You might think we as a society have become more petty about everything. Truth is, we are just as petty now as we have always been. So, what makes it seem like we are more nuanced about life's little ridiculous situations? Social media. The one thing Facebook does extraordinarily well is magnify every little thing and feeling people get from time to time. The rest of us may merely roll our eyes at these posts but for the one making that post, they are deadly serious. It's kind of like when people ask for unspoken prayers. What they are actually asking for is a little bit of attention. In this episode, Ric gets petty himself as he looks into the hypocrisy of the human condition through the eyes of social media.

NEXT WEEK: Death to the disc. 

The media, especially social media does an exceptional job of trying to keep people in a sort of panic. It sort of starts with the whole Fear Of Missing Out or FOMO. Beyond that, though lies the interesting psychology of posting things with the sole intent of manipulating your thoughts and more importantly, your emotions. The best way to do that seems with the peddling of fear. In this episode, Ric takes a look at how that works and how best for you to handle these things. Also, Ric takes umbrage with the idea that "all middle aged podcasters are only doing this so they can say politically incorrect things." How silly. Plus the unpopular thought of the episode.

NEXT WEEK: We've always been this petty.

It would appear society has now come to the conclusion that it is okay to be just okay. In this episode, Ric takes a look at the simple things in life we deal with. Durable and non durable goods are not excellent anymore. Neither are services. Why is that? It could be we have allowed this happen thanks to all the competition out there. Take for example the new chicken sandwich wars. In this situation you have two mediocre companies battling it out to find out which one has the product that is more okay than the other. The bottom line being that no matter which one people tend to gravitate towards is still just okay. Also, Ric's unpopular thought and a little tip for those who like audio books and don't want to pay anything for them.

NEXT WEEK: The Constant State of Fear

There is an old quote attributed to John Lee Hooker who said, "If you ain't playin', you payin'." There is a lot of truth to that statement, although he probably wasn't thinking about what is happening now in the entertainment world. In this episode, Ric takes a strong look (and aim) at the notion of pay to play business models out there. Yes, that does include multi-level marketing. As Ric will tell you, it is a predatory practice that takes advantage of the emotional connection people have with money. He says it is sad and wrong but, it looks like we are stuck with this situation. Also, is Facebook viable, at all? Plus, this week's unpopular thought.

NEXT WEEK: The quest to mediocrity.

If it is one thing the internet has done, it has levelled the playing field. Most recently in the world of television. All of the cord cutters thought it was a pretty cool thing to tell the cable companies where to stuff their tiered access fees and bad programming when the internet became more of a place to get content. So we cut the cable, shut off the dishes and began to stream our shows on our own time and without fear of missing anything.

Now, the content providers are stuck in a major war with themselves. Charge for subscription or sell advertisement. Or worse, combine the two. Now, people are just getting a little pissed off with this fight and wondering when the next shoe is going to drop. Also, Jeffery Epstein is dead, so why all the finger pointing when it was clear nothing more nefarious occurred than him simply taking himself out of the equation.

And finally, a new bit in the show. Ric unveils his unpopular thought of the week.

NEXT WEEK: Is Facebook all that viable anymore?

Part of what it takes to being on the air these days is healthy sense of sarcasm and being a bit of a cynic. In this episode, Ric talks about why he speaks like that. In light of the recent mass shootings, he uses that subject to display just how powerful sarcasm can be. It's the vehicle that drives others to react in interesting ways. Some of you out there may not like what they hear in this episode and Ric makes no apologies. As he says, "You have the right to freedom of speech, but you are not free from the consequences of your speech." He'll explain as he lays out the current status of what seems to be happening in America.

NEXT WEEK: TV on the internet.

In a very sad way, FM has become this weird little zombie. Still propped up by the corporate stiffs as something that is still sort of viable. This is quite sad, frankly. There was a time when traditional radio was a fantastic medium, or so we thought. Once everyone was given an actual choice as to what they could listen to, the world sort of changed. Now, terrestrial radio is sort of a sad joke. In this episode, Ric will expand on this by telling you about a conversation he had with a couple of people. One who was in the business and now is out doing his own thing, and one who is still in the scene and how he compares the current state of terrestrial radio to Weekend at Bernie's. A very sad analogy but so true on so many levels. Plus, Ric went to the dentist and it was quite the mouthful. Also, Ric prepares to be without adult supervision as The Immigrant leaves town for a few days.

NEXT WEEK: The Sarcastic Cynic. 

In light of the recent viral FaceApp thing which was hot for a minute, came news about how nefarious this thing could be. Almost immediately there were reports of how the app designers were a Russian company bent on snagging data from the app's users. Which begs the question, how come there is all this talk about giving up your privacy and almost everyone is leary of doing that but, when it comes to something fun to do with a picture, these same people willingly give up all their privacy to see the gimmick? Remember, there is nothing free out there. Sure, the app doesn't cost you a single penny. But, there is a cost and you likely paid handsomely for it. In this episode, Ric takes a look at the terms of service of the FaceApp as well as a cautionary look at other things out there. Also, some of the best ideas never get used. Instead, we are stuck with self checkout.

NEXT WEEK: FM as Zombieland

We live in this strange 24 hour news cycle. We say that it is strange even though we are all so used to it now. Thanks to social media, we see stuff happening around the world as it happens. The problem is, too many writers and presenters don't like the facts getting in the way of a good story. This is where the dreaded fake news hangs out. Because of this, our own beliefs tend to be rattled, by design. This stuff that happens out there is not necessarily meant to change your point of view so much as it is designed to either accept what you are hearing as fact or worse, to outright piss you off. In this episode, Ric explores this situation and what you can do to make sure what you are learning about, in any situation, is the absolute fact.

NEXT WEEK: Here's an idea...

There it is, you see a post about one of your favorite bands in the whole world is coming to your town for a show. You grew up with their music, you have all of their records, it's been years since you have seen them live. You are going to the show. When you get there you realize that not one member of the band on stage is from the original act. They sound the same. They sort of look the same. But they are playing music that is ostensibly not theirs. It belongs to the band. But, here we are at this show and we paid how much to see this cover act? In this episode, Ric talks about the business that is keeping the name alive of these classic rock acts all for the sake of selling tickets. Every member has been replaced though, but are they still the same? Also, the art of letting go. Plus, music from Tullie Brae.

NEXT WEEK: The 24 hour news cycle is making you dizzy. And it's getting worse.