High & Low

Another snapshot of the current state of events in a country where you can now get a gun easier than a COVID booster. The Epstein files remain a focus as victims bravely speak out and while documents from his estate, cataloguing damning statements, continue to leak. A summary of the latest attempts to dismantle our public health safeguards, research, and standards to make way for ideas that emerged from worm excrement. As small minded men busy themselves with infighting and a dedication to war cosplay that involves spending our money to rebrand the Department of Defense, the largest ICE deportation raid to date proves that racism is very expensive. Then, how the DOJ is failing "bigly" and a peek into the complexities of our conflicts with Venezuela. Finally, more shootings and deaths in an era of anti-empathy, callous gun worship.

Find your representatives at USA.GOV and/or the "5 Calls" app and contact them, often. 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. This podcast is hosted by a United States citizen, born and raised in a military family that is proud of this country's commitment to free speech. Information shared is cited via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, executive orders, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

 “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” - James Baldwin

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After a rant about conspiracy theories running rampant amidst Katie's current-day decision to triple down and deny relaying Gretchen's serious accusation to Kiki Monique, this episode picks up with the women filming without her. Once scene shows Katie trying to get her former bestie, Jen, to acknowledge the issues with taking the polygraph party seriously, but her efforts are in vain. From there, Jen shares Katie's polygraph story with the rest of the cast who enjoy acting like it's ridiculous. Of note is Emily, the lawyer, reiterating how reliable the results were. The focus is a beach party where Jen invites all the ladies, and their friends, but not Katie. At the beach, the women learn to play volleyball, have multiple confrontations, and we see the editors having fun with footage of Shannon falling down. Gretchen continues to deny saying she went to the hospital, and "if" she said it (she did) then she misspoke. Instead, Gretchen wants to focus on stale bread, deadbeat dad issues from 17 years ago as Tamra yells for her to move on and let it go before quickly wrapping up, grabbing her hand, and making a spectacle of them skipping away. This is an odd, nonsensical season and I'm weary at the halfway mark. 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

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The much hyped lie detector and Kiki Monique guest appearance episode devolves into a frustrating mess due to multiple lies and inconsistencies continuing to be pushed. The result is a pile on where each cast member, and even the people administering the tests, contribute to ostracizing Katie, despite several women having untruthful results on key questions. As a viewer, the work required to make sense of the episode, via research into the lie detector vendor, cast member interviews on podcasts and radio shows, has gotten out of hand. Watching each woman take a position that best suits their conflicts vs what really happened makes the pursuit of any truth in that setting seem impossible. They leave us with a "To Be Continued". BONUS: summarizing supplemental podcasts, articles, and radio shows 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

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Venmo @TYBBDB

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The excitement I felt renting this movie was quickly replaced by rage as I weathered its 1 hour and 56 minutes of monotone dialogue. The confused, underdeveloped characters appear to have been conjured as mere tools for condescension and finger wagging at anyone who places value on money as an element of a successful relationship. Despite being marketed as a romcom, this movie is in no way a romcom. Instead, it seems to fancy itself a chiding think piece on the stance that real love means a man's money, income, and savings doesn't matter. As the main character, Lucy, continually tells a man she's dating that he can do so much better...I found myself asking out loud several times how a woman wrote this. If you look at this movie from the broke character's perspective, it is indeed a feel good story. From anyone else's, it's a nightmare.

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

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A triple recap to get us up to speed in the OC. As layered conflicts between the women take us to New Orleans and back, we learn more about what the "deesgusting" story was that Katie relayed to journalist Kiki Monique and then vehemently denied. Gretchen's reaction and additional commentary results in more questions than answers, but one thing is for sure, Kiki wasn't lying. Yet, according to Katie, she and Matt were asked to do just that to "hold the line and protect Gretchen" which means she knowingly threw Kiki under the bus. Shannon and Tamra make up and hope to move forward, Jen and Katie are at odds about the Gretchen rumor, Jen is still eager to confront Tamra about the photo she showed Heather, Shannon annoys everyone by always being late, Emily and Shane continue to provide rage bait, Heather keeps defending Tamra at every turn, and Gina displays stellar hosting qualities.

TIMESTAMPS:

EP 4 recap = Start - 13:44min

EP 6 = 13:44 - 42:31

EP7 = 42:31 - End

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

Venmo @TYBBDB

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Things can seem surreal when insurrectionists and murderers roam free, as those determined to uphold the law are fired, and throwing a sandwich gets you a felony...and a place in history. As more National Guard troops flood into Washington D.C. under the guise of tackling crime, we review the alleged beat-down heard 'round the world when a DOGE staffer with a nickname of "Big Balls" said he got jumped by pre-teens at 3am. Also, Texas and California continue to angle for gerrymandered seats in Congress, more Heritage Foundation bros appointed to positions of power, RFK Jr. continues to make the world worse, and Putin gets greeted like a got a one-on-one date on The Bachelor.

Find your representatives at USA.GOV and/or the "5 Calls" app and contact them, often. 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. This podcast is hosted by a United States citizen, born and raised in a military family that is so very proud of this country's commitment to free speech. Information shared is cited via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, executive orders, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

 “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” - James Baldwin

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

Venmo @TYBBDB

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's nothing like finding out a good friend started a show you're deep into so as soon as Kiki Monique/@thetalkofshame got caught up, we dove into our thoughts about the season and its climactic finale. Focusing on a handful of families, each inspired by real former dynasties, it's a historical drama that unfolds at the convergence of old and new money. Being about New York City high society in the late 1880's, it also takes the opportunity to address the inequality and injustices of the time while showing the importance of women, minorities, and working class Americans engaged in the ongoing fight for their rights. Spats about rival opera houses AND learning about history? What's not to love?

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

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The final episode of Season 2 reveals why no amount of reunions would bridge the gap in perceptions for several cast members. Whether it's divorcing couples, former best friends, or people who feel passionately about Danny's behavior when drinking, this reunion made it clear that some cast members are not able to move on. Janet makes additional allegations and seems indifferent to Nia's point about the harm her focus on Danny could do which ends with two very pregnant women, Kristen and Nia, shouting as Janet smirks. It's an ironic twist after last year's plotlines of Janet being pregnant and avoiding anything upsetting. We also learned how close of a friend Zach had been to Brittany's ex at one time, which helped to explain the levels of animosity they now have for one another. A highlight was seeing Andy "scold" Jesse for having his girlfriend come to the end of the last cast event where her presence resulted in drama, but still not agree to film. Overall, it was a meandering but sometimes satisfying end to the season. BONUS: a post by Jesse's girlfriend on the cease & desist and alleged drama that went down at that wrap party

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

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A woman stuck on a tarmac downloads 'Book Lovers' and falls down a rabbit hole into the delightful romcom realm of Emily Henry's witty banter, heartfelt storylines, and endearing characters. Now that the woman (me, it was me on the tarmac) read all six of Emily's books back to back during her travels, this pod presents a brief summary of each. No major spoilers beyond a discussion of plots and general observations, along with which of her books I liked best and why. BONUS: An ill-fated journey to Casa Bonita 

Books Discussed: Beach Read (2020), People We Meet on Vacation (2021), Book Lovers (2022), Happy Place (2023), Funny Story (2024), Great Big Beautiful Life (2025) 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

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The second reunion installment tests the limits of rage bait spewed from stunted men. After a solid 18min of Jax making excuses, wallowing in self pity, and shamelessly fishing for compliments, Jesse begins his own display of delusion against Michelle in his hideous, Grandma-couch-print polyester pants. Jason stands by his bestie, Janet holds onto her issues with Kristin and Zach, and Britney continues to walk the line, and stoke the fires, between multiple friendships. Finally, Jasmine, Danny/Nia, and Janet revisiting their layers of issues without much resolution. BONUS: Defining the term 'gaslighting' for Michelle 

All opinions are personal and not representative of any outside company, person, or agenda. Information shared is sourced via published articles, legal documents, press releases, government websites, public websites, books, public videos, news reports, and/or direct quotes and statements, and all may be paraphrased for brevity and presented in layman's terms.

Wanna support this independent pod? Links below:

BuyMeACoffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BBDB

Venmo @TYBBDB

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.