Champagne Sharks

This week we continue the conversation Trevor, Mario and Ken began in episode 633 on the current culture of deciding actions are not worth trying if it gets too difficult.  Using LeBron and Drake as examples and focusing on the player commitment level in the NBA and in modern era hip-hop, the Sharks dive deep on why these people act the way they do.

This is part 2 of an extended conversation available for patreon members.  Although it is not totally necessary, if you have note listened to episode 633: ‘Try Hard pt 1’ we suggest doing so first for a deeper context of the conversation.

This is a preview for a full patreon only episode. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor is joined by returning guest Jacob Silverman to continue the conversation surrounding Silicon Valleys current self-imposed role in politics and in running the government.  Jacob Silverman is an independent journalist in New York, the co-author of the New York Times best seller “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” (Abrams, 2023), and the author of “Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection” (HaperCollins, 2015). Silverman is currently working on a book about the the reactionary tilt of Silicon Valley elites, which will be published by Bloomsbury in 2025.  You can learn more about Silverman and his writings at: https://www.jacobsilverman.com/

This is a free unlocked episode.  To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor, Mario and Ken get together to chop it up on the current culture of deciding its not worth trying if it gets too difficult.  Using LeBron and Drake as examples and focusing on the player commitment level in the NBA, the Sharks dive deep on why these people act the way they do.

This is part 1 of an extended conversation available for patreon memebers.

Links in this episode can found at:

This is a preview for a full patreon only episode. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor is joined by guest Edward Niedermeyer to discuss  his book ‘Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors’.  Edward is an American author, analyst, and critic who focuses on the automotive industry and mobility innovation. His writing has been published in The New York Times, The Truth About Cars, and The Wall Street Journal. Niedermeyer cohosts The Autonocast, a podcast about autonomous vehicles technology and its effects.

Links in this episode can be found at:

This week Trevor, Vida and Ken squad up to talk about the movie ‘Blink Twice’ and its relationship to the every day occurrences it attempts to depict.  A psychological thriller[5] film directed and produced by Zoë Kravitz (in her directorial debut) from a script she wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. The film stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat. It tells the story of a group of people invited to the private island of a billionaire tech mogul as something strange happens with the attendees.

**THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Links mentioned in this episode can be found at:

Blink Twice: Zoë Kravitz and Naomi Ackie on Making People the Right Kind of Uncomfortable and How Channing Tatum Helped Change the Ending 

Blink Twice Director Confirms What We All Suspected About the Ending

This is a patreon only episode for paid subscribers.  Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the full archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor is joined by guest Jacob Silverman to discuss Silicon Valleys role in politics and Elon/Zuckerberg’s interests in “getting” political.  Jacob Silverman is an independent journalist in New York, the co-author of the New York Times best seller “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” (Abrams, 2023), and the author of “Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection” (HaperCollins, 2015). Silverman is currently working on a book about the the reactionary tilt of Silicon Valley elites, which will be published by Bloomsbury in 2025.  You can learn more about Silverman and his writings at: https://www.jacobsilverman.com/

This is a free unlocked episode.  To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor and Ken sit down to chop it up about the over-inflated male ego and the beta-alpha relationship a “certain type” of fan likes to fall in to with a “certain type” of celebrity.  Continuing the fun fest of dragging drake for his inability to correctly handle any situation he puts himself in, the cult of personality around elon musk, the tech industry concept of “disruption”, trump coin and g6 priests stalling out; its all on the chopping block.

Links for this episode can be found at:

This is a preview for a full patreon only episode. Become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (piercedearsrec.com). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor is joined by guest Dr. Jesse Smith to discuss his article ‘Sociology in the Age of Trump: The Clash of Deep Stories on the Left and Right’.  Dr. Smith received his PhD in sociology and demography from Penn State University in 2023. Prior to his graduate training in sociology, Dr. Smith obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. He spent several years in south-central Indiana working in the fields of mental health, addictions treatment, and child services.

Dr. Smith’s research interests are diverse, focusing on such topics as religious nationalism, moral development, and the transmission of faith between generations. His work has been published in journals such as Sociology of Religion, Journal of Marriage and Family, Socius, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Links in this episode can be found at:

This is a free unlocked episode.  To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA ([email protected]). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Trevor sits down with Alex Skopic to talk about his article on Vivek Ramaswamy, and what he means to the new political landscape.  Alex Skopic is presently Associate Editor at Current Affairs and you can find his writings both fiction and non-fiction on his website https://alexskopic.com/

Links for this episode can be found at:

This is a free unlocked episode.  To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter.

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (https://www.patreon.com/PiercedEarsRecordingCo). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)

This week Mario and Ken talk tech as elon lets it be known what he thinks of american workers.  The future of education and certain jobs both have a chance of disappearing with elon and trump coming in to power, and The Sharks got some thoughts about that.

This is a free unlocked episode.  To get early access to future episodes, become a paid subscriber for $5/month over at patreon.com/champagnesharks and also get access to the whole archive of subscriber-only episodes, the Discord voice and chat server for patrons, detailed show notes for certain episodes, and our newsletter

Co-produced & edited by Aaron C. Schroeder / Pierced Ears Recording Co, Seattle WA (https://www.patreon.com/PiercedEarsRecordingCo). Opening theme composed by T. Beaulieu. Closing theme composed by Dustfingaz (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRazhu_)