Identity Crisis of the Bad Samaritan

Show open and gum-prices banter

The hosts open the show live from Lowell Street Studios in Des Moines; one host introduces himself on-air as Ben Foost and names Dan and Mike as in studio. The opening banter riffs on rising gum prices, a listener complaint about chewing gum on-air from the host's early radio days, and Tim Cooper — in studio with friends — does a Frankenstein impersonation caught on the video stream. Tim Cooper and friends are introduced as tonight's live musical guests.

Spirit Midwest Festival promo, Al Barnes Skype bit, and wife-appreciation serenade

The hosts promote the Spirit Midwest Music Festival (August 6th and 7th, 40-plus bands, free, spiritmidwest.com, volunteers still needed) and recap recent in-studio bands On This Rock, Next Crossing, Certainty, and Saved on Sunday. A Skype caller, Al Barnes, gets tangled in tech trouble while the hosts joke through a fake impression of him. A host publicly thanks his wife for covering bedtime with their kids so he can do the show, then serenades her with a bit of 'Con te partirò' ('Conte Partiro' as rendered).

Bathroom humor and the drive-through baptismal

Extended bathroom-humor riff (fart jokes framed as 'Satan escaping'), followed by a running joke that Pathway Church (ThePathOnline.org, Johnston) has 'the only drive-through baptismal' with a '$10 dunking fee.' The hosts then pivot to the live band waiting to play.

Poison ivy saga and the all-natural pharmacy

A host recounts getting poison ivy, the doctor visit (steroid pills instead of the hoped-for shot), and a trip to an 'all-natural pharmacy' that pitched $20 homeopathic droplets made from dubious ingredients. The conversation spirals into mock speculation about who invents herbal remedies ('extract of raccoon knuckle') and riffing on huffing jet fuel.

Childhood prank stories and Al Barnes returns on Skype

A host tells the story of paging his own mother ('Mama Foost') over the Walmart PA at age 16 to embarrass her, then a Texas grocery-store story where he faked sudden sadness at the 'customer care' counter and walked out with a sucker; his wife Jodie is named on-air. Tim Cooper confirms he is from Texas. Al Barnes rejoins via Skype and is quizzed about his passport photo and travels.

Al Barnes on Papua New Guinea and Pidgin English

Al Barnes describes visiting missionary friends in the Papua New Guinea Highlands for about 12 days, then teaches the hosts a little Pidgin English ('you me go long house, belong me' = come to my house; 'look at me behind' = see you later). The hosts riff on the moon-shaped outhouse-door cutout, Sesame Street games, and Al's two-year-old daughter before sending him off because Tim Cooper and friends are the night's headliners.

'Arms of Love' live performance by Tim Cooper and Friends

Tim Cooper and Friends perform their song 'Arms of Love' live in the studio (the title track of their second CD). Full in-studio music performance, approximately four minutes.

Band interview: lineup, CDs, and how Tim Cooper writes songs

• How do you write your songs?

Tim Cooper introduces the band: singers Vicky and Julie, Doug on electric guitar (joined two years ago when Ron Carrington was expected to leave but didn't), drummer Les, guitarist Ron Carrington, and bass player Robert. He describes three CDs — 'Your Ways Are Higher' (2001), 'Arms of Love' (2003), 'Captain of My Heart' (2007) — available via tcoopermusic.com and CD Baby, plus a forthcoming 'Healer of Men.' Asked how he writes songs, he says they come during worship since 1995 and, more recently, from digging into Scripture over two or three days; he wants lyrics to be God's word rather than his own. A host reflects on what sets Christian musicians apart.

Studio banter: Casey's water, loofahs, and the hairspray incident

Housekeeping (podcast, YouTube clips, livefromthepath.org), then meandering banter: a lukewarm 'Ice Cold To Go' water from Casey's, people washing cars with windshield-washer fluid, and an extended 'foo-foo' vs loofah debate. A host tells of his little brother mistaking citrus air freshener for hairspray and getting second-degree burns. The hosts give the band a five-minute warning and confirm Spirit Midwest Festival details (August 6th–7th, sand volleyball, no sports games despite a newspaper claim).

The 'intense' camping joke and the elevator evangelism bit

A camping-at-the-festival question gets the pun answer 'In tents' ('intense'). The hosts stereotype disc golfers, then riff on socially awkward moments — drooling on someone to dodge an argument, and facing fellow elevator riders to ask 'is Jesus your Lord and Savior?' Dan is addressed by name throughout. The hosts announce the second hour: Vance Lambert joining via Skype from Tennessee, and remind listeners the Skype dial-in is 'Des Moines Amplified.'

'With You' live performance by Tim Cooper and Friends

Tim Cooper and Friends perform their song 'With You' live in the studio ('I will be singing, but Jesus is taking the lead').

First-hour wrap: hobo chili, the Britt hobo festival, and Vance Lambert's intro

• What is the difference between a hobo and a homeless man — and is 'hobo' short for something?

Wrapping hour one, the hosts joke about making 'hobo chili' from leftovers at the festival campground, then recall the hobo festival in Britt, Iowa (rendered 'Brit'), Boxcar Willie, and a childhood outhouse memory. A museum of outhouses gets a mention. Vance Lambert joins via Skype from his studio/bedroom in Tennessee; the hosts note the 'expensive' Skype connection and that Vance went to Southeast Polk High School with two of the hosts.

Vance Lambert interview: high school, Nashville, and vandalism confessions

• Have you ever defaced public property?

Vance Lambert explains moving to Tennessee after a music seminar led to internships with startup/artist-development labels. Conversation turns to an amateur graffiti artist who tagged 'Bondurant' on an abandoned gas station, then to each person's history of public defacement: Dan's seventh-grade bottle-breaking behind the old Drug Town in Ankeny (police called, mother furious), Mike's spray-painted handicapped parking spots, and Vance's claim of innocence. Vance's new CD 'Sophisticated Moron' (made for the festival) and its cover art come up.

'Love, Love, Love' live performance by Vance Lambert

Vance Lambert performs 'Love, Love, Love' (stylized on the CD with a backwards-3 in place of an 'e') — the first track of 'Sophisticated Moron' — live over Skype from his studio. He later explains the song is about a relationship from a godly perspective: love is always the answer and always needed, yet never enough.

Vance's testimony: from going through the motions to real relationship

• How did you come to follow Jesus? (your walk with Christ)

Asked about his walk with Christ, Vance describes growing up in church and realizing around age 14 that his faith was just camp-and-rally hype that wore off — he knew of God but had no relationship. The hosts recognize their own stories in his: church kids pressured to 'fake it till you make it,' learning the performance instead of seeking God. They discuss how churches package faith into memorizable lessons and mistake information about God for God Himself, producing going-through-the-motions Christians whose witness repels skeptics.

Exhortation: lay down the heaviness and take a lighter step

A host shares what was on his mind while praying on the way in: the show exists for God's glory, and listeners carrying heaviness or guilt should give it to God right now — God doesn't deal in guilt, He deals in forgiveness and clean breaks. He suggests a physical act to go with it: stand up and take one lighter step. The others affirm it, one adding that addiction to the thought of unforgiven sin is its own trap.

Door interruption, the homeless ministry, and 'Addiction Sucks'

A man wanders into the studio promoting his ministry feeding the homeless at Nolan Plaza; a host takes his information and they plan to have him on. The 'addiction sucks' line from the previous discussion becomes a joke song request for Vance ('Addiction Sucks' as a festival opener), with a detour into why the word 'sucks' is hard to sing — Kelly Clarkson's 'My Life Would Suck Without You' cited as awkward.

Vance interview continued: CD contents, spoof videos, manliness, and merch

• What is a good definition of manliness?
• Is Vance married?

Vance details his CD: eight originals, a Beatles 'Blackbird' cover, and three spoof songs — the 'Just Vance' parody video, 'Waiting for My Flight' (with the word 'poo' in it), and 'We Are Girl Scouts' set to Queen's 'We Will Rock You' and performed by a real 7-to-9-year-old Girl Scout troop in Des Moines. A listener texts asking if Vance is married (he's not). Manliness banter follows: leave-in conditioner, loofahs, Burl Ives ('manly'), Jimmy Durante impressions, Beavis and Butthead, 80s Christian music (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Second Chapter of Acts, Matthew Ward, Petra), and Vance's gated Nashville apartment jokingly recast as a penitentiary. Shirt-merch haggling closes it: his middle name is Michael, and a host — also a Michael — proposes a 50/50 'Michael' shirt scheme.

'Waiting for My Flight' spoof video playback

The hosts play Vance Lambert's 'Waiting for My Flight' parody video — a comedy song about airport misery (shuttles, parking valets, hundred-dollar TV trays, falling asleep on his arm) that Vance calls a real-life experience.

'Sometimes It Rains' closer and sign-off

Vance Lambert leads the show out with 'Sometimes It Rains' from his first CD — a song about carrying on through pain toward redemption. The hosts thank Vance and Tim Cooper and friends, point listeners to LiveFromThePath.org (archives, podcast, mailing list), and sign off until next week. A final music sting plays under the credits.