We can't think of one person we know who didn't grow up with a pet of some kind. Whether a dog or a cat, fish, or something exotic, some of our earliest friendships are with animals. For many of us, we learned about the pain of death from losing a pet. Some of you are probably reading this with a pet in the room -- maybe even on your lap.

Scroll down on our About page and you'll see photos of Shawn's dogs -- we consider them part of the podcast crew.

It's about time we finally talked about pets!

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We begin by talking about the first pets we remember having, and then jump to the first pet that was considered our own. Next, we discuss not only how many pets we've had, but we devote some time to the first pet we had that died.

We chat about our last/current pets before talking about whether we prefer dogs, cats, or something else entirely.

It's no secret that Shawn has a tiny Wolfpack living in his home while Christopher currently has no pets. We discuss why we have/don't have pets before talking about which we find easiest to relate to: pets or people?

We round out this episode sharing our favorite story about one of our pets and what kind of pet we'd have if we could have any kind of animal we wanted.

Definitely feel free to share a favorite pet story in the comments...hell, even links to photos!

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK AND ROLL?!?! (Or maybe just listen to something nice and soothing in person?)

We've been listening to live music ever since people began humming tunes and banging out a beat on whatever they found available. Music has been said to fill the soul, and live music can transcend what it is to be human. So of course we had to eventually get around to an entire show about listening to music in person!

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We begin by talking about the first live music event we remember attending. After that, we discuss why live music has the appeal it has.

From there, we move on to the best -- and worst -- concerts we've ever attended...and why we feel that way. After that, find out if we prefer live music to listening to music at home, in the car, or while working.

We then talk about how often we hear live music these days and why we think we used to attend more live shows than we do today.

If you've ever lied awake at night thinking, "I wonder if Christopher or Shawn have ever been part of a live music show of some sort?" you finally get your answer. You'll also find out what we consider our favorite live music experiences.

Next, we wonder if one kind of music lends itself to a better live experience than others...and what music does it for us.

Near the end of the show, we discuss which live music experience we wish we could travel back in time and see -- and then we wrap up this week's episode talking about the future of live music.

What's the best concert you've ever attended? Let us know in the comments.

Political season in America has started. (It seems to start earlier and earlier each election cycle.) A peek into the world of the Internet reveals -- surprise, surprise! -- that people are out there arguing about politics.

Conflict might be our national pastime, so conflict is the topic for this week's show!

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We begin by talking about the first time we became aware that people sometimes didn't get along. After that, we chat about the first conflict we remember having with someone.

Find out if we're the kinds of people who gravitate toward conflict, or if we avoid it whenever possible. We share our tricks for avoiding interpersonal conflicts with acquaintances -- and even those close to us. But sometimes conflict is unavoidable. We devote some time to talking about how we handle conflicts we can't avoid.

We also share the worst conflict we've ever had with another person; then we chat about whether or not we find ourselves running up against the same kinds of conflict over and over.

Want to find out if we've ever been able to resolve a long-standing conflict? We talk about that. Have we ever said or done something that conflicted with our beliefs to avoid or end a conflict? We chat about that, too.

We close it all out with this question: why do humans -- who have had many thousands of years to learn how to deal with each other -- keep having conflicts?

We'd love to hear about how you handle conflict in the comments!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Okay, not so long ago (1977) and not so far away (Earth) a little movie called Star Wars came out. And it's safe to say it changed movies as we know them.

It was a franchise that spawned sequels, a ridiculous amount of merchandise, and even this:

We've talked about Star Trek many times on the show, but this week it's all about Star Wars!

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We begin by talking about how old we were when we first saw a Star Wars movie...and what the experience was like. After that, we move on to how important Star Wars was in our lives when we were younger. Now that we're adults, do the movies carry the same weight?

Did you know there are grown friggin' men who fume about the Star Wars prequels, going so far to say the prequels ruined the original trilogy for them even more than Ewoks in Return of the Jedi? (Ewoks are worse than Jar-Jar Binks, people!) Find out what we think about those who let other things ruin the movies they love. (Although it's probably more than evident with these lines...and if you've listened to the show enough, you know our answers already.)

Another thing people say destroyed the franchise was George Lucas constantly tinkering with the original trilogy. Find out our thoughts about a world full of computer-generated effects juxtaposed with people in rubber masks!

Next, we discuss our favorite -- and least favorite -- Star Wars characters. (Hint: Shawn's entire back is covered in a giant Jar-Jar Binks tattoo and Christopher has Watto tattooed on his chest!)

When talking about the structure of the original trilogy, one can't claim it's a very complex thing. Based on the Hero's Journey concept culled from Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, we talk about whether or not the structure of the original trilogy works for us.

We get a new Star Wars movie in December. We talk about the teaser trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and whether or not we're looking forward to the next Star Wars movie.

In between the movies, fans have read Star Wars books, played video games based on the movies, and watched Star Wars cartoons. Find out how much of the Star Wars expanded universe we've consumed. (And laugh as Shawn introduces Christopher to this:)

Near the end of the episode, we get geeky and talk about which one Star Wars character we'd be if we could...and why.

And like so many episodes, we wrap it up by talking about the future -- this time, the future of the Star Wars franchise.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts about Star Wars in the comments.