The “truth” about the coronavirus seems to vary depending on who you talk to, so James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana react to the apparent post truth nature of medicine (02:04), discuss why conspiracy theories and fanciful explanations for things seem to have so much appeal (18:09), and consider whether the widespread lack of any shared understanding of truth is a substantial threat to our democratic society (39:00).

Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers laid out several concepts that influence how we deal with people we do not know, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss which of the concepts was most notable (02:25), which anecdotes from the book stood out (22:32), biases and trends that were present in several of the concepts (38:37) and whether the book gives us more or less faith in humanity’s ability to solve its problems (45:45).

We all encounter stressors and potential stressors all day long, so James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at what appears to be causing the most stress during the COVID-19 crisis (01:29), the nature of chronic stress and how it effects our bodies (06:44), and some of the things they do to manage stress (22:18). The guys also discuss the shift in the zodiac signs published by NASA and how the meaning one personally assigns to that make that shift something stressful (34:55).

The intersection of ideology, race, and religion is always going to be difficult to navigate, but James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the Anti-Semitic social media posts by NFL player DeSean Jackson, how he handled the resulting controversy so far, and the various societal factors that have come into play (01:11). The guys also consider how Black people who disagree with the comments should be responding (22:28) and how the topics of race and religion can make issues like this more difficult to discuss (39:05).

We have seen efforts to remove Confederate items from places of honor pick up in recent times, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the armed protest of a Confederate monument in Georgia on July 4th (01:24), including whether the images of armed protestors could be used to undermine the message of the protestors (17:10). The guys also discuss whether naked appeals to a “Confederate heritage” can still be politically viable in the U.S. (24:52) and the apparent attempts to reduce the issue to a partisan one (29:56).

“Bombshell” was in large part about of the women who exposed the culture of sexual harassment at Fox News, but it also showed an approach to making news media profitable, and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the sexualizing of aspects of news presentation (01:46), the selection and presentation of news to play on emotion (18:07) and confirmation bias (34:43) in order to target specific types of viewers and obtain unquestioned loyalty from those viewers. The guys also take a look at how different people respond to the type of accusations dealt with in the movie, particularly in situations involving conduct that is not egregious as the stuff that was happening at Fox News (44:54).

The right to vote has been in large part secured, but the fight against efforts to make it inaccessible is ongoing, so James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the issues Georgia primary and how the practice of voter suppression often plays out (02:00), discuss the typical battle lines in the fight to make voting more or less accessible, including LeBron James’ recent entry into the fray (26:23), and how these battle lines influence, and are influenced by, the strategies of the Republican and Democratic parties (39:49).

Americans coming together in such large numbers is a reassertion of the ultimate power of the people, so James Keys, Tunde Ogunlana, and Carlton Washington discuss what change is being sought, and what change should be sought, by the people (01:34), the defund the police theme that has picked up steam in recent weeks (12:15), how some public figures and institutions have publicly (and apparently genuinely) changed their tune on the urgency of fighting for justice and equality (30:26), and what appears to be a massive turn away from divisiveness and towards coming together to address societal issues (43:20).

The murder of George Floyd has been a flashpoint for civil unrest around the U.S., and James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the actual murder and how people will be given opportunities to perceive it however they would like (01:19), the protests and the frustration which fuels them and the commonality that binds together all of the peaceful protestors (07:57), taking a specific look at the peaceful protestors really embody the equality ideology (15:30). The guys also discuss the looting and violence that has popped up as well as the militarized approach to the demonstrations (33:15) and consider what comes next (47:23).