Dispatch

This week on Dispatch, Joshua and Nicholas are joined by Shane and Katrina, members of west-coast folk band, The July, and their producer, Dustin Jensen. Shane, Katrina, and Dustin stop by to discuss the band's new record (due out on November 11), "Everything Is Fine," and the many hurdles that can distract you from creating a record worth listening to.

Some rules are pointless. If all they do is deter well-meaning, enthusiastic individuals from pursuing a chosen path, then maybe we should dispense with them. Today on Dispatch, we highlight a couple of rules that should be removed.

Will YouTube's new premium content help it rise to the prevalence of Netflix? What happens when companies lash out against the government, pretending as if they were private citizens? Can you car safely operate on autopilot, or will "autosteer" cause a near-miss and give you a heart attack? We ponder these questions and more, serving them up alongside a cutting dose of sharp-angled critique.

This week, your hosts offer a look behind the scenes of our first event, Chick Habit Live! Recorded before a live audience at Quenchers Saloon here in Chicago, and organized by our own Ashly Dalene, Chick Habit Live was designed to showcase some of the brightest women-driven bands in our city. Now, the following week after the event, we chat about what went right, wrong, and more.

Are you ready for a special Sunday-afternoon edition? This time, Joshua and Nicholas are hanging in the studio with Redeye columnist and Chicago's Chief Geek, Elliott Serrano. They discuss the evolution of geek culture, media, the supreme dominance of Marvel's cinematic universe, unelected gatekeepers, and more.

It's the age old battle waged by every artist and business on the planet: is it better to be first to market, or can you succeed by simply improving on what came before? Does innovation for it's own sake benefit our customers, the planet, and our bottom line? We go deep into these questions this week on Dispatch.

Have you dreamt of taking a cross-country bicycle trip? If so, listen up. In this episode of Dispatch, our new friend Kellie Wyatt recaps her journey; one that began in Chicago, Illinois and ended in Astoria, Oregon. Was this the trip of a lifetime? Listen to find out.

It's Labor Day. In our home country of the United States, most everyone is relaxing, and telling stories around the bar-b-que grill. Meanwhile, Joshua and Nicholas convened in the studio to share six of our favorite tracks, accompanied by stories of how they found the artists. Today on Dispatch, it's six tracks, and the stories that connect them.

Meet our new friend Subi Shah. A mechanical engineer by day, she's into 3D printing and building items with her hands. Recently, she took on the challenge of teaching herself how to code, a respectable pursuit, and one that caught our attention. Today, we chat about her decision to learn by experimenting, and why it's important to never stop learning.

With the sum of human knowledge at our fingertips, why does ignorance continue to perpetuate itself? We ask not as academics, but as pragmatists: when answers are merely a click away, why do some individuals choose to be unlearned?