How We Chose a Pineapple | S1E10 "The Pineapple Incident" with co-creator Carter Bays

Josh and Craig are joined by series co-creator Carter Bays to revisit “The Pineapple Incident,” one of How I Met Your Mother’s most beloved early episodes. They share how the idea—originally called “Drunken Fiasco”—was one of the first ever pitched for the show, long before the writers’ room formed. The trio reflect on the power of mystery in storytelling, how the episode helped define the show’s voice, and why they ultimately prefer the pineapple to remain unexplained. Carter does reveal, however, the real-life inspiration for the “vomit-free since ’93” line. With detours into fan tattoos, early network notes, and the joy of letting go creatively, the episode ends with a moving letter from a listener in Australia whose connection to the show helped her navigate grief and believe in love. GET YOUR MERCH! We’ve got HWMYM merch, which is now just a FEW CLICKS AWAY. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE to pre-order your copy of That’s Not How It Happened today. JOSH IS STILL ON TOUR! Tickets are available HERE for the final shows of the EULOGY TOUR. And if you’re a business with big orders to fulfill, Amplifier is there to help growing consumer brands and influencers create a unique experience for their customers during the fulfillment process. Visit AMPLIFIER to learn more, and name-drop How We Made Your Mother for special pricing for your emerging brand's program. 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 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at https://quince.com/yourmother Car Gurus: Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at ⁠cargurus.com  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.