7 conversations
-
Israel: the land question and a complicated history
- What is actually happening in Israel, historically and now, and what is a right-sized way to look at it?
Taking up Mike's question with an opening caution that one can select facts to make any of fifty or sixty storylines sound right, a host walks through a high-level history: modern…
-
The 110-year-old light bulb
- Is the 110-year-old light bulb a sign of the apocalypse?
The hosts cover the Livermore, California firehouse bulb burning continuously for 110 years, its festivals, awards, and letter from President George W. Bush.
-
The great beard-trust debate
- Should you trust a man with a beard (or without one)?
A sprawling comedy debate over whether beards signal trustworthiness, featuring Ed Snuffin's lunch with Zig Ziglar ('shave your beard'), bearded versus clean-shaven historical figures (Washington, Lincoln, Moses, Pharaoh), and Larry the Cucumber.
-
Halloween recap and joke round
The hosts compare Halloween notes: a church trunk-or-treat, a creepy hearse driver handing out candy with a coffin in the back, Nathaniel's kids (Eleanor's cow joke, Finn's…
From No. 447 · November 1 2021
-
Two-minute history of Zimbabwe
Dan gives a rapid history: Britain colonized Zimbabwe, redistributed the best land to whites, and the country became Africa's breadbasket in the 1970s.
From No. 329 · Hippo Valley PTA
-
Chat movie picks, cultural context, and the three wise men
Chat suggests Creation and Stephen as films; the hosts argue movies fail because portraying God on screen is so hard they bury the story in backstory.
From No. 68 · September 12 2011
-
The John H. Starrin rabbit hole
The hosts Google the fictional kingpin name 'John Starin' and find a real October 14, 1884 article, 'John H. Starrin's protest,' over the Staten Island and Bay Ridge Ferry franchise, plus a Wikipedia page noting his mausoleum in Fultonville Cemetery.