Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Nate Cardin's 8th NYTimes crossword was a quintessential Monday puzzle. For one thing, it didn't have QUINTESSENTIAL in the grid. This is not particularly surprising, though, because even though QUINTESSENTIAL is a common enough word, and shows up in, among other places, the XWord Info Word List, it has never appeared in the grid! Still, there's always tomorrow ...
Apart from the missing QUINTESSENTIAL, today's puzzle was quite enjoyable, as we explore and expound upon in today's podcast.
We have also chosen our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), so have a listen, and then let us know your thoughts!
Show note imagery: The 1990s sitcom STEPBYSTEP, with a rather large cast of characters, evidently
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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

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Making any Sunday crossword is definitely not easy. Making one with a two-high stack of grid spanning answers is amazing; and making one with 2 two-high stacks, in one puzzle, is so difficult that it has only happened 3 times in the history of the puzzle, including ... today. It is with a combination of awe and, well, more awe that we therefore doff our hats and yell huzzah in the general direction of Kansas City, MO, home of Erik Agard, for having accomplished this (almost, but not quite) impossible feat. Deets inside.
Show note imagery: Tristan and ISOLDE (with an I!)
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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

This was Kameron Austin Collins' 20th Saturday NYTimes crossword, and his name at the top of the marquee is pretty much an ironclad guarantee that we're in for a good time. We laughed, we learned, and ... we were grateful that the esteemed KAC didn't turn up the crossword-difficulty level to 11, something that he is wont to do. 
Besides the crossword we have some exciting Fan Mail audio, setting us straight on the mondegreen lurking in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Check it out!
Show note imagery: That shoe — which for all the world looks like it is grinning at us — is not just any shoe, it's a DANSKO 😃
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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

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This is Jesse Cohn's fourth Friday NYTimes crossword, and it checks all the right boxes:
Tough, but not soul-crushing ✅
Educational ✅
Highly entertaining ✅
So, it's definitely in the running for this week's JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award). The suspense builds! 😀 
In other news, we have a fascinating fun fact for Fun Fact Friday™️: have a listen and be prepared to be amazed/educated/entertained.
Show note imagery: The Opportunity ROVER's self-portrait
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Contact Info:
We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

Today's podcast title — we promise! — will seem quite droll, even, dare we say it, chuckleworthy,  once you've sussed out today's theme. We won't say any more about that here, but invite you to have a listen as we explore Dena Verkuil and John Kugelman's latest oeuvre.
Show note imagery: The Farm, by Joan Miró — winner of the Guggenheim International Award and clearly master of the surreal
We love feedback! Send us a text...
Contact Info:
We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!