Podcast 396

Summer Walk and Talk. The rules of the Walk and Talk Podcast are: No prep. No Planning. You walk. You Talk. Slash and Burn, Walk and Talk. At the peak of the summer it still doesn’t feel right to get down and dirty on the political front. There’s still a sense that the topography of the political battlefield will change at some point, and it will be back to the drawing board for the scores of presidential candidates, who are as plentiful as the corn growing in those Iowa fields. Besides, there’s Sturgis, air shows, local summer celebrations, fireworks, kids playing on the lawn, charcoal fires for steak and so…much…summer. Yet, if you look carefully, the sun has changed its angle slightly and in Minnesota at least, we’re just a month away from the State Fair. Every year, at some point during the state fair, the weather changes and we all know what that means. Fall is coming. So if you’re tweeting and face booking about one of the presidential candidates, watching the 24 hour cable channels religiously, hanging on every word of every shouting match, you’re missing real life going on. While people engaged in the business of politics are busy … the average person in the United States couldn’t care less right now about the latest spat between Mike Huckabee and Jeb Bush, or Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Big stories of the summer? The Planned Parenthood video is a doozy. The Chinese stock market collapse (which is being called their 1929) could become the black swan story if the perfumed princes in Beijing can’t get control of things. A calamity like this in Asia would have far reaching implications economically in the US and the world, and in terms of foreign policy. Commodity prices seem to be in a long term slump, and yet some media outlets are talking about inflation. Still, all these potential game-changers are just storm clouds in the west, on a warm summer night. A little lightning on the horizon, and maybe some rain and thunder by dawn. The romance of summer supersedes all that political noise, and it’s a good thing. Seriously, who doesn’t prefer the soft hum of summer twilight to some gas bagger on a podium? Sponsored by Baklund R&D

Podcast 196

News Cleanse Day 1. Joined by local radio producer and friend of the Bob Davis Podcasts, ‘Tam’. You’ve heard of colon cleansing? Flushing out the brain after a Winter, Spring and Summer of non stop news coverage. That means drinking a lot of water, doing a lot of yoga, and staying away from CNN, Fox News, and the Drudge Report. More on the ‘News Cleanse’ in the podcasts this week. Meanwhile, dinner and a podcast, is in order. ‘Tam’ and Bob Davis have been through a number of adventures over the years, from using illegal scanners to ‘police call’ to obsessing about diets that do not exist. Bob interviews ‘Tam’ and ‘Tam’ interviews Bob in this podcast. Tam works at a station that features pop culture news. While they are different disciplines, the pop culture ‘talk’ world is similar to the News Talk world. Does she ever get tired of it? What is Tam still obsessing about. Tam wants to share some stories about how weird Bob is, some of which are funny, and some of which involve loss and death. Finally, an idea for the State Fair that probably won’t fly. It’s amazing what you can talk about these days when you put down Politico for five minutes. Who cares about Rick Perry, Barack Obama, Paul Ryan, Vladimir Putin and Chuck Todd’s new job, when you have the bean diet? Sponsored by X Government Cars.

Podcast 194

Alcoholism. Some final thoughts on Robin Williams’ suicide. Aside from the idiocracy on Social Media, the vast wasteland which has become talk radio, there are people interested in what happened to Robin Williams, and what is happening to ‘older’ men in this country. New data indicates white men in their sixties who have suffered a loss of a job, struggle with addictions, or depressions are at high risk for suicides; which is a LOT of men sixty plus. How habits you adapt in your thirties and forties can ruin your life in your sixties. Should you listen to doctors? What about all those studies saying coffee is bad for you, the fact that french fries taste really good, and pancakes, pastries, cheesecake, donuts and other goodness. There is no reason why men in their sixties shouldn’t be robust, athletic and kicking ass. As Carlos Slim says, “60 is the new 40”. Meanwhile, the ‘depression’ motif has been extended to the ‘mood’ of the nation. Another spate of articles about the United States losing its MOJO. Its time to Buck Up Little Mister! We’re just living through the administration of the worst President in US History, and one of the dumbest Congresses! Plus floods, drought and the catastrophe of the coldest summer in 40 years. Goodbye Global Warming, we hardly new ye! Sponsored by Autonomouscad.com