Co-host Charles F. Peterson has been the beating heart of Hotel Bar Sessions for the last four seasons. Throughout that time, he has pushed the podcast to be more and more expansive, in deeper and deeper ways, with his intellect, curiosity, and rapier-like wit. Charles was the mastermind behind many of our best episodes, the connection to some of our best guests, and the source of our most hilarious on-air moments.  Unfortunately, though, Charles is being called away from the mic by his other commitments, and so Season 5 will be his last season as a regular Hotel Bar Sessions co-host.

Do not despair! Charles is staying on the HBS team, only now in a primarily off-air mode. He has graciously agreed to join us every few episodes for our “Afterthoughts” series, which will be available exclusively to Patreon subscribers starting in Season 6. (So make sure to sign up to Hotel Bar Sessions podcast on Patreon here!) 

We’ve dedicated this week’s entire episode to celebrating Charles and his contributions to the podcast. We chat about some of our favorite moments together, and Rick and Leigh prod Charles to talk about his future plans. Although this is not, technically speaking, our “last dance” together, it’s the last dance we’ll have together in our regular hotel bar seats, so we’re sending Charles off with all of the love and respect he deserves.

Beginning in Season 6, Rick and Leigh will be joined by our new HBS co-host Dr. Jason Read (@unemplyedneg), and Charles offers a few parting words of advice for his replacement as well!

In this episode, we fondly reminisce about the following past episodes:

• Season 2, Episode 25: “Guns”
• Episode 3, Episode 21: “Whose History? (with Charles McKinney)”
• Season 4, Episode 48: “The Simulation Hypothesis”
• Season 4, Episode 58: “Utopia”
• Season 2, Episode 23: “Superheroes”
• Season 2, Episode 20: “Vulgarity”
• Season 3, Episode 44: “The Godfather Trilogy”
• Season 2, Episode 26: “Music”
• Season 4, Episode 46: “Bars”
• Season 3, Episode 42: “Optimism and Pessimism”
• Season 3, Episode, 37: “Transcendence”
• Season 4, Episode 52: “Immortality”
• Season 4, Episode 49: “Memory”
• Season 4, Episode 53: “Metaphysics”
• “move my cat” blooper reel (for Patreon subscribers only!)

If you enjoy  listening to Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe, submit a rating/review, follow us on Twitter @hotelbarpodcast and Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

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