Podcast 203

Being Right. An email sparks some thoughts about the political discourse in The United States. Should a person who puts themselves out in the public eye as a commentator always be right, as in ‘correct’? Should everything they say be required to be proven ‘correct’ at a later date? Should a major league ball player leave the game if he fails to make an important catch? What does it mean to take a risk? What lessons have been learned in almost twenty years of talk radio? Political figures, writers, musicians, actors, comedians, and especially talk and podcast hosts take risks and put themselves ‘out there’ everyday. Should a person decline to use their talents because they are afraid of being ‘wrong’? Moreover, does the country gain from the increasing practice of demonizing and trying to destroy people who say things others disagree with, or are ‘shocked’ by? How has talk radio, and cable television (which has stolen the talk radio format) turned the body politic into tribes that demand their point of view, and only their point of view, be heard. Why radio and TV managers are suddenly terrified by opinions. How podcasting is changing this. And, a pitch for contributions to the Bob Davis Podcasts for the Podcast Van. Sponsored by Baklund R & D.

Podcast 199

News Cleanse Day Five. First Day of The Minnesota State Fair. Observations on the final day of the ‘News Cleanse’. Memories of the Minnesota State Fair. Broadcasting live, handing out bags, how the fair has changed over the years. Has an agricultural fair become a food fair, despite being the biggest attraction in the State of Minnesota the whole year? How Podcast 19 (The Lost State Fair Podcast) came about. What is it like to work out at the fair for ten hours a day, ten days straight? This is the last podcast of impressions from the News Cleanse. Back to the news for the next podcast. History is made slowly; we become aware of it only after many years of change. What kinds of changes are happening now, we’re unaware of? An age of disruption (as overused as that term is) is just beginning. All Americans are on this journey together, and all Americans will experience ‘history’ when the journey ends. The media ill serves us in this quest. What are the problems? How do we learn what works to solve those problems? How do we re-learn the citizenship process to help ourselves? Because no one is coming to help…and our ‘leaders’ aren’t creative enough, to solve them. Either informed, responsible citizens will decide the future, through the political process, or the mob will. Which do you prefer? Sponsored by X Government Cars.