Episodes
Who’s there? Jenn and C are live from NYC with two special guests, one unfunny NOCK NOCK joke and exactly zero LILLIPUTIANs! If you’re wondering whether you’re a DUMDUM for not knowing NUMBAT or tanking on TANTALUM...you're not. But take a listen and you'll never miss them again!
Published 04/29/24
What's the difference between BONK and BOINK? Why should you know BOBOLINK? And what is Vintage Vocab anyway?? Grab a seat at the Boomer Bar with C, Jenn, and Jenn's mom, Bonnie. We're about to spill everything we know about Spelling Bee words!
Published 04/22/24
It's an episode full of bouquets, BRICKBATs, SYZYGY, and BACCARAT. So shut your PIEHOLE, wipe your mouth on a NAPKIN, and put on your eclipse glasses. It's show time! Content Warning: We talk about a word related to sexual violence in this episode. Take care while listening.
Published 04/15/24
This show has T**s. This show has COCKs. But if you think we're talking about anything other than words, you are barking up the wrong tree, PUPPY! Join us for YIPPEEs, YODELs, a bit of LOLLYGAGGing and a lot of excitement over a wild card discovery so good, we can't stop saying DAG.
Published 04/08/24
We're away this week, but don't worry. We've picked out the perfect episode to re-air: the April Fool's show from our very first season! The deep dive on "HOODWINK" is a T&B classic. Come back next Monday for an all new episode.
Published 04/02/24
T&B is having a wild time this week--we're breaking all our own rules and dedicating the entire episode to one very special guest. William Shunn, the mastermind behind Spelling Bee Solver⁠, is back and we couldn't BEE happier.
Published 03/25/24
This week on T&B we’re revisiting a few “strands” from last week’s episode, rehashing an old conversation about FILLIP, taking another look at those GLUTEI, and having feelings about MICROMINI. Are we VICTIMs of the Bee’s befuddling ways…or are we active agents in the experience of our own game play? There’s only one way to find out.
Published 03/18/24
This week on T&B we’re figuring out how to play the new NYTimes game, Strands, and following the strands of conversation wherever they take us! It’s an episode full of tangents, PENTATHLETEs, ARMADILLOs, and ARANCINI that might just serve as a NEPENTHE for your troubles. Step into the DIORAMA and enjoy the show!
Published 03/11/24
It’s March madness on T&B this week! What are we mad about? Oh, you know, only the exclusion of EFFABLE, the inclusion of NUDIE, all the Bee ARGOT, and the terrible results of our NYTimes’ Puzzle Personality Quiz! Join us for spontaneous PLAUDITs and linguistic BEDIZENMENT, then head over to @TomtitBaobab on Facebook to see our INEFFABLE Puzzle Quiz avatars and share yours!
Published 03/04/24
We’re back from Puerto Rico and freezing cold! So bear with us as we reminisce about the beach, fruity cocktails, and…BURGOO? From LIVIDITY-producing words for gruel to big ideas like GOOGOL, we’re covering more ground than a MANKINI. Jared joins us for surf speak in an extra wild Wild Card.
Published 02/26/24
C & Jenn are on holiday (yet again), so it's up to self-styled super guest host extraordinaire Jared Goodman to take y'all through the bee this week. Come for the Week in Bees, the Word of the Week & UNBEELIEVABLE WORDS™, stay for the ridiculous tangents, including Tutankhamun: His Tomb & His Treasures and the Step Up film franchise. Don't ask. Just go with it.
Published 02/19/24
In this episode, Valentine’s Day meets the Super Bowl meets the NYTimes Spelling Bee. The result? AGELONG entertainment and BALLYARD (sem)antics! It doesn’t matter whether you go LONGAN or go wide, with T&B hitting play is the winning play every time.
Published 02/12/24
C and Jenn are back for a whole new season of #NYTimesSpellingBee banter! This episode we’re running through the best and worst Bees of our winter break, boondoggling our way into the hearts of all Americans, and learning a very fancy word for the study of flags. No hoodwinkery or mountebankery here! T&B is the real deal for #WordNerds.
Published 02/05/24
♫ It’s the most wonderful time of the year. ♫ We're wrapping up 2023--and Season 4 of Tomtit &Baobab--with a show full of gifts, cheer, and of course, words! We’ve got a list of best pangrams for C, limerick singing for Jenn, ETYMOLOGY for everybody, and Nearly Twelve Christmas Pangrams for Tim Alborn! We also have a special appearance from Jenn’s dad, the Rev. Dr. James Hallam, who boasts a big vocabulary and believes we can create a kinder, more peaceful, more just world through the...
Published 12/18/23
If your HOBBY is the NYTimes Spelling Bee, come HOBNOB with us! On this penultimate episode of T&B Season 4, we’re tackling crucial questions like: What the heck happened with HAMACHI? Who wouldn’t want a CHIA bee? When is a PINNY not a penny? And why is “Pop Goes the Weasel” a perfect tune for word puzzle enthusiasts? We may have limited rizz, but we’ve got risibility galore…and a rousing performance inspired by Tim Alborn, if you can make it to the end.
Published 12/11/23
Here at T&B, we like our TAMARI on a TATAMI and our belly laughs by the BOTTLEFUL. We also like a good interview with a NYTimes Spelling Bee-inspired limerick writer! That’s right, fellow Word Nerds, we’re talking with the very poetic Tim Alborn, and all INDICIA suggest this is one hu-MUNG-ous episode you won’t want to miss.
Published 12/05/23
It’s our second annual live, mostly unedited, Thanksgiving show! In this week’s extraORDINARY episode of T&B, our families are gathered ‘round the table to give thanks for “word things and language stuff”. We’re sharing some of our favorite word-related apps, places, and games; dishing out un-BEE-lievable words; and serving up a second helping of hilarity. It’s loud, it’s crazy, and…it’s just like being with us for the holidays. (Listen to the end for a musical TUQUE surprise!)
Published 11/27/23
This week’s episode of T&B is TEETOTALLY for the birds--and we mean that in the most literal possible way! We’re talking about the puteketeke, the gooney, and the LINNET. But don’t get your tailfeatherses ruffled if winged words aren’t your thing. MEATLOAF, PANDITs, and NOOGIEs are also in the mix, along with a wild card that Scrabble-lovers will fall over laughing for.
Published 11/20/23
Do foot bones count in the NYTimes Spelling Bee? What’s the deal with New England donuts? And what the heck is Gen Z talking about?? This week we’re going back to answer these and other burning questions from previous episodes. But it’s not all housekeeping: We’re also checking the LOOKBOOK, attending the LUNCHEON, and loading up the BOOKMOBILE. It’s an episode of BIBLICAL proportions!
Published 11/13/23
Whether you had a problem with PAPAW, forgot how to spell FETTUCCINE, or didn’t have a clue about DAPHNE, T&B has something to lift every Bee player’s spirits…and it's probably a COCKTAIL! On this week’s episode, we’re serving up funny words, fabulous ducks, and old-fashioned attitudes about informal talk in the workplace. Warning: you might just burst out laughing ;)
Published 11/06/23
If you like your Halloween silly, spooky, and full of word candy, Tomtit & Baobab is the place to Bee! This week on T&B, we’re counting up the tricks and treats from last week’s puzzles, unmasking the meaning of HORROR, and just about laughing our heads off talking Trash Words with C’s mom. When you knock on this door, we hand out FIVEFOLD the fun.  
Published 10/30/23
Remember the carefree days of youth, when all seemed right with the world and the only bodily pains you had were growing pains? Nope, we don’t either! On this episode of T&B, we are officially claiming the status of ANCIENT, distracting ourselves from reality with a GIGUE,  and delving into the realms of fantasy and Facebook, where anyone can be a god and everyone has an AVATAR to prove it. To top it all off, we’re using our ancient brains to solve the NYTimes word game, Connections…live!...
Published 10/23/23
To paraphrase J.R.R. Tolkien, not all those who stravaig are lost! On this episode of T&B, we’re taking the long way, going ERRANT, and branching off as the roads RAMIFY. So, embrace your inner HOBBIT and join us for a TANTARA-filled adventure that stretches from Wales to New Zealand to New England and back again.
Published 10/16/23
What do you get when you throw two jet-lagged word nerds in a room, take away their usual recording equipment, and ask them to say the longest place name in the world? A pod o’ gold, of course! Just returned from our jaunt through England, Wales, and Ireland, we’re back with Spelling Bee banter, lighthearted HECKLING, and a lesson in how to pronounce Welsh all kinds of wrong. So put on your woolly jumpers, make yourself a cuppa, and settle in for some T&B fun!
Published 10/09/23