Great Distraction

Viral disease, pandemic, racism, police brutality, rioting, elections, crazy economy! With all this madness going on we thought it time to sit down and have a chat about where this all might be heading. What difference will all this make in the end? We are also celebrating our two year anniversary! Yay for us! Thank you everyone out there who's still listening! We're looking forward to getting back into it after this long Corona Life break!

In this addition to our Illusions series we discuss the illusion of freedom. How free are we really in this country? And how real is freedom as a general concept? We take a session to discuss the reality of freedom and some of the constraining factors of it in our society, culture and country.

From finishing school, getting married and having kids to career changes, retirement and everything in between we go through a lot of life altering transitions throughout our existence. We thought we'd have us a chat about some of the more common ones and a couple not so common ones and discuss how they changed our lives forever. There's a little something for everyone in this episode and who knows, it may even leave you with a new perspective on your current situation!

It seems like every generation in this country has had their own unique fear of some coming apocalypse. Be it nuclear war, EMPs, disease, religious dooms, communists, or zombies, there seems to have never been a shortage of ways to keep us distracted and afraid. We discuss a few of these fear mongering and money making tactics and then, just for fun, talk a bit about what we might do should the end of days actually occur.

Why are some sexual behaviors normal to us and others taught to be horrible or shameful? Why are some accepted in society while others perceived as taboo? We talk about how society defines for us our sexual behaviors and how such definition is and has been different in different places and times. We also talk about a very unique tribe of people that have some extraordinary and shocking practices for teaching the sexual nature of there culture to their offspring.

During World War II millions of people all over the world were ripped from their homes and placed by force into internment camps. We usually only hear about the Jewish internment camps in Germany, but actually there were internment camps everywhere including right here in the United States. In this episode we are going to focus on the Japanese-American internment camps that relocated well over 100,000 people of Japanese decent for years during the war. We were very fortunate to meet a couple of wonderful ladies who actually lived through these times and were kind enough to sit down and tell us their story. We really hope you enjoy this piece of American history that most of us were suspiciously not taught about in school. It's an important part of this country's history that ought to be remembered!

In another addition to our series on Sex, we ponder the gray area between art and pornography and how that line has thinned and skewed over the last few decades. These changes have greatly affected how we see sex and how it ties into various mediums of art. What used to pass for an R rating is now PG-13 in movies for example. Have we made these decisions or were they made for us by the powers that be? And how does one go about deciding which is which?

Human beings are living longer than ever before and it appears the trend of average life expectancy is only going to continue rising. What's causing this trend and are we actually living healthier or just longer? How long can humans really live? And why do woman live longer than men? Lot's to think about with this topic!

Where in the world would we be without the TV??? We consume soooo much of it! Latest stats show the average American consumes almost FOUR hours A DAY! Yeah you know we had to sit down and discuss this one! Enjoy!

Think you're clean? Are you sure?! Who told you were clean? More importantly but not pondered as often, who told you that you were dirty in the first place?! In this episode we discuss the seemingly simple concept of personal hygiene and where some of the most common perceptions of cleanliness actually came from. It's always interesting to learn more about the ways our minds get reshaped by marketing from large corporations just to make a buck!

Is morality real? Or is it just based on a given time period and geographical location? And if that's the case, what is it actually worth and how does it differ from ethics? We go a little more philosophical in this episode and discuss concepts that have plagued the rulers of mankind for centuries. Plenty of good mental-munchies in this one. Enjoy!

The times they are a-changin'. And it seems that even genders can't escape the change. These days genders are a hot topic and with advances in medicine over the years people have options now that are quickly becoming more accessible. Some folks have even opted to go with no gender. Some, to change gender based on how they feel. Such a fluid nature of identity is a tough and confusing thing for the masses and we thought it'd make a great topic to sit down and discuss. If this is the first you've heard of it or you're still confused about it, we'll try and lay it out for you in some simpler concepts.

What is the Maker Culture? We have talked quite a few times before about how important we feel it is to have productive outlets. Be it hobbies or artistic endeavors we are firm believers that giving oneself a creative outlet leads to a happier and healthier mind. Maker Culture is just that. It includes people of all ages in a wide spectrum of activities, from electronics to knitting the philosophy behind "Making" has something for everyone! In fact we consider ourselves "Makers" and if you have even the slightest creative bone in your body you'll enjoy this topic and hopefully get more involved in the movement!

Adding to our Taboo series, this time around we cover the taboo nature of profanity. Yes, you know, that colorful language you use around your friends but hide from your co-workers or perhaps your family. We discuss why profanity exists and where it might have come from. And of course we have some fun using choice descriptive words!

Cumulatively we Americans are in a MOUNTAIN of credit card debt! As a nation thick with consumerism we've all got 'em, and we all use 'em! Because we've all gotta have things we can't afford and want them now! Even if that APR is 30% or more! We take a moment to step back and ask how all this came to be. How did they ever convince us this was an okay way to live and why have we accepted it as a normality? And how did they figure out ways to punish us for not having credit cards?! All that and more in this episodes discussion!

Continuing our Altered States series, we add the next episode in line which focuses on Marijuana. It's a hot topic these days and one that a majority of the population can relate to We figured it would be an easy next step in this category. Get ready though as this is our longest single episode yet! We thought about separating it but there was just too much to talk about to break up the flow! So sit back, have a toke if you're so inclined and join us for an all about weed episode!

Ever told someone a "rule of thumb" or to have a little "hair of the dog" to cure that hangover? Or perhaps told them to go "balls to the wall" and win that competition "hands down"? Have you ever wondered where phrases like this come from and what they referenced? Well we dedicated an entire episode just to that! Looking up old phrases and talking about their meaning and origin. And did we ever find some weird stuff!

Adding another topic to our Taboo series, we have a talk about where tattoos fit in the view of today's American society. During the last few decades a lot has changed with respect to the general populations opinions of body art. Be it in beauty in the modeling industry or professionalism in the work place, the way people view tattoos is not what it used to be.

Human beings are lonely creatures. There is an intrinsic sense of solitude that lies in all of us. It is this part of the human condition that we base this discussion on. How and why we as a species are we alone? Is it our nature or do we nurture this into ourselves? What would happen if we found another intelligent species? There is some great food for thought in this topic!

So where do the genders sit these days with respect to our differences in society? In this episode we cover how such a question is measured and talk a bit about some areas of society that are often hot points of debate in the media. As always we try and keep our discussion as unbiased as a group of guys from California can and this one has a lot of sensitive subjects in today's culture. Definitely fuel for some good conversation!

Americans are currently throwing away 22 billion plastic water bottles every year. That's just Americans and that's just water bottles. Which barely touches on the vast topic that is humanities over use and wastefulness of plastic. But in this episode we discuss how much bottled water we drink, what it's doing to our bodies and planet, and what's being done to compensate for so much waste. If you use plastic bottles of any kind, you should definitely listen to this one!

What is sleep and why does it feel like most of the time we can never get enough of it? Why do we even need it at all? And why do we fight it even though it makes us feel worse? So many simple questions about something we all spend a third of our lives doing. In this episode we discuss this important part of the human condition and add in a few suggestions on how to get a better nights sleep that we found helped us.

Another new series we're adding to our topics list will focus on subjects that are considered "taboo" in our society. We'll be kicking off this series with the topic of our first episode being on one of the oldest taboos in our culture; sex. We've always found it perplexing why one of the most important and major parts of being human is also one of the most inappropriate to talk about. In this episode we'll talk about why that is and cover some possibilities from various angles ranging from anthropology and psychology to culture and religion. 

Starting up another new series for us, this one dealing with addiction and various substances and behaviors that are or can become addictive. Our first step into this series deals with what is for many, actually a two part addiction. Coffee, among other ingredients, contains two addictive substances: caffeine and sugar. We discuss a bit of the nature of each as well as some interesting facts about coffee consumption that you might not be aware of. So sit down, pour yourself a cup of coffee and have a listen!

Introducing another new series for us where we discuss topics related to sex. We kick off our first episode in this series covering an interesting relationship that is growing between sex toys and an emerging technology called virtual reality. The sex toy and porn industry have both seen a lot of growth and changes over the last few years. Specific to this episode, if you've seen the movie Ready Player One and can imagine tying that to porn and sex toys, you'd be on the right track! It's pretty amazing and hilarious the type of stuff this relationship has spawned! Definitely some interesting food for thought!

This is the first episode of a new series for us called "Altered States" and we kick it off with discussing a very common drug in America, alcohol. Using a standard format we cover background on the drug, its effects both good and bad, why people use it, how society views it and finally some personal experiences from the group under the influence. We hope you'll find this series as informative as it is interesting!

Lonely? Having trouble meeting that special someone in your town/city/state/country? Have you considered looking abroad? Have you considered... a mail order bride? Since the 1800's American men have imported wives from all over the world. It's an industry. We take a look into the modern adaptation of the "mail order bride" business and discuss how it works, if it's real and whether or not it can actually work for the long term. We found some interesting and humorous information that ended up being pretty entertaining!

How safe are we really? From the TSA and home alarm systems to locks on doors and our money in banks, what really is "safe"? We take a look as some areas of life that are commonly thought to be secure and pick apart the reality of what is and isn't. Then we discuss who stands to gain from our concern for security. A lot of interesting things to think about in this episode!

We kick off the first of our "series" topics with one from our Conspiracy Theory series. The belief that the Earth is actually flat seems to be gaining in popularity. The number of followers is increasing and the views on videos and social media are in the millions now. We discuss what the theory entails and how its followers make sense of it and continue to believe despite huge backlash from everyone else.

Water has become the new gold. Large corporations are draining aquifers as fast as they can to sell it back to us at a high markup. In some cases its left entire towns without fresh water. No this isn't happening in third world countries, it is going on right here in the US. If you haven't heard that buying bottled water is bad, you should check out this episode.

Hunting and to a lesser extent fishing have gotten hit hard in society lately due to a lot of negative viral posts going around social media in the last couple of years. A lot of people don't realize actually how important hunting and fishing are to our world. Both in actually keeping animal species alive as well as preserving the lands on which they live. If you're anti-hunting or don't know much about it you should definitely give this episode a listen! You might find surprising some of the information we cover.

Something everyone fantasizes about at some point in their life: what would you do if you won the lottery? Be nice to find out for sure if money really can buy happiness! We sit down and have a chat about past lottery winners and how it affected their lives as well as what's recommended to do should you ever find yourself so lucky. Then, of course we couldn't help ourselves, we talk about what we would do with so much money!

Defined as an international philosophical movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology, transhumanism can seem to be a bit far fetched at first glance. But after looking into it further we felt it to be more preemptive of the inevitable rather than science fiction. If you find futuristic Sci-Fi or advanced biotech interesting, this will probably be right up your alley!

Now that the legalization of marijuana has become something of a trend across the U.S., we take an episode to consider why it was even illegal in the first place and comment on how much has changed since first medical and now recreational legalization. Cannabis has an interesting past in our country and it's one whose pattern is not uncommon and should no be forgotten.

In this episode we discuss the current conditions of poverty in America and take a look at some stats that give a clearer picture of how bad it currently is. We also talk about what efforts are being done to reduce the levels and help those in need.

We celebrate our 50th episode and we dedicate it to a conversation about California!

Implants in humans. Why not? We use them in our pets. They could make life so much more convenient by tying us closer to social media, allowing secure access to buildings at work our homes and our cars,  and eliminate the need to carry credit cards. They could also help create the ground work for a social credit system. Who doesn't want that?! The work being done in this field and the steps that have been taken to date makes for some interesting discussion. If you haven't thought about this in a while or ever, it's worth checking out. If for nothing else to think about what's coming.

How often do we take an opportunity to step back and take a look at all the things we carry with us everyday? Do we notice the unnecessary burdens we bear on a day to day basis that weigh us down and hold us back? In this episode we discuss the concept of lightening ones load in life starting with the physical and moving into the emotional.

The US imprisons more people that any other country in the world. By a large amount. As a result prisons have become a huge industry and private companies for years worked hard to get in on some of the action. In 1982 they succeeded, and ever since then their numbers and power have been increasing as our country allows them to build more and more facilities. In this episode we talk about how this industry got started, how they make their money and how their power and control is growing. It might surprise you some of the things that are legal in this line of business.

Do you have a hobby? Do you have too many hobbies? From outdoor activities like sports or exercise to reading, making music or crafting creative projects, there are many things we do in our leisure time that bring us joy and a sense of accomplishment. We sat down and discussed what hobbies are or can be and what the ones we are into mean to us. Then we go over some of the oddest hobbies we've ever heard of. There definitely some weird ones out there!

What are our emotions really? Do they actually exist? Why do we put so much value on them? If picked apart, can we manipulate them? We ask a few simple questions in this episode about the nature and value of a part of our psyche that affects us everyday. Do our emotions control us, or do we control our emotions?

Part 2 of last weeks topic. How bad is the level of homelessness currently in our country? What are the stats and what's being done about it? If you happen to live in a city with a dense population it can seem that the homeless problem is very bad. These days it is definitely a media and political hot point in many cities and states and since it's something we happen to see and deal with daily we thought it an interesting topic worth discussing.

How bad is the level of homelessness currently in our country? What are the stats and what's being done about it? If you happen to live in a city with a dense population it can seem that the homeless problem is very bad. These days it is definitely a media and political hot point in many cities and states and since it's something we happen to see and deal with daily we thought it an interesting topic worth discussing.

Why do we have pets? What do they do for us? What about the ones that can't be cuddled or pet such as scorpions or emus? Or how about the age old debate of dogs vs cats? We thought it might be fun to discuss what it is about animals that humans like so much and why we feel the need to keep them as pets.

Millennials catch a lot of negative press in our society. From being self-centered and narcissistic to being lazy and entitled. It's lead some to call them the "Entitled Generation". We thought it might be interesting to discuss why this opinion came about and how much fact there is to the claims. If you were born in the 80's or have kids that were, you might find this topic particularly interesting.

Early on as tablet and smartphone devices began hitting mainstream consumers there was a good amount of backlash from the science community and even tech leaders regarding usage by small children. Silicon Valley moguls were quoted stating they limit or do not allow their children to use mobile devices. There were also numerous studies and research showing how looking at these displays can have negative effects during early child development. Then it all kind of went silent. In this episode we discuss what happened and where the market and science seem to stand on the matter today. Are these devices safe or healthy for your kids?

It is a common misconception that suicide is illegal. However that doesn't mean it's exactly legal either. Even assisted suicides aren't always an option even if legalized in a given state. Despite it being a generally dark tone in our society, we make an attempt to look at it from a different angle. There's some interesting food for thought in this topic and we thought it worth discussing.

As the kids from the 80's grow older the nostalgia grows stronger for the games played in youth. Retro gaming has become a huge market and has even spawned new age 8-bit themed games that have blown up with both new and old gamers. We talk about how this has shaped the market and remember the good days when games were simpler!

Why do we listen to music? What does it really do for us and why is it so universally loved by humanity? In this episode we talk about what listening to music means to us as well as some interesting biological reasons why we might be predisposed to enjoying music.

Imagine a world where everything a person does is rated with a numbering system and all those numbers are weighted and combined to create one primary score. Now imagine that score becomes every humans ranking in society and you are allowed or not allowed access to services or places based on that score. This is a social credit system and it's already being implemented in parts of the world. If you haven't heard of this concept you should definitely check this episode out!

Having trouble meeting someone at the supermarket? People don't like being hit on at the gym? Bar scene not working out for ya? Exactly how does one make that romantic connection these days? You might consider giving online dating a try. It's a fascinating scene and we go over everything from social experimentation to scams a plenty! This episode packed so much info, we had to break it into two parts.