Road Trip, Prickett Style 🗺️
🥚 Made for the Family
The Lightning's Family Desk
Dave Mishkin and Dave Randorf are covering the road trip this week. Everyone gets a shoutout. F08 is where you start — Randorf's welcome broadcast. Play it the moment you leave the driveway.
Play order: Start with F08 (Welcome Broadcast). Then scatter the rest
throughout the drive — whenever you need a laugh or the backseat needs a reset.
Lightning Broadcast — Family Edition
0:000:00
1Mishkin — Are We There Yet?
2Mishkin — The Window Seat
3Mishkin — The Snack Heist
4Mishkin — Complete Shutout
5Mishkin — Phone at 4%
6Mishkin — The Invisible Line
7Mishkin — Headphones On
8★ Randorf — Welcome Broadcast (START HERE)
9Randorf — All Three at Scenic Overlook
10Randorf — Gas Station Stop
11Randorf — 9:47 PM. All Three Asleep.
12Randorf — National Park Arrival
13Randorf — The Argument
Curia Cards — each one is a 4–7 minute deep-dive on something surprising.
Queue the state cards as you cross each state line. The wildlife section is full of surprises
(slime mold, sea turtle, the fish with the weapon).
Curia Picks — 50 Cards
0:000:00
The Vote — A sci-fi thriller. A world where every person gets one Vote
to retroactively change a moment in the past. Vera Chen counsels people through the decision.
First scene: a grieving mother. It hooks fast — 7-chapter preview.
The Vote — Preview (Ch. 1–7)
0:000:00
1Ch. 1 — The Counselor
2Ch. 2 — The Photograph
3Ch. 3 — The Dinner
4Ch. 4 — The Archive
5Ch. 5 — The Pattern
6Ch. 6 — The Others
7Ch. 7 — The Scientist
S-Town ⭐
A clockmaker in rural Alabama, an alleged murder, then something else entirely. 7 chapters in order. One of the best pieces of audio journalism ever made.
Listen alone first
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Bear Brook ⭐
4 bodies in New Hampshire barrels over decades. DNA genealogy solves it. Best true crime most people haven't heard.
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In the Dark — Season 2
Curtis Flowers retried for the same murder 6 times in Mississippi. Investigative journalism at its finest.
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Over My Dead Body — Tally
A Florida divorce turns fatal. Incredibly produced, true crime as character study.
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Revolutions — Mike Duncan
Long-form history on major revolutions. Methodical and brilliant. Years of content.
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Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend
Genuinely funny, smart, surprisingly earnest. Road trip comedy. Older kids might also like this.
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Stuff You Should Know
How everything works. Try: How the Mafia Works, How Blackbeard Worked, How Alcatraz Worked. All ages 12+.
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The Why Files ⭐
Mysteries, conspiracies, unexplained events — presented as investigative journalism. Older kids will binge this. Very popular with teens.
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Radiolab
Science and philosophy storytelling. Almost cinematic. Even younger listeners can follow along.
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No Such Thing as a Fish
Weird facts, short episodes. Good filler between content. All ages.
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Serial — Season 1
Dad already loves it. Older kids are ready for this. Listen together. 15+.
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Libby is free with any library card. Most of these are on there.
Ready to Play Now
These stream straight from the site — no app needed. Good for the whole car.
The Swiss Family Robinson — Wyss
0:000:00
The Pilgrim's Progress (Retold)
0:000:00
📖 Audio Bibles & Apps (free)
Streetlights Bible ⭐
A hip-hop-produced audio Bible that actually lands with teens. Bo and Andrew especially.
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YouVersion Bible App
Free dramatized audio Bible, many translations. Carson can follow along too.
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Dwell — Audio Bible
Produced Scripture listening with music. Good for the quiet night-drive stretches.
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More on Libby
Killers of the Flower Moon — David Grann ⭐
The Osage murders and the birth of the FBI. Grann is the Serial equivalent in book form. 100% his lane. Libby.
Must listen
Say Nothing — Patrick Radden Keefe ⭐
The IRA, the Troubles, a disappeared woman, and decades of silence. The best nonfiction of the last 10 years. He will not want to stop driving. Libby.
The Devil in the White City — Erik Larson
Chicago's 1893 World's Fair and a serial killer inside it. Larson writes nonfiction like a thriller. Libby.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Michelle McNamara ⭐
The Golden State Killer investigation. McNamara died before it resolved. One of the best true crime books ever written. Libby.
Endurance — Alfred Lansing ⭐
Shackleton's Antarctic survival story. The greatest survival narrative ever written. Universal — Dad would also love this. Libby.
The Martian — Andy Weir ⭐
Astronaut stranded on Mars, survives by being extremely competent. Funny, gripping, scientifically real. Libby.
Ender's Game — Orson Scott Card
Classic. Every teen should read this. It'll wreck them in the best way. Libby.
The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss
Epic fantasy, book 1 of a trilogy. Libby.
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir ⭐
Weir's best. Astronaut alone in space has to figure out where he is and why. Very accessible read. Libby.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — Adams
British sci-fi comedy. Smart humor, short chapters. Stephen Fry narrates. Libby.
Ender's Game — Orson Scott Card
Same recommendation. Different conversation. Libby.
Holes — Louis Sachar ⭐
Camp, mystery, fate, Texas desert. He is literally driving through the same part of the country. Read this in the car. Libby.
Perfect for this trip
Hatchet — Gary Paulsen
Boy survives alone in Canadian wilderness. Libby.
The Wild Robot — Peter Brown
A robot stranded on an island learns to survive. Quiet and beautiful. Whole family can listen. Libby.
The Phantom Tollbooth — Norton Juster
Classic. Wordplay, imagination, geography made surreal. Libby.
🎵 Family-Friendly — Works for 12–16
Hozier — Unreal Unearth (2023) ⭐
Blues-soaked indie rock. Dark, literary, great road music. The deeper cut from the Take Me to Church guy.
Sturgill Simpson — A Sailor's Guide to Earth
Country concept album written for his newborn son. Has a Nirvana cover, a soul band. Genre-defying.
Jack Johnson — Any album
Mellow, positive, background car music. Nobody will complain.
The Lumineers — III
Folk rock, story-driven, all ages.
Old Crow Medicine Show — Carry Me Back
String band Americana. Very road-trip. Dad and kids can agree on this one.
Vampire Weekend — Father of the Bride
Indie pop, bright and interesting, age-neutral. Nobody gets annoyed.
Jason Isbell — Southeastern
The best American rock album of the decade. Heavy and beautiful. The real thing.
Turnpike Troubadours — A Long Way From Your Heart
Oklahoma red dirt country. Both families can share this one.