My Brother, My Brother and Me

Hello dear friends, Justin McElroy here. We McElroys hail from West Virginia, which is not in the best shape economically. There's not much we can do about that (blame the coal barons and short-sighted leadership and etc. ) but that economic hardship also means there are kids and families that have to do without during this joyous time of Candlenights. That sucks.

But! It doesn't have to suck in an insurmountable way. Every year, my local paper The Herald-Dispatch prints a handy list of families in need called Empty Stockings. Today I'm putting out the same call I did around 12 months ago: I say we save Candlenights for ALL OF THEM.

EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. It's a program we call MBMBaM Angels, and for some folks (myself) it's the loveliest part of the holidays.

Wanna join up? Well, here's what you're gonna wanna do, according to this year's lead angel Valerie:

1. Head over to this spreadsheet.

2. Pick out your empty stocking to fill and enter the items you plan to cover (all items or only a few) as well as who you are. This claims the stocking as yours!

3. Call the organization to ensure that request has not been taken, and let them know which stocking you plan to fill.

4. Use the confirmed address from the spreadsheet to send your stocking items. (Please note that some items, like bus passes, may have special instructions attached to the request. Check the spreadsheet to be sure!)

5. Once you've sent your stocking goodies, you can let us know in the notes section.

6. If you'd like the McElroy Brothers to record a personal thank you, just fill out this form! 

1. Emily Carroll is a genius (http://www.emcarroll.com/)

Great news! MBMBaM is going to be returning to Los Angeles as part of the LA Podcast Festival, September 18-20. Even better, The Adventure Zone has also been invited to do its first ever live show. Insanity. You can buy tickets right here and you’d be crazy not to instantly do so.

What’s that? You’re not in the Los Angeles area? Well good news, you can buy access to stream the whole festival from the comfort of your own home right here. If you use the coupon code “zone” or “brother” you can save FIVE BUCKS off your streaming ticket.