Pete Brown Says

[Bonus] Stop Hittin' Yourself

Episode  |  December 28th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  31 mins 36 secs

christmas shopping, costco, groceries, holiday shopping, narrative, shopping, story, tire salesmen, tires, tyres

In this bonus Season One episode, Pete faces his greatest challenge yet: buying a set of tires at Costco. Can he do it, or will it devolve into an absurdist folly? I think you know the answer to that. Plus: Reflections on Season 1.

Cut to the Chase

Episode  |  December 18th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  30 mins 52 secs

billy idol, catholic school, catholocism, ccd, cleveland, curriculum, eighth grade, middle school, middle school news, psr, rebel yell, religion class, rosa parks, seventh grade, singing, tape recorder

Pete shares four stories about odd assignments in middle school religion class, and wonders about the ready-to-retire teacher who assigned them.

Vote for Pedro

Episode  |  December 12th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  25 mins 33 secs

apache chief, aquaman, batman and robin, black vulcan, brooklyn nets, buckwheat, buckwheat assassination, buckwheat sings, chief wahoo, cleveland cavaliers, cleveland indians, eddie murphy, el dorado, flash, green lantern, hawkman, little rascals, luis scola, napoleon dynamite, otay, pedro, puddy, samurai, saturday night live, seinfeld, snl, superfriends, superman, tonto english, toronto raptors, tribe, twitter, vote for pedro, wonder woman

From Napoleon Dynamite to Buckwheat to the Superfriends to Power Forward Luis Scola to Chief Wahoo: Pete connects the pop culture dots to arrive a deeper conclusion.

Three Drinks at the Turn

Episode  |  December 3rd, 2017  |  Season 1  |  24 mins 42 secs

bully, bullying, caddy, caddying, caddyshack, country club, curse, cursing, golf, hazing, mopeds, wealth

Pete's been telling a lame joke about golf for years. In this episode, he traces it back to the summer he spent caddying at a country club.

The Orange Badge of Courage

Episode  |  November 27th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  37 mins 2 secs

alma mater, animals, busties, civil war, couch fort, dogs, endwar, fireworks, humans vs zombies, hvz, joseph conrad, literature, nerf, nerf darts, nerf guns, novel, ohio university, parakeets, pets, pillow fight, pillow fort, red badge of courage, smoke bombs, sock ninjas, stand up and cheer, stephen crane

What does it mean to be the cool parent? How did Stephen Crane write so convincingly about battle? A weekend-long game of Humans vs. Zombies holds some answers.

A Pillowcase Mystery

Episode  |  November 13th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  35 mins 27 secs

1972 olympics, 1976 olympics, 1984 olympics, bed linens, branding, childhood ephemera, flashlights, grocery lists, head lamps, mark spitz, mark spitz art, markspitzusa, merch, merchandising, munich olympic, olympic merch, olympic swimming, olympics, pillowcase, pillowcases, pillows, spitz, swimming

An item from my childhood resurfaces in my adult life, awash in mystery. I attempt to get to the bottom of the Pillowcase Mystery.

I become *that* Dad.

Episode  |  November 6th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  32 mins 36 secs

cleats, cleveland, columbus, columbus crew, jersey, kit, major league soccer, select team, shin guards, soccer, travel team, u5 soccer, u7 soccer, westlake warriors

Pete wrestles with an unruly essay about soccer and wonders why there are some things he just can't let go of.

Trying Something You Thought You'd Be Good At

Episode  |  October 29th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  24 mins 40 secs

american football, bad calls, calls, fall, fall sports, flag football, football, freelance, hang gliding, head ref, officals, officiating, omfg that call is unbelievable what game are you watching?, parks and rec, rec sports, recreation, ref, referee, referee gear, refereeing, rowing, san marcos daily record, sanmarcos baptist academy, sports, sports gear, sports journalism, sportswriting, terrible, touch football, volleyball, youth sports

Is there something you always thought you’d be good at, but never have actually tried? Well, there was something I thought I’d be good at, and finally went out and tried it. Like Fall? Like Football? Like Foibles? This is the episode for you.

Two Lies and a Truth

Episode  |  October 22nd, 2017  |  Season 1  |  25 mins 42 secs

baseball, bon jovi, bonjovi, chocolate beers, game ball, high school basketball, hit by pitch, hypnotism, jon bon jovi, k-mart, kiddie rides, lies, little league, lying, meijer, ponies, race car, sandy, sociopaths, why we lie

Why do we tell lies? And once you tell a lie, can you just move on with your life? Or does the canard haunt you?

In this episode, I explore lying by diving into a few corkers that I've told over the years. Plus, what it takes to get hit by a pitch in baseball, and listener stories about a basketball career that should have been and a man who may or may not have believed himself to be Jon Bon Jovi.

I Are Smart

Episode  |  October 15th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 59 secs

a dollar, buttons, catholic schools, catholocism, dr. who, fan fiction, fanfic, four bits, harley quinn, homag, ikea wrenches, irish, irish americans, jubilee, junk drawers, pepsi, pepsi spirit, pins, plagiarism, six bits, two bits

When is something an homage to source material, and when is it plagiarism? I explore the line between them, fan fiction, junk drawers and the time I got totally gypped in a button design contest.

Made-up Words

Episode  |  October 8th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  20 mins 51 secs

charlie brown, esl, family, hallmark, lamination, laminator, language, linguistic development, lucy van pelt, made up words, peanuts, posters, snoopy, swirlies, swirly, words

Do you have a word that's unique to your family only? Or maybe a funny pronunciation that's carried through from you or your kiddo's childhood? Most made-up words have unique backstories just below their surface. In this episode, we get to the bottom of a few made-up words

Homecoming: On Memory, Plus the View from Under the Bus

Episode  |  October 8th, 2017  |  Season 1  |  26 mins 12 secs

bonfire, creative nonfiction, film, high school homecoming, high school stories, homecoming, homecoming court, homecoming dance, homecoming king, homecoming queen, homecoming traditions, memoir, memory, newspaper, nonfiction, school newspaper, texas a&m bonfire collapse

Episode 0 previews the forthcoming 10 episode season of creative nonfiction memoir, explores how Pete's memory works, and concludes with a bonus story: Homecoming, plus the View from Under the Bus.