Fill Me In

This week, Brian and Ryan are scared of the National Puzzlers' League, emboldened to challenge the talents of certain prominent gamespeople at the ACPT, and looking at the possibility of renaming the…

This week, Alex Verdugo signs with Atlanta for $1.5M. First of all, that's ridiculous. Second of all, why is this part of the Fill Me In universe? Rest assured, Ryan and Brian are unable to answer th…

This week, Ryan and Brian share the glory of the non-defunct XWordInfo (acrostics, anyone?), spill the news of the ACPT constructor lineup, and recognize no particular connection between Irish soda b…

This week, Ryan reports on spring training, drinks Scottish beer, and suggests a potential hot dog tasting competition, while Brian loiters around Syracuse being relatively unproductive. This week's …

Not one but two AI baseball players infiltrate the viewer mail this week (and honestly, we hope more than you do that this marks the end of this nonsense). Outside of that, Ryan and Brian talk briefl…

You know the old adage "victory is sweet, but losing comes with free lessons"? Or ... wait -- is that an axiom? No matter. Ryan is back with Brian to banter about Frank Sinatra, failing to do basic s…

This week, special guest co-host Rachel Fabi joins Brian for the goods and bads of Pittsburgh sports, Cinderella musicals, and New York Times crosswords. If you're able, please support These Puzzles …

This week, Ryan and Brian reminisce about Canada, marvel at the history of technology, and question the quality of really bad movies. (Oh yeah, and it's a normal episode again, sorry about last week.…

This week, Ryan and Brian wonder about missing accolates, consider entering a 45-year-old contest, envy a boat and a pool and a river, and struggle with most of the crosswords from the past seven day…

This week, Ben Zimmer joins Brian in the FMI studio for a thorough recap of the 2024 Word of the Year! Also: NYT games, the ORCAs, a little known fact about Russian poetry, and a Brian Wecht sighting…

This week, Ryan and Brian try to warm up to Letter Boxed, look for hidden meaning in AI art, and remember things Zero Mostel wasn't famous for.

If you get bored (how could you?!), write something f…

This week, Ryan and Brian attempt to pronounce words that may or may not be from other languages, shore up on knowledge of international parking, and despite their grand dreams, have not unlocked the…

This week, Ryan and Brian try to understand holidays in the far north, inter-island travel in the south Pacific, and gamble the entirety of Kealoa on a nearly scripted coin toss. Also, please take a …

This week, Ryan and Brian visit Utah, doubt Dan Feyer, and learn a new word: toothsinkability. The final votes on Ryan's middle name have been cast, and now only time will tell if it was all worth it…

This week, Ryan and Brian discuss fork usage in Italian cuisine, attempt to self-educate in the making of bricks, and predict the future of itinerant outfielder Alex Verdugo. Also, it's the FINAL VOT…

This week, Ryan and Brian learn about the powers of Patreon (not the money part), the films of Park Chan-wook (not the Evil Dead part), and the last four candidates for Ryan's new middle name! Vote i…

This week, Ryan and Brian try to learn about Canadian geography, Latin computer programming, and French literature, but best of all, it's the next round of voting for Ryan's middle name! Vote again a…

Vegas, baby! Ryan is winning big and Brian is ... actually, still in Syracuse. And yet, the show must go on. Voting continues on Ryan's middle name -- it's now the Sweet 16, so vote again and again a…

It's Round Two (the round of 32) of Ryan's Middle Name -- vote AGAIN in the bracket (and see the previous round's scores here). This week, Ryan and Brian do some non-NYT puzzles in the Thunder Round,…