Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

Suddenly summer in the Upper Midwest. When the news keeps talking about the same stuff time for escape. These days that means binge watching. In Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

Lots Of Great New Shows Means Peak TV

Hundreds of drama and comedy shows will be produced for networks like HBO, ShowTime, Hulu, AMC, Netflix and others in 2018. They call it ‘Peak TV‘. I love nothing more than sitting up all night, drinking coffee and binge watching my favorite shows. Every now and then I like to talk about the shows I am watching.

What’s more, I actually consider it part of my job!

The shows we binge watch say a lot about the national mood.

A Window Into America’s Subconscious

Especially relevant to this podcast is the idea I have that the content and tone of these shows has begun to change. Does this reflect a change in the national mood? Are these shows a window into America’s subconscious? We’ll talk about it on a midnight walk in Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

New Shows

While the major networks are focused on adding remakes like Roseanne, Will and Grace and Murphy Brown, Netflix, HBO and others are cranking out great new dramas, comedies and documentaries. I can hardly keep up with Stranger Things, Black Mirror and more!

What Are You Binging On?

I’ve been binging on WestWorld, Homeland, Billions, and especially a new show on ShowTime called I’m Dying Up Here. Who hasn’t watched all the Breaking Bad shows again, or the more current Narcos? Plus documentaries like Evil Genius, and the new Elvis doc on HBO, Elvis The Searcher. Don’t even get me started on Game of Thrones!

Changing Mood

With the addition of new shows like The Deuce and I’m Dying Up Here, there’s a nostalgia for the American urban experience in the 1970’s. While older shows like The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking dead have started to seem stale, new shows strike a different tone. What’s more, I get the feeling the mood is changing. Maybe we just want to laugh.

Broadcast Fades To Black

As the ratings for cable channels and news shows that focus on the constant drone of the political back and forth these days, when the weather changes, who doesn’t want to escape?

Shows like WestWorld focus on anxiety about robotics and artificial intelligence, in Billions, it seems like they’re all villains. If you think some of these plots are farfetched, consider the fact that House of Cards pales in contrast to the actual craziness in today’s Washington DC.

Delicious!

What are you binging on and what do you think about it. Let me know at thebobdavispodcasts@gmail.com, after you check out Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing Of Saint Paul and Reliafund Payment Processors

Summer Binge TV Shows-Escape-Midnight Walk-Podcast 722

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Fear Anxiety Hope In A Time Of Fast Change-Podcast 643

In Fear Anxiety Hope In A Time Of Fast Change-Podcast 643 a look at coping with angst. Social media and instant coverage drives more worry and concern. How do we cope?

Fast Change

It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed in just ten years. Five years ago social media was in its infancy. Twitter is just 11 years old this year. The iPhone is only ten years old. Smart devices are getting smarter. Especially relevant is the truth that change is going to go faster. Drones. Cyber Terror. Driverless Cars. Autonomous Machines. Some of the effects will be good. Some will not be good.

Fear Anxiety Dread Anguish

Seems like we used to talk about robots disrupting traditional businesses. Now it’s happening. So, when Amazon buys Whole Foods, there is a reaction. Does this mean people will lose their jobs? Does cheaper food mean deflation? When there is a new development we’re immediately told what the effects will be before anyone has had a chance to soak it in. In In Fear Anxiety Hope In A Time Of Fast Change-Podcast 643.

Gonna Take More Than Just Love

What is the antidote to fear and loathing? Truth is, it would be easy to say love is the answer. What is love without knowledge? Remember how we learned to swim or ride a bike? There was fear at first, until we figured out step by step what we had to do to float, or balance. From knowledge and experience comes judgement.

Building A New World

New technology forms the cornerstones of the world we’re building, whether we want to build or not. Social media, constant coverage, blathering back and forth, isn’t going to stop. We need to learn more and fear less in order to make the right choices. Perspective comes from the combination of knowledge and life experience. The more we know about things we don’t understand the less we fear them. We’ll talk about it in In Fear Anxiety Hope In A Time Of Fast Change-Podcast 643.

Taking Charge

Human connections and real experiences are also important. Turning off the shouting back and forth. Taking a break from politics. Giving to and accepting help from those that come from different perspectives helps build a base of experience and knowledge. Reading a book about something not relevant to the day to day. Travel.

Try a Head Stand!

Finally, it helps to have some kind of physical practice. Whatever it is we like to do. Hiking, hunting, yoga, martial arts, camping, running. It all helps to get away from the natural inclination to check your twitter feed or post another selfie on Instagram.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

In Fear Anxiety Hope In A Time Of Fast Change-Podcast 643

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Podcast 602-Political Fighting Doesn't Make Civil Society

Podcast 602-Political Fighting Doesn’t Make Civil Society

Fighting and Arguing

A presidential press conference that had the look of a Dino De Laurentiis movie. Angry tweets. Arguments about whether the president is a narcissist or psychotic. These days the argument is the thing. Division. Confusion. Anger. Frustration with the fact that everything is political. A friend said recently, “When civil society breaks down everything becomes political”. The more we fight about politics the less we know. Argument and rhetoric have replaced substantive discourse. This idea forms the basis of Podcast 602-Political Fighting Doesn’t Make Civil Society.

What is Civil Society

People think Civil Society these days is political action groups. Angry protests. Social media rants. Angry calls to talk radio. Everyone wants the silver bullet argument. We want to be the guy on TV that ‘takes it to them’. This is not civil society.  In Podcast 602-Political Fighting Doesn’t Make Civil Society.

Stop Yelling and Start Building A Community

Civil Society is community. It is distinct from government and business. Civil Society is individuals working together to solve problems, build community and be good citizens. People who have learned from experience to build consensus to get things done. Civil Society is the core of your town, village, city, county and state.

Fighting and Arguing Does Not A Warrior Make

Do you show up to set the chairs up and make the coffee for the community meeting? Help your neighbors? Attend boring public meetings no one else cares about?  Are you one of those people who responds to calls for help in the community regardless of where they come from?. Are you willing to work with people you may not agree with politically? Show genuine concern for others through your actions? You’re the real warrior. Commentators and people who imitate them are not warriors and they are not leaders. We’ll talk about it in Podcast 602-Political Fighting Doesn’t Make Civil Society

Eroding Civil Society

There are times when political action is called for. When people who have different points of view try to gather people to their cause. These can be bitter contests. Bitter feelings linger after contests that inevitably produce winners and losers. These days people won’t convene with anyone they don’t agree with. Discussions descend into bitter screaming matches on Social Media, Talk Radio, and Cable TV News. The media cultivates and encourages anti social behavior. Friendships are ended. Familial relationships are strained.

Don’t Argue

A true warrior doesn’t yell and scream. A leader is a good citizen people trust. These are people who understand people of like mind have to work to see that their ideas gain support. Protests and rallies serve a purpose but they are just a starting point. You don’t win in the rally. You win because you can work behind the scenes to build support for a concept, idea, or a solution to a problem.

It May Not Be Working Anymore

Recent studies show the stress levels of Americans increasing since the election. Not just the left. People on political right show the same kinds of intensifying stress levels. This kind of stress can’t be sustained. We might be seeing the end of the efficacy of rhetorical argument to fuel a movement. People may have just about had it with all the shouting and arguing regardless of where it is coming from. Maybe rebuilding civil society is a good first step.

Sponsored by Hydrus Performance and Brush Studio.

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