Podcast 405

China Syndrome. As the China Market Meltdown story goes mainstream, it’s pundit tug-o-war between ‘China Doom’ proponents and ‘Nothing To See Here Folks’ adherents. Fun for the media, not so fun if you’re trying to figure out where this might go … could go wrong. Hopefully this podcast will be of some help. We start from the proposition that no one really knows what’s going on in China. It’s possible even the highest people in the Chinese Communist Government don’t really know what’s going on in China. Despite what is being said, there will be winners and losers if China actually does melt down, and surprises along the way. Does an economic collapse in China mean an end to the People’s Republic of China? What might that look like if it does happen? Or, will this problem simply be one of those momentary pauses, fodder for a couple of days relief from political nonsense in the US, before we get back to arguing about Donald Trump’s latest missive, Jeb Bush’s black hand, or Hillary Clinton’s email. It certainly feels like we’re nearing one of those strange historic pivot points, but whether the market meltdown in China, and the angst in markets across the world from Europe and Asia to the United States are in fact, that black swan pivot point. Could be. Hard to tell. Pivot points and Black Swan events don’t fit perfectly into decades, and are hard to predict. Its fun to hear people saying, “I’ve been predicting this for years” after something happens that looks like it could be a black swan event. In fact, historic pivot points have to be something more than just a Black Swan, but something that happens, that afterward people can clearly point to that event as the beginning of ‘when things changed’. One thing is for sure; Hold onto your hats (if you wear one), there is a strong feeling out there that what passes for current events today, may be about to change … for good. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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Podcast 299

Weekend Update! What starts as a weekend update ends up as a romp through the mind of Bob Davis. Oh yeah, this podcast looks at the latest numbers for Clint Eastwood’s winning ‘American Sniper’, and suggests petty Hollywood Envy is perhaps behind much of the snark. The fact that people are getting sub-prime and insanely long auto loans, goosing new car sales and endangering the financial system is a concern of Honda, which says it will not offer 84 month loans, concerned its customers might end up so upside down they won’t be able to buy another car for like, a while. And an Asteroid Fly-By has NASA atwitter since 2004 BL86 (that’s its name) is huge and is coming very close to earth this weekend. Don’t worry, it’s path takes it almost a million miles away from the Earth — well outside the orbit of the moon — but it would be crazy if an asteroid like this one hit the earth, wouldn’t it? Thus begins the listener’s off the rail journey, discussing bad documentaries on Netflix, Nazis and the Final Solution, stories and movies which might include asteroids hitting the earth and turning Minneapolis and Saint Paul into an equatorial (and wonderfully tropical) paradise, aliens living on the moon, or maybe its human beings on the moon ’cause they have a time machine, alien women in spacecraft and more. So. Much. More. Closing it all out, another ice age is on the way since there have been no sun spots and according to scientists, the last time this happened was the 17th century, when people wore ermine collars, and we can’t forget the rich environmentally conscious Davos attendees this weekend, shelling out forty thousand dollars a head to attend this ridiculously useless conference to complain about inequality, and global warming, and rub elbows with Pharrell Williams and Al Gore. Sigh. Get your weekend started right, with the Bob Davis Podcasts. Don’t forget to join Bob Davis this weekend at the SD-61 Chili Dinner AND CONTEST in South Minneapolis, Sunday January 25th. Sponsored by Baklund R&D.

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Podcast 291

Time Machine. Take a break from the thrum of the daily news cycle, climb aboard The Bob Davis Podcasts Time Machine. If you could go back to anytime in history, where and when would you choose? Live from the Living Room of the Broadcast Bunker. If you love to read history, sometimes don’t you wish you could open a book, and go to the era written about? What eras and places would you visit and why? The 1920’s, Civil War, Ancient Greece, China about 600 years ago or India nearly a thousand years ago. What about Chicago in the 1890’s. Most people pick different eras for different reasons, and the times they pick to visit or to live in, are often windows into their personalities. Did people in different time periods understand what was happening in their world any more than we understand what is happening in ours? If we were to visit those times, even knowing what happened, let alone detailed knowledge of history, how would our own perceptions about a time change? How great would be to be able to visit the street you grew up on at different times, and see if it lives up to your memories. Another difference is age, as it relates to the times people want to visit. Younger people these days are interested in the 1970’s, even though not every house had brown shag carpeting, egg shell hanging chairs, and a brand new Admiral Color TV. Even the most recent eras in our history seem like they happened a million years ago. Believe it or not, cell phones were still physically huge in the 1990’s, and got really hot after about ten minutes of talking. And what about visiting the future? How far forward would you go, and what do you think you would find there? (Editor’s Note: My head hurts.) Sponsored by My Complete Basement and DepotStar. 

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