Bell Labs has a storied history that sometimes borders on legend among a certain type of nerd. The guys marinate on what the heck happened, if we should want a successor, where inventions get invented, and national competitiveness in the late-early twenty first century.

19m 59s Turns out Reddit already answered “What is the nearest modern equivalent to bell labs” on r/AskEngineers. Well, time to retire the podcast.

21m 21s Product life expectancy of computer parts.

31m 6s Terry gets a rough introduction to Fast Fashion.

34m 33s Russ steps on a landmine of Kentucky pride in storied turntable and jukebox maker turned Target catalog staple brand name Crosley. The company is from Louisville; the brand folded in 1956 and was resurrected in 1992.

47m 5s Even nerds that don’t know Bell Labs love r-project.org.

51m 13s Terry closes things out on a Merle Haggard note, making some hyperbolic claims of greatness about the 1978 hit “Always on a Mountain When I Fall.”