History Podcast / TheFirstPodcast

* ArcWords: Many episode titles are this. After the first few episodes, Lars began a habit of attempting to pull out a phrase or one-liner that accurately presented the ''motif'' of the episode, rather than one that directly described its contents. This is usually not done for the YouTube releases, however, due to focusing on clickability.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Richard, also known as "Game Master Richard Quiner" on YouTube.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Invoked for comedic value, moreso during the beginning. If a guest seemed taken aback by a withering barb that Lars or Joe lobbed at one another, said other would be quick to point out if the jab they just made was, at the end of the day, true.
* JewishComplaining: An early staple of Joe's repertoire.

* LondonEnglandSyndrome: Joe occasionally had problems with this. One infamous example is him thinking Stockholm is located in Germany.

* LongRunnerCastTurnover: Joe's departure and replacement with Amir came after two whole years of production and almost 150 episodes.

* ManipulativeBastard: Lars and Joe, for somewhat different reasons.

* NiceGuy: Lars, outside of banter with Joe and the occasional light-hearted jab toward a guest, is a genuinely nice dude.

* OddFriendship: Played with. Lars and Joe, during the latter's tenure, could have been seen as this by a newcomer to the podcast, as they had wildly contrasting personalities. However, the clashing personalities were purposefully cranked up to eleven for the sake of comedy.

* OnlySaneMan: On episodes with the unpredictable Joe and the aloof Ohan, Lars often found himself in the middle, desperately trying to hold things together.

* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: Lars, Joe and even Alexis would occasionally invoke this trope by very specifically explaining how they are washing their hands of something that was said by a co-host.

* RuleOfThree: Broken by Joe, frequently, with the "awkward fourth" joke on a row.

** In early episodes, Joe would react with angry "Jewish rage" in response to something Lars has said, usually in the form of telling him to "shut up", followed by an over-the-top apology.
** Joe's sexual orientation, during his tenure, would be questioned for no particular reason.
** Lars would also attempt to surreptitiously convince the guests to ask Joe when was the last time he cried.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Played for laughs on several episodes during Joe's tenure, where Lars would notice the current "state" of the show, often with Joe behaving in an extremely cringeworthy manner, and contemplate quitting it altogether.

* ShipperOnDeck: Joe, for Lars and Alexis. Lars, for Ohan and Kirsten Collins. Chris, for Lars and Laura Bailey.

* ShowWithinAShow: Nebraska Coeds, a semi-fictional series within the First Podcast universe. Inspired by a real-life series called "Nebraska Coeds", Joe utilized the name in a surreal way by pretending that it was a legitimate film series resembling the arc structure of Franchise/StarWars.

* TormentByAnnoyance: Joe often asked guests about their luggage preferences, annoying Lars as he considered the subject material incredibly dry.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Played up for laughs on the show during Joe's tenure. Lars and Joe were much more agreeable toward each other in real life.

* WhamEpisode: Occasionally, the show will take a hard turn into serious terrority, featuring guests like a former State Senator involved in a lawsuit alleging that he was ousted for dirty reasons.

* WritersBlock: One of the secondary motivations for switching to a talk show format; Lars and Joe were simply having trouble coming up with new ideas for episodes by themselves.

* SpiritualSuccessor: A cursory viewing of Lars's Website/YouTube channel shows that this show is, actually, this trope to it. While the former is a channel and the latter is a podcast, the comedy and editing style are nearly identical.

* AbandonedCatchphrase: "Boom, roasted," for Joe. Behind the scenes, this was apparently due to Lars noting that it was a bit of a comedic crutch. Joe decided to retire it.

** Joe "attempted" to bring on a possible co-host named Jasmine in an early episode, with her gratuitously bombing the "unplanned" interview during the episode.

** Joe was supposed to get a "character arc" during EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, but this was abandoned when the show shifted toward a talk show format.
** About a dozen or so episode plans, mostly bonus material, will never see the light of day now that Joe has exited the show.
* ADayInTheLimelight: A deleted episode featuring Shirley Raines is an episode in which the hosts decided to simply let the guest tell her story with almost no interjection. As such, the episode became a vessel for a story about a woman helping the homeless, with literally zero gags and only one moment of humor. Lars and Joe considered the format experimental and unusual, albeit in a good way.
* AllThereInTheManual: The podcast contains a ton of additional gags in the official Fandom for the show.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Joe and Lars, for completely different reasons. The former seemed to get himself into an unusually number of situations where he had to remind the audience that he is straight. The latter has a good amount of metrosexual mannerisms about him, and is the one of the two that would be most likely MistakenForGay in real life.

* {{Angrish}}: Was a common mood for Joe.

** Joe would occasionally trigger this trope in early episodes by eating potato chips while recording.

* AntiHumor: Utilized in a very complex, meta manner by both hosts to varying degrees.
* AntiquatedLinguistics: A mild example occured occasionally when Joe used a word that begins with the letters "wh", pronouncing them "hw" in a style that is now considered outdated.

** Joe: Donald Trump

* ArcWords: Many episode titles are this. After the first few episodes, Lars began a habit of attempting to pull out a phrase or one-liner that accurately presented the ''motif'' of the episode, rather than one that directly described its contents.
* AscendedExtra: Ohan, and to a relatively similar extent, Richard. Both were guests who Lars and Joe enjoyed as "friends of the show", and frequently appeared on subsequent episodes as guests hosts.
** Amir was originally a listener of the show who was invited on as a guest twice, and then became a host.
* AscendedFanboy: TJ ("Tiege"), listener of and friend of the show, eventually became the show's agent.
* AsideComment: Was utilized by Joe on rare occasions, but is semi-frequently utilized by Lars in the form of "editor's notes" to explain certain things in post-production.
* AuthorAppeal: Certain guests were brought on specifically because Lars (and, during his tenure, Joe) likes them as a content creator.

* BaitAndSwitch: Too many examples to even list. Can be considered one of the pillars of the show.

* BetaCouple: Subverted with Joe and his former partner. For almost a year, they functioned in the background of the show lore as this, with Lars (and, when present, Alexis) left to explore the foibles of being single. Many episodes discussed the lengthy history Joe had with said partner, including future plans of marriage and moving out of state together. One could hardly see the cracks show, though for eagle-eyed listeners, they were very subtly present. About halfway through the show, however, Joe returned to "ready to mingle" status.
* BerserkButton: Joe had quite an extensive list of them, it would seem, but it was never quite clear what they actually are.
* BigEater: Ohan. Joe once told a tale of a time the two of them went out to eat, in which Ohan got two large burritos with a nonchalance that suggested this was completely normal for him.
* BigShutUp: A previous staple of Joe's early repertoire, which mostly disappeared. On one of his last appearances featuring John Swan as a guest, Lars made an IronicEcho of this.

* BottleEpisode: Later guestless episodes. This is in contrast to the process of procuring, recording with, and releasing the episode for promotion (which is quite involved and can take up to several months). Episodes where Lars and Amir (and formerly Joe) just sit down to blast out a quick and easily editable episode are way easier for the crew.

* ButtMonkey: Joe during his tenure (though he did not favor this in his final months), occasionally Ohan, and very rarely, Lars.

** Joe often introduced himself with an exaggerated and particular "Oh, ''hello''", as a reference to a Series/KrollShow sketch.

* CharacterDevelopment: The persona that Joe adopted on-air evolved drastically over time.

* ClusterFBomb: An early staple of Joe's repertoire, usually downplayed in his later episodes.

* ComicalOverreacting: Whenever someone asked Joe about the last time he cried.

* CoolOldGuy: Vijay Lakshman, the creator of Franchise/TheElderScrolls and a guest on the show at one point. Lars and Joe considered him to be one, and frequently brought him up on subsequent episodes as being a humble and personable guy.

* {{Crossover}}: A curious example in a one-off episode of The Stupid Sequels Podcast, upon which Lars and Joe were the guests. Lars actually edited this episode, and because of that, the end result more closely resembles an episode of The First Podcast than an episode of its own show.
* DidTheyOrDidntThey: Lars and Alexis. It is left completely ambiguous. Not even Joe knew.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Cranked up to eleven on an episode where Alexis amusingly hears a story from Lars and Joe about the former pouring honey all over the latter's face. The incident in question really was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, but it still plays out as this trope in spades.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Joe.

* DoubleActsAndGroups: Lars and Joe, during the latter's tenure.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: A self-dropping by Joe in September 2020 with a sudden announcement that he was leaving in two weeks, shocking the fans (especially on the Discord server).
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early episodes of the show had a lot of this. In part because of these examples, Joe and Lars chose to take down several of them.

** Joe was in a long-term relationship with someone, which suddenly became very outdated after an abrupt end to the engagement.

* EnforcedPlug: At least once an episode now that the show is sponsored. Done as humorously as possible in the hopes that the listener will tolerate it.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Lars on the very first proper moment, and very first joke, of the series (after TheStinger and the intro music). He asked Joe, "As a Jewish person, what do you think..." For some time, Joe was expecting him to continue with a clarification, but he really was just asking him what he thought. As in, in general. This served as a strong showing of the kind of absurd and goofy humor style of the show, with frequent subversions of expectations.

* EveryoneHasStandards: The reason why Lars no longer made jokes about girls being "too old for Joe". While he dismissed criticism that it was an offensive joke to make, as it was clearly tongue-in-cheek, he agreed to curtail usage of it because it could lead to statements being taken out of context (and used against Joe, Lars, or the show in general).

* FanBoy: Lars and Joe, to Manga/DeathNote.
* FanDisservice: On an episode where Alexis is extremely sick, Lars makes a point of not only not editing out her nose-blowing moments, but amplifying them to all hell.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: On the original very first episode of the show, Joe mentioned that one of his dream guests would be Josh Newman, a former California State Senator who he felt was set up for a recall. At least half a year later, this is exactly who they interviewed.
** An April Fool's Day joke episode was released in 2020 stating that Joe was "leaving the show over creative differences", unintentionally foreshadowing this actually happening later in the year.

* HehHehYouSaidX: Once in a while if a guest, for some reason, says the number 69, Lars and (formerly) Joe make an exaggeratingly juvenile observation about that being "the sex number".
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Lars and Joe, during the latter's tenure.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Common outcome for Joe when he would try to set up a gag/prank against Lars.
* HomoeroticSubtext: On Alexis's last guest host appearance, the "honey story" could be easily interpreted this way between Lars and Joe. Ironically, the story refers to an innocuous moment involving actual honey.

* InsultBackfire: Frequently when Joe would toss one at Lars. Explained on an episode with Ohan, in which Joe's persona as the "dorky guy" makes most insults he delivers tend to backfire.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Lars is in his thirties.

'''''The First Podcast''''' is [[https://audioboom.com/channels/4967532 a weekly surrealist comedy talk show podcast]] hosted by Lars Housholder and Amir Ramirez (and, previously, also Joseph Rosenblum and Alexis Keatinge).

The first episode was released on July 27, 2018. Initial episodes, most of which have since been removed, focused on the personal interactions between the hosts. Beginning with what was originally the ninth episode, the show gradually shifted focus toward guest interviews, a format that would eventually come to dominate the show.

Alexis departed the show in late 2018, with Joe also departing in September 2020, being replaced by Amir (known on Website/YouTube as doplex).

* HurtingHero: Though not often shown even slightly, the podcast began at a point of pain in the life of Lars. There was a subtext of "working through a lot of shit" behind his generally cheerful persona that careful listeners should catch.

* {{Corpsing}}: While the show does not enforce any level of seriousness per se, there are occasionally serious guests on an episode. Once in a while, you can hear a very stifled laugh in the background due to the hosts experiencing something funny off-air.
** Lars is especially prone to this during particularly comedic moments, rendering him unable to continue for quite a while at times.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: For a podcast, at least. Lars, Alexis, Joe, Chris, Ohan, Richard, etc.
** Later episodes of the show pared this down quite a bit, focusing on only Lars and Joe, and then Lars and Amir, as hosts.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: Several episodes discuss this at length, mostly about what constitutes the trope.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Lars will often admit this on air; Joe also did during his tenure, though significantly less often over time.

* Catchphrase:

* Subverted by Chris. Lars once harshly criticized Chris for apparently playing Call of Duty as a primarily melee-based fighter, likening this practice to the opposite of the TropeNamer.

* Crossover: A curious example in a one-off episode of The Stupid Sequels Podcast, upon which Lars and Joe were the guests. Lars actually edited this episode, and because of that, the end result more closely resembles an episode of The First Podcast than an episode of its own show.

* Dominatrix: One of the guests, though with completely subverted expectations. Instead of talking about the dominatrix life in any way, the entire episode is devoted to discussing political philosophy and her relationship with someone who later turned out to be major figure of the alt-right.

* Foreshadowing: On the original very first episode of the show, Joe mentioned that one of his dream guests would be Josh Newman, a former California State Senator who he felt was set up for a recall. At least half a year later, this is exactly who they interviewed.

* Later episodes of the show had Lars start cranking this up to eleven.

* Rimshot: Inserted for comedic purposes here and there.

Alexis departed the show in late 2018, with Joe also departing in September 2020, being replaced by Amir (known on YouTube as doplex).

* CreatorInJoke: While technically full of this, anyone can be in on the joke by listening to the live recordings on Discord; a lot of "ThrowItIn" gags will be very obvious to the listener when they hear the finished product.

* ChristmasRushed: The "Christmanakuh Special" in 2019.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: In light of truths being revealed by Cosmodore about his sex crimes, Lars replaced the episode on which he was a guest with a PSA about inappropriate sexual behavior with minors.

* GrowingTheBeard: After about three months, Lars and Joe made an executive decision to almost completely stop doing episodes without guests. It was around this time that the show also began to truly find its stride, and the focus shifted from the personal lives of the hosts to the variety of guests they would interview. The show is objectively better now because of it.
** The show also really came to its own on another level around episode 33, in which they started to interview larger creators.

* HarsherInHindsight: Episodes with Joe's now ex-fiancee in the background, where the two would bicker practically every time. Could be seen as normal couple banter in the past, but now...
** Several episodes in 2020 had jokes about Joe quitting or being replaced with a new host. Welp...

* OldShame: Lars and Joe consider the very early episodes as an example of this, though they don't ''completely'' hate them.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Alexis never 'really' had time to commit to a podcast that records at least twice a week. But dammit, for months she sure did try.

* CombatPragmatist: Subverted by Chris. Lars once harshly criticized Chris for apparently playing Call of Duty as a primarily melee-based fighter, likening this practice to the opposite of the TropeNamer.

* HehHehYouSaidX: Once in a while if a guest, for some reason, says the number 69, Joe and Lars will make an exaggeratingly juvenile observation about that being "the sex number".

'''''The First Podcast''''' is [[https://audioboom.com/channels/4967532 a twice-weekly surrealist comedy talk show podcast]] hosted by Lars Housholder and Joseph Rosenblum.

The show style strays, often drastically, from the typical talk show format. While the hosts may ask what they consider to be "basic" questions here and there, especially at the beginning of episodes, the interviews tend to play out more like casual conversations with the guest (often with elaborate side tangents and the occasional mood whiplash). Episodes also have numerous recurring gags, a surreal editing style, and constant playful banter between the hosts (and between the hosts and the guest).

An early unique factor on the show was that Joe was, at least to some extent, playing a "semi-fictional" version of himself. In early 2020, he decided to largely drop this aspect of the show.

''Tropes that concern only one host or guest host are being migrated to [[Characters/TheFirstPodcast the character sheet]]. Please keep this page to tropes that apply to multiple hosts or the show itself.''

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Lars and Joe are very open about it when a comedic jab at one another is exceptionally humorous.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Joe and Lars, for completely different reasons. The former seems to get himself into an unusually number of situations where he has to remind the audience that he is straight. The latter has a good amount of metrosexual mannerisms about him, and is the one of the two that would be most likely MistakenForGay in real life.

* AscendedExtra: Ohan, and to a relatively similar extent, Richard. Both were guests who Lars and Joe enjoyed as "friends of the show", and have frequently appeared on subsequent episodes as guests hosts.

* AsideComment: Utilized by Joe on rare occasions, but semi-frequently utilized by Lars in the form of "editor's notes" to explain certain things in post-production.

* BetaCouple: Subverted with Joe and his former partner. For almost a year, they functioned in the background of the show lore as this, with Lars (and, when present, Alexis) left to explore the foibles of being single. Many episodes discussed the lengthy history Joe had with said partner, including future plans of marriage and moving out of state together. One could hardly see the cracks show, though for eagle-eyed listeners, they were very subtly present. As of now, however, Joe is back to "ready to mingle" status.

* BigShutUp: A previous staple of Joe's early repertoire, which has mostly disappeared.

* BottleEpisode: Later guestless episodes. This is in contrast to the process of procuring, recording with, and releasing the episode for promotion (which is quite involved and can take up to several months). Episodes where Lars and Joe just sit down to blast out a quick and easily editable episode are way easier for the crew.

* ButtMonkey: Joe, occasionally Ohan, and very rarely, Lars.
* CallBack: Every moment of every sentence in every episode of The First Podcast may contain this trope. To this day, the hosts will reference even things that happened on the very first episode. This is done by the hosts in an attempt to subtly reward long-term listeners.

** Joe often introduces himself with an exaggerated and particular "Oh, ''hello''", as a reference to a Series/KrollShow sketch.

** "You heard it here first!" for either of the hosts, when a guest reveals previously private information.

* CombatPragmatist: Lars once harshly criticized Chris for apparently playing Call of Duty as a primarily melee-based fighter, likening this practice to the opposite of the TropeNamer.

* CoolOldGuy: Vijay Lakshman, the creator of Franchise/TheElderScrolls and a guest on the show at one point. Lars and Joe consider him to be one, and frequently bring him up on subsequent episodes as being a humble and personable guy.
* {{Corpsing}}: While the show does not enforce any level of seriousness per se, there are occasionally serious guests on an episode. Once in a while, you can hear a very stifled laugh in the background due to Lars and Joe experiencing something funny off-air.

* DidTheyOrDidntThey: Lars and Alexis. It is left completely ambiguous. Not even Joe knows.

* DoubleActsAndGroups: Lars and Joe. While Lars occasionally hosts the show by himself, the overwhelming majority of episodes feature Joe as well.

** Episodes featured frequent dramatic readings of FanFic/MyImmortal. The hosts have essentially abandoned this, as it makes for exceptionally NSFW episodes.

* EveryoneHasStandards: The reason why Lars no longer makes jokes about girls being "too old for Joe". While he dismissed criticism that it was an offensive joke to make, as it was clearly tongue-in-cheek, he agreed to curtail usage of it because it could lead to statements being taken out of context (and used against Joe, Lars, or the show in general).

* FanBoy: The hosts, to Manga/DeathNote.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Lars and Joe.

* InitiationCeremony: The original first two episodes of the podcast were auditions for the co-hosts to be a member of the show.

* InsultBackfire: Frequently when Joe tosses one at Lars. Explained on an episode with Ohan, in which Joe's persona as the "dorky guy" makes most insults he delivers tend to backfire.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Invoked for comedic value. If a guest seems taken aback by a withering barb that Lars or Joe has lobbed at one another, said other will be quick to point out if the jab they just made was, at the end of the day, true.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: For a podcast, at least. Listeners are eventually expected to keep track of a total of ''six'' different hosts: Lars and Joe, the main two hosts; Alexis, co-host in absentia; Chris, a friend of the show and frequent guest host on early episodes; and Ohan and Richard, recurring guest hosts for "Bros Night" episodes. ''Any'' of the latter four were fair game to show up on literally any early episode, and there is almost no consistency to it, which led to a very staccato flow of, "Who the hell is gonna be on this time?".
** Later episodes of the show pared this down quite a bit, focusing on only Lars and Joe as hosts.

* NeverMyFault: Guest Luke, from the aptly named Website/YouTube channel WebVideo/NotMyFault, explained that his channel name comes from him being an example of this trope.
* NonIndicativeFirstEpisode: Other than perhaps a vague similarity in sense of humor, the original first episode of the podcast would give the listener absolutely zero expectations of future genre or format.

* OddFriendship: Played with. Lars and Joe could be seen as this by a newcomer to the podcast, as they have wildly contrasting personalities. However, the clashing personalities are purposefully cranked up to eleven for the sake of comedy. In real life, they are both much more amiable and much more professional to each other. They have occasionally mentioned on-air or in social media interactions that if a listener were to see a private chat between the two in comparison to their podcast conversations, they would scarcely believe the difference in vibe and tone.

* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: Lars, Joe and even Alexis will occasionally invoke this trope by very specifically explaining how they are washing their hands of something that was said by a co-host.

** Joe's sexual orientation will be questioned for no particular reason.
** Lars will attempt to surreptitiously convince the guests to ask Joe when was the last time he cried.

** The hosts will note that the guest should be answering all questions "as if their life depended on it".

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Played for laughs on several episodes, where Lars will notice the current "state" of the show, often with Joe behaving in an extremely cringeworthy manner, and contemplate quitting it altogether.

* SixthRanger: Ohan, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Richard. Both are recurring guest hosts.

* TheStinger: While few and far in between, several episodes do contain extra material after the outro music. Lars tends to avoid doing this too often, as he feels the gags would potentially be missed by fans who may not bother to check the timestamp once they hear the ostensible "ending" of the episode.
* TheTeaser: Every single episode begins with a comical cold open. Sometimes this includes statements that are humorous of their own accord, while other times they contain gags that pay off later in the episode.

* TormentByAnnoyance: Joe often asks guests about their luggage preferences, annoying Lars as he considers the subject material incredibly dry.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Played up for laughs on the show. Lars and Joe are much more agreeable toward each other in real life.

The first episode was released on July 27, 2018. Initial episodes, most of which have since been removed focused on the personal interactions between the hosts. Beginning with what was originally the ninth episode, the show gradually shifted focus toward guest interviews, a format that would eventually come to dominate the show.

The show style strays, often drastically, from the typical talk show format. While the hosts may ask what they consider to be "basic" questions here and there, especially at the beginning of episodes, the interviews tend to play out more like casual conversations with the guest. Episodes also have numerous recurring gags, a surreal editing style, and constant playful banter between the hosts (and between the hosts and the guest).

Another unique factor to the show is that the hosts are, at least to some extent, playing "semi-fictional" versions of their real life selves.[[note]]Joe plays things more semi-fictional than Lars, who is different, but still very similar to his real self.[[/note]] As such, they can be seen as characters, with story arcs and development over time.

* AllThereInTheManual: The podcast contains a ton of additional gags in the official Wikia for the show.

** Joe will occasionally trigger this trope by eating potato chips while recording.

* LeftItIn: Done on the original very first episode with a loud throat-clearing that Lars said he would edit out.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: For a podcast, at least. Listeners are eventually expected to keep track of a total of ''six'' different hosts: Lars and Joe, the main two hosts; Alexis, co-host in absentia; Chris, a friend of the show and frequent guest host on early episodes; and Ohan and Richard, recurring guest hosts for "Bros Night" episodes. ''Any'' of the latter four were fair game to show up on literally any early episode, and there is almost on consistency to it, which led to a very staccato flow of, "Who the hell is gonna be on this time?".
* Later episodes of the show pared this down quite a bit, focusing on only Lars and Joe as hosts.

* OnceAnEpisode: In almost every guest interview, the hosts will posit at least one hypothetical question.

** Joe will react with angry "Jewish rage" in response to something Lars has said, usually in the form of telling him to "shut up", followed by an over-the-top apology.

** Lars will attempt to surreptitiously convince the guests to ask when was the last time he cried.

* RuleOfFunny: Established from the first episode as a guiding principle of the podcast, with a focus on "comedy over logic".

* UsefulNotes/AvoidingSexualHarassment: On one episode, a lengthy segment is devoted to discussion about sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as what the hosts consider to be inappropriate behavior (such as talking about sex and relationships on the job, touching someone beyond normal polite social gestures, and so on).

** Alexis as a co-host was aborted after episode 23.
** Joe "attempted" to bring on a possible co-host named Jasmine in episode 41, with her gratuitously bombing the "unplanned" interview during the episode.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Episode 57, featuring Shirley Raines, is an episode in which the hosts decided to simply let the guest tell her story with almost no interjection. As such, the episode became a vessel for a story about a woman helping the homeless, with literally zero gags and only one moment of humor. Lars and Joe considered the format experimental and unusual, albeit in a good way.

* AnnoyingBackgroundEvent: On many episodes, one of the hosts will begin typing furiously, which disrupts the audio of the episode (usually to the chagrin of Lars).

* AntiHumor: Utiilized in a very complex, meta manner by both hosts to varying degrees.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Nearly the entire focus of the show in very early episodes between Lars and Alexis. Seemingly abandoned when Alexis was PutOnABus after episode 23, but resurrected in episode 66 in which she returned.
* BetaCouple: Subverted with Joe and Alexa. For over 70 episodes, they functioned in the background of the show lore as this, with Lars (and, when present, Alexis) left to explore the foibles of being single. Many episodes discussed the lengthy history Joe had with Alexa, including future plans of marriage and moving out of state together. One could hardly see the cracks show, though for eagle-eyed listeners, they were very subtly present. As of now, however, Joe is back to "ready to mingle" status.

* BrickJoke: Occasionally, the hosts will debate over which Pokemon would disrupt society the most. As a gag, Lars edited the audio of an early episode to insert Pachirisu as a (nonsensical) early "winner" of this debate. A chronological consumption of the show has thus become this trope.

** Joe generally introduces himself with an exaggerated and particular "Oh, ''hello''", as a reference to a Series/KrollShow sketch.

* CombatPragmatist: also once harshly criticized Chris for apparently playing Call of Duty as a primarily melee-based fighter, likening this practice to the opposite of the TropeNamer.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early episodes of the show had a lot of this. In part because of these examples, Joe and Lars are notably ambivalent in terms of how they feel about them in retrospect.

* FlashbackBackBack: Many episodes have a "rewind gag" with the same stock sound effect, although they almost never actually flash back, instead inserting random unrelated audio from some other media.
* Foreshadowing: On the very first episode of the show, Joe mentioned that one of his dream guests would be Josh Newman, a former California State Senator who he felt was set up for a recall. Forty-two episodes later, this is exactly who they interviewed.

* GenreShift: From romantic comedy to talk show, beginning in episode nine.
* GrowingTheBeard: After the 47th episode, Lars and Joe made an executive decision to almost completely stop doing episodes without guests. It was around this time that the show also began to truly find its stride, and the focus shifted from the personal lives of the hosts to the variety of guests they would interview. The show is objectively better now because of it.
* HandWave: The reason for Alexis's absence was given as "medical leave" due to a "sea witch" stealing her voice, as of episode 66.
* HarsherInHindsight: Episodes with Alexa in the background, where the two would bicker practically every time. Could be seen as normal couple banter in the past, but now...

* HomoeroticSubtext: On episode 66, the "honey story" could be easily interpreted this way between Lars and Joe. Ironically, the story refers to an innocuous moment involving actual honey.

* InitiationCeremony: The first two episodes of the podcast were auditions for the co-hosts to be a member of the show.

* LampshadeHanging: First a gag is done legitimately. Then a gag is lampshaded. Then a gag is abandoned. Then a gag is resurrected in a bizarre postmodern form. Wash, rinse, response.
* LeftItIn: Done on the very first episode with a loud throat-clearing that Lars said he would edit out.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: For a podcast, at least. Listeners are eventually expected to keep track of a total of ''six'' different hosts: Lars and Joe, the main two hosts; Alexis, co-host in absentia; Chris, a friend of the show and frequent guest host; and Ohan and Richard, recurring guest hosts for "Bros Night" episodes. ''Any'' of the latter four are fair game to show up on literally any episode, and there is almost on consistency to it, leading to a very staccato flow of, "Who the hell is gonna be on this time?".

** When reacting to voicemails that people have left who are merely asking Joe about the last time he cried, he always ends his angry tirade with "Thanks for sending us a voicemail" in a pleasant tone.

* NonIndicativeFirstEpisode: Other than perhaps a vague similarity in sense of humor, the first episode of the podcast would give the listener absolutely zero expectations of future genre or format.

** One episode is called "Climbing Skyscrapers with Joe Biden". Biden is not on the episode.

* PutOnABus: After episode 23, Alexis suddenly disappeared from her regular hosting duties. The show later mentioned that this was due to real-life scheduling complications, and that she was welcome back on whenever her time allowed.
* RadioVoice: Voicemail clips that the hosts listen to on-air are intentionally processed in this way for consistency.

* Rimshot: Inserted for comedic purposes very frequently on an episode with standup comedian Evan Cassidy, who would often proclaim himself a "Casser of wide nets". Ba-dum-tsh.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Alexis never 'really' had time to commit to a podcast that records at least twice a week. But dammit, for 23 episode she sure did try.

* ThemeTune: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3VT8bU-gEQ '''Wild Pogo''' by Francis Preve]] for the intro, a free-to-use track from the Website/YouTube audio library. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDsutpOxchc '''Mallgrip''' by Draape]] for the outro. Lars has stated he is happy to pay the latter for usage of it, but can't imagine he cares (also, the portion is already sampled itself by Draape).

* WhamEpisode: Occasionally, the show will take a hard turn into serious terrority, featuring guests like a former State Senator involved in a lawsuit alleging that he was ousted for dirty reasons, or someone who does a very difficult job of assisting troubled homeless in Skid Row.

The first episode was released on July 27, 2018. Initial episodes focused on the personal interactions between the hosts. Beginning with the ninth episode, the show gradually shifted focus toward guest interviews, a format that would eventually come to dominate the show.

* FetishFuel: If you're into feet, there's an episode with Alexis you should probably consume.

* SpiritualSuccessor: A cursory viewing of Lars's YouTube channel shows that this show is, actually, this trope to it. While the former is a channel and the latter is a podcast, the comedy and editing style are nearly identical.

* ThemeTune: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3VT8bU-gEQ '''Wild Pogo''' by Francis Preve]] for the intro, a free-to-use track from the YouTube audio library. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDsutpOxchc '''Mallgrip''' by Draape]] for the outro. Lars has stated he is happy to pay the latter for usage of it, but can't imagine he cares (also, the portion is already sampled itself by Draape).