All the talk in the news of late seems to have been about the absolute fear of displaced Syrians making their way to the United States. In this episode, Ric takes a look at that fear introduced by certain members of the media and how the public is reacting to this presence of this fear. He uses the word "xenophobia" and here is the official definition: From Merriam-Webster - fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.

NEXT WEEK: Holiday madness with it's own soundtrack.

The great Toni Green stopped by Radio Memphis studios and sat in with Jeff Janovetz and Ric for a discussion about her life in Europe, her band Malted Milk and how she recorded the last song Willie Mitchell worked on. Also in this episode, you are going to hear Toni and Malted Milk tearing it up on stage. Toni is a delightful lady and was so much fun and incredibly gracious. We were honored to have her on the air and in this special episode From Radioland.

NEXT WEEK: Xenophobia runs rampant.

The holiday coffee cup thing went full insane this week. One company making the decision to drop iconic images of the holidays. Secular images mind you, but they dropped them nonetheless. Of course, we have all been inundated with this story to the point where it has upset some people. This may not be the last word on the issue, but in this episode, Ric takes a look at the absurdity of this story.

NEXT WEEK: Toni Green

In this episode, Ric has some fun with the turn of a phrase and play on words. In a way, this is a re-visit of the topic of conspiracy theories. This time around, Ric takes a little deeper look into the thought process that goes through people when they actually believe some of the ridiculous things they say.

NEXT WEEK: Declaring War... on X-mas.

Podcasting is here to stay, it would seem. The impact the medium has on the broadcasting business is being felt on the corporate radio level. It would also appear (for the most part) terrestrial radio stations and their personalities are just not going to embrace it as such. In this episode, Ric explores this idea and why the corporate machines are not thinking where they should be.

NOTE: Our sincerest thanks for the great voice work that was done by Jacei King. He was the show announcer for the past 89 episodes and was a guest on this show a couple of times. He is now in Los Angeles working on some great projects. Jaeci will always have a home at Pirate Radio Studios if and when he returns to Memphis. Our new announcer is Joel Martin. He's a great addition to the show as we continue our slow evolution to what we hope is a finer show for your entertainment.

NEXT WEEK: The Queens of The Nile

When you go to a thrift store, you will encounter bits of things we have all had that at one time were the latest and greatest in technology. Ric was recently at a Memphis flea market and came across a piece of "antiquated" technology that he had to have. But there are some things in a thrift store Ric will absolutely avoid at all costs.

NEXT WEEK: The podcast world and Ric's thoughts on an up and coming movie.

One of the most interesting things existing in the broadcast world are televangelists. In this episode, Ric takes a look at what makes this genre of broadcast work. When taken with a grain of salt, there is a lot of humor in this strange world. They have now found a way to ply their trade on the internet. The sad thing about this is people are still giving these hucksters money. By the truck load.

NEXT WEEK: The antiquities of technology found in a thrift store.

Over the years, the city of Memphis has had a hell of a relationship with music. One need not look further than the big things here, Graceland, Stax and Beale Street. In this episode, Ric takes a look at the relationship between the city and its money maker and how it would appear to the outsider that for the most part will, at times and for no real reason, ignore some of the things happening here.

NEXT WEEK: God says that you should give me all your money.

In a recent broadcast of Booze & Blues on Radio Memphis, Ric welcomed to the show Robert Gordon. Robert is an author and film-maker of documentaries. His latest book is about Stax and Memphis music. He also has a film in theaters now about William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal called Best of Enemies. In this episode they talk about all these things plus you'll hear the story of the ghosts of Stax and hear some music that was left behind.

NEXT WEEK: Music, tourism, money and the City of Memphis

We as humans are a talkative bunch. Noisy and bombastic. When you try to listen to what the general population is talking about, you find that people, for the most part are saying some incredible things. Not in a good way, either. Once you consider the prevalence of social media and the impact it has on people, the noise gets louder and louder. And what are they saying? Moronic things.