Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A short, fun and occasionally not unintentionally educational podcast in which two fans of the New York Times crossword describe their puzzle-solving travails.
Episodes
2082 episodes
Monday, June 22, 2026 — Leapin’ Lizards, This Was a Great Monday Crossword!
This was Victoria Fernandez Grande's second NYTimes crossword, and her first came just 2 months ago, so she is off to an impressive start! Monday crosswords are designed to be the easiest crosswords of the week, but that doesn't imply drab clui...
Sunday, June 21, 2026 — Happy Summer Solstice!! 🌞
This was a Sunday debut by Hannah Slovut, and a rather novel one. You could tell it was a debut since xwordinfo.com said so; you could tell it was novel because the grid had 27 ro...
Saturday, June 20, 2026 —Another Cruciverbial Masterpiece by Katie Hoody 😍
Katie Hoody makes magnificent Saturday crosswords, and today's is no exception. It is a master class in crossword construction, featuring clues so brilliant that...
Friday, June 19, 2026 — Happy Juneteenth!
Today's crossword — a debut by Jack Hatchett — was an epic struggle for both cohosts, as the puzzle was brimming with craftily clued debuts. We were definitely not expecting 10D, Sudden reversal of fortune, in literature, PERI...
Thursday, June 18, 2026 — Scott Hogan Has Punned, er, Penned, an Excellent Crossword
Compared to yesterday's crossword, with its somewhat complex theme, today's was simultaneously both easier and harder. Easier in the sense that once you had enough crosses, you co...
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 — Pick a card, any card 🃎 🂫
There are themes, and then there are themes. Today's crossword was definitely a case of the latter, and it was combined with clues that were above average in difficulty. As a con...
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 — Hail ... Brittanium? 🤔
Brad Lively is on a tear: this is his second crossword in three weeks, not too shabby! The theme was hilarious, and the rest of the clues were perfect Tuesday fodder. We have the full 411 in today's podcast.But wait, there's more! Since ...
Monday, June 15, 2026 — ASMR is back! — which, coincidentally, is where you might feel it 😉
Both cohosts found today's crossword to be slightly crunchier (read: harder) than usual for a Monday, but it was a joy to solve nonetheless (or perhaps because of that!). Deets in...
Sunday, June 14, 2026 — Beware crosswords concealing cryptic cryptids 😀
This was a crunchier than usual Sunday crossword by a man who knows Sunday crosswords quite well — this is John Kugelman's 16th. The theme was very clever and likely a bear to construct, but the end result was a splendid challenge. In terms of ...
Saturday, June 13, 2026 — The MWAHAHA v. BWAHAHA Debate Continues!
This was a highly entertaining Saturday crossword by Ryan McCarty, chockfull of tricky and entertaining clues. For instance, 33D, Is courting out of one's league, so to speak, DAT...
Friday, June 12, 2026 —A Quality Friday Crossword!
This was a quality Friday crossword by Amanda Winters, her second for the NYTimes. It was not hugely difficult by Friday standards, but the quality of the clues was first...
Thursday, June 11, 2026 — Alas, Poor ARAL Sea, We Barely Knew Ya!
Today's crossword was a debut by Nikhil Bailey, and an excellent one, fueled by an awesome theme (but no revealer: you'll have to work this one out on your own, or ... listen to t...
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 — 🎶 NARITA, we just met an airport named ... NARITA 🙄🎶
This was a terrific Wednesday crossword, with an exceedingly well timed and executed theme, combined with some excellent cluing exsewhere, er, elsewhere. 😉We learned ...
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — Rebecca Goldstein Is at the Helm, Brace for Extreme Wit and Whimsy 😀
Rebecca Goldstein is one of our favorite constructors, which is why we felt 56D, Utter delight, GLEE, upon seeing that she had authored today's puzzle. Some of that GLEE was a resu...
Monday, June 8, 2026 —Now, Where's That BELETE Key Gotten To? 😀
Today's crossword was excellent Monday fare. Most of the clues were written with new solvers in mind, as one would expect; but they were a lot of fun nonetheless, and constructor T...
Sunday, June 7, 2026 — A Rorschach Test of a Crossword 🤔
Today's crossword, a collaboration between veteran constructors Adam Wagner and Simeon Seigel, was relatively controversial: some solvers found it to be a splendid tour de force of...
Saturday, June 6, 2026 — 🎵 We Can See Clearly Now, the Black Squares Are Gone 😀 🎶
After just a cursory glance at today's crossword, your first reaction might be a pressing need to don sunglasses. That would be because of the grid, the most "wide open" grid e...
Friday, June 5, 2026 — A Rigorous Friday Workout!
This was an exciting Friday crossword by Kelly Morenus, with a bevy of challenging clues. Just to give you a taste, we had 54A, "___ y plata" (Montana's motto), ORO; ...
Thursday, June 4, 2026 — Look, up there in the sky, it's a REDACTED, it's a REDACTEDAGAIN!!, it's ... SUPEREGO! 😀 🙄
Once again the NYTimes crossword boffins have gone above and beyond to inject a little something extra into the grid, to aid the constructor. We had animation the other day, and to...
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 — Happy National Repeat Day! Happy National Repeat Day! Happy ... etc., etc. 😀
We do not know if this was planned or by chance, but today's crossword happens to be an ideal choice for National Repeat Day, which, we have been reliably assured,
Tuesday, June 2, 2026 —Another *brilliant* Tuesday theme, courtesy of Rich Katz
Rich Katz has scored again with a winning theme and a strong supporting cast of clues. We've covered most of those in the podcast, but we would also like to doff our hats in honor ...
Monday, June 1, 2026 — A round of applause, if you please, for the CLAPOMETER 😀 👏
This was Kenneth Cortes' third NYTimes crossword, and it was splendid. The theme was memorable and unique, and there were some other gems among the rest of the clues. These include...
Sunday, May 31, 2026 — Goodbye, May, thanks for all the flowers!! 🪻🌹
Today's crossword was by Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park, students at Western University in London, Ontario (go, Mustangs!). It was inspired in part because at Jeffrey's high sch...
