Your Dark Companion Podcast

It’s the last live hang before the holidays, and Your Dark Companion does what it does best: wanders happily from topic to topic, trips over nostalgia, and somehow lands on donuts, Rubik’s Cubes, World Series box scores, and the existential sadness of aging rock stars.
Mike, Grego, Shoopy, and Kevin (Expo) settle in at Dudley’s for a loose, laugh-heavy, very OG holiday episode. Shoopy drops a major life update, Expo casually solves a Rubik’s Cube while talking football, and the crew takes a long scenic drive through Cowboys dysfunction, Rangers reality, NFL parity, ancient radio carts, Philly snowballs, and the unspoken rules of bands that should (or should not) still be touring.
It’s funny, rambling, sentimental, sarcastic, occasionally profound, and exactly what a pre-Christmas episode of YDC should be. No agenda. No rush. Just stories, opinions, memories, and a lot of candy.
Happy holidays from the boys. We’ll see you on the other side.
CHAPTERS
00:01:19 – Live from Dudley’s & The Last Live Show (For a Bit)00:02:45 – Christmas Pressure Is Real (And Can Ruin Lives Until May)00:05:02 – Shoopy’s Big News: Married and Still Standing00:07:21 – No Proposal Video, No Film Crew, No Regrets00:09:14 – The Legend of Multiple Wives (Mostly Fictional)00:12:22 – Expo’s Superpower: Solving a Rubik’s Cube Mid-Conversation00:14:33 – Radio Archaeology: Carts, Magnets, and Primitive Glory00:18:03 – Let’s Talk Sports (Unfortunately)00:18:15 – Cowboys Playoff Hopes (LOL)00:19:36 – Jerry’s Stadium, The Sun, and Eternal Denial00:21:25 – Cowboys Dysfunction: A Holiday Tradition00:22:36 – Are They Actually Close… or Just Delusional?00:25:02 – Franchise Tags, Divas, and Wide Receiver Psychology00:28:37 – Fans, Fights, and DK Metcalf Losing a Million Dollars00:34:24 – Geography Is Fake: Kansas City, Texarkana, and the Quad Cities00:40:30 – Coaches, Motorcycles, and the Bobby Petrino Resume00:44:00 – NFL Parity: Everyone’s Good, Everyone’s Bad00:48:40 – Bears, Packers, and Why That Game Ruled00:53:34 – Rangers Reality Check: Gap Year Incoming00:59:34 – 2023 Afterglow: Playing With House Money01:04:29 – Philly Snowballs, Media Trauma, and Almost Fighting Fans01:10:56 – Nate Newton, The LeBaron, and Driving Cowboys Home01:12:08 – 50 Years of David Finfrock01:13:01 – Christmas Gifts Appear (Chaos Ensues)01:19:50 – Bobbleheads, Memorabilia, and Genuine Joy01:27:00 – World Series Scorebook: Pure Baseball Nerd Bliss01:33:00 – Bands, Aging Icons, and When to Stop Touring01:41:26 – Concert Stories, Crutches, and Expo’s Moral Code01:45:13 – Holiday Hiatus, Best-Ofs, and See You Soon

Show Notes

It’s the last live hang before the holidays, and Your Dark Companion does what it does best: wanders happily from topic to topic, trips over nostalgia, and somehow lands on donuts, Rubik’s Cubes, World Series box scores, and the existential sadness of aging rock stars.

Mike, Grego, Shoopy, and Kevin (Expo) settle in at Dudley’s for a loose, laugh-heavy, very OG holiday episode. Shoopy drops a major life update, Expo casually solves a Rubik’s Cube while talking football, and the crew takes a long scenic drive through Cowboys dysfunction, Rangers reality, NFL parity, ancient radio carts, Philly snowballs, and the unspoken rules of bands that should (or should not) still be touring.

It’s funny, rambling, sentimental, sarcastic, occasionally profound, and exactly what a pre-Christmas episode of YDC should be. No agenda. No rush. Just stories, opinions, memories, and a lot of candy.

Happy holidays from the boys. We’ll see you on the other side.

CHAPTERS

00:01:19 – Live from Dudley’s & The Last Live Show (For a Bit)
00:02:45 – Christmas Pressure Is Real (And Can Ruin Lives Until May)
00:05:02 – Shoopy’s Big News: Married and Still Standing
00:07:21 – No Proposal Video, No Film Crew, No Regrets
00:09:14 – The Legend of Multiple Wives (Mostly Fictional)
00:12:22 – Expo’s Superpower: Solving a Rubik’s Cube Mid-Conversation
00:14:33 – Radio Archaeology: Carts, Magnets, and Primitive Glory
00:18:03 – Let’s Talk Sports (Unfortunately)
00:18:15 – Cowboys Playoff Hopes (LOL)
00:19:36 – Jerry’s Stadium, The Sun, and Eternal Denial
00:21:25 – Cowboys Dysfunction: A Holiday Tradition
00:22:36 – Are They Actually Close… or Just Delusional?
00:25:02 – Franchise Tags, Divas, and Wide Receiver Psychology
00:28:37 – Fans, Fights, and DK Metcalf Losing a Million Dollars
00:34:24 – Geography Is Fake: Kansas City, Texarkana, and the Quad Cities
00:40:30 – Coaches, Motorcycles, and the Bobby Petrino Resume
00:44:00 – NFL Parity: Everyone’s Good, Everyone’s Bad
00:48:40 – Bears, Packers, and Why That Game Ruled
00:53:34 – Rangers Reality Check: Gap Year Incoming
00:59:34 – 2023 Afterglow: Playing With House Money
01:04:29 – Philly Snowballs, Media Trauma, and Almost Fighting Fans
01:10:56 – Nate Newton, The LeBaron, and Driving Cowboys Home
01:12:08 – 50 Years of David Finfrock
01:13:01 – Christmas Gifts Appear (Chaos Ensues)
01:19:50 – Bobbleheads, Memorabilia, and Genuine Joy
01:27:00 – World Series Scorebook: Pure Baseball Nerd Bliss
01:33:00 – Bands, Aging Icons, and When to Stop Touring
01:41:26 – Concert Stories, Crutches, and Expo’s Moral Code
01:45:13 – Holiday Hiatus, Best-Ofs, and See You Soon

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Creators and Guests

Host
Mike Rhyner
Mike Rhyner… "a little on the bumpy side, but rather likable"…so stated famously by a grade school teacher in Oak Cliff, where Mike grew up. A complicated guy, yet a guy who can do long division and remember call strike three to A Rod. Probably best left unattended. Don't expect assistance from him if a medical situation arises.

What is Your Dark Companion Podcast?

"Whatever I want it to be about on a given day; is what it is." Your Dark Companion couples your familiar friends from radio, Mike and Grubes! Mike brings his classic interviews that draw you in, and Grubes—The Devil—drops…well the drops, and throws the occasional grenade. Mike likes to draw on his fascinating acquaintances and friends allowing them to tell their stories as you've never heard them. But he also goes outside his network, sharing Grubes' network, and often outside of both, to bring you those they don't know, but believe have a story that will make you laugh, make you think, think differently, or just entertain you…"that's what we are trying to do here."