Episode 16: Our first podcast at a new locale — Ohlone Cigar Lounge! Picking up shows by osmosis comes up. I don’t know how to deal with people being welcoming or enthusiastic toward me. I explain why men and women aren’t friends.

I discuss First-to-the-Fence Syndrome. I call bullshit on people being able to tell a big difference between different Padrons and Liga Privada. Having the trots during an important social engagement really sucks. We discuss bad dates.

Episode 15: I rant about social-justice-warrior culture poisoning otherwise quality shows. On the other
side of the same coin, I laude a different show for being able to get me invested despite being, on paper,
something I shouldn’t like. I make some “Watchmen” predictions.
Mikey talks about the importance of backfilling gaps in our musical catalogue. Mid-life crisis for
Gen-Xers versus Millennials comes up but evolves into discussion about whether our age is most of our
identity. We talk about knowing what one wants in a relationship and deftly handling it because of
previous experience.

Episode 14: The first megablock of “The Sopranos” sees me and Mike talk about the major themes of Season 1.

Episode 13: The dynamic duo discuss traveling for the holidays and the nature of friendships. 

Episode 12: How people get nicknames is discussed. Strangely marketed products and lifehacks come up. What dental hygiene products should you avoid when smoking cigars? Are we are all too primitive for the internet?

Episode 11: We talk about the importance of semantics when having discussions and how language lacks the ability to accurately describe some ideas. 

Episode 10: Junior makes changes to the operations of the family. His reign complicates matters for the captains when Junior begins taking too much for himself and taxes Hesh. We discuss the inner politics of the family and the Iceberg Theory. The character’s motives begin to come into crisp focus.        

Episode 9: In “College,” Tony and Meadow take a trip to Maine to scout universities. Drugs coming into mob culture and how that changes the dynamic within the Cosa Nostra is a topic of discussion. Carmela’s Catholic guilt and reconciling what Tony does for a living play out on screen. Tactics within the Soprano family on how to establish control in relationships mirror each other.

Episode 8: Broadcasting from West Coast Cigars, Mikey and I discuss Terminator 2 and the impact of the missed opportunity to have an epic headfake. We delve into what it means for a movie to be overambitious and the merits of “nuff said” movies and films having the “gloss of nostalgia.” 

Episodes 7: Mikey and I get back to our “The Sopranos” watchalong, but first I test my knowledge of Internet slang. We discuss the importance of dream sequences in the show and how establishing shots and editing contribute to a seamless flow within episodes. One of the key characteristics of the show — that the mobsters are oblivious to the fallout of violence — is illustrated, and Mike and I discuss the implication of that. Subtext in character dialogue is highlighted.