Unqualified Opinion

We talk about all things covid including transmissibility, mask wearing, political responses and our own existential angst as we look back at 2020.

Scott and Steve get more drunk than usual as they launch themselves at the third rail with a conversation and critique of the notion of structural racism, discussing the true causes of economic inequalities by race in America.

Steve wins some money at poker but ends up net negative, Scott learns why leadership training is all wrong, and we dive deep into the personal and societal impacts of social media with an analysis of the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma.

Scott sets up his sex basement, Steve loses hundreds of dollars of transit benefits, and we have a meandering conversation about the supreme court discussing Roe v Wade, Amy Coney Barret, and women's conflicting priorities between child rearing and career.

We recall our latest backpacking trip to Death valley and Inyo national forest back in the beginning of September - a story involving jeeps, lakes, and the fog (or smoke) of uncertainty.

Steve talks way too much about calisthenics, Scott starts bird watching, and we converse about how to motivate for success as well as tips and tricks for how to re-motivate and get out of a funk.

Steve gets caught in a pointless debate, Scott is exasperated by new developments in Minneapolis, and we discuss navigating a career with tips on leadership, responsibility, and how to engage with people in an effective manner. 

We discuss police funding and the current political climate before opening up the book of questions for round 5. 

Scott goes deep into gardening, Steve struggles with the implications of protests during lockdown, and we discuss the arguments (or lack thereof) for economic and cultural stagnation in the book The Decadent Society by Ross Douthat.

We discuss the murder of George Floyd, police brutality, and the ongoing protests.

Steve gets too drunk playing remote drinking games, Scott fixes his creepy basement, and we debate fiction vs non-fiction and the prevalence of reading in the digital age in an episode all about books.

Scott tries to figure out how to travel in the time of covid, Steve starts cutting his own hair, and we go down a rabbit hole discussing alternative media, traditional journalism, and the implications of a changing media landscape.

Steve wants to splurge on a paramotor, Scott has way too much fun with a random number generator, and we discuss surveillance of government officials, parental age caps and instant murder as we dive into round 4 of the book of questions.

Steve does a virtual show and tell, Scott relives his teenage gaming days and we discuss the culture of silicon valley in a review of the book The Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener.

We discuss the ongoing corona virus epidemic in a bumbling, rant-filled episode with tips for remote work and exercise routines, debates on the long term economic impact and an assessment of what we can expect of life in the new normal.

Steve rails against campus administrators, we discuss salary determinations, and we debate the pros and cons of universal basic income and whether or not it could be implemented in the US.

Scott buys a new computer, Steve thinks the marine fitness test is a joke, and we discuss the role of automobiles in the US and the future of self-driving vehicles in an episode all about cars.

Scott gets a new car, Steve buys a fancy gift, and we give unqualified fashion advice as we debate the merits of mismatched socks and crop-tops.

We discuss our diets, cooking habits, and all things food as Steve admits to never following recipes, Scott talks about his elimination diet, and we debate lab grown meat and the efficacy of veganism.

Steve fails to steal a cat, Scott expresses his disgust for Keurigs, and we discuss urinals, shredded paintings, and what makes something a piece of art.

Steve makes a budget hot toddy, Scott joins a new gym, and we discuss the impact of religion on individuals and society.

Scott admits to mild kleptomania, Steve reveals his technological optimism and we debate whether men or women have it easier in our culture as we dive into the book of questions for round 3.

Scott thinks passenger pigeons deserved to go extinct, Steve fails his reading homework, and we discuss new insights about the pre-european Americas in a third book club episode reviewing "1491" by Charles C Mann.

Steve and Scott recount their recent backpacking trips to Glacier and the North Cascades respectively as we discuss gear, food and best practices while out in the back country.

Steve hoards gold, Scott has a home improvement card, and we debate money market vs high-interest savings accounts as we break down our personal finances, strategies for saving money and how upbringing and social environments impact how we view money.

We ambitiously set out to discuss the future of transportation and immediately get sidetracked talking about electric scooters and the pros and cons of targeted monopolies.

We get distracted discussing human self-domestication, pie in Montana and the me too movement while trying to debate the biological and social roots of masculinity and its evolution in today's world.

After debating topics we go meta with a podcast talking about podcasting. Scott nerds out about marketing, Steve is dubious about who our potential audience is, and we stay true to our theme of unqualified topics as we talk about podcasting in a podcast with single digit subscribers.

Scott admits to doing as little work as possible, Steve butchers an analogy on existential risk and we both fail at game theory as we re-open the book of questions for round 2.

We discuss campus speech codes, overparenting and the rise of screens as we review the book The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

We talk about our experience (or lack thereof) dating as Scott reveals too much information about a crush, Steve confuses twitter and tinder, and we go over warning signs in potential partners.

Steve watches too much smash bros melee, Scott thinks gaming makes kids fat, and we discuss whether or not e-sports should be considered real sports

We debate how long it will take for robots to take our jobs as we discuss the degree to which policy can slow innovation and talk way too much about the truck driving industry.

We rifle through some random questions from "The book of questions", where Steve admits that he would be a corruptible president and Scott reveals how a near-death experience didn't make him reflect on life whatsoever.

We take a trip to New Orleans and discuss the incredible seafood, enticing jazz, and scattered neighborhoods as we struggle to figure out how to do an in-person podcast

Scott reveals that he's never read 1984. And this description reveals that we went on a couple mild tangents as we wrapped up our discussion of The Shock Doctrine.

We review the first half of the book The Shock Doctrine as Scott attempts a German accent and Steve reveals his ignorance of temperatures in fahrenheit.

Looking for some tips to help you work out? You probably won't get them here but you can get an earful of our drunken conversation around our experiences with exercise, strategies for motivation in your workout, and which wines to buy for under $10.

Steve talks about dragons, Scott doesn't see the point of it all, and they both get way too heated as they discuss whether or not immortality is worth it.

Welcome to the show, this is the first episode! We discuss Scott's journey buying a new home and whether or not Steve should follow suit.