As a respite from an impending winter that offers tantalizing hope amid bleak news, these tales of Paris represent in part a yearning for lost innocence. Beth recalls her visit to Paris with her sister twenty-three years ago.  Jim remembers the food, Peg wistfully praises the champagne, Shelly enthuses about the architecture, and John thinks of Ernest Hemmingway.  These are just some of the impressions and associations that are shared during this episode.  The podcasters also share memories of visiting the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and dispel the myth of Parisian rudeness.  Beth and John talk about their efforts not to look and act like tourists. Peggy recounts the rich pastries she ate, the mysterious condom drawers she looked into, and trying to decipher menus written only in French. Shelly regales us with a tale of Parisian pickpockets.  And we all react excitedly to Peggy’s idea of meeting in Paris next Thanksgiving! Best wishes to Gayle & Chad!

Recommendations

Jim recommends watching the film Casablanca.

John recommends reading Baudelaire’s A Une Passante.

Shelly recommends a novel, Code Name: Helene & LED Christmas Lights.

Peggy recommends buying a collapsible garden hose.

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One of the questions researched is the comparison between the effectiveness of the French and German responses as referenced in this article from France. The effectiveness of the approach taken by South Korea is unquestionable but it is unclear as to which elements of the approach were most effective.

Another country which followed a similar approach to South Korea (with even better results) is Taiwan.  An interesting comparison can be made between Taiwan and New Zealand which took different but equally effective approaches as explained in The Lancet. The effectiveness of early intervention  may have been enhanced due to a mutation of the virus. 

Peg is focused on the “weirdness” of electronics (including this smart plug she loves). Shelly is focused on the difference between Curtis Hill and Kurtis Blow and her love for Rapper’s Delight by Sugar Hill Gang.

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We learn who everyone is eating with today and what is on the menu.  We learn that John and Peggy like to watch professional tennis and college basketball, but not the NBA. We consider Jim’s semi-urban lifestyle and ponder whether or not John, Peggy, and Shelly see their futures in the city or the country.  We talk about the failure of the national government in the U.S. to deal effectively with the pandemic and how things might have been handled differently. We talk about what we will miss most this year and why John hates Thanksgiving. We talk about a lot of carbs. It is a themeless pudding of topics swirled together for your listening pleasure.  And Peggy hates listening to her voice.

See all our recommendations on our website

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In response to listener demand (and by that we mean a single listener) we offer a Shelly-centric episode focused on the new frontiers of genetic experimentation.  Beth Shannon returns as a special guest to participate in the discussion as to whether or not different specific examples of genetic manipulation are either cool or creepy.  Predictably enough, a generous portion of the episode veers off toward a consideration of the relative traits of our own Redheaded League - Peggy, Shelly, and Beth.

The top of mind segment of this episode is almost exclusively about the bleakness of the upcoming holiday season because of the raging pandemic.  But Shelly introduces a number of examples of genetic experimentation and manipulation that provoke a lively and funny conversation. Among the topics that come up are people born with extra eyelashes (Elizabeth Taylor); whether or not varicose veins are like “purple worms”; people who have bones that do not break (Unbreakable); glow-in-the-dark animals; goats which produce silk; and cows that produce human breast milk. Among the information we glean from these discussions is that Beth is not only redheaded but also left-handed; Peggy and Beth think alike; Shelly knows an awful lot about the inbreeding of the Hapsburgs; John listens to many (perhaps too many) podcasts; and that all knowledge is provisional. (But some people’s ignorance is constant). Among the recommendations is Peggy’s for the Moosewood Cookbook.  Best wishes to Gayle & Craig!

Recommendations

Shelly recommends American Dirt by Janine Cummings

Peggy recommends The Moosewood Cookbook

Beth recommends The Searcher by Tana French

Jim recommends The Baroness Von Sketch Show on the iFC Channel

John recommends the recent episode of the podcast Sway with Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Dr. Jennifer Doudna

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John is focused on the pandemic and the prospect of renewed lockdowns as cases continue to surge.  That leads into a brief discussion about the different approaches to the pandemic represented by President Trump and President-Elect Biden.  In turn that segues into a brief consideration of the transition process and how Trump’s recalcitrance is impacting upon it. Peggy’s focus is on her desire to ski once again, either downhill or cross-country.  Shelly is focused on a series of potentially serious family medical issues that have arisen in the past week or so. (And Peggy very much wants to know why she is first hearing about all of this only just now!) Jim is preoccupied by the Top Forty of the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of November 4, 1967 – a countdown topped by his all-time favorite song, To Sir With Love by Lulu.

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John spent election night trying to toggle between the election returns and caring for his infant son.  Peg tried to ignore all of the election news and went to bed early.  Beth spent election day helping to get out the vote in Philadelphia and election night listening to the Rolling Stones and watching Netflix.  Shelly watched a smattering of news on election night before switching to watch Crimson River.  During Tuesday night and into Wednesday, Jim had three election information tabs open on his computer, CNN on his TV, and a text chain on his telephone. Peg would prefer that there be a news blackout until all the votes are tallied and the results are announced in the manner of an awards show. Beth related her heartfelt experience of interacting with voters in majority minority neighborhoods in Philadelphia where the indicia of poverty was overwhelming. The contrast between the earnestness of individuals who have every reason to be cynical about this country but are not, and the apparent amorality of half of the country that wanted to re-elect Trump was particularly striking for Beth.  John attempted to categorize the types of people who voted for Trump and what their respective motivations are. All five attempted to grapple with the fact of the stark divisions within the United States.

Guest

Beth Shannon is a world traveler and local activist. She lives in Silver Spring. 

Recommendations

Jim recommended the film A Call to Spy.

John recommended checking out Room Rater on Twitter.

Peggy recommended going to be early on election night.

Shelly recommended the book The Great Alone.

Beth recommended Bordertown on Netflix.

Find our history of recommendations on our website.

The Top of John’s mind is occupied by positive thoughts that Donald Trump will turn out to be a one term President but negative thoughts about what that means. Peg is too worried about jinxing the outcome to even speculate on Trump as a one and done president. Shelly sees the silver lining emerging from the Trump cloud as the raised awareness of racial injustice. John believes that Trump will be remembered as the President who exemplified the coming of age of Twitter. Jim thinks Trump will be remembered as the Herbert Hoover of the pandemic. Peggy is in a somber state of mind because the escalating number of pandemic cases. Shelly is concerned because her friend Janine was recently exposed to someone who has tested positive. Jim is the voice of sunny optimism, wishing a happy 81st birthday to Eddie Holland, part of the legendary Motown songwriting and producing triumvirate, Holland-Dozier-Holland.
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Will Gentile, previous podcast guest and son of Jim, returns, ostensibly to discuss what it is like to work in New York City during the pandemic. It soon becomes clear that Will’s main agenda is to flirt shamelessly with Shelly while John, Jim, and Peggy listen in haplessly. Think of this episode as an update to the online dating special.

After a brief reference to Beverly Hills 90210 (which John didn’t get) there is some discussion of Peggy and Will’s (separate) hard partying the night before recording this episode. Will snidely defends his behavior with a reference to President Trump’s recent dismissal of the pandemic (which John didn’t get). Will does take some time in between flirting to discuss being laid off at the very beginning of the pandemic and subsequent work as a production assistant for commercials. Here’s a link to one of Will’s commercials. Will also refers to Shelly’s home city as Naptown (which John and Peggy didn’t get). Some of John’s lack of comprehension may have resulted from overindulgence in the product of the new espresso machine his sister recently purchased. Shelly’s behavior may be a side effect from using an inversion table. And Peggy is Peggy. But Will is an authentic millennial who likes to talk about his overindulgences of all kinds, making references that he apparently believes will not be in the final version of the episode due to the editing of Justin Mullins. Boy will he be surprised when he hears it.

Guest

Will Gentile is a filmmaker. He lives in New York. (And yes, he truly is Jim’s son).

Recommendations

Will: Watch Wild Goose Lake. Neo-noir film from China

John: Watch The Good Place. Season 4

Shelly: Invest in an Inversion Table.

Peggy. Eat Zestar apples

Jim: Read The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes.

The Top of John’s mind is occupied by negative thoughts about the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, which causes him great consternation. Peggy echoes his dim view of the nominee and the process by which she is being hurried through to a vote before the election. Shelly has two different topics on Top: A happy follow-up to her previously expressed concern about some employees she might have to give bad news to and the prospect of a Zoom Happy Hour to commence as soon as the recording is completed. What is foremost on Peg’s mind is her disappointment that the weather has cleared up and no longer matches her insular desire to sit in the dark eating popcorn and watching a movie on Netflix. Jim’s less-than-spontaneous mind features remembrances of quirky events from the 1976 and 2000 presidential elections. See the video on Youtube. And we also learn the definition of “capacious”.

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In addition to the riveting main topic discussion, the group fills the time with meaningless banter and anger management. Peggy’s mind is focused on a particular fourteen year-old child. John hates the fall (but Peggy likes it). Shelly has to fire some people (and she would not mind it if they deserved it). Jim wants to raise again the topic of sex with robots. Peggy’s mom likes the show and there is at least one listener who likes what Jim has to say (but Peggy says he is condescending). The gang makes recommendations even though they can’t remember what they recommended the last time. And so it goes.

Recommendations

Recommendations

Peggy: Drink a Kwity, a shot of bourbon with Apple cider (hot or cold) and drops of lemon juice.

John: Vote right now. Try Nudie jeans.

Shelly: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

Jim: Kanopy streaming service.