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Chicago's biggest design achievement probably isn’t one of its amazing skyscrapers, but the Chicago River, a waterway disguised as a remnant of the natural landscape. But it isn't natural, not really. It’s hard to tell when you see the river, but it’s going the wrong way. It should flow into Lake Michigan, but instead fresh water from Lake Michigan flows backwards, into the city. The Chicago River is, in large part, a carefully-designed extension of the city’s sewer system. 

Reporter Dan Weissmann talked with Richard Cahan (author of "The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed its River and the Land Beyond") about the amazing lengths the city went to, over the course of several decades, to carry away the sewage that threatened to drown Chicago.

99% Invisible-86- Reversal Of Fortune

It's hot in the Complete Guide studio this week, causing all sorts of mayhem. Tom's selfish use of a portable fan causes a rift in a friendship, while the heat causes something to come loose in Tim's brain, resulting in a movie pitch about Michael Jackson's faked death that is somehow tied to some Mrs. Doubtfire-esque shenanigans in the White House. Also, Tim delves into his new life as a man who comments on articles on the internet.

But ultimately this week, we have food on the mind, breaking down the uproar over the recently announced French Fry Burger from Burger King and Tom is upset that some products purport to have secret ingredients.

In a new installment of Tim & Tim Solve Your Problems, we help a beatboxing champion turned plumber map out the rest of his life, and give some sleuthing advice regarding a mysterious building in Tokyo.

This week's episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Check them out at squarespace.com/tcgte.

French Fry Burgers And Secret Ingredients

This week we’re talking about something neither of us is qualified to talk about in anyway whatsoever: Modern Art! But before the conversation gets all hoity-toity we discuss Tom’s love of summertime and seasonal beers. We also discuss the merits of possibly just putting MSG on all the food you eat to make it delicious and Tom recounts the time he ruined a turf soccer field by bleeding all over it.

As far as artists are concerned, we cover everyone from Banksy to Hanksy, making stops in between to discuss graffiti as an art form, adults who skateboard, Miley Cyrus, @Horse_ebooks, Sting’s real meaning behind The Police’s ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’, Tilda Swinton, Jennifer Aniston, Marina Abramović, and all the nuns Tim has been hanging out with recently.

This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook download and 30-day trial by signing up at tcgte.com/audible.

Modern Art

This week we talk about how people should act every morning when they get their cup of coffee. But first, we discuss why you probably shouldn't buy a ukelele if you live in Brooklyn and the surprising fact that hipsters haven't built their own planes.

Also this week, Tom decides that he will be more assertive and offers a lot of opinions about a number of different things that may or may not be relevant to the topic at hand. Tim is upset with the attitudes of people who work on television shows that film in his neighborhood and has some ideas about how they can better behave when in coffee shops.

Finally, we solve a problem of a listener who is moving to a new city and wants to avoid another potential new resident.

This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free 30 day trial and audiobook download at tcgte.com/audible.

Coffee Shop Etiquette

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, talks about what excites him - and scares him - about today’s technology.

Steve Wozniak and the (Sometimes Scary) Future of Technology

What if the gap between the haves and have-nots opens up earlier in life than we ever expected? Dr. Jack Shonkoff says a child's success in school depends on her earliest stages of development. 

The New Science Behind Early Education

This week's episode is a ripped-from-the-headlines account of a big news story: the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Actually, it's more about how Tom got screwed by his local cable company and Tim's reminiscing of the time he was disappointed by the Playboy channel as a teenager.

Also, Tom is excited by the prospect of listeners abandoning the podcast because of his dream recollections last week, and we discuss Tom's recent training in the art of archery. We also solve a problem from a listener who would rather go see Motorhead than spend time with his visiting parents.

This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free 30 day trial and an audiobook download of your choice by going to tcgte.com/audible.


Cable TV

Netflix's chief product officer Neil Hunt and The New Yorker's Ken Auletta discuss the evolution of television and what scares cable companies the most.

What's The Future Of TV?

This week we talk about one of our favorite topics: novelty items used to pull pranks on your friends. From fake dog poop to hilarious toilet paper, we cover it all. Tim also proposes a business venture to Tom that would capitalize on their love of novelty items, but Tom is skeptical. First we talk about the logistics of maintaining George Washington's wooden teeth and which Founding Father would be the best morning zoo radio host.

Tickets for our UK and Ireland shows are going fast! Get yours at tcgte.com/tour. And if you're coming to the shows, email us with the problems you want solved for a live version of Tim & Tom Solve Your Problems.

This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free 30 day trial and an audiobook download of your choice at tcgte.com/audible.

Novelty Items

Reporter Cristina Quinn investigates the psychology and the economics behind the boom in super niche businesses. 

Super Niche is Booming

This week we talk about the kinds of creeps that give foot massages, Mother's Day, Tom's secret garden, tipping arguments, starting rival florists, Tom's heroics and irresponsibly spicy potato chips.

Creeps

This week Tom receives more mail from the local cemetery and has a run-in with a conspiracy theorist on the subway, leading to a frank discussion about the Illuminati and immortality. Also Tim explains how he doesn't like people who love science, but wouldn't mind donating his body to it as long as he can make sure it isn't used to scare children after he's dead.

On the subject of McDonalds the guys discuss promotional menus, "eating" a milkshake, Grilled Onion Chedder burgers, Fish McBites, McRib, Shamrock Shake, the origins of the McRib, Hulu burgers and Tim's run in with his McDonalds employee crush from 15 years ago. Before they wrap up they also take a moment to solve a problem with a woman who doesn't want her boyfriend asking her parents to marry her.

McDonalds

This week we're talking fancy restaurants, but what conversation about fancy restaurants would be complete without first looking back at Prince's most erotic songs from early in his career? No conversation, that's what. After that we jump right into fancy restaurants starting with our favorite restauranteur Gordon Ramsay. Not only is he the world's foremost authority on whether food is raw or not, he has a number of restaurants Tom has been to which Tim claims are not fancy despite never having been himself.

Tim and Tom also discuss the number of fancy and not quite fancy restaurants they spent money at at while in Europe out of fear that it would be robbed from them eventually anyway. This leads to a long argument about the merits of wine and whether a single person on earth can tell the difference between different bottles. The episode closes out with Tim's readings from a book on restaurant etiquette from the Emily Post Institute and a discussion of the now movie from Splitsider Presents called The Exquisite Corpse Project which you should totally buy.

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