Tomtit & Baobab: A Bee-Inspired Podcast

Who’s there? Jenn and C are live from NYC with two special guests, one unfunny NOCK NOCK joke and exactly zero LILLIPUTIANs! If you’re wondering whether you’re a DUMDUM for not knowing NUMBAT or tanking on TANTALUM...you're not. But take a listen and you'll never miss them again!

What's the difference between BONK and BOINK? Why should you know BOBOLINK? And what is Vintage Vocab anyway?? Grab a seat at the Boomer Bar with C, Jenn, and Jenn's mom, Bonnie. We're about to spill everything we know about Spelling Bee words!

It's an episode full of bouquets, BRICKBATs, SYZYGY, and BACCARAT. So shut your PIEHOLE, wipe your mouth on a NAPKIN, and put on your eclipse glasses. It's show time!

Content Warning: We talk about a word related to sexual violence in this episode. Take care while listening.

This show has TITs. This show has COCKs. But if you think we're talking about anything other than words, you are barking up the wrong tree, PUPPY! Join us for YIPPEEs, YODELs, a bit of LOLLYGAGGing and a lot of excitement over a wild card discovery so good, we can't stop saying DAG.

We're away this week, but don't worry. We've picked out the perfect episode to re-air: the April Fool's show from our very first season! The deep dive on "HOODWINK" is a T&B classic.

Come back next Monday for an all new episode.

This week on T&B we’re revisiting a few “strands” from last week’s episode, rehashing an old conversation about FILLIP, taking another look at those GLUTEI, and having feelings about MICROMINI. Are we VICTIMs of the Bee’s befuddling ways…or are we active agents in the experience of our own game play? There’s only one way to find out.

This week on T&B we’re figuring out how to play the new NYTimes game, Strands, and following the strands of conversation wherever they take us! It’s an episode full of tangents, PENTATHLETEs, ARMADILLOs, and ARANCINI that might just serve as a NEPENTHE for your troubles. Step into the DIORAMA and enjoy the show!

We’re back from Puerto Rico and freezing cold! So bear with us as we reminisce about the beach, fruity cocktails, and…BURGOO? From LIVIDITY-producing words for gruel to big ideas like GOOGOL, we’re covering more ground than a MANKINI. Jared joins us for surf speak in an extra wild Wild Card.

C & Jenn are on holiday (yet again), so it's up to self-styled super guest host extraordinaire Jared Goodman to take y'all through the bee this week. Come for the Week in Bees, the Word of the Week & UNBEELIEVABLE WORDS™, stay for the ridiculous tangents, including Tutankhamun: His Tomb & His Treasures and the Step Up film franchise. Don't ask. Just go with it.

In this episode, Valentine’s Day meets the Super Bowl meets the NYTimes Spelling Bee. The result? AGELONG entertainment and BALLYARD (sem)antics! It doesn’t matter whether you go LONGAN or go wide, with T&B hitting play is the winning play every time.

C and Jenn are back for a whole new season of #NYTimesSpellingBee banter! This episode we’re running through the best and worst Bees of our winter break, boondoggling our way into the hearts of all Americans, and learning a very fancy word for the study of flags. No hoodwinkery or mountebankery here! T&B is the real deal for #WordNerds.

♫ It’s the most wonderful time of the year. ♫ We're wrapping up 2023--and Season 4 of Tomtit &Baobab--with a show full of gifts, cheer, and of course, words! We’ve got a list of best pangrams for C, limerick singing for Jenn, ETYMOLOGY for everybody, and Nearly Twelve Christmas Pangrams for Tim Alborn! We also have a special appearance from Jenn’s dad, the Rev. Dr. James Hallam, who boasts a big vocabulary and believes we can create a kinder, more peaceful, more just world through the cultivation of our "human gifts." T&B will BEE back in February. Until then, catch up past seasons, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or drop us a line at tomtitandbaobab@gmail.com.

If your HOBBY is the NYTimes Spelling Bee, come HOBNOB with us! On this penultimate episode of T&B Season 4, we’re tackling crucial questions like: What the heck happened with HAMACHI? Who wouldn’t want a CHIA bee? When is a PINNY not a penny? And why is “Pop Goes the Weasel” a perfect tune for word puzzle enthusiasts? We may have limited rizz, but we’ve got risibility galore…and a rousing performance inspired by Tim Alborn, if you can make it to the end.

Here at T&B, we like our TAMARI on a TATAMI and our belly laughs by the BOTTLEFUL. We also like a good interview with a NYTimes Spelling Bee-inspired limerick writer! That’s right, fellow Word Nerds, we’re talking with the very poetic Tim Alborn, and all INDICIA suggest this is one hu-MUNG-ous episode you won’t want to miss.

It’s our second annual live, mostly unedited, Thanksgiving show! In this week’s extraORDINARY episode of T&B, our families are gathered ‘round the table to give thanks for “word things and language stuff”. We’re sharing some of our favorite word-related apps, places, and games; dishing out un-BEE-lievable words; and serving up a second helping of hilarity. It’s loud, it’s crazy, and…it’s just like being with us for the holidays. (Listen to the end for a musical TUQUE surprise!)

This week’s episode of T&B is TEETOTALLY for the birds--and we mean that in the most literal possible way! We’re talking about the puteketeke, the gooney, and the LINNET. But don’t get your tailfeatherses ruffled if winged words aren’t your thing. MEATLOAF, PANDITs, and NOOGIEs are also in the mix, along with a wild card that Scrabble-lovers will fall over laughing for.

Do foot bones count in the NYTimes Spelling Bee? What’s the deal with New England donuts? And what the heck is Gen Z talking about?? This week we’re going back to answer these and other burning questions from previous episodes. But it’s not all housekeeping: We’re also checking the LOOKBOOK, attending the LUNCHEON, and loading up the BOOKMOBILE. It’s an episode of BIBLICAL proportions!

Whether you had a problem with PAPAW, forgot how to spell FETTUCCINE, or didn’t have a clue about DAPHNE, T&B has something to lift every Bee player’s spirits…and it's probably a COCKTAIL! On this week’s episode, we’re serving up funny words, fabulous ducks, and old-fashioned attitudes about informal talk in the workplace. Warning: you might just burst out laughing ;)

If you like your Halloween silly, spooky, and full of word candy, Tomtit & Baobab is the place to Bee! This week on T&B, we’re counting up the tricks and treats from last week’s puzzles, unmasking the meaning of HORROR, and just about laughing our heads off talking Trash Words with C’s mom. When you knock on this door, we hand out FIVEFOLD the fun.  

Remember the carefree days of youth, when all seemed right with the world and the only bodily pains you had were growing pains? Nope, we don’t either! On this episode of T&B, we are officially claiming the status of ANCIENT, distracting ourselves from reality with a GIGUE,  and delving into the realms of fantasy and Facebook, where anyone can be a god and everyone has an AVATAR to prove it. To top it all off, we’re using our ancient brains to solve the NYTimes word game, Connections…live! If you’re looking for escapism, you’ve come to the right place.

To paraphrase J.R.R. Tolkien, not all those who stravaig are lost! On this episode of T&B, we’re taking the long way, going ERRANT, and branching off as the roads RAMIFY. So, embrace your inner HOBBIT and join us for a TANTARA-filled adventure that stretches from Wales to New Zealand to New England and back again.

What do you get when you throw two jet-lagged word nerds in a room, take away their usual recording equipment, and ask them to say the longest place name in the world? A pod o’ gold, of course! Just returned from our jaunt through England, Wales, and Ireland, we’re back with Spelling Bee banter, lighthearted HECKLING, and a lesson in how to pronounce Welsh all kinds of wrong. So put on your woolly jumpers, make yourself a cuppa, and settle in for some T&B fun!

With C & Jenn on a well-deserved holiday, they called in the reinforcements: two-time T&B guest/unofficial T&B fan club president Jared Goodman to host.

He covers all your favorite segments, from the Week in Bees to Word of the Week to Strange Words (or is there another name in the works?) and a Wildcard that has to be listened to at 2x speed to bee-lieve.

But don't get your hayforks out, just yet. C & Jenn are back next week!

There’s Spelling Bee level genius, and then there’s Mensa level genius—which are we? Listen and find out! In this episode of T&B, we’re soaring on an UPDRAFT, getting the VITAMIN Bee backstory, and challenging ourselves to an online I.Q. workout. If you’re smart you’ll stick around to the end!

AI is all the buzz. But who needs Artificial Intelligence when you're a NYTimes Spelling Bee genius?! On this episode we're reviewing a veritable BLIZZARD of words, learning why BAA and BOWWOW don't translate, and having a wild time compliments of ChatGPT.

Pick out your first day OUTFIT, grab your backpack (or your BARBACK), and come get schooled T&B style! This fall Tomtit & Baobab is back to the NYTimes Spelling Bee and back to the basics: the Week in Bees (“It was hmmm...”), the Word of the Week (CHECKMATE!), and the Wild Card (a look back at our favorite summer words and games).

A week full of queens, coronations, birthdays and Bea, has us in a royally good mood! Laugh along with us as we give Sam some TEFF love, remember the CABALs of our youth, and come up with a BEVY of ways to make your Bee game feel brand new.

X-tra! X-tra! Hear all about it! Double Xs, double Ns, and two-for-one words mean twice as much fun here at T&B. This week we're BENEFIT(T)ING from alt spellings; leading the way on LEITMOTIFs; and getting the LOWDOWN on compounds. Oh, and Sam, we accept your apology.

METONYMs, MACADAMs, eponyms, and cardigans. In this episode, we're going down every rabbit hole we can find and ENJOYing every second of it. So pull up your TATAMI, grab your NYT Spelling Bee Buddy, and get ready for awesomeness.

Land can be FECUND, balls can be ODD, it's always fun times with the T&B pod! This week on T&B, National Poetry Month inspires us, Sam CONFOUNDs us, and some teens remind that us that we may not be young, but we'll always be extra!

The episode in which we keep C happy, noodle on NEOCON, and learn the long and short of abbreviations.

We're so excited not even QUAALUDEs can get us down! This week we're celebrating the promise of spring with a kicky grande BATTEMENT, a long but social QUEUE, and an extra wild Wild Card. 

The struggle is real. Jenn has COVID, C has a POULT problem, and Sam has a MONOMYNY issue. But we won't be BEDIMMED! On this episode, we're finding poetry in the taste of sun-baked garbage, seeking out AGONY's not so miserable origins, and learning how to get more out of every Bee from our friend Leslie. 

Here at T&B we love a week that starts with a visit from CUPID and ends with an extra day off! In this OOEY GOOEY episode, our hearts are in the Bee, our heads are in the clouds, and C's mom is back for a KICKY Wild Card live from New York. It's the whole kit and CABOODLE! 

Special guest Simon Sinek joins us for a sesquipedalian chat about some of our favorite words. No superciliousness intended! We want to hear about your favs, too. Let us know on social with the tags @tomtitbaobab @simonsinek, or drop us a line at tomtitandbaobab@gmail.com.

It's a new year, and T&B is back for a whole new season. We're thrilled to be kicking off Season 3 with optimist, author, and fellow word nerd Simon Sinek! Join us as we call for an upheaval of UPHEAVE, get fired up about DRAGOON, and chat with Simon about why the Bee is infinitely enjoyable, despite its finite frustrations. 

We're wrapping up T&B Season 2 in style with this very special, sugarplum of an episode! Joined by our smart and funny friend Jared Goodman, we're putting Sam on the naughty list, taking a rollicking romp through a winter Worderland, and suggesting gift ideas for the word lovers in your life. We'll BEE back with Season 3 in the new year. Until then, wishing you happy, healthy holidays. **Note to parents and sensitive listeners: This episode contains some raunchy content and discloses the truth about Santa. Listen with care.**

w00t w00t! In this episode, we're talking words of the year, world cup communication, and the language of the Internet circa 1995. We're also introducing Leslie, who is a NOOB when it comes to the Bee but a pro on social media. While C is watching fútbol, Leslie will be helping Jenn up our social game!