My Brother, My Brother and Me (often abbreviated as MBMBaM, pronounced ) is a weekly comedy advice podcast distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy. Regular episodes of the podcast feature the brothers comedically providing answers to questions either submitted by listeners or found online.
The show was independently produced and released by the McElroy brothers from April 2010 until joining the Maximum Fun network of podcasts in January 2011. In 2010, the show was consistently listed among the top 10 comedy podcasts on iTunes. Writing for The A.V. Club, critics David Anthony and Colin Griffith both counted MBMBaM as one of their top 10 podcasts of 2012. A TV series based on the podcast premiered on Seeso in February 2017 and was hosted on VRV until the service got absorbed into Crunchyroll.
History Origins and self-publishing Justin McElroy was previously a host for The Joystiq Podcast, a video game talk show which launched as part of the website Joystiq in 2007. His brother Griffin was also a journalist for the site and would regularly appear on the show as a guest host, usually to fill in for an absent member of the cast. Various McElroy family members appeared as guests over the show's run, including their father Clint McElroy.
In April 2010, the brothers- along with middle brother Travis McElroy- launched My Brother, My Brother and Me as an independent advice podcast. The show quickly gained popularity due to the family's established audience from Joystiq; Justin advertised MBMBaM at the end of each episode. The family also encouraged their Joystiq fans to hold listening parties with new people- and if there were at least four people to be present at an event, they would record a 30 second greeting clip to be played at the party. Justin acknowledged that the broader conversational scope of MBMBaM gave Joystiq listeners opportunity to introduce friends who were not interested in video games to the show.
For the first 37 episodes, the show's theme song was "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA. "Root to This" by Fear of Pop was used as a closing theme until episode 28, and later "Play Your Part (Pt. 2)" by Girl Talk.
Maximum Fun The show became part of the Maximum Fun network in January 2011, and thereafter changed opening theme- wanting to avoid a potential lawsuit over the lack of permission for "Take a Chance on Me". The show adopted "(It's a) Departure" by John Roderick & The Long Winters (from the album Putting the Days to Bed) from their debut on Maximum Fun with episode 38 in January 17, 2011."
A special episode was released in 2014 to cover Justin McElroy's paternity leave. Entitled The Adventure Zone, the episode saw the three brothers, plus their father Clint McElroy, play Dungeons & Dragons. This became the basis for companion podcast The Adventure Zone which launched later that year.
In 2017, Seeso produced a television adaptation of the podcast, which was filmed in their home town of Huntington, West Virginia. The six episode series was only briefly available on Seeso as the network shut down that November, only months after the show's launch.
Due to Roderick's conduct surrounding the controversy over the musician's Twitter posting history, the show's official Twitter account announced that "(It's a) Departure" would no longer be used by the podcast as of January 3, 2021. From episodes 542 to 551, the show used the theme song from Rugrats, featuring lyrics sung by Griffin, as a placeholder for both the opening and ending theme. This was replaced in episode 552 with "My Life Is Better with You", which was written and performed by Australian artist Montaigne for the show.
On May 4, 2021, the Yahoo! Answers service was shut down. This part of the show was replaced with content from other knowledge-exchange websites such as Quora and wikiHow, in a segment later named "Wizard of the Cloud" or "Wisdom of the Cloud." The "Final Yahoo" at the end of each episode has been replaced with a variety of different sign-offs.
Format MBMBAM takes the format of an advice show, where the McElroy brothers answer questions with a combination of silly and practical suggestions in the form of a rapid-fire comedy discussion. Early episodes used questions from various online sources, primarily Yahoo! Answers, as the podcast did not yet have an established audience to rely on for content. As the show gained popularity, the McElroy brothers were able to alternate between questions from listeners and questions from the Yahoo! Answers service. Each episode ended with Griffin reading a "Final Yahoo," which was left unanswered; this was retired after Yahoo Answers shut down.
Recurring segments In addition to the usual format of responding to questions sent in by listeners, the podcast also frequently includes recurring segments. Most live shows include at least one of these segments, such as Munch Squad or Haunted Doll Watch. Segments include: "The Money Zone": A segment which occurs each episode, normally around the midpoint, including advertisements from corporate sponsors read by the hosts on air. Additionally, they would read paid messages from listeners, called "Jumbotrons," before discontinuing them for both MBMBaM and their Dungeons & Dragons podcast, "The Adventure Zone," in episode 436. "Minion Quotes": A segment wherein one brother reads quotes which he finds in image macros on Facebook. The other two brothers attempt to guess which cartoon character is featured along with the quote. If they guess correctly, The challenging brother must post the image on his Facebook page without context, and cannot reply to the responses to the post. This has caused no small amount of distress to each of them. The segment was originally Justin's, with Griffin and Travis guessing, but they have since begun rotating which brother brings quotes and which attempt to guess. "Munch Squad": A "podcast within a podcast" in which Justin reads press releases from fast food companies. The segment is typically introduced by Justin interrupting the podcast after a Money Zone segment, singing a parody of the chorus of the Twisted Sister song, "I Wanna Rock". During 2019 the segment was largely focused on the chicken sandwich wars. "Haunted Doll Watch": A segment which features Justin reading and critiquing eBay listings of apparently cursed, possessed, or haunted dolls. "Sad Libs": A segment in which Travis creates tragic stories with blank spaces and completes them with nonsensical or uncomfortable words, resembling Mad Libs. Performed largely at live shows, the segment is ridiculed and despised by Justin and Griffin. "That's a Christmas to Me": A segment in which Justin reads plot summaries of three Christmas movies, two of which are real and one of which is fake. Griffin and Travis must guess which description is fake. "Riddle Me Piss": A segment in which Travis reads confusing and often nonsensical "riddles" from Riddles.com. While introducing the segment and reading the riddle, Travis will often adopt an exaggerated, high-pitched voice. Justin and Griffin tend to try to apply logic to otherwise illogical riddles, leaving both brothers exasperated and upset. "Celebrity Wines, Why Not?": A game show-style segment in which Justin provides the name of a wine made by a celebrity, and Travis and Griffin attempt to guess the celebrity that makes the wine. The segment is typically introduced via singing. "Reach for the Stars": A segment in which Travis reads Amazon reviews, along with their respective rating. Justin and Griffin's roles are to guess what products the reviews are for. "Play Along At Home": A game show-style segment in which Travis asks Justin and Griffin trivia questions, while inviting the audience to "play along at home," in the style of a children’s television host. The questions cover a wide range of topics, but often end with an anecdotal question that Justin and Griffin would have no way of knowing. Travis started this segment shortly after having his second baby, and his brothers make it clear how much they dislike it. "Under the Table and Phishing": A game show-style segment in which Travis reads lyrics from either Phish or Dave Matthews Band. Griffin and Justin then attempt to guess which band the lyrics are from. Travis, doing an impersonation of Dave Matthews, makes "guest appearances" as the co-host of this segment. "Work of Fart": A game show-style segment with a format similar to that of Jeopardy. Travis provides Justin and Griffin with a statement that combines a description of a classic piece of film, literature or other work of art, with a reference to bathroom humour. Justin and Griffin then try to guess what pun Travis created to mashup the title of the work in question with the bathroom humor word. "Wizard/Wisdom of the Cloud": A segment intended to replace Yahoo Answers following the website's shutdown in May 2021. Within, Griffin presents a wikiHow article which gives questionable advice on obscure topics. Examples include "How to Mosh in a Mosh Pit", "How to Choose a Nickname For Your Car", and "How to Make It Look Like You Have Snow Powers".
Special episodes Episodes of the show are occasionally performed and recorded in front of live audiences at venues in cities such as Los Angeles, New York City and Huntington; the format remains the same, including recurring segments such as Munch Squad, with the addition of a section where the brothers take questions from the audience. Occasionally there will be episodes titled "Bro's Better, Bro's Best", which act as highlight reels of the best and funniest moments of previous episodes. A special episode called "The Adventure Zone" was released on August 18, 2014, shortly after Justin and his wife Sydnee had their first baby. It featured the brothers playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons with their father, Clint McElroy. The Adventure Zone was later spun off into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network.
Naming of the year
Since the show's inception, the hosts have established nicknames for each year. These are generally work-shopped live in an episode of the podcast each January. Along with setting the tone, these serve as theming for merchandise and the family's live tours for the year. On occasion, a name has been revised mid-way due to poor reception.
Year Name 2010 "ZOLO" 2011 Two-Thousand-and-Heaven: Get Right with Christ 2012 Twenty-Doz: Gettin' It 2013 Twenty-Dirt: Dig It up Get It Out 2014 Twenty-Forward 2015 Twenty-Grift-Teen: The Con is On 2016 Twenty-Fix-Teen: Building Bridges 2017 Twenty-Serpentine: Keep 'em Guessing (Zag on 'em) 2018 Collaborate-Teen: Stronger Together 2019 Frankenstein-Teen: Become the Monster 2020 Twenty-Funny: Fill Your Life with Laughter and LoveTwenty-Hunny: Down to BeesnessHunny-Funny: Fill Your Life With Laughter and Bees 2021 Big-Dog-Run: No Bones About It 2022 Twenty-Rendezvous: Fancy Takes Flight 2023 Twenty-Sun-and-Sea: Surf the Vibe 2024 Twenty-Fungalore: He Heard Your Wish 2025 Tummy-Buddy-Life: Dare to CareTwenty-Thunder-Drive: Faster Than Fear 2026 20-Make-It-Stick: A Heater for the Big Boy
Guests The show occasionally features guest experts (referred to as "guestsperts") who help the McElroy brothers answer questions. Notable past guests include:
Jimmy Buffett, musician Jessica Alyssa Cerro, aka Montaigne, musician, Eurovision contestant, singer/writer of current podcast theme “My Life Is Better With You”. Bill Corbett, television and theatre writer, producer and performer Laura Kate Dale, author and video game journalist Felicia Day, actress and writer Jesse Eisenberg, actor and writer Cameron Esposito, stand-up comedian and podcast host Elsie Fisher, actress Ron Funches, comedian, actor and writer Chris Gethard, actor, author, and talk show host Elizabeth Gilbert, author Hank Green, vlogger, podcaster, and author Marilu Henner, actress, producer, radio host, and author