It's THE FINAL COUNTDOWN. Today, we're headed to Europe.

Each week on Counter Programming, we bring you stories and info-tainment on any topic with the word "count" or "counter" in its name. You're catching us in our series on musical counters. Last week was all about the Counting Crows. Today, Europe's hit song "The Final Countdown."

We also sit down to chat with Eric Johnson, the founder of BumbleCast, a podcast production company, and host of the podcast Follow Friday.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

Today, we enumerate some birds. Just kidding. Today, we talk about the famous 90s band, The Counting Crows. Though, as you'll soon find out, the Crows may very well be coming back soon with some more.

Each week on Counter Programming, we bring you stories and info-tainment on any topic with the word "count" or "counter" in its name. You're catching us in our series on musical counters. Last week was Beyonce's 2011 hit song, "Countdown." Today, the Counting Crows are where it's at.

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

Are you part of the beehive? Beyhive?...Are you a fan of Beyoncé is what we're asking...?

Welcome to our musical "count"/"counter" series. First up, our breakdown of Beyoncé's 2011 hit "Countdown." Check out the music video here.

In this episode, we go through the history of Beyoncé's career, stopping to highlight her big wins. We focus this episode, of course, on "Countdown."

About this song:
The song was written by Beyonce, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor, Ester Dean, Cainon Lamb, Julie Frost, Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris, and produced by Beyoncé, Taylor and Lamb.

It was first released for radio on October 4th, 2011.

Beyonce wanted to mix musical styles from the 1970’s & 1990’s. Consequences of Sound’s Chris Coplan describes the song as "everywhere on the genre map."  Since It’s upbeat R&B, with hints of funk, hip-hop, latin pop, world music, reggae, and dance hall.

Sources:
- Pitchfork
- MTV
- Tumblr

Ads:
- Romer Skincare, use code COUNTERPROGRAMMING15 at checkout for 15% off your order
- Podcorn
- Quik Returns

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

It's the countertop series! We're learning about recycled glass today.

Definition:
Recycled glass countertops are made from glass (sometimes from curbside recycling programs) mixed with resin or concrete. They can be made to look like natural stone (the homogenous look) OR they can have a glassy, tiled look (terrazzo style).

Fun facts:
- The recycled glass countertop was invented in 1996 by Don McPherson, who was at the time a student at UC Berkeley.
- In 2006, investors acquired McPherson's company (Counter Productions) and renamed it Vetrazzo.
- Vetrazzo is still the leading manufacturer of recycled glass countertops.

Sources:
- Countertop Speciality
- Vetrazzo

Sponsors:
- PodCorn is the easiest way to monetize your podcast. Learn more here.
- Romer Skin Care (use code "COUNTER" at checkout for 15% off your order)

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

It's the countertop series! Last week was all about quartz.

Today, LAMINATE!

Definition:
Laminate is a combination of plastic and paper—interestingly, though, generally not recycled—and sometimes board. These materials are formed into a thin layer and colored or manufactured with naturalistic or textured designs. This layer is then laminated to particleboard or chip board. (Bobvila).

Fun facts:
- Laminate countertops are only a bit over 100 years old.
- Laminate as a product was invented by engineers from the Westinghouse company.
- The bottom layers of a laminate counter are made of brown craft paper -- literally the paper grocery bags!

Sources:
- https://www.countertopspecialty.com/countertop-laminate.html
- https://www.thespruce.com/laminate-countertops-want-love-1822075
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/laminate-counters-look-a-lot-better-than-they-did-in-the-80s-can-they-make-a-comeback/2019/04/03/38a37bda-3f94-11e9-9361-301ffb5bd5e6_story.html

Sponsors:
- Romer Skin Care (use code "COUNTER" at checkout for 15% off your order)

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

Welcome to season 2, Counties! We're kicking off this season with a series on countertops. We'll hit quartz today, then we're onto laminate, recycled glass, and more.

Today, QUARTZ!

Definition:
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar. Quartz is also called engineered stone (according to countertop guides). (WIKIPEDIA).

Fun facts:
- Quartz countertops are only 95% quartz. The other 5% is a polymer resin.
- On the Mohs scale of hardness, quartz is a 7 out of 10
- Quartz countertops don't need to be resealed
- The Italian Company Breton SPA  figured out how to press polymer resins into natural quartz to make it a viable kitchen countertop in the 1960s. To this day, Breton is a leading supplier of these types of materials.

Sources:
- University of Minnesota Mineral Pages
- The Spruce
- MSI Surfaces

Sponsors:
- Romer Skin Care (use code "COUNTER" at checkout for 15% off your order)

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

Here we go, Counties! Counter Programming officially kicks off next week. Please enjoy this little trailer where we give you a peek into what's new this season.

What is Counter Programming?: What is Counter Programming? CP is your new favorite pandemic distraction-cast. We started Counter Programming in April, back when the pandemic first hit. We wanted to distract ourselves (and others) from the grim COVID news. Well, it's now almost a year later and we're still here because...so is the pandemic. In each episode, we tell you about a topic that contains the word "count" or "counter."

Season 2 will bring more counter programming to your ears. Subscribe now and don't miss an episode. Here's what to expect:
 - Countertops
 - Songs
 - Interviews
 - Cross-overs with other count-related pods
 - A real-live STONE MASON
 -  & more

Sponsors:
- Thousand Fell

Credits:
Daniel Tureck - sound
Caio Slikta - logo
Jason Shaw - Tennessee Hayride (theme music)

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: @counterprogrammingpod

Counties! We are (almost) back for season 2. Enjoy this short episode where we tell you what's on the horizon for season 2 of Counter Programming with Shira and Arielle.

What is Counter Programming? CP is your new favorite pandemic distraction-cast. We started Counter Programming in April, back when the pandemic first hit. We wanted to distract ourselves (and others) from the grim COVID news. Well, it's now almost a year later and we're still here because...so is the pandemic. In each episode, we tell you about a topic that contains the word "count" or "counter."

Season 2 will bring more counter programming to your ears. Subscribe now and don't miss an episode.

Email us: [email protected]
Find us on IG: www.instagram.com/counterprogrammingpod

Here it is, Counties! The last episode of season 1 of Counter Programming.

Here's what to expect in this episode:
 - Shira and Arielle share where they were when Joe Biden was projected the winner of the presidential election
 - A recap (recount) of the episodes and the themes we discussed throughout the season: counts, countertops, counting of things, and so much more
 - Facts and figures of season 1
 - Plans for next season

Links mentioned:
 - Recounts don't change outcomes all that often

THANK YOUS:

• Thank you SO much to Daniel Tureck, our sound guy and honorary third host. Find his work at robotslap.com. 
• Thank you to Jason Shaw who composes our theme song, Tennessee Hayride.
• Thank you to Caio Slikta, our logo designer. Find his work on Instagram at @caioslikta.
• Thank you to you, Counties! Thanks for listening and tuning in.
• Zari Barzilai
• Bethany Berger
• Rabbi Matt Dreffin
• Dylan Pendrak
• Eva Bilick
• Yurbis
• Arielle's parents
• Shira's parents

From our countertops to yours...bye!

Counties, what a week we are in for.

We're bringing you a bit of a distraction in the form of a recap episode. We re-watched The Office's season 5 two-episode premier, Weight Loss (Part 1) and Weight Loss (Part 2). Joining us for this episode is Leah Apothaker, a dear friend of our's and an Office historian, of sorts.

What a treat!

Links:
- They Wish They Were Us

Counties, we need your voices!
Send us a voice memo to us at [email protected]. The voice memo should say something along the lines of:
Hi, I'm Arielle from Portland, Maine, and you're listening to Counter Programming with Shira and Arielle.

We'll be going on hiatus in a few weeks, Counties!

Follow us on Instagram!
Leave us a review on Apple or a comment on Castbox.
Tweet at us. Here’s Shira. Here’s Arielle.

Buzzsprout, y'all, the best podcast host in the game. 

Thank you to Daniel Tureck, our engineer. Thank you to Caio Slikta, our logo designer. Our music is called Tennessee Hayride and it’s by Jason Shaw.