Obscure with Michael Ian Black

S4 Episode 135 - Who Can Say

28 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

At long last, we've learned the defense strategy to extricate young Master Griffiths - a claim of physical and moral cowardice. What?! Seems dumb as h...

S4 Episode 134 - A Terrible Gamble

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As Clyde's trial continues apace, Clyde takes the stand to speak on behalf of his own self. It's a terrible gamble for the defense, as DA Mason must s...

S4 Episode 133 - The Ides and Teeth of March

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Torment begins today's episode. A discussion of soft foods leads off today's episode before we pick up Belknap's opening argument on the trial of one ...

S4 Episode 132 - I Don't Want To Do Things

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Your rambling host details, for no discernible reason, his weeklong schedule (pronounced: sh-edule). He then moves on to using the word "nadir," which...

S4 Episode 131 - Better To Have Confessed

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The trial continues with much desolation accruing on the part of one Clyde Griffiths, as witness after witness corroborates the accusations of DA Orvi...

S4 Episode 130 - Wrong About Most Things

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Witness after witness condemning Clyde to Ol' Sparky. Dots are being connected, red yarn tied to thumbtacks, evidence uncovered! They even found the d...

S4 Episode 129 - DE-Fense! De-FENSE!

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The case is underway! Jury selection complete. Opening argument argued. And now, at long last, witnesses are taking the stand. What will they say? Wil...

S4 Episode 128 - Fighting for His Very Life

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde is there in that darn Bridgeburg courtroom trying his level best to keep calm and carry on, but it's tough. It's TOUGH! That Orville Mason is on...

S4 Episode 127 - The Best Face He Can

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After counsel for both prosecution and defense conclude jury selection, the Trail of the Century begins - at least in Bridgeburg - District Attorney O...

S4 Episode 126 - An Uphill Climb... Both Ways!

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Your host is snowbound following a winter blizzard, with nothing to do at all but read a classic work of literature out loud and comment on it as he g...

S4 Episode 125 - Like Flying Birds

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Your host recounts his week of travel to and from distant points on the continent. Las Vegas, San Francisco, and back to the East Coast for a new seas...

S4 Episode 124 - From the Master Boudoir...

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A sultry beginning to this week's episode of "Obscure," as your host describes his new locale, the primary bedroom of his midcentury masterpiece in th...

S4 Episode 123 - Bawl in the Family

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The news finally reaches the poor Asa Griffiths family, arriving as it does in the various circulars and broadsheets from far away lands. And nary a w...

S4 Episode 122 - An Ambling Man

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As Clyde rots in a Bridgeburg jail cell concocting, with attorneys Bellknap & Jephson, some potential defense which a jury will believe, your host...

S4 Episode 121 - Exculpatory Maneuvering

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A library amuck! The nature of tragedy contemplated! A legal strategy formulated! Rubble and debris of both the construction and personal types. Plus,...

S4 Episode 120 - Mr. Reuben Jephson

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

And now, the introduction of a, perhaps, pivotal character - the brown Mr. Jephson, partner of Belknap and counsel to one Clyde Griffiths. Will it fal...

S4 Episode 119 - Snug as a Bug in a Rug

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A first Thanksgiving in the midcentury masterpiece has come and gone and, with it, a cozy familial gathering. Some brief fireplace talk leads to a qui...

Happy Holidays from Obscure!

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While Clyde awaits his fate, Michael is taking a little time off. But we'll resume the book in the new year. Happy Holidays! See Privacy Policy at htt...

S4 Episode 118 - Skanks, Nothin' But Skanks

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While Skankfest doesn't sound like the sort of thing your host would enjoy, and yet he did! Your host recounts a trip to New Orleans in which he eats ...

S4 Episode 117 - First World Problems

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your humble host begins this episode kvetching about various First World problems, which include: a damaged washer/dryer, a bed frame imbroglio, and a...

S4 Episode 116 - Do the Right Thing

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Let's contemplate for a moment, shall we, the lack of social structure in poor Clyde Griffith's life. No immediate family to protect him in Lycurgus (...

S4 Episode 115 - Into the Woods

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library here in the wilds of Connecticut... after a 4 year Savannah sojourn, your host has returned to the woods. A ne...

S4 Episode 114 - A Real Horse's Patootie

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two horse patooties on this week's episode of Obscure. In the case of your host, the patootiness stems from taking extra trips when I'd rather be home...

S4 Episode 113 - Who Do I Gotta Kill To Get Ahead In This Life?

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Twice-over murderer Clyde Griffiths finds himself at the mercy of Johnny Law. Now he's in the hoosegow, awaiting his fate. Meanwhile, his fancy pals o...

S4 Episode 112 - What A Dunce You Are

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As indisputable proof arises that Clyde is, indeed, the instrument of death in the case of one Roberta Alden, Orville B. Mason isn't having more of yo...

S4 Episode 111 - Not Home, Alone

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mallomars, a terrific confection, is the subject of some discussion early in this episode which reminds your host that Mike and Tom Eat Snacks is back...

S4 Episode 110 - 23 and Zzzz

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your host complains of insomnia, discusses his genetic mutations, and makes this episode all about HIM instead of the terrible plight of Clyde Griffit...

S4 Episode 109 - Partying Like It's 1999

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

First off, your host doesn't party. Didn't party in 1999 and doesn't party now, so the title was, we're sorry to report, a lie. Even so, some late 20t...

S4 Episode 108 - Hey This Is For You, Baby

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Both Clyde and your host have a few bucks in our pockets. Your host, because he is a VERY FAMOUS CNN political contributor (not, strictly speaking, tr...

S4 Episode 107 - Velocitized!

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your host has returned from the former honeymoon capital of the world (not Niagara Falls) feeling like he's still on the move. Decades of travel have ...

S4 Episode 106 - Desire Under the Elms

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is the name of the opera your host was trying to recall during this week's episode. And it's desire, is it not, that has driven Clyde Griffiths to his...

S4 Episode 105 - An Enormous Personal Hate for the Man

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Haven't we all felt hatred for The Man at some point? In Orville Mason's case, the man in question is the murderer of Roberta Alden. Is that Clyde Gri...

S4 Episode 104 - A Fabulous Time Out There on the River

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The episode begins with a delightful recounting of a water adventure, which segues PERFECTLY into the horror show unfolding over there on Big Bittern....

S4 Episode 103 - Law & Order

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Book 3 unfolds, we're starting to transform from "The Wire" to "Law & Order." We've got the DA (portrayed by the late Jerry Orbach) and the cor...

S4 Episode 102 - My Dogs are Literal Animals

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having just spent two days in the car with his pets, your host spends most of the episode complaining about the adorable Ole and Squash, who are not a...

S4 Episode 101 - Machinations!

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There's been a murder (maybe) in these here parts and political machinations are afoot! The coroner, upon suspecting foul play, has some ideas in that...

S4 Episode 100 - Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reporting this episode from the former honeymoon capital of the world (not Niagra Falls), the Poconos Mountains which is an ideal location to commit a...

S4 Episode 99 - Dithering and Dickering

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Perhaps we are at the moment of no return. Hard to say, of course, and lo we have had the rug pulled from under our feet so many times over these last...

S4 Episode 98 - What a lousy Independence Day but a fine day for a MURDER

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An airport adventure begins this week's episode but your host is happy to assure you that, while his family's was waylaid in NYC attempting to return ...

S4 Episode 97 - We Don't Have Swiss Cheese, We're Waffle House

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some thoughts on Waffle House and some heavy breathing kick off this week's episode. Meanwhile, all kinds of trouble await poor Robert Alden as she de...

S4 Episode 96 - Crucial Days Indeed

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some comparing and contrasting on the natures and characters of our respective heroines, Bob and Sondy F from the perspective of our hero, the cad. Ca...

S4 Episode 95 - Fits and Starts

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A remembrance of a summer past begins today's episode as your host recalls a trip to his grandmother's apartment, a trip which involved watching the r...

S4 Episode 94 - Long Live the State; Not So Much Bob

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your host begins with tales of glamor and intrigue and film festivals, but such tales are short-lived, are they not? And, truth be told, very little i...

S4 Episode 93 - The Desolate, Impenetrable Forests

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An honest-to-goodness "Price is Right" challenge! Plus, tales of Las Vegas decadence and Lycurgus debauchery! In addition, a comedic definition of the...

S4 Episode 92 - I Didn't Come to Las Vegas to Be Bored!

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your host has created for himself a little working vay-cay out in the wilds of the Nevada desert for a debauched week of poker-playing and podcast rec...

S4 Episode 91 - Taking the Low Road

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While Ol' Bert suffers in Biltz, Clyde and Sondra are canoodling over at Twelfth Lake, their kisses turning into warm embraces in the moonlight. And y...

S4 Episode 90 - Murder, Gossip, Sex!

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We start today's episode with some hot show biz goss about Colman Domingo, the show biz industry in general, and the Met Gala. Then we delve into the ...

S4 Episode 89 - Presumably Containing Lunch

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the number of listeners continues to dwindle (and, honestly, why it hasn't disappeared altogether is a mystery to me), your host recounts a visit t...

S4 Episode 88 - Some Honest to God Celebrity Hot Goss

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reporting this episode from a haunted condominium in Hollywood, California! Ok, it's not haunted and, strictly speaking it isn't in Hollywood. But her...

S4 Episode 87 - The Fifth of June Arriving

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the umpteenth episode, Clyde is torn between his former flame and the current inferno warming him from the direction of Twelfth Lake. A gravid Bob...

S4 Episode 86 - It was not right. It was not fair

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some real moments of irritation from your host this week as he loses patience with both Bob AND Ted Dreiser. Now maybe it's on account of your host's ...

S4 Episode 85 - Speaking of Bobs

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A couple of Bobs on the podcast this time around, one the familiar Bob of episodes past, the knocked-up one. Then there's another Bob, only mentioned ...

S4 Episode 84 - A Dark Cloud Which Shadowed This Other

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sleepy host, a pregnant Bob, and a potential lover who, in the mind of your host, looks like a comic book character. Clyde and Roberta remain in the...

S4 Episode 83 - On Celebrating and Not Celebrating

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The episode begins with a reflection on St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, which - your host is told - is the nation's 3rd largest St. Patty's Day celebra...

S4 Episode 82 - Horny Young People

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you think about it, isn't all art about horny young people? Sure it is. And where does it all lead? No place good. Which is how you end up with a...

S4 Episode 81 - This Episode is Toast

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As your host's moderate smartness is slowly replaced with moderate dumbness, he contemplates the obvious etymology of a certain, common phrase in the ...

S4 Episode 80 - How Do You Like Dem Apples?

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recounting two apple-themed cities in my travels this episode. You might even learn some trivia about one of our foremost planters of apple trees. New...

S4 Episode 79 - Alligator Soul

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Timely as always, your host contemplates the difference between two war movies, neither of which came out in the last 10 years. Plus, some culinary co...

S4 Episode 78 - Processing

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Now ensconced back on American soil, your mansplainer-in-chief processes his return to his native land as he contemplates ice cream sandwiches, the tr...

S4 Episode 77 - Ok look Part II

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The audio, as promised, is terrible again. And yes, it's entirely my fault. Good audio resumes next episode. As for this episode, you know, it's just ...

S4 Episode 76 - Ok look...

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The sound is bad this week, and it's your host's fault. A further warning: the sound will be next week as well, but after that - SMOOTH SAILING!!! So ...

S4 Episode 75 - The Trek Toulouse

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your host reports today from the fabulous French city of Toulouse, where the second leg of his grand Tour de France continues. Over in the decidedly l...

S4 Episode 74 - The "Blues"

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The nascent jazz age is upon Roberta Alden and the "blues," as we commonly know it today, was probably a word just coming into the vernacular. Even so...

S4 Episode 73 - 2025, Baby

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recounting New Year's Eve and a heated argument with a cop. Clyde, too, is in heat. For the comely Sondra Finchley. Increasingly, it seems as though t...

S4 Episode 72 - How Bizarre

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A fabulous synchronicity as Christmas arrives for both Clyde Griffiths and your humble host, joined this week by his daughter, Ruthie, who has returne...

S4 Episode 71- Some Jane Austen-esque Hinjinks!

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nobody was expecting hijinks from Dreiser but here we are, enjoying an episode which is little more than a comedy of errors. Clyde has maneuvered the ...

S4 Episode 70 - Sad People Struggling to Make Something of Themselves

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some Thanksgiving reminiscences commingled with A Christmas Memory on this episode of Obscure, along with some desperate pining and misery on the part...

S4 Episode 69 - A Fungoid Homecoming

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roberta Alden is back in Biltz to visit the Alden clan for the holidays, and what a drab holiday it 'tis. But is it really Biltz homestead that troubl...

S4 Episode 68 - Join the Club, Betty!

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After chapters of chronicling Clyde's gaiety in the arms of Sondra Finchley, we're returning to Roberta Alden's parochial world. Much depression and a...

Turkey Time

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking some time off for Thanksgiving. In the meantime enjoy the ENTIRE theme to Obscure, composed by the great Craig Wedren. You have always wa...

S4 Episode 67 - Your Last "Obscure" Episode of Normalcy

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As your host anticipates the US election, he acknowledges the Harris/Walz campaign for their excellence. Of course, your host had no idea at the time ...

S4 Episode 66 - A pre-election episode

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As your host contemplates his upcoming dinner, one might detect a misbegotten lightness of being. Misbegotten because he does not what's about to happ...

S4 Episode 65 - Party Animal

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde is out there living it up while Roberta sits at home and cries. Well, we don't know that Roberta is home crying while Clyde is out among the Lyc...

S4 Episode 64 - Will You Still Love Me...

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's our 64th episode of Season 4, your host is sleepy, and it's the fault of Martha. Clyde is partying hearty, with the potential of betrayal! Lots o...

S4 Episode 63 - Salad Days

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well, Michael and his wife are in a tiff for reasons that are ENTIRELY HIS FAULT. Even so, that doesn't mean he is in the wrong! (He is in the wrong.)...

S4 Episode 62 - All the Kinky Stuff

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roberta and Clyde have given themselves over to their most lascivious desires. While Dreiser does not spell out the exact nature of these desires, it'...

S4 Episode 61 - Into the Obscurniverse

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It seems like sin is in the wind as Clyde and Roberta have commenced their intimacies. Both parties find themselves conflicted over this new turn of e...

S4 Episode 60 - A Room of Their Own

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Danger abounds as Clyde and Roberta dance along a pinhead! How do they navigate this treacherous impasse at which they've found themselves? It's well-...

S4 Episode 59 - Why Must We Endure This Agony?

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A true American tragedy occurred right before the taping of this episode of Obscure. How wilI your host continue in light of such awfulness ...

S4 Episode 58 - Guac Tualk

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A little too much guacamole on today's episode of "Obscure." Sometimes even delicious things can leave one feeling overstuffed: guacamole and, yes, ev...

S4 Episode 57 - Big Boys and Little Guys

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some terrific snack talk at the start of today's episode, in which your host expounds on one of the finest confections, the traditional ice cream sand...

S4 Episode 56 - 30% Sold Out, 70% Empty!

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The love between Clyde and Roberta continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but problems arise as the two lovebirds find themselves struggling to steal ...

S4 Episode 55 - Water, Water Everywhere

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Tropical Storm Debby lashes the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library, Clyde and Roberta are drowning... in love! Plus, many references to the Rubicon, wh...

S4 Episode 54 - Running for the Border

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde is desperately trying to escape the borders of his own social strictures as he connives to engage Roberta in conversation and possibly even... C...

S4 Episode 53 - Canoodling Canoe

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde and Roberta are about to do the deed (share a canoe). After months of distant lustery, the two have found themselves in the same place at the sa...

S4 Episode 52 - In This Dead Summertime

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The heat is rising out there in Lycurgus. Nothing to do in the stultifying heat but rent a boat and head on out to Crum Lake and eat some goddamned wa...

S4 Episode 51 - Mrs. Peyton!

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A mystery resolved! In last week's episode, we puzzled over the identity of a certain Mrs. Peyton. Friends, that mystery is solved in this tantalizing...

S4 Episode 50 - Fiddy

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Huge episode today as we cross the proverbial Rubicon. There's no going back now, not after we reach the half century mark. As we cross our own point ...

S4 Episode 49 - Zagnut? I hardly know her!

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ok look, that's not a great title. The pun is nonsensical, but how else to convey that this is the first episode in which your host reviews the old-ti...

S4 Episode 48 - Resisting Facts, Revering Illusion

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We learn a bit more about the new gal, Roberta Alden, in today's episode. Her past, her hometown, her family. Plus, some ruminating on the politics of...

S4 Episode 47 - Projection!

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A working girl has caught Clyde's eye. Some new hire from 50 miles north of Lycurgus, a Miss Roberta Alden, delicate of hand and lip. What difficultie...

S4 Episode 46 - Schenectady, Oshkosh, and Albuquerque

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There you have it, three funny city names. You don't need any other funny city names when you've got these. If you're worried that there aren't enough...

S4 Episode 45 - Liggett and Wigham, Wigham and Liggett

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde has been bumped up to the 5th floor of the Griffiths Collar Factory to oversee collar stamping. There's collars to be stamped and Clyde is being...

S4 Episode 44 - Tush!

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Could Clyde possibly be a snob? Does he have it within him? Dreiser certainly seems to think so. On today's episode of Obscure, Clyde is cast from the...

S4 Episode 43 - I'd Never Join a Club That Would Have Me as a Member

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The old Groucho line has rarely been more apropos than in this week's episode. Everybody's turning their back on poor Clyde. The hottie Sondra, the ma...

S4 Episode 42 - A Sunday Supper

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde has come a'calling to visit the Samuel Griffiths clan, those Lycurgus sophisticates to whom he is related. He's much impressed with the Griffith...

S4 Episode 41- Cheetos Puffs!

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode of Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, Mike and Tom review Cheetos Puffs. Admittedly, this isn't Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, but you do get one (...

S4 Episode 40 - Cake and Ice Cream!

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is dedicated to the combination of cake and ice cream. Why is this not a greater topic of conversation in the culture? Because we take it...

S4 Episode 39 - Grasping and Hustling

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new character has entered the fray, Walter Dillard, a grifter aspirant. Young Dillard attempts to ingratiate himself with our hero, Clyde Griffiths,...

S4 Episode 38 - A Bearded Dragon

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clyde meets a fellow boarder, a Niles to his Frasier, a "brainless sprig" named Walter Dillard. Dillard is eager to make Clyde's acquaintance upon lea...