On the Monday Scramble, we're all about helping you survive the holidays.
Let's say you've got a long -- maybe eight hours! -- drive ahead of you. God forbid you should talk. So what will you listen to? Audiobook? Podcast? Music? We know this married couple, Amanda and Neil. She's mostly a musician. He's mostly a writer. This hour, we imagine that eight-hour drive and let each of them program four hours of it.
Oh, by the way, that's Amanda Palmerand Neil Gaiman, guests on the show today. If you don't know their names, imagine a place where everything nerd touches everything cool at one white hot sizzling point. They are the power couple of that place. That's who's getting you ready for your long drive.
What about once you get there? Do you have trouble getting through a big family dinner without enduring a terrible fight? Henry Alford, one of our favorite writers, asked FBI hostage negotiators and other crisis specialists for some tips. He shares them with us.
What are you going to talk about at the table, assuming that it's a bad idea to bring up the act that Aunt Thalia always looked down on your branch of the family? You've still got a few days to catch up on the hottest cultural product of the moment -- the podcast Serial. How geeked-out is the Serial audience? Well, Slate has a weekly podcast about the podcast. Katy Waldman, one of its hosts, will join us to discuss Serialmania and its implications for the podcast genre.
GUESTS:
- Neil Gaiman - Prolific author, married to Amanda Palmer
- Amanda Palmer - Prolific musician, married to Neil Gaiman
- Henry Alford - Author of Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? A Modern Guide to Manners
- Katy Waldman - Staff writer for Slate
SONGS:
- "Back Home Ballers" by Saturday Night Live
- Theme from Serial by Nick Diamonds
- "Cuddly Toy" by Harry Nilsson
