EPISODE 15: Last week, we talked about crowdfunding as a way to raise money for your business ideas. So, we thought it would be useful to talk to someone who is doing just that and to share her process with you. In this episode, we interview Taisha Dent, a social worker who is passionate about preparing today’s youth for life, both personally and professionally. Her organization, Help Emotion World, develops video games to teach youth the value of workforce skills and emotional skills. We get a chance to hear about her process and see what it takes to develop an idea and prepare it for launch. In the future, we plan to check back in with Taisha to see how it went. Enjoy!

You can contact Taisha directly at mailto:[email protected].

The Why Watch That Critic and Referee are back with a brand new format! But, they're bringing the same old, exciting and informative conversations about movies and TV shows that you've come to expect. In this inaugural episode of Why Watch That Radio, the Critic and the Referee talk about #OscarsSoWhite and who they think will win an Oscar this Sunday (February 28th). In addition, the Ref provides her pick of the week. You won't want to miss it!

Show Notes

Complete List of Oscar Nominations: http://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2016-the-complete-list-of-nominees

How racially skewed are the Oscars? (from The Economist): http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2016/01/film-and-race

Jimmy Kimmel's Oscars So White Skit (while the video has been made private, here's an article about it): http://hiphollywood.com/2016/01/ignorant-jimmy-kimmel-blasted-for-oscarssowhite-skit/

SNL's Screen Guild Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ospx7tXWYbI

EPISODE 29: In this episode, the Scout and the GM discuss the two big performances in the NBA this weekend: Damian Lillard’s 51 points against the Warriors and Anthony Davis’s 59 points and 20 rebounds versus the Pistons. Also, check out their thoughts on Cleveland Cavaliers at Oklahoma City Thunder. Enjoy!

Sources

Damian Lillard’s performance: http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2016/02/trail_blazers_warriors.html

Anthony Davis’s performance: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/anthony-davis-explodes-for-a-59-point--20-rebound-game--video-234857935.html

Cavaliers at Thunder: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nba/event/2015/897173/boxscore/

EPISODE 26: This week, The Zeitgeist discusses Taylor Swift vs. Kanye, the current state of the Presidential race, Parmesan-gate, the new Titanic, pulling down the Pope, and more. Enjoy!

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS

The Sizzle

Taylor Swift calls out Kanye at the Grammys? http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/02/16/taylor-swift-made-pointed-response-kanye-west-during-her-grammy-speech/80438934/

Politics

Nevada Republican Caucus/South Carolina Democratic Primary: http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/nevada-republican/#polls-only AND http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/south-carolina-democratic/#polls-only

Odd News

Florida teen poses as doctor: http://6abc.com/news/police-teen-arrested-after-posing-as-doctor-in-florida/1203872/

Health & Science

Instead of Parmesan, do you want wood pulp with your pasta? http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood

Business

Will you be on the next Titanic? http://qz.com/616319/the-titanic-ii-a-faithful-replica-of-the-doomed-ship-is-preparing-for-passengers-by-2018/

What We Don’t Care About

Anyone saying that President Obama shouldn't nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/opinion/in-election-years-a-history-of-confirming-court-nominees.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FMcConnell%2C%20Mitch&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection AND http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/upshot/should-obama-pick-nominee-your-answer-may-depend-on-how-much-history-you-know.html?_r=0

The Tomfool of the Week

Don't pull the Pope down! http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/17/world/pope-francis-mexico-stumble/

EPISODE 14: There is only so much sweat equity that you can invest in your idea before you need to couple it with cold hard cash. While the concept of crowdfunding isn’t a new one, platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo have recently made it a widespread solution. Crowdfunding is based on the “a little from a lot” approach. Instead of getting a lot of money from a few people, crowdfunding has yielded great success from gathering small amounts from a lot of people. This fundraising strategy was popularized by President Obama who raised $750 million from small donors during his 2008 campaign. In this episode, the Mentor and the Visionary discuss the best way to manage your crowdfunding campaign that will yield the most success, greatest engagement, and impactful results. Enjoy! (By the way, next week, we’ll hear from an entrepreneur who will launch her own crowdfunding campaign in the near future.)

EPISODE 13: The Super Bowl made us think about ways in which entrepreneurs can use major events and holidays to gain more exposure for their businesses. Small businesses have to get creative in order to compete with larger corporations that have more money to spend on marketing and larger staffs to manage tasks. One easy way to do that is to build marketing campaigns around major events and holidays, which will also make it easy to create timelines and meet deadlines. It also lets you ride the wave of larger companies that have already planned events and campaigns. From Christmas to the Grammys to President’s Day, there are many ways to gain exposure that is effective and inexpensive. In this episode, the Mentor and the Visionary discuss the benefits of building your marketing programs around events and holidays so that you make more money and accomplish your goals. Enjoy!

EPISODE 28: In this episode, the Scout and the GM discuss the festivities at NBA All-Star Weekend 2016, ESPN's list of the greatest NBA players of all time, the Golden State Warriors' shot at the 1996 Chicago Bulls' best single-season record, and more. Enjoy!

Sources

NBA All-Star Weekend 2016: http://www.nba.com/allstar/

ESPN's All-Time #NBArank List: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarankalltime/greatest-players-ever

1996 Chicago Bulls Stats: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1996.html

Gregg Popovich on the Golden State Warriors: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25483676/spurs-gregg-popovich-envious-of-the-warriors-calls-them-unsolvable

EPISODE 25: This week, The Zeitgeist discusses recent and upcoming Presidential primaries and caucuses, Einstein, Beyoncé, Valentine's Day, and more. Enjoy!

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS

The Sizzle

Valentine's Day: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/your-valentine-is-more-interested-in-dinner-and-a-card-than-anything-else/

Politics

New Hampshire Delegates: http://www.npr.org/2016/02/10/466357629/new-hampshire-turnout-breaks-records-but-not-on-democratic-side AND Nevada Caucuses (hard to predict): http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/feb/11/whos-polling-well-in-nevada-heres-why-thats-diffic/ AND South Carolina Republican Primary: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/gop-deathmatch-three-men-will-enter-the-winner-will-probably-lose-to-trump-anyway/

Odd News

PETA calls off protest of "Greased Pig on Ice" event after they realize that the pig referenced in the event's title isn't really a pig: http://news.yahoo.com/animal-rights-protest-scrapped-greased-pig-dust-170727905.html

Health & Science

Einstein was right about gravitational waves: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/einstein-was-right-gravity-ripples-across-the-universe-as-waves?cmpid=BBD021116_BIZ

Business

Whip/Nae Nae didn't just happen: http://www.businessinsider.com/madonna-cofounded-a-company-that-creates-viral-dance-videos-and-whipnae-nae-was-its-first-monster-hit-2016-1

What We Don’t Care About

Some white women (and others) want to boycott Beyoncé: http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2016/02/white-women-want-to-boycott-beyonce-because-they-have-nothing-better-to-do/ AND For a bit of depth on the subject: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/09/466142526/not-ready-to-stop-obsessing-over-beyonc-and-formation-we-got-you

The Tomfool of the Week

A rescue dog returns the favor – a special Valentine's Day tomfool: http://abcnews.go.com/US/rescue-dog-returns-favor-alerts-sleeping-owner-fire/story?id=36881519

EPISODE 27: In this episode, the Scout and the GM discuss the outcome of Warriors vs. Thunder, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Gregg Popovich on the 3-pointer, Kawhi Leonard’s work ethic, volume scoring, the Cavaliers with Kyrie Irving and under the leadership of Tyronn Lue, how Lebron should play to maximize his talents, and more. Enjoy!

Sources

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Box Score (2/6/2016) - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/boxscore/NBA_20160206_OKC@GS

Kevin Durant “Not afraid of Warriors or Spurs...” - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25476495/kevin-durant-says-thunder-arent-scared-of-warriors-spurs

Gregg Popovich vs. 3-Pointers (Part I/2014) - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24582823/gregg-popovich-says-he-hates-three-pointers-duncan-wants-to-play-point-guard

Popovich vs. 3-Pointers (Part II/2016) - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25407446/gregg-popovich-on-the-3-pointer-i-still-hate-it-ill-never-embrace-it

Popovic asks Kobe to mentor Kawhi Leonard - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25476688/pop-asks-kobe-to-help-kawhi-leonard-improve-bryant-happy-to-oblige

The Kobe Assist - http://grantland.com/features/how-kobe-bryant-missed-shots-translate-new-nba-statistic-kobe-assist/

NBA All-Star 2016 - http://www.nba.com/allstar/2016/players/index.html

EPISODE 24: This week, The Zeitgeist discusses 50 Cent vs. Meek Mill, the New Hampshire Primary, Kim Kardashian & Amber Rose, and more. Enjoy!

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS

Super Bowl 50

The Sizzle

50 Cent vs. Meek Mill: http://www.eonline.com/news/735839/50-cent-disses-meek-mill-in-concert-all-you-can-do-is-run-to-nicki-minaj

Politics

Polling presidential primaries: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/iowa-is-the-hardest-state-to-poll/ AND A snappy explanation of what happened on Iowa (The Wild Card called it): http://cookpolitical.com/story/9221 AND The New Hampshire Primary: http://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/msnbc-democratic-debate-presidential-election-2016/

Odd News

Wife surprises husband by crashing her own funeral. He paid to have her killed. Uh oh! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/05/wife-crashes-her-own-funeral-horrifying-her-husband-who-had-paid-have-her-killed/?tid=sm_tw

Health & Science

Clay tablets reveal Babylonians discovered astronomical geometry 1,400 years before Europeans: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/01/28/clay-tablets-reveal-babylonians-invented-astronomical-geometry-1400-years-before-europeans/

Business

Electric concrete that can prevent snow accumulations: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/conductive-concrete-melts-snow/433752/

What We Don’t Care About

Here we go again, Kim Kardashian and Amber Rose (and all the rest of them): http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/02/kim-kardashian-and-amber-rose-s-selfie-breaks-the-internet.html

The Tomfool of the Week

Justice Clarence Thomas, Tomfool of the Decade? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/us/politics/clarence-thomas-supreme-court.html?_r=0