A Mystery Podcast: The Case of the Missing Laugh Track

OH NO! We lost our laugh track! But don't worry, TJ and Nolan put their detective thinking caps on and solved the mystery in this fun episode. Tune in and enjoy!

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T&N's Podcast for Kids

Transcript

VOCABULARY WORD: PLETHORA: A Large or excessive amount of something

The Case of the Missing Laugh Track

A T&N's Podcast for Kids Adventure

In the bustling town of Burg, two brothers named TJ and Nolan dreamed bigger than anyone else around. For TJ, age eight, dreaming big meant seeing how much more weight he could lift each day than the previous, and if he was tall enough to push the lawnmower yet. For Nolan, a proud six-year-old, it meant eating three scoops of ice cream for breakfast all while doing somersaults—and convincing someone to record it for their podcast.

Because, you see, TJ and Nolan were the creators, hosts, and official silly gooses of “T&N’s Podcast for Kids”—a show filled with feel-good stories, goofy sound effects, and, most famously, their silly mystery segments. Every now and then, they would solve the most perplexing conundrums in their neighborhood: Why did Mrs. Jenkins’ cat wear sunglasses? Who cut the middle out of the seat of the outdoor patio chair? And, perhaps the wildest, who turned the nearest community pool into a bubble bath?

Their listeners waited eagerly for each episode.

One Monday morning, while the sun peeked over the hills nearby and the cereal box still wore a milk mustache, TJ discovered something alarming. He and his mom were editing their latest podcast episode, “The Case of the Disappearing Donuts,” when he realized—gasp!—the laugh track was missing. Gone. Vanished. Without it, their punchlines hung in the air like socks on a clothesline: awkward and alone. He specifically remembered pressing the “Laugh” button while they recorded the other day.

TJ hollered, nearly spilling his orange juice on the family laptop. “The laughs are gone! Gone like last week’s cookies!”

Nolan, who had been practicing his ninja moves (and accidentally somersaulted into the laundry basket), popped his head out. “Without the laugh track, we’ll sound like those serious news podcasts! You know, the ones where everyone whispers and nobody burps.”

This was an emergency of the highest order.

The brothers adopted their detective personas for the podcast: TJ as “Detective T,” the highly active, sometimes distractable operations director, and Nolan as “Agent N” the animal whisperer and cuddler and, as he liked to say, the snack provider. They grabbed their Official Podcast Detective Notebooks (two spiral-bound pads covered in stickers) and got to work.

“First,” TJ said, “we’ll inspect the scene. Maybe the laugh track left a clue.”

Nolan nodded. “Or maybe it left a note saying, ‘BRB, went to Laugh Land!’”

Armed with magnifying glasses from last year’s birthday party favor bags, the brothers began their investigation.

Their first suspect: TJ’s sound effects machine. It included a plethora of sounds, including fart noises, whooshing sounds, and so on.

TJ pressed the “laugh” button. Instead of laughter, it emitted a loud “HONK!” followed by what could only be described as a confused walrus sound.

“Suspicious…” Nolan scribbled in his notebook.

Their next suspect: Right Hook Robby, Nolan and TJ’s well-loved (and slightly torn) stuffed teddy bear, who was rumored to be the mastermind behind their podcast. Nolan stared into Robby’s button eyes. 

“Did you eat the laugh track?” he whispered.

Silence.

“Well, I guess that’s a no,” said TJ.

“Or he’s not talking. Classic Robby move,” Nolan added.

TJ and Nolan retraced their steps. They checked the Garage Studio (really, the corner of the garage next to Dad’s old project truck), their bedroom headquarters, and even the front yard, just in case the laugh track had caught a breeze and floated out the window.

Suddenly, they stumbled upon their friend Morgan, waving to them from across the street.

“Morgan!” Nolan cried, “Did you see our laugh track?”

Morgan wrinkled her nose. “What’s a laugh track? Is it like a racetrack for giggles?”

“Hmmm…” TJ mused, “Maybe someone—or something—deleted our laughs while we weren’t looking!”

Determined to get their laughs back, the boys posted signs around the house: “Missing: One Laugh Track. Reward: A How to Train Your Dragon sticker and a half-eaten granola bar.” They even recorded a special podcast bulletin, complete with dramatic music and their best detective voices.

Little did they know, the solution was closer than they thought. As they prepared their next episode, “The Mystery of the Vanishing Vegetables,” TJ noticed something odd. The soundboard’s USB cable was missing—replaced by a shoelace with a googly eye glued to it.

Nolan gasped. “That’s not our normal cable! That cable isn’t even plugged in!”

TJ grinned. “Mystery solved! The laugh track didn’t disappear—it was never plugged in!”

After solving the problem and realizing they could upload a new laugh track into their previous donut story, the laughter was back!

With the laugh track restored, they finished their podcast episode with a flourish. Nolan invented a jingle on his keyboard, TJ shared a joke about a chicken who started a podcast, and their friend, Morgan, made a special guest appearance to explain why laughter is the best medicine.

At the end of the episode, TJ concluded, “Kids, if you ever lose your laugh track, check your cables before you interrogate your stuffed animals.”

Nolan added, “And always keep extra stickers for emergency rewards.”

From then on, every episode of “T&N’s Podcast for Kids” included a special segment called “Check the Cables,” where they reminded themselves—and their growing audience—never to overlook the most obvious clues.

The story of the missing laugh track became a fan favorite. Listeners started sending in their own silly mysteries, like “Who Stole My Left Sock?” and “Why Do Bananas Turn Brown So Fast?” TJ and Nolan tackled each new case with gusto, a lot of giggling, and a steady supply of snacks.

Their podcast didn’t just solve mysteries; it created them. One day, Grandpa called in to ask, “Why is there a rubber chicken in my mailbox?” The next episode: “The Case of the Mailbox Chicken,” complete with sound effects, solos, and—of course—plenty of laughs.

And so, in the town of Burg, T&N’s Podcast for Kids became legendary, inspiring young detectives everywhere to grab their notebooks, ask big questions, and, most importantly, never underestimate the power of laughter.

And with that, the brothers pressed record, ready for their next adventure and a thousand more laughs.

The End.