Dr. Sandra Eckard,(Sandy, to her friends!) a professor at East Stroudsburg University, hung out in the basement and talked with us about everything from our beloved local theater, to women on film to the #metoo movement... and especially about our mutual love of pop culture (and how best to bring that geekiness into the classroom.)

We started off as two scrawny kids in the Bronx.  We didn’t stay that way though. Have a listen to one of our most vulnerable podcasts as we discuss food, health, childhood stress, societal pressures, weight loss surgery, emotional eating, body changes after babies and why we hope to dump it all and be our true selves.  Grab a donut and “get the skinny” on the fat.

On this week's Podgecast, Christina and John talk about:

-The definition of toxic masculinity

-Tim Winton's new book and his speech on toxic masculinity where he defined it as terrorism. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJ75Ltl9PaAhWCPN8KHUEuDFIQFggpMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2018%2Fapr%2F09%2Fabout-the-boys-tim-winton-on-how-toxic-masculinity-is-shackling-men-to-misogyny&usg=AOvVaw3JKSXuA4_rndw7Q3EaQO_C

-How nearly 3 women per day are killed as the result of domestic violence

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/domestic-violence-nearly-three-u-s-women-killed-every-day-n745166

-Some of the names that come with along with toxic masculinity

-The group "Men Can" and their stand against domestic violence

https://www.lutheransettlement.org/mencan/

In this week's Podgecast, Christina and John discuss:

-What it's like being a geek today. Starting off with Mason Ramsey, the kid who became an internet sensation by singing a Hank Williams song in an Illinois Walmart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtzP6tdKQoU

-The mixed messages about being a geek for both girls AND boys

-Leading into Christina's early love of rocks and minerals which stretches to her today:

The NY/NJ Gem and Mineral Show

https://www.ny-nj-gemshow.com/

Macungie Mineral Show

http://www.mineralfest.com/

-And how John has always loved dinosaurs and frequently visits the American Museum of Natural History to check in on the dinosaur exhibits

https://www.amnh.org/

-Other ways people are geeks, such as David Chang, Phil Rosenthal and their relationship with food

David Chang in Ugly Delicious

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7907916/

Somebody Feed Phil

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7752034/?ref_=nv_sr_1

-How history geeks and food geeks can now come together with a recent discovery:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/dining/hill-rice-slave-history.html

-And how today's parents help their young geeks loves allowed to be fostered and nurtured early on

"Remember when..." Guess what? It was awful. But you've convinced yourself it was the BEST TIME EVER. WHY? Nostalgia. Nostalgia distorts how you remember things. Christina and John talk about a movie that swims in nostalgia and how people tend to romanticize the past just because. Have a listen.

What started as a birthday gift to create a family tree, devolved into a full blown obsession for a short time... complete with missing limbs, twisted branches and unknown roots.

We spend our lives avoiding a certain behavior or breaking patterns... or else we end up following in the loops and patterns shown to us very early on. We end up doing one or the other. But there's a THIRD BOX of optimum behaviors we are never even aware of... so how could we even try to strive for them or live for them? Christina and John talk about how they strive to reach the THIRD BOX!

Christina and John delve into the benefits of MEDITATION. Why don't people meditate more? Why do people feel they "can't do it"? All it takes is 20 minutes a day! For more information click: https://chopracentermeditation.com

Christina and John, coming off a five day power outage, discuss the different aspects of losing, and regaining, power. From turning on a light and adjusting the heat to reclaiming the power in your own life, today's episode is a TRUE Podgecast!

Stemming from a discussion from last week's Podgecast, Christina and John talk about what it takes to "live authentically" - surprisingly difficult especially for men, it seems.