This week starts out with some talk about whether dogs or kids are smarter. We come to some conclusions that will likely rock the science of childhood development. Or just annoy some moms.

We then move on to the Word of the Week. This week it is “Corpulent“. Nick’s definition (or defi-NICK-tion) is questionable at best, but it leads us to some discovery on the nature of the “fatty grunt.” Full disclosure, I stole the idea of the fatty grunt from Harvey Birdman.

I then read a note that I found in Nick’s car, written to him in middle school by the first girl he ever kissed. I feel bad for kids that they don’t write notes to each other anymore, and Nick relates the tale of his first french kissing encounter.

Last, but far from least, my guest is local Atlanta music blogger Allison Rizk of Radio Potato! She’s using her blog, and the written word, to give a greater voice to up and coming music artists. She also reveals that Amos Lee is a literature buff and a former english teacher. Who knew?

Be sure to vote for Allison’s awesome blog to win Most Valuable Blogger, and catch her hosting Park Tavern’s Americana in the Park series!

This week’s episode starts out with a few thanks for our friend Kelley Hagen, who supplied the winning coffee pun that we asked for in last week’s episode. Our baristas loved it.

Hagen is also to be thanked for turning me on to Quiet Hounds, an amazing new local Atlanta band. Listen to them right now.

The Word of the Week was originally titillate, but since Nick knew what it meant, we scrapped it in favor of runic. Turns out Nick knew what that one meant too, or at least he did according to his strange fantasy world.

Nick then takes time out to abuse me for wearing Crocs, but not just Crocs: red Crocs that matched my tee shirt.

We then try out a section called Craigsliterature, which leads Nick to very rudely objectify women. Shame!

We then enter into the Nickipedia for a book review of Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Eillis. Nick is dubious that two people can write a book together, but we go over the plot together as according to him anyway. I think anyone will want to read Guilty Wives as of hearing this.

Last, New York Times best selling author and Atlanta resident Jon Fasman talks about self publishing, his experiences with his novels, The Geographer’s Library and The Unposessed City, and gives some excellent advice for aspiring authors. He also recommends Barry Eisler’s thoughts on self publishing.

Take a look at Jon Fasman’s author page at The Economist.

Thanks so much for listening, please tweet to us with hashtag #Erudition, and like us on Facebook too!

In this second edition of the Erudition podcast, Nick starts off by blowing my mind with a new theme song for the show written completely off the cuff.

We then discuss the Word of the Week, which is “philatelist.” Unsurprisingly, Nick thinks it means something much dirtier than it actually does.

After Word of the Week, there is some insightful talk on how to wash a pair of shoes (more info here). Nick asks for help coming up with a pun to impress a barista.

Help Nick’s game! If you can think of a good coffee-related pun that a barista would find impressive, tweet it with hashtag #erudition, or leave it in the comments here!

We then discuss the nature of childhood development, and I use my friend Marcus Petruska (touring drummer for Corey Smith) as an example. Friend of the show and amazing local Atlanta singer Gareth Asher also comes up. Buy his albums. Seriously.

We also talk about the “robust” Ursula K Le Guin and her disdainful view of the overuse of swear words.

Later on, Nick reminds me of John C. Reilly from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
and Step Brothers, and he asks me to do my Morgan Freeman impression. I read some lines, and Nick learns a few things about prison sex as depicted by Shawshank Redemption.

I then explain Rule 34 to Nick.

We then play Text out of Context, and forget to end it until a while later. Oh well.

Last but far from least, Nick tells an embarrassing story about his college dating life which includes a French word. What’s really disturbing is how he said goodnight to her. Yikes. In fairness, I also have some embarrassing stories to tell about my dating life. C’est la guerre.

Please let us know what you’re reading. Suggest books we should read or talk about. Except Twilight. That ain’t gonna happen!

In this first-ever episode of the Erudition podcast, I read some Hip Hop Haikus to Nick. I then try to convince Nick that he should write a book, and demonstrate by reading a rejection letter from a high-powered literary agent. Yep, I’ve been rejected by the same guy who discovered Tucker Max and Justin Halpern.

Nick then draws some very interesting parallels between the movie Teen Wolf
and the Twilight series. I officially condemn Twilight for perpetuating the Friend Zone, even though I have neither seen the movies nor read the books.

We also get into “Freakonomics“, which is a favorite book of mine, as well as Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational“. They’re both about some of the quirks of human behavior, and I can’t get enough of that type of thing.

Nick is currently reading Malcom Gladwell’s “Outliers: The Story of Success,” and I’m reading “Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little,” so we talk a bit about each of those. I recommended Outliers to Nick, but he ignored me. Happily, one of Nick’s other friends is much less cheap than I am, and purchased a copy for him, upstaging my paltry recommendation.

I then confess a somewhat non-erudite love for Kurt Vonnegut, and Nick once again draws a prescient parallel, this time to Justin Bieber. All of this leads up to a revelation about the letters on the Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill album cover.

Nick goes on to show me some silly business about the Wingdings typeface and the 9/11 terror attacks.

We then talk about all the new ways that artists and writers are making a name for themselves independently. Nick attempts to suggest that it can’t be done by actors, but I point out that hilarious friend of the show Tripp Crosby is doing that very thing through YouTube.

Give it a listen!