Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so we're going to dive into the brainmelty world where actors from the The Wire invade SVU and throw us all into a tizzy, as they occupy a shared universe.

It is a wonder that "Underbelly" passed NBC's Standards and Practices Department for any number of reasons. It sexually objectifies real-life 14-year-olds, it is extremely racist, it makes offhand references to piss play, and it takes us on a mind-bending Pynchonian journey to an interzone where The Wire both exists and does not exist depending on the exact placement of John Munch on the Eastern Seaboard. Join Josh and Adam as they unravel a bizarre case involving Stabler, Munch, Sister Peg, Beck (wait who?), and the cast of Season 4 of The Wire and learn about vintage Ferrari pricing, chemical spills in Nunavut, and the mating behaviors of 40-something divorced Dads.

Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so why not get down with the second of two wildly problematic Jeremy Irons episodes?

Sometimes life gives you lemons, and sometimes—if you happen to be on Season 12 of SVU—life gives you three days worth of legendary caulkhead, Jeremy Irons. It is a testament to the bizarre universe this often beautifully odd show inhabits that they chose to use that time to have him unpack the psychological trauma borne by two sisters who were repeatedly spoon-raped by their own mother. Yeah, this episode goes there, then turns around, and goes back for more. We, of course, use this absolutely depraved premise as a springboard into discussions of Josh's car troubles, Adam's isolation, the poor woman's Glenn Close, the rich man's Bryan Brown, and, obviously, our plans to ride out armageddon. As always, rate and review the podcast, and keep on munching.

The Randomizer gifted us with a wild Law & Order: SVU thrill ride featuring Hollywood legends Pam Grier and John Heard (“Disappearing Acts” S4E5) wherein a rape investigation leads Benson and Stabler into a massive federal investigation of some really really bad dudes. Do our heroes acquit themselves well in this complex and trying situation? No, not at all. Do we enjoy discussing Adam's time out on the town, Josh's former neighbors, a variety of big money scams, and, of course, speculating about the standards and practices meeting that let the first 6 minutes of this gem burst through the cracks? Obviously.

Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so we're going back to the well to pull an episode that feeds our Benbot passion.

Sometimes the Randomizer giveth; sometimes it taketh away. It’s sort of like SVU that way. This week it gave an episode that takes us all on a wild ride from a stairwell in Chelsea to the grim realities of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Along the way, jealousy abounds, Benbot enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner, Adam breaks down the past 150 years of strife in the Congo, Amazing Grace and Chuck is deduced to have done some ripping from the headlines, no one wants to believe our victim—Lainie McCallum, played by Diora Baird—and a cut hand yields some unexpected outcomes. The Munchie Boys tackled “Witness” (S11E16), so hold on to your butts.

Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so we'll re-release a stunt-casty ep with some pretty left turns.

Law And Order: SVU frequently takes the viewer to uncomfortable places, and Josh and Adam are no strangers to the depths of the criminal imagination. Still, they were not fully prepared for this vertiginous descent into the tawdry wrinkled world of swinging elder sex. If you want an in-depth discussion of the ethics of mercy killing, the NYPD’s somewhat lax emergency first aid standards, and whether or not one should speak to the police while wearing nothing but a fully open robe and a smirk, then you've come to the right podcast. Benson, Stabler and the rest of the squad are joined by stars Jane Krakowski and Anthony Rapp for "Bound" (Season 5, Episode 23). This will definitely leave you "satisfied." Enjoy!

Adam's Paternity Leave plods along, so we'll drop one discussing one of the most memorable episodes in series history.

We got to watch an all-time Law & Order: SVU ("Undercover" Season 9, Episode 15) which sees Olivia Benson go undercover in a notorious women's prison in order to catch a serial rapist corrections officer. Along the way, we discuss the proper way to light an upskirt be-ankled panties shot, ‘90s nepotism star Barry Van Dyke, and the meaning of the phrase "iron kitten." We also talk about a few of the more famous residents of New York State's Bedford Hills Correctional Facility For Women. This is one of the standout episodes of the entire series, and though it mostly deals in shocking trauma, the writers and producers of this wonderful show found ways to sprinkle in lighthearted dick jokes throughout this heart-pounding hour of television. Enjoy!

Adam's Paternity Leave persists, so we'll drop a fun ep with a slew of recognizable actors, including a title character of a show that lasted [checks notes] 12 seasons?

Emily Deschanel stars in Season 3, Episode 17 of SVU, Surveillance, which features a web of people who are all dangerously obsessed with the titular Bones star. This leads Josh and Adam down a litany of bizarre and digressive topics including, but not nearly limited to, Julio Cortazar, the best sexual positions for self-filming, David Boreanaz's bank account, and, of course, which instrument in the orchestra is the sexiest. Come along for a wild ride.

Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so we'll drop this fun ep with a slew of recognizable actors and a ton of problematic conent from the SVU braintrust.

Law & Order: SVU is often salacious and upsetting and certainly problematic, but rarely does an episode—“Brotherhood” (S5E12)—reference foreign object anal penetration a whopping 22(!) times. Obviously, for the love of all things good, please be warned that we will be talking A LOT about that triggering subject. Of course we will also be discussing exotic woods, waste water treatment facilities, Lutheran traffic patterns, Josh's COVID scare (he's negative), and Adam's salad days. You're not going to forget this one anytime soon, and you will NEVER look at a wooden handle the same way again.

Another Paternity Leave Installment, and, yes, we're grabbing another wildly problematic episode pulled from the back catalog. As mentioned over the past couple of months, this has been behind the Patreon paywall for a while.

Where to begin with “Web” (S7E21)? Benson isn’t Stabler’s partner and is working in Computer Crimes. You’ve got the most aggressive sexualizing of a minor yet covered in the annals of Munch My Benson with Connor Paolo returning in one of the most insane episodes of SVU imaginable. There’s a shocking bout of TARU brutality. Kids are making mid-six-figures on their tween twink porn sites. Pedos are catfished. And the cold open's got the Molesto Muppets. This very episode was one of the handful Adam had in mind when the pod was a zygote in our hive-womb, and it DOES. NOT. DISAPPOINT.

Utter insanity abounds. Hold onto your butts, kiddos.

Another Paternity Leave Installment, and we're grabbing another wildly problematic episode pulled from the back catalog. As mentioned over the past couple of months, this has been behind the Patreon paywall for a while. Patreon payments are frozen for the time being. A few resourceful new Munchies have figured out a work-around where you can join as a free member and upgrade from there to a paid account which charges you for one month and unlocks the back catalog behind the respective tier of the paywall. After that first payment, you won't be charged again until we're dropping new content (which we'll warn everyone is coming), so if you want more of this it can be had, along with access to the fully uncut episodes from 100 to present and Movie Club episodes.

When proceedings kick off with a pooch gleefully dragging discarded afterbirth down the sidewalk, you know you’re in for something special. “Taboo” (S7E14) delivers on that opening promise, proffering some of the wildest, most disgusting things seen in the Munchie annals. As Adam and Josh frolic through the filth, they talk pseudocyesis, the history of Bellevue, bus fight Twitter, and the epidemic of incest in the U.S. And speaking of incest, wow, does this installment of SVU find a way to make something already SUPER disturbing mindblowingly revolting. This episode is so nuts, you’ll feel the Unit needs to interview you afterwards. Hold onto your butts coz this one is BONKERS.

When proffered the box of “Pandora” (S4E15)—phrasing?—Josh and Adam were forced to deal with yet another episode of SVU wherein many children fell victim to an international cabal of pedos, complete with one getting to proudly espouse his party platform to the detectives of SVU and a network television audience. This one hurtles forward at breakneck speed, taking Elliot from New York to Prague and back before the final act has even started. Along the way, Adam and Josh marvel at the way that early SVU writers had no real concept of how computers and the internet worked, the defenestrations of Prague, the endless stream of actors who REALLY pass for pedos in the SVU stable, and the emergence of Zero Dark Stabler. We’ve said it many times previously, but the label definitely fits here—this one is wild.

Strap in for a wild ride, Munchies. This episode of SVU—”Ritual” (S5E14), featuring Emmy-winner Michael Emerson—starts in a park with an apparent ritual sacrifice and dives head first into the world of child slavery, complete with a Fin undercover op and possible Upper East Side blue-hair slave auctions. Along the way, Adam and Josh practice Santeria, lament the stolen Elgin Marbles, assess what jewelry screams slave owner, and wonder what Adam’s glasses being donned by a gruesome murderer means for him.

Another Paternity Leave Installment is here, and this one could ruin your childhood.

When The Wonder Years ended almost 30 years ago, no one could have imagined the incredibly dark turn that Kevin Arnold's life would take. Yes, Mr. Arnold's death, Paul's going to Harvard, and Winnie to a long and successful career on the Hallmark Channel were all disturbing outcomes, but this is much worse. This SVU shows little Kevin Arnold beating, raping, and then re-victimizing women across the Upper West Side. This obviously provides tons of fodder for the Munch mill as we dig into a really great episode of television. We talk Jeopardy! prep, our favorite lawyer lover plot twists, and Josh takes us on a particularly unexpected trip through the shenanigans of the Warwick R.I. city council. Enjoy!

Another week, another Adam's Paternity Leave release, this time we've got the one, the only Patricia Charbonneau, about whom this podcast is centrally concerned. As mentioned last week, this is content that's been behind the Patreon paywall for a while. Patreon payments are frozen for the time being. New Munchies can't join as paying members until that's unpaused, but you can join as a free member and at least be kept abreast of pod news...

When questions like “If I die, and there’s a hot tub, can I be made a saint?” get posed, you know things got weird. This installment in Munchstory has Adam and Josh covering “Streetwise” (S9E11) like a blanket on a mattress—or a society doucher, apparently. This episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has it all. Mae Whitman going from glitz to gutter and back again. STUNTS! Adam Beach. A bum family complete with a pretty messianic cult leader dad who isn’t afraid to go big. True Munchies will enjoy the diversions through high society, defunct Swedish automotive companies, the conditions necessary for beatification and the Christianization of the Welsh, defunct NYC music institutions, the nature of paintball, and much, much more.

Another week, another Adam's Paternity Leave release, this time we've got some of the best acting we've seen in MMB history...

The Munchie Boys watched a helluva SVU featuring Oscar-nominee Stephen Rea in a truly spectacular guest performance in an episode featuring a slew of great acting and seriously interesting direction. This week’s installment was “Solitary” (S11E3), and it’s one of the most existentially introspective and unique shows that has fallen into our laps. And of course, judging by the title of this week’s episode, other weirder stuff also got discussed, including Elliot’s extramarital dip into formicophilia, a roach and its wrangler getting jobbed out of residuals, tide charts and greater New York water temperatures, and narrowly averted wartime disasters. If we’re talking about how lots of people should have won Emmys for this episode, it’s a special one.

While Adam is on paternity leave, check out this banger:

Thomas Jefferson once declared coffee “the favorite drink of the civilized world,” but the wild world of coffee trading on display in Season 9, Episode 18, “Trade” would seem to imply that it’s also the favorite drink of loaded scumbag fathers who look eerily like the pater familias in the Christian-propaganda family dramedy 7th Heaven. It’s rare to have an episode of SVU with as much gold as this, but in the O’Halloraniest episode in Early Munchstory, the world of coffee trading yields a veritable mother lode for Adam and Josh to ingest. Whether it was the complete lack of understanding as to how to coffee trade actually works or the jaw-dropping shocks delivered at every turn, this glorious wildly inappropriate pun fest delivers the goods. Strap yourselves in and get ready for a jolt because Reverend Camden was let loose, and the ensuing havoc knows no bounds.

In an unprecedented turn in the annals of Munch My Benson history, this installment of SVU from Season 3 is simultaneously the standard bearer for representation of a marginalized and underrepresented subset of our population and one of the starkest examples of why it's always best to choose an actor who's a representative of that segment of the population. When given the choice to cast two characters with Down syndrome, they chose an accomplished actress with Down syndrome and an actor who'd later be the top-billed star of prestige dramas for her love interest. The results were something that needs to be seen to be believed.

The discovery of a dead baby found in a cooler floating on the Hudson inspires SVU to JD Vance levels of state aggression towards pregnant people. They cast aspersions at every customer of a beloved uptown health food store then wantonly ruin the lives of every family member of every Hudson U student they can find. Sadly, after a fast-paced first act, this settles into a paint-by-numbers Tay-Sachs morality play for the second half.

I know all there is to know about the SVU. I've had my share of the SVU. First there's a body, then there are slurs. And then, before you know where you are, you're saying Dick Wolf.

Once again, we meet a trans character who is placed in the middle of a brutal scene, and the usual ham-fisted SVU shenanigans ensue. Buckle up, kids!

This one gets all up in the confessional, culminating in a no-holds-barred Catholic-off between Stabler and Father Michael Sweeney (Eric Stoltz--or is it Stolitz?). Red herrings and misdirects abound, and since we're watching an SVU dealing with the Catholic Church, you can assume that some priest were taking some liberties with parishioners of an underage variety. While this one might kick off with some jarring early-season transphobia, it also has a lot of wild fun stuff, and if you weren't paying attention to the priest's name, don't worry, Josh caught it.