How We Made Your Mother

Josh and Craig revisit Season 4, Episode 2, “The Best Burger in New York,” a beloved episode that turns Marshall’s search for an elusive burger into something much bigger: a story about nostalgia, aging, compromise, and trying to recapture the wonder of your younger self. They celebrate Regis Philbin’s legendary guest appearance, Jason Segel’s Amadeus-inspired burger monologue, the real New York locati...

Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas kick off Season 4 with “Do I Know You?,” revisiting Ted and Stella’s engagement and the question at the heart of the episode: how well do you really need to know someone before deciding to marry them? They dig into the now-iconic “Star Wars test,” Ted’s anxiety over whether Stella will love the things he loves, and the larger challenge of accepting that your partner w...

Josh and Craig close out Season 3 with director Pamela Fryman to revisit “Miracles,” an episode about fate, near-death experiences, and the universe’s uncanny way of pushing people back toward one another. Pam remembers the extraordinary teamwork required to produce nine episodes in eleven weeks after the writers’ strike, while Josh and Craig unpack Ted’s car accident, Barney’s collision with a b...

Peter Hamby, Puck’s award-winning political correspondent, takes you deep inside the machinery of modern campaigns with the actual strategists, operatives, pollsters, lobbyists, politicians, and shadow power players working to elect the next president. Focused on the road to 2028 but ranging far beyond it, the show explores the media, money, technology, and generational forces transforming how politics is practiced—and ...

Josh and Craig revisit Season 3, Episode 19, “Everything Must Go,” and Josh makes a rare confession: he didn’t love this one — especially Ted’s inexplicable devotion to those red cowboy boots. Craig explains how the episode emerged from the post-Writers’ Strike scramble to produce nine episodes in eleven weeks, resulting in a slightly chaotic collection of stories that nevertheless gave us Britne...

Josh and Craig revisit “Rebound Bro,” the post–writers’ strike episode that sends Barney searching for a new wingman after his breakup with Ted — and finds the perfect sad-sack replacement in Randy Wharmpess, played by the incomparable Will Forte. They talk about Forte’s unique mix of sweetness and insanity, Barney and Randy’s surprisingly romantic dynamic, and how the episode’s comed...

From the Emmy-nominated co-creator and Executive Producer of How I Met Your Mother, Craig Thomas’s debut novel, THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED, is a smart, funny, bighearted story about a family turned upside down after Hollywood decides to make a movie version of their lives. Told through the shifting perspectives of Paige, Rob, Emmett, and Darcy, a flawed, funny, complicated family is forced to confront past wounds and pr...

Josh and Craig revisit Season 3, Episode 17, “The Goat,” which, despite its title and Future Ted’s spectacularly unreliable memory, is really about the breakup of Ted and Barney’s friendship after Barney sleeps with Robin. They dig into Barney’s guilt, Marshall’s attempt to find a loophole in the sacred Bro Code, Ted’s surprisingly brutal reaction, and the growing connection between Barney ...

For everyone who has found How We Made Your Mother in the last few weeks, maybe from our episodes with Sarah Chalke and Bob Odenkirk, we just wanted to drop our original rewatch of the HIMYM pilot. And if you are enjoying this look back with Josh and Craig, please follow in your podcast app of choice and start from the very beginning. 

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Here are the O.G. show notes…

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This week, Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas kick off the of...

Josh and Craig revisit “Sandcastles in the Sand,” exploring the very real phenomenon of “revertigo,” Robin’s transformation around her gloriously awful ex-boyfriend Simon, and James Van Der Beek’s hilarious, deeply committed performance. Cobie Smulders shares memories of filming the star-studded music video with Van Der Beek, Alan Thicke, and Tiffany, while Craig reveals the surprisingly emotiona...

Josh and Craig revisit Season 3’s “The Chain of Screaming,” an episode about work, money, dignity, and the question of whether we pass anger down the line or choose to break the cycle. Then they’re joined by the great Bob Odenkirk, who looks back on playing Artillery Arthur, explains how a HIMYM scheduling conflict inadvertently helped lead to the creation of Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad, and remembers b...

Josh and Craig welcome writer Joe Kelly for a lively look back at “The Bracket,” Joe’s very first How I Met Your Mother episode. They reminisce about Joe joining the staff just before the Writers Guild strike, the frantic race to restart production afterward, and how the episode evolved into one of the show’s most memorable Barney stories. Joe reflects on learning to balance broad comedy with emotional story...

Josh and Craig are joined by Sarah Chalke to revisit “Ten Sessions,” one of the series’ most beloved episodes, and the conversation is every bit as joyful as the episode itself. Sarah shares behind-the-scenes stories about being cast at the last minute, balancing Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother simultaneously, and filming the iconic two-minute date, while Josh and Craig reflect on emerging from the Writers Guild ...

Josh and Craig return after the three-month Writers Guild strike to revisit “No Tomorrow,” reflecting on the frantic challenge of producing the back half of Season 3 and why this episode serves as a turning point for Ted. They discuss Ted’s attempt to embrace Barney’s carefree philosophy, the importance of consequences, and how Marshall’s heartfelt intervention reminds Ted—and the audience—...

Josh and Craig revisit “The Platinum Rule,” one of the series’ most structurally ambitious episodes, while sharing the remarkable behind-the-scenes story of how it became the only How I Met Your Mother episode produced during the 2007 Writers Guild strike. They reflect on the unusual experience of shooting without writers on set, discuss the episode’s intricate “flashback within a flashback” stor...

Josh and Craig revisit “The Yips,” candidly reflecting on why they consider it one of the weaker episodes of the series while pulling back the curtain on the realities of making network television. They discuss how a corporate mandate to feature the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show shaped the story, why Barney’s crisis of confidence still offers an interesting glimpse into his past, and how production challeng...

Josh and Craig revisit “Slapsgiving,” one of the series’ most beloved episodes, beginning with the latest—and perhaps fiercest yet—chapter in the battle between producer Alek Lev and his childhood best friend Joel over who truly invented the legendary “Major General” salute. (Alek did. He can say that now because he’s writing these show notes.) From there, they celebrate Matt Kuhn&rsq...

Josh and Craig revisit “Spoiler Alert” (Season 3, Episode 8), breaking down the episode’s central idea: how one pointed-out flaw can permanently change the way you see someone. They discuss the ethics of telling friends uncomfortable truths, the surprisingly philosophical themes of love and acceptance, and how the episode’s two mysteries—Kathy’s endless talking and Marshall’s forgotten bar ...

In this deeply personal bonus episode, Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas pause their Season 3 rewatch to revisit the life-changing summer between Seasons 2 and 3 of How I Met Your Mother. Josh opens up about struggling with the pressures of sudden fame, his increasing reliance on alcohol, and how transformative ayahuasca journeys to Brazil and Colombia led him to stop drinking and return to the show feeling calmer, more grounded, and be...