Welcome to the Relix 44. To commemorate the past 44 years of our existence, we’ve created a list of people, places and things that inspire us today, appearing in our September 2018 issue and rolling out on Relix.com throughout this fall. See all the articles posted so far here. 

Talking Heads: Katy Tur and Jake Sherman

On March 27, 2017, NBC News Correspondent Katy Tur, who anchors the 2 p.m. edition of MSNBC Live, welcomed Politico senior writer and fellow Phish fan Jake Sherman for his thoughts on House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes. After Tur introduced “my friend, my friend Jake Sherman,” her smirking guest countered this reference to the Rift song by commenting, “I’m bouncing around the room a little bit with all of his explanations.”

And the game was afoot.

Over the weeks and months to follow, the two continued to up their game. For instance, on July 11, when speaking about potential legislation to modify the Affordable Care Act, Sherman went for the fitting “Mike’s Song” reference: “I simply don’t see it, it seems like they’re trapped in time and don’t know what to do when it comes to this legislation.” To which Tur immediately quipped, “Or feeling like it’s not so stupendous living in that tube.”

The ability of the two reporters to drop Phish references deftly into conversation, while remaining on point, is a joy to behold. (Tur also volleyed back and forth with Virginia Congressman Tom Garrett, and on the record-breaking Monday afternoon following Phish’s Baker’s Dozen, she nearly matched the group’s performance total by delivering 12 Phish drops.)

Looking back on their initial exchange, Sherman reflects, “The whole thing was kind of organic. Katy somehow found out that I was a big Phish fan, and she started dropping lyrics when I was on her show. At first, I was taken aback and couldn’t really respond. I had a bad secret smile. But since then, I’ve upped my game. We talk about a lot of serious stuff. But that doesn’t mean we can’t—and shouldn’t—have fun.”

To which Tur retorts, “Jake had no idea he was stepping into the freezer but he was quickly bought for the price of a flagon of rice. Now he’s surrendered to the flow and, together, we run like an antelope out of control.”

This article originally appears in the September 2018 issue of Relix. For more features, interviews, album reviews and more, subscribe here.