What Just Happened?

What Just Happened?

By David ChangSociety & CultureNews
Download on the App Store

What Just Happened? episodes

  • Teacher Eugene? (Ep. 148)
    This year has certainly been a journey when it comes to Eugene's work and career. This episode starts with David and Eugene taking Career Fitter's online career assessment test and discussing our results. We then consider whether Eugene should transition from software engineer to high school teacher. What would that look like, would Eugene like teaching, and most importantly, could he actually make such a radical move? As always, thank you for listening!

    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com

    "To teach is to touch a life forever." - Unknown
    1 hr 35 min
  • Slavery? Rent control? California Propositions 2024 (Ep. 147)
    It’s that time again! Silly season is here — has it ever left? This election cycle, Californians have been asked to vote on 10 individual ballot propositions. As David and Eugene note in the show, anyone who walks into a ballot booth and encounters all 10 propositions for the very first time might feel like they’ve been hit by a truck. To help out, we go over each proposition on the ballot, explain what they mean, and weigh the pros and cons. David has also written an explainer guide with further information. Link below.    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FPdkYM5YLwtFtLa9BTE5QDMTeRItPwRem_p8nn6WvIw/edit   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W0xSbY_ymO7f-oQYn8s6kbw5oarwDnJG/view?usp=sharing    Please note: The written guide is a strictly neutral, nonpartisan document that takes no sides on any proposition. However, as you’ll hear, in the podcast itself we go into our own personal opinions about each proposition and how we feel about them. As always, thanks for listening!    Time stamps:   Prop 2 - 7:45  Prop 3 - 21:40 Prop 4 - 35:50  Prop 5 - 44:44 Prop 6 - 59:08 Prop 32 - 1:09:40 Prop 33 - 1:22:11 Prop 34 - 1:36:42 Prop 35 - 1:44:35 Prop 36 - 1:53:54    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com
    2 hr 13 min
  • A.D.D. / A.D.H.D. (Ep. 146)

    Today's episode was meant to be the second half of our discussion of the book Who Moved My Cheese? But as sometimes (often?) happens on this podcast, David and Eugene veered instead toward a different conversation -- this time about ADD/ADHD and neurodivergence. As always, thank you for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "My brain has too many tabs open." - Tanya Goodin

    2 hr 3 min
  • Who Moved My Cheese? (Ep. 145)

    David and Eugene have been on a 90's kick recently, and are sticking with the trend with a review of the business self-help best seller "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. We discuss the fable of the two mice and two "Littlepeople" named Hem and Haw, and how remarkably relevant the story remains today. We also apply the mindset from the book to our own lives. As always, thank you for listening!

    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com

    "What would I do if I weren't afraid?" - Haw

    1 hr 40 min
  • How I lost weight in 2024 (and why I wouldn't recommend it!) (Ep. 144)
    It's been a while since David and Eugene have talked about their fitness journeys. In this episode, we discuss how Eugene smoked David in our most recent half marathon race, how we're dealing with injuries and stress, and our very different strategies for trying to lose weight. Unsurprisingly, Eugene's approach is highly scientific, while David's — mostly involving protein bars and Sprite Zero — is … different. As always, thanks for listening! "A bad run is better than no run." Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com
    2 hr
  • Queen of Tears Part 2 (Ep. 143)

    In the second half of our discussion of "Queen of Tears," David and Eugene talk about how the show ends, the richness of the characters in this family drama, how meta the show was, and which characters we identified with the most. David asks Eugene whether he'd ever want to visit Sanssouci Palace, and we discuss the endless tropes in K-drama land. As always, thanks for listening!

    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com

    "I'm just a lucky man who married the love of my life." – Baek Hyun Woo

    1 hr 52 min
  • Queen of Tears (Ep. 142)

    In David's ongoing effort to get Eugene hooked on K-dramas, we review the recent Netflix hit "Queen of Tears." David and Eugene discuss what made this Korean drama so good, the main characters, villains, corporate intrigue, and love as seen in rom coms. As always, thanks for listening!

    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com

    "Even if I have to search the world, I'll find a way to live." – Hong Hae In

    1 hr 43 min
  • Lights out and away we go! (Ep. 141)
    Something happened earlier this year in Formula 1 that David has literally never seen in sports. Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving his current team Mercedes Benz to drive for Ferrari. An athlete leaving a team is not new. But Hamilton said he wasn't leaving until NEXT season (2025), and for THIS entire current year, he would keep driving for Mercedes before jumping ship. As it turned out, Mercedes Benz didn't know about his announcement until the last minute. Imagine what would happen to a soldier from North Korea who told his government he was going to defect to the South, but not until a year from now? Perhaps that's an extreme example, but imagine even if Patrick Mahomes said he was leave the Kansas City Chiefs and already signed a contract with the Denver Broncos, but his preference was to plaone more season with the Chiefs before leaving. How would Chiefs head coach Andy Reid react to such news? In this second half of our discussion about Formula 1 and Drive to Survive, David and Eugene talk about Lewis's crazy contract announcement and why it somehow worked in his case. We also discuss why F1 cars are so incredibly complicated, how F1 driving is truly nothing like "normal" driving, and Eugene reacts to David's theory of the "futility" of supercars. As always, thanks for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "To drive an F1 car you have to be a little mad." - Jenson Button
    1 hr 41 min
  • Formula 1 (Ep. 140)

    I (David) have always found Formula One to be an intimidating sport. Vaguely European, with weirdly shaped cars racing at break neck speeds around bizarrely shaped tracks, without a guide, it's hard to know what's going on. Eugene meanwhile has been an auto racing aficionado since his early childhood and can talk F1 shop for days. In this episode, we walk through the sport of Formula 1 through the lens of beginners, discussing everything from the sport itself to its business model, driver personalities, why its paradoxically an ultra elite sport with such broad, global appeal, and how the Netflix series Drive to Survive has expanded its reach, especially here in America. I ask Eugene how it is that as someone with a generally mellow personality he is so into a sport centered around hyper ambitious, ultra competitive people, and I share how after spending a week learning about the sport I became a fan. As always, thanks for listening!

    Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games." ― Ernest Hemingway
    1 hr 49 min
  • M.F.E.O. (Ep. 139)

    In this second half of our discussion about the movie Sleepless in Seattle, David and Eugene discuss Anne stalking Sam, poor Walter and Victoria's fates, and debate over some of the choices made by these characters. We explore some of our own theories about love and romance, how we see this movie so differently now that we are both parents, and wonder what's in store in the future for Sam and Annie. We love doing these nostalgic movie reviews and hope you enjoy the journey as well. As always, thanks for listening! Threads @davidchang99 X @davidgchang whatjustpodcast @ gmail . com "It was like kismet but not, if you see what I mean." - Annie

    1 hr 30 min

About What Just Happened?

From the publisher's feed

What Just Happened? is a podcast about recent history. In each episode, host David Chang tackles current and often controversial topics head on, making sense of a nonsensical world.