On this very merry episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we discuss Christmas. But it wouldn’t be us if we didn’t dig back the layers and come to some strange and ugly truths about the holiday that is associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. You may think this topic is a no brainer (a recent Pew Poll showed that 65% of Americans believe the Christmas story to be true), but be prepared to learn some odd truths about this beloved holiday. For one thing, the origins of the holiday and how it is celebrated date back to ancient pagan rites and were only adopted by the Catholic Church as a way to lure pagans to church membership. That’s right: gingerbread cookies, the Yule Log, a Christmas ham, Christmas trees, all of it tie back to Germanic and Norse pagans and were part of a celebration of fertility and reverence for the dead.

Also, we look at Santa Claus, the truth of the real man named Saint Nicholas of Parara, how his bones were stolen by sailors and moved to start the Cult of Nicholas in the 11th century, and how Siberian shamen tripping on amanita muscaria mushrooms may be the birth of the red-suited reindeer part of the myth. You may have also heard about Krampus, Zwarte Pete, and the ancient feast of Saturnalia, but we talk about some crazy facts that you might not believe. Lastly, we discuss the birth of Jesus and the Nativity itself (something that Pope Benedict XVI largely even denounced when he was the head of the church a few years ago). So, be prepared to get your Christmas bubble burst and learn how you are actually a pagan, how Santa was an anti-Semite, and how gingerbread cookies are a way to symbolically eat human flesh to venerate the dead.

This week Dave is off exploring new lands in hopes to find his inner peace and we must keep the show alive by subjecting a friend of ours to the mutiny that is the Sofa King Podcast. First we talk to Jared from Subway about massively multiplayer online games and the addictive nature they have on a person, from WoW to Game of War and the money players spend on "Free to Play" phone apps. We then get into Esports, a new phenomenon that has a generation of kids watching videos of kids playing video games. There is that one team that played that one game and won 6 million dollars in that one tournament though. So.... are you a gamer?, a Dota 2 player? do you sit in front of your Grandma's computer playing in a fantasy land you can't break away from? This episode may be the rehab you need.

This week Dave is off exploring new lands in hopes to find his inner peace and we must keep the show alive by subjecting a friend of ours to the mutiny that is the Sofa King Podcast. First we talk to Jared from Subway about massively multiplayer online games and the addictive nature they have on a person, from WoW to Game of War and the money players spend on "Free to Play" phone apps. We then get into Esports, a new phenomenon that has a generation of kids watching videos of kids playing video games. There is that one team that played that one game and won 6 million dollars in that one tournament though. So.... are you a gamer?, a Dota 2 player? do you sit in front of your Grandma's computer playing in a fantasy land you can't break away from? This episode may be the rehab you need.

This episode of The Sofa King Podcast gets all patriotic and looks at an important label that goes on fewer and fewer products: Made In America. Tariffs used to strictly control trade between nations, but with the passing of NAFTA and the growth of the WTO, things changed. A flood of new trade agreements between America and trade partners caused a surge of corporate outsourcing to developing nations. This is largely blamed for the erosion of the middle class in America.

In exploring this topic, we look sweatshops (and wonder if the workers are better or worse off in a sweatshop), outsourcing statistics, the American economy, and the Made In America Movement. We also look at the horrible practices that made Nike the poster child for overseas labor abuse and how the company changed in recent years to try and make amends. Brent even tells us about Chinese counterfeit eggs and watermelon that are made from neither eggs nor watermelon. So put on your red, white, and blue, and learn about how much Made in America matters.

Special thanks to listener David Olson for the topic idea!

This episode of The Sofa King Podcast gets all patriotic and looks at an important label that goes on fewer and fewer products: Made In America. Tariffs used to strictly control trade between nations, but with the passing of NAFTA and the growth of the WTO, things changed. A flood of new trade agreements between America and trade partners caused a surge of corporate outsourcing to developing nations. This is largely blamed for the erosion of the middle class in America.

In exploring this topic, we look sweatshops (and wonder if the workers are better or worse off in a sweatshop), outsourcing statistics, the American economy, and the Made In America Movement. We also look at the horrible practices that made Nike the poster child for overseas labor abuse and how the company changed in recent years to try and make amends. Brent even tells us about Chinese counterfeit eggs and watermelon that are made from neither eggs nor watermelon. So put on your red, white, and blue, and learn about how much Made in America matters.

Special thanks to listener David Olson for the topic idea!

This week, we set our sights on the sometimes patriot, sometimes traitor, Edward Snowden. Snowden--at the time a contractor for the National Security Agency--gave classified documents to several American journalists to reveal ways that the U.S. government was unconstitutionally spying on its own citizens through bulk data collections. All of this was done with no warrant,  and much of it was internal to the United States.

Snowden’s actions forced America to have a dialogue about privacy versus security and ask many questions: Were his actions those of an American patriot who loved his country or a traitor who revealed state secrets? How did Patriot Act Section 215 allow this spying to happen? Do the other programs such as MYSTIC, PRISM, EO12333, and Upstream still allow for such domestic data gathering? Did Snowden have anything to do with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange? Listen to this episode and join the debate.

This week, we set our sights on the sometimes patriot, sometimes traitor, Edward Snowden. Snowden--at the time a contractor for the National Security Agency--gave classified documents to several American journalists to reveal ways that the U.S. government was unconstitutionally spying on its own citizens through bulk data collections. All of this was done with no warrant,  and much of it was internal to the United States.

Snowden’s actions forced America to have a dialogue about privacy versus security and ask many questions: Were his actions those of an American patriot who loved his country or a traitor who revealed state secrets? How did Patriot Act Section 215 allow this spying to happen? Do the other programs such as MYSTIC, PRISM, EO12333, and Upstream still allow for such domestic data gathering? Did Snowden have anything to do with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange? Listen to this episode and join the debate.

In this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we take a look at the facts and conspiracies surrounding the infamous HAARP station in Gakona, Alaska. HAARP (the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) was a joint effort by the US Air Force and Navy, the University of Alaska, and DARPA. It’s official function is to study the ionosphere in an effort to improve civilian and government radio transmissions and even potential missile defense. The conspiracies surrounding it, however, are much more intense.

First, the European Union issued complaints about HAARP and called it a massive electromagnetic weapons array. Second, conspiracy theorists make many claims about the array. From weather modification to ionospheric heating and even a massive earthquake generator, the theories of this station get pretty wild. Jessie Venture thinks it uses radio waves to perform mind control. This episode starts with Nicolai Tesla and ends with cray YouTube videos of alleged HAARP sounds that can be heard as far away as Kiev.

In this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we take a look at the facts and conspiracies surrounding the infamous HAARP station in Gakona, Alaska. HAARP (the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) was a joint effort by the US Air Force and Navy, the University of Alaska, and DARPA. It’s official function is to study the ionosphere in an effort to improve civilian and government radio transmissions and even potential missile defense. The conspiracies surrounding it, however, are much more intense.

First, the European Union issued complaints about HAARP and called it a massive electromagnetic weapons array. Second, conspiracy theorists make many claims about the array. From weather modification to ionospheric heating and even a massive earthquake generator, the theories of this station get pretty wild. Jessie Venture thinks it uses radio waves to perform mind control. This episode starts with Nicolai Tesla and ends with cray YouTube videos of alleged HAARP sounds that can be heard as far away as Kiev.

This week, we tackle the biggest of all the Big Boxes and examine the power of Walmart. Founded as a simple store by Sam Walton in 1962, it has become the biggest retailer in the world and the single largest employer in America. When he died, and his children took over, the company became a crazed logistics engine putting profits ahead of all else. The company is the pinnacle of free market capitalism and international synergy, but its power and wealth brings high costs.

Walmart is accused of treating their employees poorly, paying them poorly, illegally busting up unions, and even cancelling their already feeble health coverage. Walmart is one of the innovators of outsourcing to China and has changed (or destroyed) all of American manufacturing based on their connections to China and refusal to purchase from people who aren’t using cheap overseas labor. From sweat shops (and Kathy Lee Gifford) to the Walton Family and even government subsidies to their empire, we look at this massive chain and what they have done wrong and right.