Time Crisis (referred to as Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig) is a fortnightly internet radio show hosted by Ezra Koenig and Jake Longstreth. The show began airing on July 12, 2015 on Apple Music's radio service, Beats 1 (now known as Apple Music 1).[1] The show covers a variety of topics, such as politics, corporate food history, 1970s rock music, city living, as well as frequently analyzing the latest in contemporary pop music by contrasting it with music released in another era. In addition to Koenig, a variety of guest hosts have appeared over the show's history, including Jonah Hill, Rashida Jones and Jamie Foxx.[2] Since 2017, Koenig is accompanied by co-host Jake Longstreth, who regularly describes his love for the "tasteful palette" of early 1970s classic rock, plus music from the Grateful Dead, Ween and Guided by Voices.[3]
The show typically airs every two weeks. In March 2020, due to the increased number remote workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Time Crisis began airing on a weekly basis, before returning to its normal biweekly schedule in 2021. In total, over 200 episodes have aired and the show is in its ninth season.[4]
Format and segments
The show follows a general format each episode during its two-hour runtime, usually with listener emails and other discussions in the first half of the show and the Top Five on iTunes at the episode's conclusion.
News discussions
The most common segment on the call, in which Koenig and his co-hosts discuss the most relevant and obscure news topics of the week, generally relating to politics or current happenings in the world of entertainment.[5][6]
The Time Crisis Mail Bag
This has been a regular segment since the show's third season. Initially, the segment began after a fan located Jake Longstreth's personal email. The segment now utilizes the email 8minutecapecod@gmail.com a reference to an episode aired in July 2017 where they joked about the prospect of an 8 minute Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa to be played on the next Vampire Weekend tour.[7]
Fans generally send in questions regarding 1970s music and suggest artists to the hosts that they believe are "tasteful" and fit Longstreth's ideal palette. Another popular topic submitted by fans relates to the corporate food history segment of the show.
Corporate food history discussions
Frequently, Koenig and guests analyse the current landscape of the corporate food industry, as well as looking back on the history of snack foods across the world. In 2016, Jennifer Saenz, chief marketing executive of the Frito-Lay corporation appeared.[8] Additionally, the show has discussed Subway on multiple episodes and their obscure promotions, such as the Five Dollar Footlong deal. In 2018, the show highly criticised the Lady Dorito proposition by hosting a Lady Dorito's Town Hall,[9] featuring Rashida Jones and Longstreth's wife and filmmaker, Hannah Fidell.
Time Crisis Hotline
Koenig regularly takes phone calls and has intimate discussions with notable journalists, political commentators, corporate food professionals and celebrities. Notable calls have included Seinfeld theme composer Jonathan Wolff, Reading Rainbow composer Steve Horelick,[10] and more.
Jake's Takes
A recurring segment in which Longstreth recommends or discusses music, with notable recommendations such as the Grateful Dead, Guided by Voices, Ween, Phish, Neil Young, Small Faces and more. Occasionally, Longstreth compiles playlists for Apple Music, notably The Tasteful Palette of Seventies Rock[11] and more recently, Jake's Old Wisdom Playlist.[12]
Sweet Chili Heat World Premiere
A segment in which the crew premiere fan generated music. The music is often inspired by events that take place on previous episodes of the show.
Top Five on iTunes
Koenig and Longstreth regularly compare and contrast the iTunes chart from the current week with another music chart from the same week in another year. Notably, the show has regularly jokingly criticized the music of Ed Sheeran, such as his 2017 hit, Shape of You.[13] Koenig and Longstreth commonly refer to the song as Bed Sheets, in reference to one of the song's lines. Fan response to this criticism has been overwhelmingly positive, with one particular fan even compiling the discussions into a complete 32-minute compilation.[14]
Episode 75. Cazzie David Returns (August 26, 2018)
Episode 76. Seinfeld2000's Origin Story (September 9, 2018)
Episode 77. Classic Rock Icons (September 23, 2018)
Episode 78. Welcome To My Life (October 7, 2018)
Episode 79. A Star Is Born 2: Armageddon (October 21, 2018)
Episode 80. Jason Mantzoukas & Hannah Fidell (November 4, 2018)
Episode 81. Be Grateful (November 18, 2018)
Episode 82. Jokerman (December 2, 2018)
Episode 83. Baio and the Hot Sauce Challenge (December 16, 2018)
Season 5 (2019)
Season 5 began on January 13, 2019 and ended on December 15, 2019. Due to the launch of Vampire Weekend's album, Father of the Bride, and subsequent touring, many episodes were pre-recorded and are known as banked episodes or 'banked eps'.
Episode 190. The Banshees of Inishiddily (March 18, 2023)
Episode 191. Dave is Here (April 1, 2023)
Episode 192. The Time Crisis Music Special (April 15, 2023)
Episode 193. Phish Bowl (April 29, 2023)
Episode 194. Modern Vampires of the Decade (May 13, 2023)
Episode 195. This Is How Jake Does It (May 27, 2023)
Episode 196. Youth and Young Manhood (July 8, 2023)
Episode 197. Youth & Young Manhood Pt. 2 (July 22, 2023)
Episode 198. TC Goes To The Movies (August 5, 2023)
Episode 199. We Didn't Start The Summer (August 19, 2023)
Episode 200. Time Crisis 200 (September 2, 2023)
Episode 201. Guided By Margaritaville (September 16, 2023)
Episode 202. We Will Pod You (September 30, 2023)
Episode 203. Tim Crisis (October 14, 2023)
Episode 204. What's in a Name? (October 28, 2023)
Episode 205. Rock Talk with Carson Mell (November 11, 2023)
Episode 206. Trad Crisis (November 25, 2023)
Episode 207. Fairytale of TC (December 9, 2023)
Merchandising
There have been a few pieces of official Time Crisis merchandise, which have been available through various giveaways on Twitter. The most common have been T-shirts bearing the phrase, '8 Minute Cape Cod' on the front, with various designs and colors.
Time Crisis Honorary Membership cards have also been given away, which mention the Core Values.
On November 3, 2019, Seinfeld2000 coined the term, 'Popcorn and Raisins' and promoted a line of merchandise based upon this phrase. Shirts were made available the following week.
