# You Can’t Zarf Someone in Pips with Ian Livengood

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759/you-can-t-zarf-someone-in-pips-with-ian-livengood
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759/you-can-t-zarf-someone-in-pips-with-ian-livengood.md
Podcast: [The Distraction: A Defector Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759)
Published: 2026-05-21T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mgln.ai/e/282/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/tracking.swap.fm/track/IVPmvUWSCISCVAzWNnnJ/rss.art19.com/episodes/6b740871-a7c4-4f14-b4b7-94ada9d388c8.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/282/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/tracking.swap.fm/track/IVPmvUWSCISCVAzWNnnJ/rss.art19.com/episodes/6b740871-a7c4-4f14-b4b7-94ada9d388c8.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759/episodes/you-can-t-zarf-someone-in-pips-with-ian-livengood
Duration seconds: 3214

## Resource

Drew and Roth are joined by Ian Livengood, an NYT puzzle editor who works on Pips ( Drew’s true joy ) and the Midi ! Ian shares behind-the-scenes info on how puzzles are constructed, edited, and sent out to solvers. Then, they all give their takes on the NBA finals as they stand. And finally, they open up the funbag to help a listener with his mosquito problem. Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0! Stuff We Talked About Crazy baby games Resident sports guy Zarfs Taking time in the fill Professional enabling Getting to queen bee The optimal way to kill (mosquitos) Sponsors - Reddit, where you can download the Reddit app for hot takes, fresh memes, and a group chat that never sleeps Credits - Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth - Producer: Brandon Grugle - Editor: Mischa Stanton - Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts - Subscribe to Defector ! About The Show The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759/episodes/you-can-t-zarf-someone-in-pips-with-ian-livengood/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast-513759/you-can-t-zarf-someone-in-pips-with-ian-livengood.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.