General Questions | S1E8 "The Duel"

In this General Questions bonus episode of How We Made Your Mother, Josh, Craig, and Alec reflect on “The Duel” and answer fan questions about real-life apartments, the emotional weight of physical space, and how props like swords and Shockey came to represent bigger ideas in the show. They also dig into the origins of HIMYM’s many fictional websites, the legacy of Barney’s blog, and the writers assistants who used that material to launch their careers. The conversation blends nostalgia, comedy, and sincerity—covering everything from sentimental goodbyes to apartments, to what it’s like to stage a sitcom sword fight and why leaving a home can feel like losing a piece of yourself. What happened to all the HIMYM websites like TedMosbyIsAJerk.com and Barney’s Blog? Can you bring any of the old sites back? Who actually owns those domains now? Did writing Barney’s Blog help writers assistants get promoted? What real-life places inspired the show’s apartments and bars? Do you have a building from your life that will always feel like “yours”? What was your first apartment like, and did you have objects like Shockey or the swords? Did Craig and Carter have a shared object that symbolized their early years like the swords? What are you doing with your apartment while you’re on tour? Was the sword fight fully choreographed or improvised? Were the swords always part of the set or added for this episode? Why do we get so attached to physical spaces? How do our props and surroundings help us feel at home? Is there such a thing as a forever home, or is home something we carry with us? How did the crew design a realistic but shootable New York apartment? What was it like saying goodbye to the real stage where HIMYM was filmed? CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website (Send us your audio and written messages) Substack (Join the mailing list, get announcements, and read more from Josh and Craig) Instagram HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Donate to our ongoing campaign to support congenital heart disease research AND MORE: Josh’s “Museletters” on Substack Josh’s Official Website Josh on Spotify Craig’s Official Website (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, a groundbreaking sitcom that ran for 208 episodes on CBS from 2005-2014, unfolds entirely as a flashback, using a time-bending narrative structure that spotlights the lives of five friends navigating love, friendship, dating, careers, failure, and success in New York City. The show has remained vibrantly alive in our collective pop culture memory, with fans around the world still sharing stories of how HIMYM is not just a hilarious comedy but also medicine for the soul in hard times. Now, JOSH RADNOR (who played “Ted Mosby”) has teamed up with series co-creator CRAIG THOMAS to explore, episode-by-episode, the mystery at the heart of what has made this show so durable and beloved. It’s time – much like the older, wiser narrator Ted does in the show – to look back on this adventure that occupied a pivotal decade of their lives: how the show changed them, how it changed its fans, and how it changed the culture. With plenty of special guests joining us along the way, this podcast will use HIMYM’s trenchant themes as jumping-off points for larger discussions about life, loss, and love. This is HOW WE MADE YOUR MOTHER: A flashback podcast for a flashback show.