The Pod Piper

THE LIST 1.  The Bill Simmons Podcast  - "NBA Hall of Famers, KD’s MVP Potential, and Messi vs. Ronaldo With Steve Nash" There is never a bad time to remember the supreme awesomeness that was Steve Nash on a basketball court. With a new NBA season just around the corner (media day starts today with training camp and the preseason following quickly thereafter), bask in the glory of a sports icon dishing on basketball and his forays into the world of pro soccer.  2.  Scene on Radio  - "Warriors (MEN, Part 6)" Hi-Phi Nation  host Barry Lam guest stars in this episode breaking down some seemingly inalienable truths tied to gender in the military. We accept that men are dominant physically, as a whole, but this does not acknowledge the end of spectrums overlapping. Is the strongest woman really weaker than the weakest man? Newsflash: the patriarchy damages men, too. 3.  Serial  - "A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice ...

THE LIST 1. 99% Invisible  - "The House that Came in the Mail" Sears was a progenitor to Amazon...and IKEA. I knew the company once had a well-regarded catalog, but I did not know that it operated campuses in multiple US cities and even bought its own radio frequency. Also, as this episode highlights, Sears actually sold assemble-it-yourself property. For adults. Like, seriously, life-size homes. And a surprising amount are still around! While some of these unique products have stood for over a century and retained the purpose for which they were built, many of the giant regional Sears buildings have since been repurposed as the mail-order business waned. This episode is a fascinating entrypoint to a rabbit hole of googling. Even if you don't have a chance to listen the show, the 99PI website has some excellent photos to peruse (both on the link above and in this additional article focusing on the large plants left dormant after Sears vacated). 2. The New Y...

THE LIST 1. The Dollop  - "Ferguson" This episode was released back in August 2014, but it feels just as relevant and informative four years later. Not surprisingly, this is one of the less humorous Dollop episodes...and probably still the funniest Ferguson-centric piece of media that respectfully considers the origins and manifestations of institutional racism.  2. Hidden Brain  - "Bullshit Jobs" There are jobs that just don't need to exist. Like, a lot of jobs. But isn't a mediocre daily grind better than an overly stressful one? TLDL: psychology says no. Please do L, though, and revel in how good you’ve got it or begin plotting how you can wring purpose out of the superfluous career you’ve chanced upon.. 3. Flash Forward  - "Spawn of Sponcon" Advertising creep is real, and promotional content may soon become nearly indistinguishable from interactions with peers. Would that be so bad? Listen in for a taste of the legal and et...