Hello from Baehr and Curadh, a podcast from the Land of Awes Information Services.
This is episode 166 of the Baehr and Curadh podcast.
We're going to do a deep dive on the Baehr and Curadh podcast.
Curadh is in New Jersey.
He's going to pick up his mother from the hospital and bring her here to us in Wichita.
And there can't be a Baehr and Curadh podcast without both Baehr and Curadh.
So, we're going to listen to a deep dive on the podcast instead.
Welcome back to the deep dive.
So today we've got a really interesting task you've given us.
Yeah, a big one.
We're looking at this huge archive.
What is it, over 160 episodes?
That's right.
And trying to, well, distill the essence of the Baehr and Curadh podcast.
Based on their whole catalog and their mission statement.
Exactly.
And the mission itself is pretty interesting.
It really is.
It features two hosts.
They're married.
They're gay.
Got it.
And they talk about life, synergy, and the pursuit of happiness.
Yeah.
But the format is key, isn't it?
They ask each other questions.
And then they discuss the answers, but always within the context of their marriage.
Right.
That's the unique angle.
So, our goal here, for you listening, is to synthesize all that content.
We want to map out how Baehr and Curadh, let's call them B and C maybe?
Sure.
B and C works.
How B and C managed to balance the really personal stuff with the,
you know, the political and the deep thoughts with some pretty quirky things, too.
Okay.
Quite a mix.
Where should we start?
Well, let's start with the foundation, right?
The relationship itself.
Makes sense.
Because, honestly, it feels like everything else anchors back to that.
It's not just, like, a backdrop.
No, it's the filter.
It's the whole context.
And you see that right from the start if you look through the archive.
They have early episodes literally titled Relationship.
And then they keep coming back to it.
Like, episode 111 is just called,
And 110 is Aging Gracefully.
Yeah, it shows it's an ongoing thing for them,
defining their relationship, not just a one-off intro.
Totally.
And because that's the framework, it means they have to be,
well, pretty open, vulnerable, even.
Oh, definitely.
And you, the listener, you get a real window into their shared life.
It's not just the romantic side.
No, it's the practical stuff, too.
Their histories.
They have episodes on childhood, family.
And before coming out, looking gay.
Kind of tracing their individual paths into the relationship.
Right.
But the bits that really jumped out, I think, were the health episodes.
Some of that is really unexpected.
Yeah, I mean, talking about chronic pain or disability, that's already quite personal.
But then they go into these really specific acute events.
Like, there's an episode on a gallbladder rupture.
And even amputation.
Yeah.
Which is, wow.
That's incredibly personal to share.
It really is heady stuff.
But I think by talking about these things, you know, chronic pain,
losing a limb through that shared relationship lens.
It kind of normalizes it, or at least makes it less isolating.
Yeah, I think so.
And it also becomes a statement about them as a unit, about survival, maybe even accessibility, you know.
Exactly.
They're building this picture of shared vulnerability, episode by episode.
It's quite powerful.
And once you've established that level of intimacy, that shared history, including the tough stuff.
Then looking at the outside world, the political world, it suddenly has very personal stakes, which I guess brings us to
the next big theme.
Yeah.
The second pillar seems to be very clearly LGBTQ+ politics, history, and identity.
And there's a lot of content here.
It feels like, for BNC, the pursuit of happiness they talk about.
It's directly linked to political safety, to legal rights.
Absolutely.
It's not abstract for them.
You see a really strong focus on marriage and legal status.
Right.
Early episodes on gay marriage, later ones like gay marriage facts, standard stuff, maybe.
But important.
Importantly, they don't just like celebrate the wins.
They actually have a whole episode asking, what happens if gay marriage is overturned?
Which is pretty critical analysis, right?
It shows they're thinking about the threats, the fragility.
Yeah.
It's not just feel-good chat.
It feels like advocacy almost.
Yeah.
Kind of vigilance.
And they broaden out to discussing the Equal Rights Amendment, queer politics in general.
And they dig into history, too.
There's one called Things Gay People Have Been Blamed For.
Wow.
Yeah.
And looking at activism roots, like the Stonewall Bridge history.
So, they're really contextualizing the present, saying you need to understand this history of blame, this history of struggle.
Exactly.
It's comprehensive.
It's not just surface level.
And alongside the politics and history, there's the cultural side of identity.
Mm-hmm.
Defining things like what is pride, speculating on the gayest occupations, which sounds fun.
Yeah.
And ranking things like top gay movie.
It's a whole cultural exploration.
But again, not just like gay.
It's light stuff.
They also tackle internalized homophobia.
That's important.
It shows self-awareness, right?
Recognizing the internal struggles even within a strong relationship.
Totally.
It adds another layer of depth.
But here's where their personalities really shine, I think.
They can go from that serious stuff.
To an episode titled Gay Celebrity, Top or Bottom.
Exactly.
Or analyzing the Colton Underwood gay test.
Right.
It shows they don't take themselves too seriously all the time.
They can handle weighty topics, but still bring humor.
And maybe a bit of irreverence.
Yeah.
Self-aware humor keeps it engaging for the listener, presumably.
And that theme of pride, for instance, you see it pop up again and again, from really
early episodes right through to recent ones, like documenting our booth at the Gay Pride
Festival.
So, it's a constant thread.
Okay.
Let me push back slightly here.
Ask a question.
Go for it.
If everything gets filtered through their relationship, amputation, legal rights, everything
does that risk, I don't know, minimizing the broader picture?
Or is there a broader political stakes for people outside their relationship?
That's a fair question.
Does the personal lens make it too narrow?
Maybe.
Or does it make it more powerful?
I actually think the sources suggest it makes it more powerful.
By tying these huge, sometimes abstract political fights directly to their specific, shared
life.
It makes the threats feel real.
Concrete.
Exactly.
When they ask what happens if gay marriage is overturned, it's not academic.
It's about their marriage, their life together.
Hmm.
It seems to amplify the stakes, not reduce them.
Okay.
That makes a lot of sense.
It grounds the political and the personal reality.
Precisely.
All right.
So, let's move to the third major area we identified.
This is where things get really broad, showing off their, well, their curiosity.
Yeah.
This is the beyond identity stuff.
Yeah.
They promised synergy and the pursuit of happiness.
Right?
Yeah.
And for them, that seems to cover, well, almost anything.
Pop culture, philosophy, random trivia.
Definitely.
They get into some pretty abstract territory.
Yeah.
One on concepts or one on truthiness, which is always interesting.
And I saw one titled, "Why stupid people become successful."
That sounds provocative.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
You can tell they just enjoy thinking about big, tricky questions.
And they clearly love language, too.
There are episodes on common misconceptions, strange words.
Oh, yeah.
And specific debates, like about the word "mankind" or whether "funnest" is a real
word.
They like digging into those details.
Linguistic puzzles.
Sounds like they enjoy puzzles in general.
Definitely.
Which leads into the pop culture stuff, too.
They do the classic debates, you know, Star Wars versus Star Trek.
A cornerstone of geek culture.
Of course.
But they also have these really creative quiz episodes.
My favorite title has to be, "Star Wars Planet or Prescription Medicine?"
Okay.
That's brilliant.
It sounds like a genuinely hard quiz.
All right.
Let's try it.
Okay.
Hit me.
Alderon.
Planet.
Easy.
Lipitor.
Medicine.
Okay.
I see how this works.
It's random but fun.
Exactly.
And that randomness pops up elsewhere, too, like a "Can You See Ghosts" test or an episode
on urban legends.
So, they really embrace the peculiar alongside the profound.
It feels like their definition of pursuit of happiness is just incredibly wide-ranging.
It includes everything from ghosts to grammar to political leadership.
And just to touch on the political again, sticking to our impartiality rule, the archive
does include episodes analyzing speech and language.
All right.
Let's do that.
All right.
That's great.
All right.
That's great.
All right.
That's great.
All right.
That's great.
All right.
That's great.
All right.
So, if you look at the archive, it's not just about the political and the personality
rule.
The archive does include episodes analyzing specific political statements or executive
orders from the time.
Right.
But it seems, from the descriptions and context, these are discussed as external factors impacting
them, their relationship, their synergy.
It fits the overall framework.
Yeah.
It all comes back to that central idea.
Yeah.
How does the world politics, pop culture, weird words affect us, our life together?
That seems to be the core method, discussing everything through that intimate filter.
It's consistent.
Okay.
Now, if people listening are intrigued by this and want to check out the Baehr and
Curadh archive for themselves, we should give them the practical details.
Good idea.
How can you actually listen or connect?
Right.
So, the main way to get all 160 plus episodes is their RSS feed.
Yep.
The URL is https://www.awes.com/podcast/bc/bcrss.xml.
Let's spell out that domain, awes.com.
So, if you're listening to this podcast, you're watching this podcast, you're listening to
this podcast.
Yeah.
So, awes.com/podcast/bcbcrss.xml.
Got it.
And if you want to contact them?
Their email is podcast@awes.com.
Pretty straightforward.
And they seem to have a community aspect too.
Yeah.
They mentioned a Discord server and also being on Mastodon.
So, those would be the places for listener interaction, joining the conversation.
And the producer is Land of Awes Information Services.
Good to know.
Okay.
So, wrapping this up, what's the big picture here?
Well, it seems the Baehr and Curadh podcast really does deliver on its promise, talking
about life and synergy.
And the sheer range is kind of the same.
Yeah.
I mean, it's a lot of different things.
It's a lot of different things.
Yeah.
From EVP questions, that's electronic voice phenomenon, right?
Yeah.
Ghost hunting tech.
Right.
From that, all the way to debates about the Queen's English, it covers a huge spectrum.
But the key takeaway, I think, for you listening, is how powerful their specific
method is.
Filtering everything through the relationship.
Exactly.
Taking the best out of everything.
Yeah.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
Yeah.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
That's right.
Taking the best out of everything.
Exactly.
Taking massive societal things, political stability, LGBTQ+ rights, all that, and
processing it through the very specific, very intimate lens of their own marriage.
It makes the big abstract stuff feel immediate and relatable.
Yeah.
It turns political questions into personal consequences, which is a really effective
framework.
Okay.
So that leads us to our final thought for you to consider.
That provocative question time.
Right.
Given this constant focus on their intimate relationship alongside these really complex
sometimes scary political topics, like that episode, what happens if gay marriage is overturned?
How does framing these big societal issues through the lens of one specific marriage
change how you as a listener understand them?
Does it make the huge macro issues feel more manageable because you see them playing
out on a human scale?
Or conversely, does it mostly just drive home the incredibly high personal stakes
involved in every political shift, every legal decision?
Yeah.
It's something to chew on, maybe, if you decide to dive into their archive yourself.
Definitely something to think about.
Well, thanks for joining us for this deep dive.
We'll catch you next time.
This was episode 166 of The Baehr and Curadh podcast.
Goodbye.
You have been listening to the Baehr and Curadh Podcast,
a production of the Land of Awes Information Services.
We can be contacted via email
using the address podcast@awes.com
and Awes is spelled A-W-E-S.