Sickness with David Shields"
LeBron James to the 76ers, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, Writing Advice from John McPhee. Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Travis Scott, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron
“The End of Reading is Here” from The Atlantic by Rose Horowitch Quotes from the article for discussion are bolded below and in quotes. “…fewer than half of all adults reported having read a book of any kind in 2022.” This week my friend Dave Witzig texting me to ask what I’ve been reading… Going … Continue reading "Is the End of Reading Here? GenAI and the Reading Writing Classroom"
My sister Anne has travelled to Poland where she will see Bad Bunny in Warsaw and travel to Krakow and Prague. In preparation for this conversation, I read “Notes from Poland” by Kenneth Sherman. Topics for discussion from “Void and Voice: Notes from Poland.” The article was written by Kenneth Sherman and published in Creative … Continue reading "From Los Angeles to Warsaw, Poland: Anne from the PURO Warszawa State Miasto"
If you travel, why do you go where you go? I’ll bet your reasons are different from Pico Iyer’s, as explained in his essay “Why We Travel.” We pick out some lines for discussion below as well as look toward Anne’s trip to Poland that will include attending a Bad Bunny concert in Warsaw. “Why … Continue reading "“Why We Travel” by Pico Iyer and Anne is Headed for Bad Bunny in Poland"
My sister Anne spells it donuts and I use doughnuts. We both went out and ate some for this post, and we had a good time discussing Geoff Dyer’s essay “Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (with Particular Reference to Doughnut Plant Doughnuts” as the catalyst for this week’s conversion. Sometimes donuts are trash (sometimes … Continue reading "Otherwise Known as the Human Condition (with Particular Reference to Doughnut Plant Doughnuts)"
Anne and I share the stories we read or watched on this week’s Torg Stories Podcast. Check out the links to some of the stories below: Stories Anne Read or Watched the Week of June 15, 2026 “The Infamous San Antonio Love Triangle That Ended in Murder” by Katy Vine Kylian Mbappe is Scoring All … Continue reading "Untold Epstein Story, San Antonio Love Triangle, World Cup Mbappe, Widow’s Bay, and Three Billboards"
We discuss the stories we read and watched including articles about the Knicks winning the NBA Title, the essay “Matricide,” the film Office Romance, and the Apple tv show Widow Bay. (Check out video podcast near the end of this post) Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of June 8, 2026 “The New York … Continue reading "Knicks Win NBA Finals, MVP Brunson, Wemby as a Villain, Matricide, Office Romance and Other Stories We Read or Watched"
We read or watched stories related to the NBA Finals, the billionaires who charter jets to the games, Spike Lee, University GenAI, Contagion, Caitlin Clark and Stephanie White, Castaway, The Bourne Ultimatum, Yellowstone, and the new Obama Library in Chicago. Stories Bill Read or Watched the Week of June 1, 2026… NBA Story: “2026 NBA … Continue reading "Stories We Read and Watched: Knicks and Spurs, University GenAI, Caitlin Clark, Castaway and Obama Library"
The NBA Finals are set: it will be the New York Knicks vs. the San Antonio Spurs. Wemby and the Spurs vanquished the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder in an exciting game 7. Also, at the bottom of this post check out the stories I read or watched this week. At the bottom of the … Continue reading "It’s the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals"
What’s the craziest stuff that’s ever happened to you at work? Any weird interview stories? Anne and I use Thomas Beller’s piece about working at H&H Bagels at 80th and Broadway in NYC to spark our own work-themed conversation. He also inspired us to go out an have local bagels: mine in Boone, NC at … Continue reading "Best and Worst Work Stories and NYC to LA Bagel Testing: Inspired by Thomas Beller’s “Portrait of the Bagel as a Young Man”"
We dive deep into Ryan Gosling’s performance in the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi novel, Project Hail Mary. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace. He’s a molecular biologist who wakes up from a coma on a space ship. What grade do I give the film? Why? My Expectations Leading Up seeing … Continue reading "Project Hail Mary Movie Review: Ryan Gosling and Andy Weir"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I discuss Richard Ford’s short story, “Rock Springs.” Anne, you went to Rock Springs, Wyoming with Earl, Edna, Cheryl, and Little Duke. What did you think? Things could always be worse. You could go to the electric chair tomorrow. -Edna in “Rock Springs” Plot … Continue reading "Richard Ford’s story “Rock Springs”"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I share the principles that guide us as we make playlists for our respective runs and walks. We also hope to try and bring to life for y’all where it is that we run and walk. Anne, what walk did you choose for this … Continue reading "The Art of the Music Playlist: Bill’s for a Mountain Run and Anne’s for a Los Angeles Walk"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I are going to talk about the new Noah Kahan album. It’s titled The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs. Noah Kahan’s album The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs was released during April of 2026. Be sure to check out my … Continue reading "Noah Kahan’s Album The Great Divide and our Favorite Musical Storytellers"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I are discussing the David Foster Wallace essay titled, “Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley.” Anne, if Wallace was a less creative writer, he could have called this “Playing Tennis in Central Illinois.” Acceptance is its own verve -DFW Breaking down the title: Discussion questions: … Continue reading "David Foster Wallace’s “Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley”"
Have you heard about HBO’s television show The Rooster? On this episode, Anne and I discuss episode 1 of the show that stars Steve Carell as the writer Greg Russo. He’s a bumbling, gold-hearted author who says he writes the kind of novels people like to read at the beach. The show follows Greg as … Continue reading "Steve Carell stars in HBO’s Rooster. Is it worth watching?"
In this episode of the Torg Stories Podcast, my sister Anne and I discuss the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours. It was a Big Ten takeover as both Michigan and UCLA won national titles, though the headlines were just as much about some of the coaches as they were about the games. We dive … Continue reading "NCAA Basketball Final Four Podcast"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and will talk about the second weekend of both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. But first Anne, I received some good news! My (very) short film titled The Valle Crucis Park was accepted to the Indie Vegas Film Festival. Bad news: we have … Continue reading "NCAA Basketball Tournament: From the Sweet Sixteen to Final Four"
Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode, Anne and I look back on the men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament first rounds and look ahead to the second. Anne, by my count there were 96 NCAA tournament games televised in the last five days. That’s a lot of basketball! Where does the NCAA … Continue reading "Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament First Round Reactions"
On this episode we’re discussing Anton Chekhov’s marital affair themed short story, “The Lady with the Little Dog.” We’ve got the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments coming up and we invite you to join the Torg Stories Bracket Challenge. We’re doing that through the ESPN website, and I’ve got links on the post for this … Continue reading "A Marital Affair Story: Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Little Dog”"
Our Academy Award Best Picture Oscar picks: One Battle After Another, Sinners, Sentimental Value, Helios, Epic Universe
