I recently started at episode 1 and am now on episode 50. But I've listened to most of TAZ and a handful of MBMBAM episodes over the past 5 years, as well as other McElroy content sprinkled in, so I was pretty familiar with all of them before starting.
Just start with episode 1 if you want to. Some of the jokes are in poor taste but there are a ton of hilarious bits in the earlier episodes. It's also extremely interesting to 1. hear people casually talk about recent events in 2010 and 2. See how they develop throughout time. Listening to them talk about themselves and the show knowing how it all turned out is super neat.
I’ve been a fan for a while but always wanted to take the journey and only just started, and yeah it was fun seeing them talk about 2010 world events since I was old enough to hear things and process them but too young to understand what they meant.
When I started listening to mbmbam I did the whole listen to the backlog while staying up to date with the new episodes and eventually I had listened to everything. It's fun to listen to them from the start and see how the show evolved. Like going from Griffin ripping Justin apart for listening to Jimmy Buffet to Jimmy becoming a somewhat regular guest on the show and them doing a live show from the Margheritaville blue carpet event. I know the brothers are embarrassed by the first 200 or so episodes, but they are often their own harshest critics. Some of the funniest bits are in that 1-250 years.
When I initially started, I just started at the most recent and worked my way backwards. It does mean I haven't been all the way back and there are definitely bits I have absolutely no knowledge of, but it gave me a sense of what current era MBMBAM was (in 2014 or whenever I started, lol). That makes earlier bits and pieces that maybe don't age well less of a "this is a core part of what this show is" and more of a "I get the sense they've grown from this."
I haven't heard anything in old episodes that's ever been dealbreaker for me, though I'm sure there's stuff I'd find unsavory. (I think the earliest I've gone back is in the 200s and that's sporadic, so y'know.) I'm also around middle-brother-age so like, I remember having absolute dogshit opinions in my 20s, lol. I just am lucky I wasn't recording any of them into a podcast.
It’s not *too* bad for 20-something white dudes in 2010, but the worst so far in my binge (on 55 rn) are uses of the r slur, Griffin saying a transphobic slur (the s-m one) and Justin joking about calling golden dollar Sacagawea coins “savage cents.”
Still pretty stupid white boy frat humor, but they have learned from that era and that’s a good thing.
My fiancé and I been listening to the show backwards. We jumped in at an earlier time but now go back and listen to the episodes. It really doesn’t matter where you start. Personally the clip they posted about Justin drinking the stinkbug is what I’m going to show people to get into it because it’s so funny
Back in October, I finished binging Sawbones, so decided to give MBMBaM a shot. I tried the most recent episodes at the time, but found them a bit chaotic for not yet having a relationship with all three brothers, so I then decided to listen from episode 1.
It worked out great for me because I do so much driving for work that I got through their early episodes super quickly, and then had more context for when they really got into their groove.
(As of a couple weeks ago, I am now caught up! I did the math, and I averaged about 2.5 episodes per day lol)
I like 200 as the earliest episode. They’ve gotten into the groove enough that it doesn’t feel wholly different from the current podcast. But if I were recommending someone’s first episode ever, I’d start with something more recent (within the last year) and then have them go back to 200 if they liked it.
200’s the best all-around starting point, for sure! You get:
200-Retrospective-some good goofs and people who took our advice
201-Clip Show-a taste of the early ages
202-Live Show-one of their earlier shows when they were still getting their sea-legs
204-John Roderick guestpert segment (before he was the reviled Bean Dad)
207-Thank Travis for Travis
209-Planet of the Apes watch
210-Elizabeth Gilbert guestpert(!!) and Yippee Ki-Yay, Holy Father
213.5-THE ADVENTURE ZONE PILOT
215-Glass Shark
Like it’s such a banger-rich vein of episodes that it’s an amazing on-ramp for anyone who feels like they missed the MBMBaM boat and want to see a good starting point that won’t leave them feeling out of the loop
idk, he was a pretty shitty dude talking about how he handled the bean thing, and those weird ass “blaming the jews” tweets raised enough eyebrows for the mcelroys to not want to associate with him anymore
Totally fair, but as a starting point, I think 200 is an excellent snapshot of the show at-large, and at a time where most listeners agree that the brothers really found their rhythm. Not saying to skip 1-199, just if you’re unsure where to begin, 200 is a fine spot; then, once the hooks are in ya, explore the whole catalog.
Personally every time I fall out of the habit of keeping up with MBMBAM, I just start with the most recent episode and work backwards. It works perfectly fine since it’s not like it’s a story based podcast or anything. That being said I understand why people wouldn’t like doing that, so if that’s not your style and you want a genuine starting point to work chronologically instead, defer to other commenters here!
This is definitely also how I listen! I don’t have a commute anymore so I don’t listen as frequently as I used to, but I still love checking in on what they’re up to when I get around to it lol
The real answer is, regardless of where you start in the backlog, always listen to the newest one every week, because the references are fresh.
Then, when you have more time to listen, start back at any of the great starting points others have pointed out in chronological order.
Then finally once you’re curious enough, go back to episode 1 and see how they started compared to now.
I think I started at 367 (because a friend had showed me a part of that episode that caught my interest), caught up, and then did 1-366 (skipped a lot between 1 and 100 though due mostly to audio quality, but also because there were some parts that even the boys aren’t proud of).
If I could do it all over, I would start at 101 and experience them growing as people and professionals. There are some great bits in the 100s. Then I’d go back to 1-100 and give those a shot after I’ve heard the rest and know they have that growth.
> experience them growing as people and professionals
It’s wild to think that Griffin had barely graduated from college when they started and now he’s a mid-thirties married father of two.
I wish!!!! Griffin and I were born the same year, so we are decidedly late-30s this year 😭😭😭 it’s so flipping surreal to listen back to old eps knowing that Griffin and I were experiencing life stuffs as 1987ers. I didn’t listen to the pod in real-time till my early 30s but those early eps are especially poignant for me lol.
Look being so for real I am a bit of a completionist so I started at episode one. I also have too much free time so I was able to do that. I feel like it definitely gets you into the deep “lore” of the brothers. But I agree with everyone else is the comments that around 200 is probably a good jump in point if you don’t feel like listening from the (super chaotic) beginning. Either that or I would tell people to go look at animatics and pick one that makes em laugh and jump in from there and work their way back eventually (again the completionist in me wants people to know the old bits 😂)
I am the same! I started from episode 1 because I had to and I’m only at 396 now. But my husband listens to the newer ones so if there’s a really funny one (like Plato’s Rave) I go and listen to it out of order to keep semi-current. It’s the same reason I listened through Graduation even though everyone told me not to, the completionist in me has to!
Ep. 200 really is kind of an ideal starting point - that way everything happens chronologically and you’re not skipping around - then, once you’re caught up, you can go listen to the older ones while waiting on new stuff.
I think im personally biased towards (listening to whatever is new, but then jumping back to) the 2016/17 era since that’s when I started. The leadup to Margaritaville is pretty legendary for me.
My other unhinged strategy is listening to old episodes from the same week of the past year. So during that week, i will listen to whatever episode came out every year around July 4 etc.. Gives a little slice from many eras and keeps it seasonally relevant even if ‘outdated’. My dream is to have a website that aggregates it for me.
I think It’s worth starting at episode 1 to see their evolution, particularly around ep 30 with the furry thing.
If you really don’t want to go all that way back, I recommend listening to the bros better, bros best episodes that cover the first 150 or so, and then jump into the actual episodes.
My recommeded starting point is Episode 1. I started on Ep1 sometime in late 2022 and am now only like 150 episodes from the current. I feel like there's a lot of McEl-lore to absorb in the first 100-150 episodes. It cool hearing them develop from 3 guys in a shed (basically) to joining MaxFun, to starting their D&D podcast, to filming their TV show, to getting celebrity guests on the show, and so on. I really love the McElboys, faults and all, and love hearing their development.
Now that I'm in COVID era MBMBAM, I do occasionally sprinkle the most current episode in from time to time, but generally I play "catch up" and listen to them chronologically.
If you are looking for something a bit later than 200, I thought 354 was a good place to start. Bean Freak is an iconic episode and it throws you in at mid 2017, which seems like a good spot for a long time ago but not too long!
You can listen in reverse chronological order, but if you want to listen in forward chronological order, I guess I wouldn't recommend starting earlier than episode 100. Audio quality is poor in the earlier episodes, they make some offensive jokes, and it's before they really find their groove and rhythm.
My experience has been that most peoples favorite episodes are from around the time they started listening.
For example, when I started they were in in the mid 300s so I listened both backwards and forwards from there. So what I think of as "the classics" and my fave episode range spans give or take about a hundred-ish episodes in either direction from 350. From approximately McElroy Family Fun Hour Brought To You By Totinos, to around Hand Dog Face Cat.
One of my best friends started listening later than me, in the 400s, so his fave span is later: from the 300s to more recent. (With the exception of a notable Dark Ages where you would expect.)
I suppose this doesn't really help you hook new listeners but maybe the answer is to just start them with whatever's good now and let them go from there.
I listened from 1 when I started back in 2018 or so, and recently have been dipping into the old episodes again. What I didn’t realize the first time around was what an important milestone their months-long advertising campaign with Extreme Restraints was. They underwent EXPONENTIAL growth as human beings during that period. Or maybe it just helped them find the comfort to be really and truly weird. So if you’re an existing fan looking to listen to some of the old stuff, and can handle the fact that they’re still kind of ignorant at the time but clearly learning, start around 116! Or one episode earlier if you want to know about Roker Poker.
I don’t remember which episode I heard first (I’m a late adopter), but I did decide to start from 1. Absolutely some cringe moments from all of them, but as so many have said here, you can tell that they have learned and grown and changed over the years which is a very cool way of seeing people modify thoughts and behaviors in real time. All this said, you could just do what I do and listen to episode 563 over and over. I crylaugh multiple times during that ep.
I would start at Glass Shark (215?) and move forward to present. Once you've done that, I'd say 1 - Glass Shark are worth listening to, but also realizing how much they've all grown since then is important.
My personal favorites:
Glass Shark
Big Game Tony
Scatman Zozo
I Have Seen Every Bird
Eeyore Eeyore Eeyore
If I've been slacking and haven't been keeping up, I'll just start from the beginning of the year and I'd recommend any new listeners to do the same.
You'll be missing out on some lore, but whatever you're missing out on you can probably find clipped or animated on YouTube and you'll get caught up.
I started semi-recently on 547 and recently caught up, but I've been considering going back and starting earlier now that I'm current. I'd been watching a lot of animatics for years, so I just picked one and decided that'd be where I started so I could start off with Chili Wonka.
I listened to all of the Adventure Zone through Ethersea and so I started MBMBAM at Episode 1. Now I’m on episode 382 (Nov 2017). It’s been a delight to relive the world before 2020!
Really, wherever the hell you feel like as long as it's not the first 150.
Personally, I started with 401, and what a starting point that was to get me hooked. I'd been a Sawbones listener for a few months and was doing a lot of driving for work events and I was definitely permanently on board after "when you nut in space, it push you backward."
I stopped recommending the show to people. It's gone so sharply down hill since losing yahoos it's really not an enjoyable show unless you've been a long time fan with a parasocial relationship
I recently started at episode 1 and am now on episode 50. But I've listened to most of TAZ and a handful of MBMBAM episodes over the past 5 years, as well as other McElroy content sprinkled in, so I was pretty familiar with all of them before starting. Just start with episode 1 if you want to. Some of the jokes are in poor taste but there are a ton of hilarious bits in the earlier episodes. It's also extremely interesting to 1. hear people casually talk about recent events in 2010 and 2. See how they develop throughout time. Listening to them talk about themselves and the show knowing how it all turned out is super neat.
I’ve been a fan for a while but always wanted to take the journey and only just started, and yeah it was fun seeing them talk about 2010 world events since I was old enough to hear things and process them but too young to understand what they meant.
When I started listening to mbmbam I did the whole listen to the backlog while staying up to date with the new episodes and eventually I had listened to everything. It's fun to listen to them from the start and see how the show evolved. Like going from Griffin ripping Justin apart for listening to Jimmy Buffet to Jimmy becoming a somewhat regular guest on the show and them doing a live show from the Margheritaville blue carpet event. I know the brothers are embarrassed by the first 200 or so episodes, but they are often their own harshest critics. Some of the funniest bits are in that 1-250 years.
When I initially started, I just started at the most recent and worked my way backwards. It does mean I haven't been all the way back and there are definitely bits I have absolutely no knowledge of, but it gave me a sense of what current era MBMBAM was (in 2014 or whenever I started, lol). That makes earlier bits and pieces that maybe don't age well less of a "this is a core part of what this show is" and more of a "I get the sense they've grown from this." I haven't heard anything in old episodes that's ever been dealbreaker for me, though I'm sure there's stuff I'd find unsavory. (I think the earliest I've gone back is in the 200s and that's sporadic, so y'know.) I'm also around middle-brother-age so like, I remember having absolute dogshit opinions in my 20s, lol. I just am lucky I wasn't recording any of them into a podcast.
It’s not *too* bad for 20-something white dudes in 2010, but the worst so far in my binge (on 55 rn) are uses of the r slur, Griffin saying a transphobic slur (the s-m one) and Justin joking about calling golden dollar Sacagawea coins “savage cents.” Still pretty stupid white boy frat humor, but they have learned from that era and that’s a good thing.
My fiancé and I been listening to the show backwards. We jumped in at an earlier time but now go back and listen to the episodes. It really doesn’t matter where you start. Personally the clip they posted about Justin drinking the stinkbug is what I’m going to show people to get into it because it’s so funny
“I NEED IT TO *FUNNY!*”
Back in October, I finished binging Sawbones, so decided to give MBMBaM a shot. I tried the most recent episodes at the time, but found them a bit chaotic for not yet having a relationship with all three brothers, so I then decided to listen from episode 1. It worked out great for me because I do so much driving for work that I got through their early episodes super quickly, and then had more context for when they really got into their groove. (As of a couple weeks ago, I am now caught up! I did the math, and I averaged about 2.5 episodes per day lol)
I like 200 as the earliest episode. They’ve gotten into the groove enough that it doesn’t feel wholly different from the current podcast. But if I were recommending someone’s first episode ever, I’d start with something more recent (within the last year) and then have them go back to 200 if they liked it.
200’s the best all-around starting point, for sure! You get: 200-Retrospective-some good goofs and people who took our advice 201-Clip Show-a taste of the early ages 202-Live Show-one of their earlier shows when they were still getting their sea-legs 204-John Roderick guestpert segment (before he was the reviled Bean Dad) 207-Thank Travis for Travis 209-Planet of the Apes watch 210-Elizabeth Gilbert guestpert(!!) and Yippee Ki-Yay, Holy Father 213.5-THE ADVENTURE ZONE PILOT 215-Glass Shark Like it’s such a banger-rich vein of episodes that it’s an amazing on-ramp for anyone who feels like they missed the MBMBaM boat and want to see a good starting point that won’t leave them feeling out of the loop
John Roderick was without a doubt the dumbest cancellation of all time.
idk, he was a pretty shitty dude talking about how he handled the bean thing, and those weird ass “blaming the jews” tweets raised enough eyebrows for the mcelroys to not want to associate with him anymore
This leaves out 193, Journey to the Center of the Bear, featuring guestspert Lin Manuel Miranda… I just think skipping the 100s is a mistake.
Totally fair, but as a starting point, I think 200 is an excellent snapshot of the show at-large, and at a time where most listeners agree that the brothers really found their rhythm. Not saying to skip 1-199, just if you’re unsure where to begin, 200 is a fine spot; then, once the hooks are in ya, explore the whole catalog.
Personally every time I fall out of the habit of keeping up with MBMBAM, I just start with the most recent episode and work backwards. It works perfectly fine since it’s not like it’s a story based podcast or anything. That being said I understand why people wouldn’t like doing that, so if that’s not your style and you want a genuine starting point to work chronologically instead, defer to other commenters here!
This is definitely also how I listen! I don’t have a commute anymore so I don’t listen as frequently as I used to, but I still love checking in on what they’re up to when I get around to it lol
The real answer is, regardless of where you start in the backlog, always listen to the newest one every week, because the references are fresh. Then, when you have more time to listen, start back at any of the great starting points others have pointed out in chronological order. Then finally once you’re curious enough, go back to episode 1 and see how they started compared to now.
I think I started at 367 (because a friend had showed me a part of that episode that caught my interest), caught up, and then did 1-366 (skipped a lot between 1 and 100 though due mostly to audio quality, but also because there were some parts that even the boys aren’t proud of). If I could do it all over, I would start at 101 and experience them growing as people and professionals. There are some great bits in the 100s. Then I’d go back to 1-100 and give those a shot after I’ve heard the rest and know they have that growth.
> experience them growing as people and professionals It’s wild to think that Griffin had barely graduated from college when they started and now he’s a mid-thirties married father of two.
I wish!!!! Griffin and I were born the same year, so we are decidedly late-30s this year 😭😭😭 it’s so flipping surreal to listen back to old eps knowing that Griffin and I were experiencing life stuffs as 1987ers. I didn’t listen to the pod in real-time till my early 30s but those early eps are especially poignant for me lol.
Look being so for real I am a bit of a completionist so I started at episode one. I also have too much free time so I was able to do that. I feel like it definitely gets you into the deep “lore” of the brothers. But I agree with everyone else is the comments that around 200 is probably a good jump in point if you don’t feel like listening from the (super chaotic) beginning. Either that or I would tell people to go look at animatics and pick one that makes em laugh and jump in from there and work their way back eventually (again the completionist in me wants people to know the old bits 😂)
I am the same! I started from episode 1 because I had to and I’m only at 396 now. But my husband listens to the newer ones so if there’s a really funny one (like Plato’s Rave) I go and listen to it out of order to keep semi-current. It’s the same reason I listened through Graduation even though everyone told me not to, the completionist in me has to!
Ep. 200 really is kind of an ideal starting point - that way everything happens chronologically and you’re not skipping around - then, once you’re caught up, you can go listen to the older ones while waiting on new stuff.
I think im personally biased towards (listening to whatever is new, but then jumping back to) the 2016/17 era since that’s when I started. The leadup to Margaritaville is pretty legendary for me. My other unhinged strategy is listening to old episodes from the same week of the past year. So during that week, i will listen to whatever episode came out every year around July 4 etc.. Gives a little slice from many eras and keeps it seasonally relevant even if ‘outdated’. My dream is to have a website that aggregates it for me.
That's brillant!
I started at episode 1 (when they were already in the 300s) and personally those early ones before 100 are some of my favorites
Episode 1 baby. Go on the journey.
I think It’s worth starting at episode 1 to see their evolution, particularly around ep 30 with the furry thing. If you really don’t want to go all that way back, I recommend listening to the bros better, bros best episodes that cover the first 150 or so, and then jump into the actual episodes.
Hear me out: start with the TV show
It’s how I found them back in 2017 actually
My recommeded starting point is Episode 1. I started on Ep1 sometime in late 2022 and am now only like 150 episodes from the current. I feel like there's a lot of McEl-lore to absorb in the first 100-150 episodes. It cool hearing them develop from 3 guys in a shed (basically) to joining MaxFun, to starting their D&D podcast, to filming their TV show, to getting celebrity guests on the show, and so on. I really love the McElboys, faults and all, and love hearing their development. Now that I'm in COVID era MBMBAM, I do occasionally sprinkle the most current episode in from time to time, but generally I play "catch up" and listen to them chronologically.
Go all in, start with Plato's rave or war with Grandpa.
If you are looking for something a bit later than 200, I thought 354 was a good place to start. Bean Freak is an iconic episode and it throws you in at mid 2017, which seems like a good spot for a long time ago but not too long!
You can listen in reverse chronological order, but if you want to listen in forward chronological order, I guess I wouldn't recommend starting earlier than episode 100. Audio quality is poor in the earlier episodes, they make some offensive jokes, and it's before they really find their groove and rhythm.
My experience has been that most peoples favorite episodes are from around the time they started listening. For example, when I started they were in in the mid 300s so I listened both backwards and forwards from there. So what I think of as "the classics" and my fave episode range spans give or take about a hundred-ish episodes in either direction from 350. From approximately McElroy Family Fun Hour Brought To You By Totinos, to around Hand Dog Face Cat. One of my best friends started listening later than me, in the 400s, so his fave span is later: from the 300s to more recent. (With the exception of a notable Dark Ages where you would expect.) I suppose this doesn't really help you hook new listeners but maybe the answer is to just start them with whatever's good now and let them go from there.
I listened from 1 when I started back in 2018 or so, and recently have been dipping into the old episodes again. What I didn’t realize the first time around was what an important milestone their months-long advertising campaign with Extreme Restraints was. They underwent EXPONENTIAL growth as human beings during that period. Or maybe it just helped them find the comfort to be really and truly weird. So if you’re an existing fan looking to listen to some of the old stuff, and can handle the fact that they’re still kind of ignorant at the time but clearly learning, start around 116! Or one episode earlier if you want to know about Roker Poker.
I don’t remember which episode I heard first (I’m a late adopter), but I did decide to start from 1. Absolutely some cringe moments from all of them, but as so many have said here, you can tell that they have learned and grown and changed over the years which is a very cool way of seeing people modify thoughts and behaviors in real time. All this said, you could just do what I do and listen to episode 563 over and over. I crylaugh multiple times during that ep.
I would start at Glass Shark (215?) and move forward to present. Once you've done that, I'd say 1 - Glass Shark are worth listening to, but also realizing how much they've all grown since then is important. My personal favorites: Glass Shark Big Game Tony Scatman Zozo I Have Seen Every Bird Eeyore Eeyore Eeyore
If I've been slacking and haven't been keeping up, I'll just start from the beginning of the year and I'd recommend any new listeners to do the same. You'll be missing out on some lore, but whatever you're missing out on you can probably find clipped or animated on YouTube and you'll get caught up.
I started semi-recently on 547 and recently caught up, but I've been considering going back and starting earlier now that I'm current. I'd been watching a lot of animatics for years, so I just picked one and decided that'd be where I started so I could start off with Chili Wonka.
I listened to all of the Adventure Zone through Ethersea and so I started MBMBAM at Episode 1. Now I’m on episode 382 (Nov 2017). It’s been a delight to relive the world before 2020!
Really, wherever the hell you feel like as long as it's not the first 150. Personally, I started with 401, and what a starting point that was to get me hooked. I'd been a Sawbones listener for a few months and was doing a lot of driving for work events and I was definitely permanently on board after "when you nut in space, it push you backward."
389-399, omitting special eps, is a streak of pure fire.
Personally I’d start with the mid 100’s and a handful of the ones before that, but not all of them.
The naming of 2024
Episode 1
I stopped recommending the show to people. It's gone so sharply down hill since losing yahoos it's really not an enjoyable show unless you've been a long time fan with a parasocial relationship