Outside the Blocks: A Puzzle Podcast, a podcast by Emma Oxford and Will Pfadenhauer - Stats, Episodes and Rankings

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https://pandorasblocks.org/
40 shares
https://pmxwords.com/
16 shares
https://www.crosswordsforcancer.com
10 shares

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
2 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin
2 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine
2 shares

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37. And Still ANOTHER Musical Episode with Guest: Adam Doctoroff

Season 4 · Episode 8

Sunday, January 19, 2025 • Duration 49:09

Emma and Adam return to close out the discussion they started last July on the 2024 Muller Monthly Music Meta puzzles! Spoilers for the MMMM puzzles from August-December 2024 as well as the mega meta and the red herring.

Links of interest:
Muller Monthly Music Meta: https://pmxwords.com/
Full list of the 2024 MMMM Puzzles: https://pmxwords.com/2024-puzzles/
Ariadne's Crossword Library: https://ariadnescrosswordlibrary.com/

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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36. "It's a Breeze!" and "Interstate Travel" with Constructor Mike Graczyk

Season 4 · Episode 7

Sunday, August 4, 2024 • Duration 39:31

Emma and Mike talk about two of Mike's "Pun of a Kind" metas! If you've ever found yourself thinking, "I would like crosswords more if 30% of clues were puns," then oh boy have we got some puzzles for you!

Links of interest:
Pun of a Kind on XWord Muggles Forum: https://xword-muggles.com/viewforum.php?f=48
Pun of a Kind Blogspot: https://punofakind.blogspot.com/
Mikey G's Crosshare page: https://crosshare.org/mikeyg

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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35. Another Musical Episode with Guest: Adam Doctoroff

Season 4 · Episode 6

Sunday, July 14, 2024 • Duration 42:58

Emma and Adam talk about the first seven* Muller Monthly Music Meta puzzles from 2024! Spoiler warning for ALL of those puzzles, so go solve them first if you haven't already!

*The first ~30 minutes of the episode is a discussion of the January-June puzzles, and the rest of the episode is a live-solve and discussion of the July puzzle, which was released the day of recording.

Links of interest:
Muller Monthly Music Meta: https://pmxwords.com/
"32. An Elemental Episode" (our previous episode on the 2024 MMMM covering just the May puzzle): https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/2044327/15093368-32-an-elemental-episode
MMMM discussions on the XWord Muggles Forum: https://xword-muggles.com/viewforum.php?f=8
"18. "Fifth Wheels" by Mark Woychick" (our episode on another puzzle with a similar mechanism to the July 2024 MMMM): https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/2044327/13429835-18-fifth-wheels-by-mark-woychick

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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34. A Killer (Whale) of an Episode

Season 4 · Episode 5

Sunday, June 16, 2024 • Duration 36:26

A long overdue discussion on the 2024 (or is it the 2023?) ORCA Awards, which were announced all the way back in March. Spoilers for all seven of the puzzles which were nominated for Best Contest Crossword this year!

Links of interest:
2024 ORCA Awards: https://crosswordfiend.com/2024/03/10/2024-orca-awards/
All ORCA Awards posts on Crossword Fiend: https://crosswordfiend.com/category/orca-awards/
"Signs of the Times" by Mike Shenk: https://www.wsj.com/articles/signs-of-the-times-friday-crossword-january-20-11674083351
"Plurality" by Mike Shenk: https://www.wsj.com/articles/plurality-friday-crossword-may-12-d86ef45
"Hope Springs Eternal" by Pete Muller and Mack Meller: https://pmxwords.com/2023-puzzle-8-hope-springs-eternal/

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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33. HELLaciously Difficult Trivia with Peter Gordon and Alex Eaton-Salners

Season 4 · Episode 4

Sunday, June 2, 2024 • Duration 15:33

Surprise! We played a whole 15-minute trivia game with Peter and Alex when they joined us last month that we didn't have time for in episode #31, so here it is now!

Links of interest:
Listen to the rest of the audio from our chat with Peter and Alex: https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/2044327/14994031-31-resounding-success-and-take-the-fifth-with-constructor-alex-eaton-salners-and-editor-peter-gordon
"A-to-Z Crosswords" Kickstarter from Peter Gordon (live through 10pm EDT on June 2, 2024):
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petergordonpuzzler/a-to-z-crosswords-2024

Additional music by DanJFilms from Pixabay

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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32. An Elemental Episode

Season 4 · Episode 3

Sunday, May 19, 2024 • Duration 28:21

Emma and Will sing about the periodic table! Wait what the... *checks notes*... who wrote these notes... *double checks notes*... this can't be right... *throws out notes*. Emma and Will talk about the May 2024 MMMM puzzle? Yes that sounds much more likely. Spoilers for "Gold-Plated Record" ahead!

Links of interest:
Muller Monthly Music Meta: https://pmxwords.com/
"Gold-Plated Record" by Will Pfadenhauer, Pete Muller, Mack Meller, and Andrew White: https://pmxwords.com/2024-puzzle-5-gold-plated-record/
Pete Muller's solution (and cover of the meta answer!) to "Gold-Plated Record": https://pmxwords.com/2024-puzzle-5-gold-plated-record-solution/
"Muller Monthly Music Meta, May MMXXIV" on Crossword Fiend: https://crosswordfiend.com/2024/05/12/muller-monthly-music-meta-may-mmxxiv/#more-160108
"Gold-Plated Record" discussion on XWord Muggles Forum: https://xword-muggles.com/viewtopic.php?t=2882
MMMM on the Washington Post's website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/monthly-music-meta/

Other element-al puzzles:
"Table Setting" by Evan Birnholz: in the CCCC puzzle pack, information below on how to get that!
"Addition Reactions" by Mikey G: https://crosshare.org/crosswords/R6ftkA9uIUyk7hMlhfn3/addition-reactions
"AP Chemistry" by Pete Muller & Milo Beckman (WSJ Contest 7/12/2019), Crossword Fiend write-up: https://crosswordfiend.com/2019/07/14/wsj-contest-friday-july-12-2019/
"It's Elementary" by Emma Oxford (Universal 8/13/2020), Crossword Fiend write-Up: Untitled by Jack Murtagh (NYT 12/10/2020), Crossword Fiend write-up: "A-to-Z Crosswords" Kickstarter from Peter Gordon (live through June 2, 2024): Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC): TO GET ACCESS TO THE CCCC PUZZLE PACK:1. Make a donation (suggested amount $13) to a cancer-related charity.2. Email a copy of your receipt to crosswordsforcancer@gmail.com.3. Receive puzzle pack!4 (optional but encouraged). Tell other people to do steps 1-3.Is anybody reading this? Please confirm.

31. "Resounding Success" and "Take the Fifth" with Constructor Alex Eaton-Salners and Editor Peter Gordon

Season 4 · Episode 2

Sunday, May 5, 2024 • Duration 42:24

The time has come! The episode that Will has been hyping for six months is finally here! Emma and Will talk with Peter Gordon, editor of Fireball crosswords, and Alex Eaton-Salners, prolific crossword constructor, about two meta puzzles Alex constructed for Fireball in 2023: "Resounding Success" and "Take the Fifth." Spoiler warning for both of those puzzles!

Note Fireball is a a subscription, so we can't link you directly to solvable versions of "Resounding Success" and "Take the Fifth," but you can subscribe to Fireball and purchase any previous year's puzzles via the link below!

Links of interest:
Fireball crosswords: https://www.fireballcrosswords.com/
"Resounding Success" review on Crossword Fiend: https://crosswordfiend.com/2023/04/03/fireball-contest-march-29-2023/
"Take the Fifth" review on Crossword Fiend (the typo in the title on the Fiend write-up makes this one very difficult to find via Google!): https://crosswordfiend.com/2023/07/16/fireball-contest-july-12-2023/
Fireball submission guidelines: http://www.fireballcrosswords.com/SpecSheet.pdf
"Puzzlewright Guide to Diagramless Crosswords" by Alex Eaton-Salners (this is the Amazon link, but this is available wherever books are sold): https://www.amazon.com/Puzzlewright-Guide-Diagramless-Crosswords-beginners/dp/1454944870
"A-to-Z Crosswords" Kickstarter (live through June 2, 2024):
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petergordonpuzzler/a-to-z-crosswords-2024

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Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode! Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

30. Guest: Mike Dirolf, creator of Crosshare

Season 4 · Episode 1

Sunday, April 21, 2024 • Duration 34:48

Welcome to season four of Outside the Blocks! Emma and Will are joined by Mike Dirolf, creator of Crosshare, who they last chatted with back in episode 5, to talk about what's been going on over at everyone's favorite crossword sharing website.

Links of Interest:
Crosshare: https://crosshare.org/
Previous Outside the Blocks episode with Mike Dirolf: https://outsidetheblocks.buzzsprout.com/2044327/11997972-5-guest-mike-dirolf-creator-of-crosshare
Slate Games (including links to their daily crossword, powered by Crosshare!): https://slate.com/tag/slate-games
Donate to Crosshare: https://crosshare.org/donate

-------------------------------------------

Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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29. Stepping into Line

Season 3 · Episode 11

Sunday, April 7, 2024 • Duration 43:48

Emma and Will talk about the final two Pandora's Blocks puzzles, "Form One Line, Please" and "Stepping Down." Spoilers for both of those puzzles!

Pandora's Blocks may be ending, but Outside the Blocks will continue! More podcast episodes on more fun puzzles coming your way soon.

And yes, Will did find that lost collar stay.

Links of interest:
"Form One Line, Please": https://crosshare.org/crosswords/7bpbFT8eqvlCuAQ4SHHd/form-one-line-please
Rosalind Franklin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin
"Stepping Down": https://crosshare.org/crosswords/FEP77dhkepVr6fWWLg0W/stepping-down

-------------------------------------------

Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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28. First Menus of the Lost Collar Stay

Season 3 · Episode 10

Sunday, March 24, 2024 • Duration 35:44

We're back! Emma and Will are back to talk about two more Pandora's Blocks puzzles. On the menu today is "First Place" and "Dropdown Menus." Spoilers ahead for both of those puzzles.

Only two more Pandora's Blocks puzzles to go!

Links of interest:
Pandora's Blocks: https://pandorasblocks.org/
"First Place": https://crosshare.org/crosswords/orx4tC7OYrZV6vfqa3uB/first-place
"Dropdown Menus": https://crosshare.org/crosswords/RlcuiWzytkgnfnbmZeLZ/dropdown-menus
Sara Mae Berman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Mae_Berman
Jumping the shark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

-------------------------------------------

Want to get in touch with us? We would love to hear from you! You can reach Emma at damefoxwords@gmail.com, and you can reach Will at pandorasblockswmc@gmail.com. We may read your letter on a future episode!

Podcast hosting by Buzzsprout
Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

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Outside the Blocks: A Puzzle Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

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Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Outside the Blocks: A Puzzle Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Wikipedia16

Kickstarter4

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Wikipedia16

Kickstarter4