Escape Pods

For something that is now so ingrained into our culture, only once before have I blogged about podcasts.  That was back in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when we all craved for new entertainment content.

There are so many more podcasts out there now.  Some are good, some are bad, and some only exist to make money for a producer without any social value.

I don't have time to listen to all of the podcasts I'd like -- there are too many of them, and/or their running time is too long.  (In the same way no movie needs to be longer than two hours, no podcast needs to be longer than 45 minutes.  And this is coming from someone who never listens to the commercials, nor listens at less than 1.5x speed.  To me, an hour-long podcast equals a three hour-long movie, and no one has the time or content to remain interested in that.)

As mentioned in 2020, my main go-to podcasts are those from the Freakonomics Network.  They have several now in addition to the main weekly podcast, including a newer one called The Economics Of Everyday Things.  It's about how some industries work, anything from Girl Scout cookies to car washes to body part sales(?).  Plus, it's always less than 30 minutes long -- see last paragraph.

A longer, similar podcast is called Search Engine, which is a deep-dive on a hodgepodge of topics that we might never think about.

For politics, you can't beat Pod Save America, hosted by the former Obama speechwriting crew.  If you don't lean progressive, a more middle-of-the-road podcast is Hacks On Tap, hosted by former democratic and republican political operatives.  (Mike Murphy, the republican, is as witty as they get.)

On the lighter side, I prefer Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend, in which he interviews mostly other comics.  His shorter fan-interview offshoot, Conan O'Brien Needs A Fan, is also great.  No one is funnier and more likable than Conan.

I know, I know, there are so many more that I'm sure would be great to hear, including some I've never even heard of yet.  (That doesn't include true crime or cold case stories, which I don't care about.)

This is as far as I can go in my current pre-retirement world.

2016

It's once again time to review my 2015 list of things I'd like to see happen, and lay out my hopes for 2016.  Here's the 2015 list, with new notes in ALL CAPS:

-Less glorification of big butts.
I'M DECLARING VICTORY ON THIS, BECAUSE IT MOVED FROM A 9 TO AN 8 ON A SCALE OF 1-10.

-A Final Four for Iowa State men's basketball, and an NCAA tournament berth for both Iowa and Northern Iowa men's basketball.
OH, SO CLOSE.  THAT IS, IF YOU CAN CALL ISU LOSING IN THEIR FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME AS A 3 SEED 'CLOSE'

-More action, less inaction by the U.S. Congress.
A PERPETUALLY WASTED HOPE.

-Stephen Colbert dominating late night television, with Conan and Fallon and Stewart right behind.
OTHER THAN JON STEWART RETIRING, I FEEL THIS IS STARTING TO HAPPEN.

-Common use of Apple Pay.
NOT AS COMMON YET AS IT SHOULD BE.

-Might as well go for it again -- at least medicinal marijuana legalization in Iowa.
C'MON, MAN! PROGRESS IN SOME OTHER STATES, BUT NOT IN IOWA.

-A vaccine against Ebola.
DID NOT HAPPEN, STILL WORKING ON IT.

-A week-long vacation for me.
DID NOT HAPPEN, STILL WORKING ON IT.

For 2016 I'd like to see:

At least some progress, not regress, on medicinal marijuana legalization in Iowa.

Chris Christie versus Hillary Clinton for president, with ? winning.

A higher stock market.

Just one actual, even very minor piece of legislation to make it slightly more difficult to buy a gun.

The personal, financial, and political implosion of Donald Trump.

A way to charge devices without a wire.

An à la carte option for cable and satellite TV channels.

More time for eating right, less time for exercise.

2015

As with last year, let's review the things I said I'd like to see in 2014, with my new notes in ALL CAPS:

-The (continued) fall of the so-called Tea Party conservatives.
(NOT REALLY.  GIVEN THE OUTCOME OF THE MID-TERM ELECTIONS, THEY'VE AT LEAST HELD AND MAYBE GAINED STRENGTH.)

-Less Kanye / Less Miley.
(NO FOR KANYE, YES FOR MILEY.)

-Apple TV.
(NOPE, BUT WE GOT APPLE PAY AND WE'RE GETTING THE APPLE WATCH.)

-NCAA basketball Sweet 16 trips for either Iowa and Iowa State.
(NO FOR IOWA, YES FOR IOWA STATE.)

-Better football from the Cyclones and Vikings - the bar is incredibly low.
(NO FOR THE CYCLONES, YES - BARELY - FOR THE VIKINGS.)

-Warmer Spring weather, at least where it doesn't snow again in May.
(IT WAS DEFINITELY BETTER.)

-More legalization of marijuana beyond what's happening in Colorado on 1/1/2014.
(YES, SORT OF.  THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PASSED A VOTE TO LEGALIZE IT.  BUT STATES LIKE IOWA STILL CAN'T BRING THEMSELVES TO EVEN LEGALIZE MEDICINAL USE.)

-A la carte cable TV channels.  It's only a matter of time before cable providers will have to do this to compete with computer streaming.  Why not in 2014?
(NO AGAIN, ALTHOUGH COMPANIES LIKE NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME ARE INCHING US CLOSER TO IT.)

For 2015 I'd like to see:

Less glorification of big butts.

A Final Four for Iowa State men's basketball, and an NCAA tournament berth for both Iowa and Northern Iowa men's basketball.

More action, less inaction by the U.S. Congress.

Stephen Colbert dominating late night television, with Conan and Fallon and Stewart right behind.

Common use of Apple Pay.

Might as well go for it again -- at least medicinal marijuana legalization in Iowa.

A vaccine against Ebola.

A week-long vacation for me.

The Late Shows

Four years ago, I wrote about my disdain over NBC's handling of Conan O'Brien's short stint as the host of The Tonight Show.  Conan was robbed, and he eventually ended up on TBS at 10pm central time, where I dutifully DVR his shows.

Now four years later, Leno is leaving again, this time 'agreeing' to leave so that NBC can move in a younger guy, Jimmy Fallon. Where have we seen this before?

I like Fallon and what he's done on the Late Night show, as I did with Conan.  And as with Conan, I'll probably start watching the Tonight Show again, (I gave it up in disgust after Leno came back), although in the 10:30pm half-hour I prefer watching The Colbert Report.  I haven't watched much of The Late Show with David Letterman over the past few years - used to watch it religiously, but we've both gotten too old for his show.

Good-bye again, Jay.  You should have stayed away.

The Conan Solution

For the record, I have always been a fan of Conan O'Brien, going back many years during his time on Late Night. Dude is funny, and "If They Mated" was one of the great comedy bits of all time. (Why did he not bring that to the Tonight Show? Was it someone else's intellectual property?)

I thought it was awesome when he took over the Tonight Show. Jay Leno was fine, but not edgy enough, and often boring. Oh, he had some funny stuff, including "Headlines" and "Jaywalking" but Conan is funnier, and superior at sketches, improvisation, and interviews.  People will get used to him, right.

So I think this whole NBC deal about giving Leno back the Tonight Show slot is crap. Leno agreed to leave years ago, then decided against it, so NBC created an earlier show for him, and that hasn't worked. Now NBC is basically canceling his show - so how is it they have to find him another place?

Look Jay, thanks for your years of service, but when a show gets canceled you don't automatically get another show, much less your old show back. It's time for you and NBC to bite the bullet and let Conan keep the Tonight Show at its regular time, if for no other reason than common decency. Conan's staff uprooted their lives and moved from New York to California to do this......for god's sake Leno, find another show yourself! Be stand up about it and fall on your sword!

As I write this, it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so here's the best alternative for Conan: Forget the Fox Network (too conservative, and not really a network per se) and go to Comedy Central to take the slot immediately following Daily Show and Colbert Report. I might never watch anything else for those two hours. Yeah, it'll be a much smaller audience, but a devoted one, and Conan go back to doing some things he did on Late Night that he's reluctant to do now.

It's a win/win. For me at least.

Stupidity Is Easy

As I do on a lot of weeknights, late last night I was flipping the TV back and forth between The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and The Colbert Report (with Stephen Colbert). Two funny guys with great shows - but not my point.

Conan's first guest was Bill Maher, the politically opinionated comedian. They talked about a recent controversy involving comments Maher made about Americans being stupid, and a piece he eventually wrote to defend that opinion. It's a must read at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/new-rule-smart-president_b_253996.html

Of course, it's inflammatory and an over-generalization to say Americans are stupid. But statistically speaking, it has the element of truth. As I've said before, we are in many ways a nation of sheep, allowing other people to tell us what to believe in or what is good for us without thinking about it for ourselves. It sort of comes naturally to us over time, as each generation learns to do what is easy and avoid what is hard. And it's a lot easier to know nothing than it is to know something.

America survives and will continue to thrive because unlike so many other countries, individuals have the freedom and tools to reach their potential, however limited that may be. As Carl the groundskeeper says in the movie Caddyshack, "So I got that going for me. Which is nice."