What does it mean--conceptually--to be a billionaire? What explains the unfettered financialization of our economy? What bearing do soaring GDP and stock market prices have on the majority of Americans? What does it say about our society that the richest 400 Americans paid less in taxes than everyone else? Capitalism, undoubtedly, has gone sicko mode.

Before that: Dane can't grow a beard, and Kevin's disgusted at y'all for the World War 3 memes.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Anne Fisher: What Harm Can a 'Survival' Job After College Do?

Louis Jacobson: What Percentage of Americans Own Stocks?

Joel Shannon: Amazon Pays No Federal Income Tax for 2018, Despite Soaring Profits

How Does the Current Cost of Living Compare to 20 Years Ago?

Just 8 Men Own Same Wealth as Half the World

Reddit post: Conceptualizing Billionaires

There will inevitably come a time when we'll wax nostalgic about the music of the 2010s. We'll get glassy-eyed thinking about the first time we heard good kid, m.A.A.d city, reminisce about the halycon Odd Future days, and maybe even look back fondly upon the pre-Trump-obsessed Kanye. But before those rose-colored lenses become permanent, we're here to remind you that a straight up egregious amount of really, really awful music came out this past decade. The Decade Ranneth Over With Trash: Future inexplicably put out an anthology of mixtapes, each one more insipid than the last, Jay-Z dropped one of the worst albums in hip hop history, Big Sean insisted on letting the public know he can rap despite having absolutely nothing to say, and much, much more.

As for the opening: the politics of free agency and fandom...and Dane's got dry skin.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

How do multinational corporations destroy the environment with impunity? What the fuck are PCBs? And how is it that lead continues to be a life-destroying force for so many Americans? We're here to tell you that, yup, all of the above questions are inextricably related: in the second part of our series on environmental racism we're talking Monsanto Chemical, the history of lead, corporate PR strategies, and much more. All of it is terrifying.

Before that: Dane's got OD social anxiety especially when it comes to getting his hair cut, and the subtle art of ordering embarrassing-ass oat milk lattes for your girl.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Harriet A. Washington: A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind

One of the prevailing assumptions about IQ is that it is fixed at birth. But is that really true? And if not, then how do our environments shape our intellectual potential? Exposure to chemcials like PCBs, phthalates, and hydrocarbons, as well as heavy metals like mercury and lead, has been shown to have deleterious effects on brain development and function. And in the United States, people of color are the ones most likely to be affected by these intelligence-lowering chemicals: hence the term, and subject of episode 17, environmental racism. Large corporations are out here poisoning people en masse, black Americans are far more likely to live in "sacrifice zones", and the Flint, Michigan water crisis is worse than you thought it was. This one's terrifying, and part two is coming next week.

Before that: Kevin updates us on his grad school apps, Lakers fans do mental gymnastics, and Dane rants about old school Upper East Side doormen.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Harriet A. Washington: A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind

What makes an effective diss track? Should we solely be concerned with aesthetics when evaluating how devasting disses are, or do good disses demand that one rapper "expose" his or her opponent? What's the relationship between diss tracks and battle rap at large? And should we give any credence to the idea that a hit diss track is more destructive than a diss that doesn't attain commercial success? Spoiler: we most definitely should not. It's episode 16: we're talking diss tracks from classic to contemporary, from Jay and Nas to Jeezy and Freddie Gibbs.

Before that: it's a long-ass opening segment, featuring topics such as: competing definitions of racism! Kevin Durant's awful press run and ridiculous comments about the Knicks! Zuckerberg is trash! Big data collection! AOC's senatorial glasses! And much more!

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Ok, so conspiracy theories are everywhere--what are we supposed to do about it? Are there even reliable ways to separate the truly wacky theories from the ones that might be onto something? After all, conspiracy theories are especially well equipped to handle skepticism: evidence could have been covered up, or whistleblowers silenced; witnesses coulda been popped and the media could be in on it too. Fortunately, we're here to tell you that yes, there are good ways to determine just how implausible your homie's wild theories about our reptilian overlords are.

Our first part 2 episode ever! And in the opening segment, we introduce a genuinely novel, innovative, and groundbreaking practice: fact checking!

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Joseph M. Parent and Joseph E. Uscinski: American Conspiracy Theories

What the fuck is up with the widespread proliferation (and acceptance) of conspiracy theories? Where once the caritcature of a conspiracy theorist was a Doritos-eating, basement-dwelling white guy pushed to the margins of society precisely because of his nutty-ass beliefs, it's now become clear that conspiracy thinking has permeated the mainstream American psyche. Or...has it always been that way? Maybe the tendency to conspiracy theorize is more deeply embedded in our national DNA than we'd like to admit. And what gives rise to conspiracy thinking anyway? Our emotions? Our ideologies? Our identities themselves? In part 1 of the Now That You Mention It podcast's first ever 2-part episode, Dane and Kevin argue about the forces that shape conspiracy thinking and the social contexts out of which they arise.

Before all that: Dane's a fake audio engineer, Bill Maher is...aight, and Roc Marciano lyrics are back under the microscope.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Joseph M. Parent and Joseph E. Uscinski: American Conspiracy Theories

What's wrong with cultural appropriation? Moreoever, what exactly is cultural appropriation? Can culture really be owned? In other words: does it even make sense to talk about culture as "property"? And on what basis can members of a contemporary cultural group claim the art and artifacts of an ancient culture? We're back after a quick break to break down (bars) cultural appropriation and answer the perenially recurring question: is Gold Chain Dane a culture vulture??

Before that: Kevin showcases a Roc Marciano line for another edition of Good Rapper, Bad Bars, Dane's grammar is bad, and the algo remains inscrutable.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Ethics of Cultural Heritage

What is celebrity, and why do we exalt it? Is fame ever earned in a truly meritocratic way? What does it mean to be "famous for being famous"? Does everyone really, deep down, wanna be famous? And what's up with the trend of celebrities claiming they're victims of cyber-bullying? Can celebrities be victims of cyber-bullying? Things get confusing and surprisingly heated as Dane and Kev attempt to break down the bizarre world of celebrity.

Opening segment: Hurricane Dorian turns out to be the plug, the world is ending, and cats really don't know how to use apostrophes.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

Jed Lea-Henry: Audiences for Our Lives: The Philosophy of Fame

Food porn, sneaker porn, car porn, design porn, penmanship porn, power washing porn, even, yes, "things cut in half" porn: what exactly is going on with the way we use the word "porn" today? According to philosophers C. Thi Nguyen and Bekka Williams, this new, generic sense of "porn" is applicable when we use images or other media for "immediate gratification" while "avoiding the complexities" of the actual thing. But are they right? Is "food porn" really used for immediate gratification, or does porn--in any of its forms--stimulate desire, rather than gratify it? Are things like food and car porn really harmless, as the authors claim? And what is the relationship between this new sense of "porn" and traditional, sexual pornography? We're deep into our porn bag on this one.

And before that: self-help guru Charlamagne tha God jumped the shark on a recent IG inspo post, so naturally we're breaking that down.

Intro and break music courtesy of Chris Giuliano.

Works Cited:

C. Thi Nguyen and Bekka Williams: Why We Call Things 'Porn'

Maggie Jones: What Teenagers are Learning from Online Porn

Charlamagne's Ridiculous IG post