State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857

Weather Already Changing

Seems like all the media does these days is react to the President’s Twitter Feed. This creates stress. In Minnesota, the weather is already changing as we head to fall. That means it’s State Fair time. Many Minnesotans head to the state fair for anxiety relief. We’ll talk about it in State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857.

Working At The Fair

I don’t go to the state fair anymore. For me the especially relevant fact is over years I’ve spent hundreds of hours working at the fair. I’ve seen it change from an agriculturally focused event to a food fair.

Millions of Visitors But Not Me

Not that there’s anything wrong with a food fair. If that’s what you’re looking for Minnesota’s State Fair is probably the best in the nation. Moreover, switching to a more urban approach nets the fair hundreds of thousands of visitors per day, for the ten days it’s on.

Lost State Fair Podcast

Back in the day I recorded an audio project with friends at the Minnesota State Fair. A podcast before there were podcasts. I used to do a state fair podcast every year and drop in my ‘lost state fair podcast’, since it less than fifteen minutes long. No need to do that again. If you want to hear the lost state fair podcast, click here.

Freeze Baby

First of all when the weather changes my focus shifts indoors. I am what Minnesotan’s call a ‘freeze baby’. I don’t like being cold. Moreover I already miss the heat and humidity of late July. This year the humidity and heat departed the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes early in August.

Shifting To The Horrible Experience Of Social Media

As a result I am in the studio for State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857, late on a Saturday night. I can’t help but shift from telling some State Fair stories to talking politics and the reaction that subject garners on social media.

Running The Country From Twitter

In addition I single out the media again for seemingly reporting on a twitter feed. These days it feels like all the media does is report on the president’s twitter feed. Consequently we don’t report on outcomes anymore.

Telling Audiences What They Want To Hear

Even more it’s necessary for me to reinforce the fact that I refuse to join the ranks of partisan commentators either predicting the future or telling their audiences what they want to hear.

Focus On Society and Outcomes

As I have been saying, in contrast, my focus is increasingly on society. I am looking for outcomes. Conclusions. Things we can talk about that have some concrete presence in the world. I think the social media experience is increasingly negative, promotes anxiety, and gets us all nowhere.

Play The Game To Find Out Who Wins

In conclusion I refuse to do politician’s work for them. I think they rely too much on media magpies to formulate the explanations and excuses. Sometimes we have to play the game to know the outcome.

Cheese Curds and Something On A Stick

Finally sometimes it’s just good to take a pause at the end of the summer for some cheese curds and something on a stick.

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State Fair-Anxiety-Relief-Bob Davis Podcast 857

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2018 Toss Up Elections-Final Thoughts-Podcast 758

The 2018 Midterm election season has been most noteworthy for its twists and turns. Now as we head into the final month of the campaigns, find out what to look for on election day in 2018 Toss Up Elections-Final Thoughts-Podcast 758.

Media Cherry Picks Stats

Then there’s the media’s habit of cherry picking statistics. They call it ‘political coverage’. Statistics prove the story line. Damn lies convince us none of this has ever happened before.

Predictions of Doom

The president’s approval rating has never been worse. Voters have never been more fired up. If things continue the way they are now, terrible outcomes are inevitable. The president’s political party always loses seats in a midterm. Are these predictions of doom true? Learn more in 2018 Toss Up Elections-Final Thoughts-Podcast 758.

Polls Don’t Lie. The Media Lies

Finally, in my experience making predictions about statewide and house elections based on national polls and baselines is problematic although some research suggests they may be reliable predictors in midterm elections. There just isn’t enough information to say one way or another what will happen. That’s why we wait and see what the vote actually turns out to be.

Labels and Beliefs

Meanwhile these days we’re awash in labels and broadly held beliefs in pure nonsense. So and so is a “transformational figure”. A “disaster” has changed voting in a district or state forever.

Be The Change

I believe it’s time to change how we cover politics and I am putting my podcasts where my mouth is in this series on the midterm election toss ups. A close look at the data. A fair shake for the candidates. Letting the listeners and subscribers decide for themselves. Putting all the data in the podcasts so you can compare on election night. That’s what it’s all about for The Bob Davis Podcasts for Election 2018 coverage.

In conclusion, through all of it, I have to say I have no idea what will happen on November 6th, 2018, and neither does anyone else.