TheaterFire

Anybody else listen to these guys

Posted by cptwranglr@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 130 comments

I didnt listen to NPR much as a kid (a lot of boring blah blah blah) but these two I would listen to because they could probably make drying paint fun.

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130 Comments

Working_Signal_3212@reddit

And we'd like to thank our law firm, Dewey, Cheatham & Howe!
View on Reddit #80222735

TotalComfortable7269@reddit

Lol. Good memory.
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esthetewt@reddit

And statistician, Marge Innovera (my favorite!)
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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Their Russian chauffer was Pikov Andropov.
View on Reddit #80295802

Working_Signal_3212@reddit

Oh yeah I think they had a recurring character in the credits: Bela Cartalk
View on Reddit #80223889

FrozenH2oh@reddit

Yep. I honestly have no interest in cars, but they were so interesting to listen too.
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TotalComfortable7269@reddit

Couldn't care less about vars, but I always enjoyed these guys.
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According_Nerve_2525@reddit

Joe Frank
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Typeonetwork@reddit

I listen to them for years then I started hearing re-runs and I got board. Funny guys.
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Frigidspinner@reddit

I had one of my songs played on their show! They used to play amateurish car related songs, so I sent one in and they used it
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BridgestoneX@reddit

i hope this is forever in the "interests" row on your resume and your "fun fact" for icebreakers. also--- which song was it!?!?
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Frigidspinner@reddit

It is! I will DM you the song if you are truly interested!
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BridgestoneX@reddit

yes pls
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Captain-Pig-Card@reddit

No interest in cars…OG podcast HoF! Don’t drive like my brother!!
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IAm5toned@reddit

these guys remind me of helping my uncle and his buddies fix cars in the driveway in Dortchester, MA when I was a kid.
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TomeThugNHarmony4664@reddit

So funny AND informative! And don’t drive like my brother!
View on Reddit #80305597

moodbeast@reddit

Weren't they Click & Clack?
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MaenHoffiCoffi@reddit

The Tappit Brothers, no less.
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No_Original5693@reddit

Tappet
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MaenHoffiCoffi@reddit

I noticed that in another comment. Does it have a meaning?
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No_Original5693@reddit

A tappet is also known as a valve lifter- an engine component. Tappets are known to clack and make noise when bad
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MaenHoffiCoffi@reddit

Oh! I thought it meant that their solution was to tap the engine but I'm a renowned idiot.
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backsassing@reddit

Aww I miss them… and Ira Glass
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Formal_Lie_713@reddit

“And even though Ira Glass starts working on This American Resignation whenever he hears us say it, this is NPR, National Public Radio.”
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backsassing@reddit

😂
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mottledmussel@reddit

He was also an occasional contributor to Slate.com during its heydey.
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ElDeguello66@reddit

This American Life is still going strong, and it's available in podcast form!
View on Reddit #80224378

backsassing@reddit

Oh… imma look thank you
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justbudfox@reddit

Yup. Saw Ira Glass live three weeks ago. (He’s exactly the same in person, FWIW.)
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For-Fox-Sakes-73@reddit

Click and Clack! Yes! These guys were whacky and I always learned something, even if it wasn’t about cars.
View on Reddit #80300958

WhereverUGoThereUR@reddit

I grew up in NPR and still listen to it daily. So many great NPR podcasts now too.
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WhereverUGoThereUR@reddit

The Tap-it brothers 👊
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Upper-Affect5971@reddit

Click and Clack?
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OperaBunny@reddit

Definitely heard of them, it was via a friend of a friend, or people that I followed would talk about reference them. Can't say I was a regular audience listener though, figured it was stuff only mechanics would be interested in.
View on Reddit #80297268

CySnark@reddit

Always something to look forward to on the weekend. Each segment was great, and their odd sense of humor matched mine. I still use some of the fake sponsor names to this day in conversations.
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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Our seat cushion tester is Mike Easter.
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Spidergawd68@reddit

Statistician Marge Innovera
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CySnark@reddit

My Greek Tailor, Euripides Eumenades.
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Crown_and_Seven@reddit

Like their driver Pikup Andropov?
View on Reddit #80222072

Alone-Republic876@reddit

DoWeCheatEmAndHow!
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Nanojack@reddit

When I was in Boston, I made sure to visit CarTalk Plaza and get a picture of the Dewey Cheetham and Howe sign
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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Their chief counsel was Hugh Louis Dewey, better known to the punters around Harvard Square as Huey Louie Dewey.
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hewhoisneverobeyed@reddit

Still do - podcast of “The Best of Car Talk.” Finally heard the resolution of the woman who called with a slab of the Berlin Wall in the trunk of her boyfriend’s dad’s car (his dad wanted the car back and they were trying to figure out how to get this heavy slab out without damaging it or the car). This show was important to me. I listened with my dad, often while in the garage, on Saturday mornings. It was rare for my dad to talk at all, but during Car Talk he would drop stories and observations. Sometimes I hear a Best of rebroadcast and recall watch we were doing when we first heard it together and what my dad said.
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CDM2017@reddit

Well, how did they get the slab out?
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hewhoisneverobeyed@reddit

Using a hoist to lift the back of the car up to slide the slab as far forward in the trunk as they could. Then, placed a wedge they made (not sure what material) between the slab and the back of the inside of the trunk. Then, turned the car around to lift the front of it with the hoist. Then … “crowbar, crowbar, crowbar” I remember the original call but don’t recall that they ever heard back from that caller. But it was one of those calls on Car Talk that you remember, even 30 years later and it restarts the question in your head, “How did they do it? Do we have closure?” Thanks to The Best of Car Talk podcasts, I do. The follow up call was on ep. 2573, dropped in September of 2025.
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No_Original5693@reddit

Right!?!? ![gif](giphy|M2EazvA5Fyu8U|downsized)
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tuna-on-toast@reddit

I have a Car Talk Plaza Staff parking pass. Stuck to the window of my classic Mini. :)
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No_Original5693@reddit

Mine’s been moved between three different vehicles over the last twenty years😎
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IceCreamNChaCha@reddit

The absolute best. RIP Tom
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Mr_Tort_Feasor@reddit

My sister worked for WBUR and was the audio engineer on that show in the 2000s. I played some for my girlfriend and she recognized the voices from a cameo in the movie "Cars" but had never heard the show.
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slacks196@reddit

I loved this show. Listened regularly.
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Starkville@reddit

Yes, and I don’t even drive.
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DueYogurt9@reddit

That’s 1-888-227-8255 hello you’re on CarTalk
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LhandChuke@reddit

I read this in their voices! Good memories.
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throwpayrollaway@reddit

I live in UK. They popped up as a suggestion on podcast feed a couple of years ago and I quite liked it the first time I listened to it. Initially I thought it was an ongoing thing and was amazed at how many Americans were still driving 1980s and 1990s cars.
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mottledmussel@reddit

I get the impression they covered up just how sick Tom Magliozzi was for a number of years by splicing together unused footage into new episodes well into the 2000s. There were entirely too many callers with minimal mechanical knowledge that owned obscure, non-collectable cars from the 70s and early 80s in 2010.
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throwpayrollaway@reddit

2010 era cars are too complicated for over the phone diagnosis as well I expect.
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mottledmussel@reddit

That's a good point. Pulling OBD codes and swapping parts from rock auto isn't particularly enthralling content.
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AlfaNovember@reddit

They conceived of the show as being about the relationship people have with their cars, more than being about the actual mechanical problems. People driving old crapboxes tend to have more interesting relationships to their vehicles, and more to talk about.
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RandomToker2018@reddit

One of my top five listens ❤️ Educational and soothing, everything has a funny side…
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fsharpminor_3s@reddit

Listen to them on roadtrips!
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OnDeadlineInDenver@reddit

I was *on* Car Talk! Wish I still had the recording.
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Atlanta_Q_Ball@reddit

You can likely find the episode in their podcast archive. They release old episodes twice a week as a podcast. I've listened to many of their episodes but still love listening to it weekly.
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shedwyn2019@reddit

You might be able to find it somewhere. So many shows have an archive.
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s6cedar@reddit

This is not an easy show to find an archive for. If you find one please tell me!
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shedwyn2019@reddit

Click & Clack are the reason my side mirrors are set to monitor my blind spots. Love those guys. Did you catch the This American Life episode where they talk about Car Talk and a Wisconsin show that was a local 'competitor'? It was pretty interesting. They seem(ed) like nice guys. RIP Tom.
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Donna_Schrump@reddit

For those that don't know, for the driver's side, put your head against the driver's side window and move the mirror out until you can just see the edge of the car. For the passengers, you better not see any of the car in the mirror.
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casewood123@reddit

Every Saturday morning
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Whatnowgoddammit@reddit

I'm 60. I started listening to NPR religiously (still do to some extent, but not like the pre-internet days) at the age of 20 or so, and Car Talk was my gateway drug. A coworker put them on the radio and I was hooked. Thankful to them for decades of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Prairie Home, Wait, Wait... just all of it.
View on Reddit #80261236

ImMxWorld@reddit

My stepfather did. Every weekend.
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evility@reddit

Wild. I was just talking about them. Lots of good times, especially when I was delivering pizzas on Saturday mornings. Not a lot going on, but NPR was always there for me.
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goldbouillon@reddit

That last line sounds straight out of one of NPR’s fundraisers
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Bomdiggitydoo@reddit

It was so great to see them get a part in the Cars movie.
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BWWFC@reddit

click and clack, the tappet brothers! don't drive like my brother! OH YEAH DON'T DRIVE LIKE MY BRUTHAH!
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DenverBowie@reddit

I did it again. I wasted another perfectly good hour listening to Car Talk...
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Erok2112@reddit

Went from Car Talk to A Prairie Home companion
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aaronwcampbell@reddit

Both great!
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original_greaser_bob@reddit

cartalk, then news, 2 quick local programs, prairie home companion, thistle and shamrock and then a local raggae show. that was saturday afternoon/night for some one with no cable.
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just-the-teep@reddit

I had such a crush on Fiona Ritchie
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just-the-teep@reddit

Afropop!
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AuntDany01@reddit

Yes. There was something appealing about those guys
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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe
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tuna-on-toast@reddit

I have a plastic window cling Car Talk Plaza parking pass on my classic Mini. When I was younger I liked the technical calls and trying to figure it out. As I got older and married I liked the relationship ones more :)
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YourGuyK@reddit

I did, but only because they were on after Dr. Dean Adell.
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Plastic_Bullfrog9029@reddit

Loved Dr. Dean.
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Significant_Ruin4870@reddit

I miss that show on Saturday mornings.  
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RonDFong@reddit

i know their statistician, Marge Inovera
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DainasaurusRex@reddit

And their law firm, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe
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MaenHoffiCoffi@reddit

Listen to them? I AM Pickup Andropov.
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jffiore@reddit

“I’ll tell you how to fix it but you’re going to need two things: a can of gasoline and a match.”
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MerriWyllow@reddit

Don't drive like their brothers.
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Quasigriz_@reddit

Don’t drive like my brother.
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Icy-Professor6808@reddit

it is still available on Apple Podcasts. They remixed the old episodes and post them twice a week.
View on Reddit #80224642

Krustylang@reddit

Started in the early 90s and still listen to reruns in podcast form.
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Comedian-Wooden@reddit

I miss "Click and Clack", the Tappet Brothers. They are the one reason I tend to drive Volvos. They once deemed them as the safest cars to own.
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Healthy-Grape-777@reddit

I did a couple times, but my dad was a mechanic and one of the things they said was really off
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DrHugh@reddit

Which thing?
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Competitive_Boat106@reddit

I loved to hear them laughing!
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Used_Rutabaga_9119@reddit

I think I listened to them from around the time they started to the end, and plenty of rerun shows as well. Funny how they disappeared and nothing rose up to replace their show. Great show, great characters.
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YourGuyK@reddit

Podcasts rose up and replaced their show.
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Dr_Sisyphus_22@reddit

Don’t give a shit about cars…and loved listening to them.
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SciFi_Wasabi999@reddit

Same. We'd listen to them on long car drives, always dying laughing by the end. Their good spirited banter was infectious. 
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marcduberge@reddit

Every Saturday for about 20 years. Miss them so much
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schmigglies@reddit

I loved those guys
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imbeijingbob@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/mnafgf7koxng1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=166268e2c684c48114de61da5e88147798427995
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imbeijingbob@reddit

Best mug ever made
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clintfrisco@reddit

I love them and still listen to the old shows. They always make me smile.
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wwJones@reddit

Incredible piece of edutainment history. One of my favorite bits is when one would borrow the others car for some reason and do everything they could to bring it back with the least amount of gas as possible.
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Her_name--is_Mallory@reddit

They were the best!
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eclectic-up-north@reddit

Every weekend. Loved them.
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EveningRequirement27@reddit

I’m fairly confident those guys were actual geniuses. MIT grads I think.
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Illustrious_Bad_2980@reddit

Facts
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Gay_Giraffe_1773@reddit

Their laughter was just contagious. Even if you understood nothing about what they were talking about, they had a blast talking about it and their joy just radiated from the radio.
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curiousleen@reddit

Click and clack
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Gay_Giraffe_1773@reddit

The Tappit Brothers
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jamieshaw76@reddit

These guys are like butter to my toast.
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shakeyjake@reddit

What they did for me is show you can still be a intellectual and work a blue collar job because you like it.
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Gimp-the-Great@reddit

I still listen to the classics on the NPR app
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mamac2213@reddit

Two of my favorite memories come from listening to these guys. Thanks for the nostalgia!!
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ePoonum@reddit

God, I miss that show. I still listen to old episodes on Spotify sometimes.
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GrandPriapus@reddit

Don’t drive like my brother.
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grammanarchy@reddit

And don’t drive like *my* brother.
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GrayBeardBoardGamer@reddit

Don't drive like *my* brother.
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invalidcharacter19@reddit

Haywood U. Buzzoff!
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secretincognitouser@reddit

Love these guys, great sense of humor and a little bit educational too. NPR still posts two shorter edited episodes per week with commercials, still as good as before.
View on Reddit #80222416

GrayBeardBoardGamer@reddit

Saturday morning staple for many years. Get up, get ready to do the farmers market or garden or whatever, tune in car talk.
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GeoHog713@reddit

I miss those bean town mush mouths The call from the space station was classic
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_wednesday_76@reddit

omg i had a cassette of the songs. gold
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cmcrich@reddit

Yup, never missed it.
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TheBeardedMayhem@reddit

I love Car Talk. It's just good, wholesome, and funny radio. I'm so glad they keep putting out the re-mixed episodes, just wish there was more programming like this today
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