This Thing Rules

This Thing Rules

Brian Altano and Max Scoville

Episodes 62
Avg. Duration 49m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 5.0 (118)
Since Sep 2024
Latest Episode May 2026

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Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
72%
Hosting
anchor.fm

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

This Thing Rules is a show where we celebrate our favorite things. What kind of things, exactly? All kinds of things! Movies, foods, cities, bands, shows, books, albums, toys, pictures, moments. Each episode, join long-time collaborators and best pals Brian Altano and Max Scoville as they focus on a different subject, ask themselves what’s so great about it, share some anecdotes about how they grew to love it, unearth some trivia about it, and celebrate the fact that it exists.

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Recent Episodes

S1E61 Conventions Rule!

May 22, 2026 33m

From Comic-Cons on both coasts to gaming expos on multiple continents, we’ve attended our fair share of nerdy gatherings, and they’re great! This episode, we’re digging into that magic of getting a…

S1E60 Refrigerator Magnets, Short Stories and Breweries Rule!

May 01, 2026 49m

This episode, we’re extrapolating on the joys of the most functional souvenirs with magnetic properties, our favorite short-form fiction, and one of the more wholesome settings to legally imbibe…

S1E59 Capsule Toy Machines Rule!

Apr 03, 2026 37m

You know! Those things that are like gumball machines, but for little toys! Growing up in the USA, they usually dispensed a sticky hand, some slime, maybe a lil Homie, but in Japan they’ve been in…

S1E58 Yard Work, Sneakers & Cookies Rule!

Mar 06, 2026 46m

We’ve got another grab bag episode here, or rather, three very different bags: one’s a big paper bag full of dead leaves and grass clippings, another from a shoe store, and the third is from a…

S1E57 Road Trips Rule!

Feb 20, 2026 42m

Ah, hitting the open road! A timeless rite of passage and quintessentially American adventure, unless of course you’re stuck in the car with your whole family, taking the bus or making unexpected pit…

S1E56 Carrot Cake Rules! ...Or Does It? (Featuring Alex "Kozibear" Kozina)

Feb 06, 2026 46m

This week, it’s our most politically-charged and divisive topic yet: Carrot Cake. We’re joined by Alex “Kozibear” Kozina, long time friend of the show and culinary adventurer, to discuss the history…

S1E55 Lizards, Tunnels & Bubble Bobble Rule!

Jan 23, 2026 43m

It’s another grab bag of odds and ends that we love: lizards, those dogs of the reptile kingdom, tunnels, those underground bridges, and Bubble Bobble, which is sort of about lizards in a tunnel,…

S1E54 Movie Theaters Rule!

Jan 09, 2026 1h 1m

Easily one of the top 5 best dark rooms you pay money to sit inside for several hours, movie theaters make for a singular experience, where people flock together to sit in silence and social…

S1E53 Willy Wonka Rules!

Dec 26, 2025 48m

Roald Dahl’s child-endangering chocolatier is one of the most beloved literary characters, turned into an iconic film character by Gene Wilder. We’ve gotten a Timothée Chalamet prequel that’s better…

S1E52 Christmas Eve Rules! (Featuring Jared Petty)

Dec 12, 2025 53m

This episode, we’re joined by our most Santa Claus-like friend, Jared Petty, to discuss the night before Christmas. Like, the actual night, not the poem. We share some of our favorite memories,…

S1E51 Haircuts Rule!

Nov 28, 2025 36m

This week we’re taking a little off the top, and tipping our hat to the age-old ceremony of lowering one’s ears. Or, in laymen’s terms, getting a haircut. We recount some of our proudest coiffures…

S1E50 Fridays Rule!

Nov 14, 2025 37m

Almost the weekend! Friday is technically a weekday, but it’s not like the other weekdays: it’s a COOL weekday. We discuss the origins, pop cultural significance, and our own personal feelings about…

S1E49 Autumn Rules!

Oct 31, 2025 36m

Or wait, is it fall? Whichever, it's great, and not just because of Halloween. You know, aside from our vestigial back-to-school anxiety, rapidly approaching seasonal depression, the looming threat…

S1E48 Bats, Gum & Nice New Pens Rule!

Oct 17, 2025 45m

This week, Max has a surprise grab bag for Brian! Will he think these things rule as much as Max does? We discuss everyone’s favorite flying rodent that isn’t a flying squirrel, gum of the chewing…

S1E47 Gingerbread Houses, Snaggletooth & Stegosauruses Rule!

Oct 03, 2025 34m

This week, Brian prepared a special surprise variety pack grab bag of things that he thinks Max might be a big fan of. Gingerbread Houses, those once-seasonal edible wiccan domiciles that have since…

S1E46 Album Covers Rule!

Sep 18, 2025 51m

How music looks isn’t as important as how it sounds, but it certainly plays a role. This episode, we talk about our relationship with album covers, which sometimes look like the music they’re…

Grilling Rules!

Sep 12, 2025 46m

At one point, using fire to cook stuff outside was part of daily life, but now it’s just a way of microdosing caveman life. Whether you’re using gas, charcoal, or a hot sidewalk, there’s something…

S1E44 Toy Commercials Rule!

Sep 05, 2025 49m

This week, we’re delving into a very special sort of generational brain damage that we can specifically blame/thank the Reagan administration for: toy commercials! Growing up the 80s and 90s,…

S1E44 Travel Rules! (Live From Düsseldorf)

Aug 29, 2025 24m

This episode, we tried something new and recorded on location from a restaurant in Düsseldorf, Germany. We sampled the local beer and talked about some of our adventures in Deutschland, including…

S1E43 Keith David, Fire & Bread Bag Clips Rule!

Aug 08, 2025 54m

This week, we’re tackling a few extremely unrelated things that rule: fire (the element), Keith David (the actor) and bread bag clips (the clips that come on bags of bread.) Why, you ask? Well, it…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does This Thing Rules have?

This Thing Rules has published 62 episodes since September 2024, covering topics in Hobbies, Leisure.

Is This Thing Rules still active?

This Thing Rules is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 49m.

How do I contact This Thing Rules for sponsorship or guest appearances?

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