Mansplaining

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The year 2024 brought more than its share of misfortune to your Mansplaining co-hosts, what with the double whammy of layoffs and a terrible election result.  But in the spirit of turning the page to the New Year, Mark asked Joe what he’s feeling good about in 2025 and beyond, from multiple perspectives (personally, locally, nationally, and internationally). With hopefulness in short supply, Joe soldiered on with some reasons to be cheerful, but it soon became apparent that a more expansive, proactive definition of "hope" was in order. (Recorded January 3, 2025.)

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In continuation of a Mansplaining tradition of holiday-themed conversations, Mark and Joe consider how we might heal our deepening political rupture and bring peace to a divided nation.  It’s a daunting task that may take years, if it happens at all.  Making it happen involves redressing the loneliness and isolation wrought by a decades-long breakdown in civic trust.  Government has a role to play, but mostly it requires individuals to turn away from the purveyors of fear and disunion, listen to our fellow citizens, and plant the seeds of hope in a jaded body politic. (Recorded December 20, 2024.)

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Those of us above a certain age remember that flying didn’t used to be such an ordeal.  Once upon a time, people enjoyed flights that had comfortable seating, decent food, and no extra fees for checked bags.  Might the coming technological innovations restore some of the fun in flying?  In a special bonus segment and addendum to Episode 101, Joe and Mark look back at the good old days of air travel, then look ahead to what the near future might hold. (Recorded December 6, 2024.)

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The bankruptcy filing of Spirit Airlines underscores the existential problem for air carriers.  After driving many of its competitors out of business with its no-frills model of below-cost fares, bare-bones service, and nuisance fees, Spirit still couldn’t make a profit.  How did we get to a place where the only thing shrinking faster than the number of airlines still in business is the amount of legroom in their cabins?  Joe and Mark tell the fateful story of air travel, in which the one-two punch of deregulation and September 11th led to a TKO of airlines and passengers alike. (Recorded December 6, 2024.)

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After considering why companies run out of ideas in our last episode, Joe put the same question to Mark about why so many of our favorite pop and rock music artists seem to run out of ideas.  Mark and Joe ponder whether this is a real phenomenon, and if so, what might cause it.  Turns out that early-career creativity is a complicated amalgam of neural plasticity, free time, and the commercial imperatives of a pop music industry that skews young.  And yes, Clayton Christensen’s ideas about the innovator’s dilemma might also apply to musical innovation. (Recorded November 15, 2024.)

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Google had quite a run, from its market-leading search engine to Gmail to the Android operating system.  For the longest time, it seemed like a veritable fount of innovation.  But in recent years, dogged by antitrust lawsuits, it looks less like a forward-thinking innovator and more like a tired dinosaur trying desperately to hold onto its piece of the profit pie.  Why does that same evolution happen to so many companies?  Looking for answers in Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma and its subsequent critiques, Joe and Mark discover that the modus operandi of established companies might be more about fear than anything else. (Recorded October 25, 2024.)

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When the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious affirmative action programs, it conveniently left standing the legacy preferences employed by colleges and universities that are described by some as affirmative action for rich, white people. Is it fair that schools are now forced to ignore the race of their applicants but are still allowed to favor the children of wealthy alumni and donors?  Mark and Joe examine the history and impact of legacy admissions policies in American colleges and universities and consider the arguments that there are good reasons for retaining them. (Recorded October 4, 2024.)

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Every time the power goes out in Seattle, Mark wonders whether his city fell victim to malicious hackers.  It’s a legitimate concern, since bad actors have been messing with America’s energy systems for years.  But how credible is the threat of foreign hackers causing catastrophic damage to critical civilian infrastructure like our electrical grid and drinking water? Joe and Mark log into the wild and woolly world of infrastructure hacking and learn that it’s a two-way street, with the deterrent of “mutually assured computer disruption” awaiting anyone who goes too far. (Recorded September 17, 2024.)

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The CDC and Surgeon General recently released reports highlighting twin epidemics that are plaguing young people in our country.  For boys, it’s loneliness and social isolation; for girls, it’s persistent sadness and hopelessness.  Why are young people so sad and lonely?  Mark and Joe discuss whether loneliness is inheritable, how much of the blame we can pin on the distorted view social media provides of reality, and how, in the land of plenty, we can help our kids get the one thing they need the most: human connection. (Recorded September 6, 2024.)

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It’s been said that fusion power is 20 years away, and always will be.  Why is it taking so long?  Well, it turns out that generating temperatures as hot as the sun is hard to do here on Earth, as is controlling the fusion reaction so it doesn’t vaporize everything it touches. Joe and Mark ponder these and other challenges to producing fusion energy, and whether any of us is likely to live long enough to see it become part of a carbon-free electrical grid. (Recorded August 16, 2024.)