Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicles.  Military cast-offs available for free to your local police department.  Why?  I read about a town in West Virginia getting one recently and wanted to know more.  Have to say, I was a bit skeptical that they needed one of these...In this short minisode, we did the research so you don't have to.  Spend just 10 minutes with me learning more about MRAPs and why they may be showing up in a town near you, then decide what you think.  

We all know the feeling of being ad-stalked on the internet.  Whether you find it a mild nuisance or an extreme violation of your privacy, most people don’t like it.  I, as you would guess from the title of this episode, welcome it.  Allow my guest and me to explain why you too should want to be targeted, and what has been going on behind the scenes in the fight for online privacy...  and why my guest calls the fight for that privacy a hit on democracy. 

Pause before you make that delivery order.  There are some things you should know about how the restaurant order and delivery business works.  With pickup and delivery as the only game in town while we deal with the covid-19 pandemic, you've started to hear restaurants air some grievances.  How did this all work before Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc.?  I wanted to learn what's really up from a couple of insiders. 

Instead of spending 20 minutes online shopping, spend 20 minutes listening to a couple of 'value maximizers' talk about how to not shop.  I don't want to spend my time chasing the newest, biggest and most expensive.  Does that make me un-American? The wasteful quest for new and discardable things might be good for the economy, but is it good for us?  There are some shopping trends that make someone like me feel like maybe I'm not swimming against the current.  Every crisis has lasting impacts: will the economic downturn associated with the covid-19 crisis force an American sea change in shopping habits?

My guest is Jen Hale, a fellow 'value maximizer' and host of the new podcast Party of 13: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-hale

Why is 'lobbyist' treated like a four-letter word?  Lobbying is generally defined as citizens' right to speak freely to affect decisions and petition the government—is a crucial right, and an important part of the legislative process.  Why wouldn't we want more of that?  We'll get into why it's complicated, but I'm still right... My guest is a deep political thinker who feels absolutely free to disagree with me...my husband. I'm just a layman with ideas about social justice, not a lobbyist or a lobbyist for lobbyists...  Let's learn a little about lobbying and get you thinking about it differently.

Cover art and music by Dryw Keltz / The Humble Crab.  More from him at https://thehumblecrab.bandcamp.com/.

Somehow I've managed to miss spending at least 3 hours a day commuting.  With the Covid-19 crisis, suddenly a lot more people have seen their commutes and business travel come to an abrupt halt.  Do other people miss it? And do they like the way not 'going to' work has changed how they work? Is this widespread social experiment teaching us how to never 'go to' work again?

Let's see what a couple of pre-Covid crisis heavy commuter/business travelers have to say.  Sales executives Tom and Pam join me and prove that I truly have an Unpopular Opinion.

Cover art and music by Dryw Keltz / The Humble Crab.  More from him can be found at https://thehumblecrab.bandcamp.com/.