Podcast Of The Week: A Heartfelt Hot Dog Stand Review

John Green always wanted to visit Iceland for two reasons:

1. He’s fascinated by tiny nations, and

2. his publisher raved about a hot dog stand there.

Are you in yet? He pretty much had me at hot dog recommendations. What can I say?

On the Anthropocene Reviewed podcast, ep. 34, “Icelandic Hot Dog Stand and Signing Your Name 250,000 Times,” Green tells the story of his trip to Iceland. It includes a drunken fall into a lake, his participation in the celebration of Iceland’s first Olympic team medal (men’s handball), and of course, hot dogs.

John Green has a way with words. If you haven’t read him or seen his books that have been made into movies (or have had daughters of the right age to expose you to such things), just try the first half of this podcast. At worst it will leave you wanting to watch handball and eat hot dogs. At best, you’ll get to experience quotes like this:

We should get out of the habit of saying that anything is once in a lifetime. We should stop pretending that we have any idea how long a lifetime is or what might happen in one. And yet, I strongly expect that our day in Iceland really was once in a lifetime. On the chilly summer day Iceland secured their first-ever team Olympics medal, I ate a hot dog while huddled with my friends. It was the greatest hot dog I have ever eaten. It cured my multi-day hangover and cleared the film from my eyes and sent me out into the Reykjavik twilight feeling the kind of close to the chest joy that cannot last, but also, doesn’t need to.

Thanks John Green. And – Anthropocene Reviewed is also now a book! Get a signed copy here (but only after you feast your eyes on these hot dogs):