Today we’re talking about cats, rats, and the Met Gala. We answer the questions, how well traveled is the average cat? Why is New York the global center of ambition and pizza rats? And what even is the Met Gala for? Learn fun facts about bacteria-based pandemics vs. viral-based pandemics, and how cats are relevant to both. Reflect with us on the Legend of Pizza Rat, who lives forever in our hearts but also in the nooks and crannies of the New York City subway. And, finally, get a Google-level education on Anna Wintour’s importance to American fashion as well as the dollar-cost of attending the Met Gala. Join us!

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Today we’re talking about taking Grim Rabbits’ card game “Red Flags: the Game of Terrible Dates” into the wild and playing it with friends. What is revealed about people in a 6-person game where not everyone knows each other? What secret superpowers do singles have that relationshipped players lack? How do different people confront different dating scenarios based on personality, experience, and preference? We spent 4 hours playing with 6 people and learned loads (about ourselves and others). Join us as we tell the tale of a real life game of Red Flags!

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Today we’re talking about “Zillow Gone Wild” — the new HBO MAX show hosted by Jack McBrayer and featuring the most exciting, wackadoo house listings available across the US. Two house-hungry millennials (our co-hosts) talk Nietzsche, Camus, and Matthew McConaughey in the context of the American housing market, and walk you through the details of a renovated missile silo, a storybook cottage, and an artist-created motor lodge in Las Vegas. Laura gives us a retrospective of the Obama-era missile-silos-for-sale circa 2010 and Stephen talks Disney and miniature staircases. An auto-themed residence that puts Radiator Springs to shame is for sale because the artist responsible has set his sights on creating a whole town. Anyway, it’s wild. Join us for an introduction to Zillow Gone Wild’s contest between unique domestic residences!

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Today we’re talking about change and how to manage it. Are you always operating at max capacity — and does that make change throw you for a loop? How much obligation is too much obligation? And how can you use fun to supplement your energy around getting things done? Special shout-out to Marc from the BoomBox Music podcast for his insight that running at 80% is the zen way to live. Change is life’s only constant and, as it impacts the Midday Musings household, our co-hosts examine the potential ways a person could confront the demands of a shifting life. In a culture that commends giving 100% all-day everyday, we take twenty minutes to discuss more sustainable ways to live. Join us!

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Today we’re talking about the best, brightest, and most beastly of the animal kingdom! Starting with Stephen’s blind-as-a-bat insights on echolocation, we dovetail into a discussion of which internet animals are most like us (and the people we know). What is the evolutionary story of our favorite aquatic animals? What patriotic animal is not-so-secretly terrifying? Would an elk make a good cult leader? We talk about Stephen’s raw animal magnetism (to other men) and Laura’s tiger-like energy (as long as it’s playing with a ball). Social power, silly tactics, and sonic-based sight are all part of this episode on animals. Join us!

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Today we’re talking about building up motivation when you feel a bit mentally drained. Social exhaustion is very real, and sometimes you need something extra to feel zesty. We share personal strategies for regaining momentum when you’re in a rut. Laura champions the benefit of short-term projects, and we discuss the mental health benefits of being well-rounded. We lay out the differences between the science of success (material wins) and the art of satisfaction (individual wins), and how the combination of the two will quiet the mind. How can you be the Godzilla of your own life? How can you satisfy your brain’s contradictory drives for security and novelty? Is growth necessarily uncomfortable? Advice and experience around mental health challenges is the background of this discussion on self-motivation. Grow with us!

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Today we’re celebrating another Red Flags Friday 🚩🚩🚩! Unboxing, once again, Grim Rabbit’s game of terrible dates, we’re investigating two potential dates with one huge white flag and several disruptive red flags. What would you endure if your date allowed you to use their penthouse suite in your favorite city? How much juggling can be tolerated if you can access an endless bag of cheese? Is vigilantism ACTUALLY a white flag (rather than a red flag)? Whether it’s Batman or cheese-man, we’re talking dating dealbreakers and enviable super-qualities. Join us for a thrilling edition of Red Flags Friday!

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Today we’re talking about nature, technology, and human civilization. Referencing Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden Pond” and History channel’s 2000s-era classic, “Life After People,” we study the Millenial/Gen Z phenomenon of “cottagecore” as a reaction to our vast technological proliferation. What is the nature of nature? How are we like the 19th-century citizens who longed to return to an imagined agrarian utopia? How long would it take ivy, if left un-gardened, to cover the entirety of human civilization? We’re talking the human desire to return to nature, the reclamation of the human world by nature, and what the future looks like if humans and nature form a more symbiotic bond. Join us!

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Today we’re discussing the paranormal — haunted experiences, ghost-Gnosticism, and whether or not to download an EMF monitor onto your smart phone. Between paranormal circuses and an eternal Halloween, we ask important questions such as “are ghosts real?” “Should we become paranormal investigators as a midlife crisis activity?” and “Why does my mom keep getting haunted?” Stephen and Laura chat about life as a believer versus a skeptic, and whether you should keep a ghost-shaped space open in your heart. Haunted places, ghost photography, and paranormal experiences are discussed in this fun-filled chat. Would you watch a ghost-hunting roadtrip show featuring our comedic co-hosts? Let us know!

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Today we’re sharing our strategies for staying upbeat in the face of inconvenience and crisis. We’ll discuss keeping perspective on hard days and every day, with a special emphasis on detaching your happiness from external outcomes. Mental health hygiene, finding the benefit in negative situations, and allowing your resilience to carry you through expected and unexpected hurtles are among the topics covered in today’s very special episode of Midday Musings. Join us!

And if you are listening for a workout, you can Download Podbeat FREE in the App Store and add a beat to this podcast!

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linktree⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/middaymusingspod⁠⁠

Podbeat: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/podbeat/id1605270538