Monday, December 23, 2019

Episode 141: Campaign Season Greetings, Now Chunky Style!

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Sometimes, a company’s announcement causes not ripples but waves. Some laugh and grab their surfboards, while others panic and shout "Tsunami!" I look at one such policy change in this Episode 141: Campaign Season Greetings, Now Chunky Style!

In this episode, I read from: my computer's quickie dictionary; one, two, three articles concerning Searchie VP Scott Spencer's policy announcement via blog post; Scotty's post; and a quick quote from Dollarocracy by McChesney and Nichols. I play: Alexander Nix bragging about his company in ways that had everyone associated with it in complete denial; and Brad Parscale telling Frontline's James Jacoby in 2018 why FuckBook personnel worked with him on the 2016 election.

Musically, I play: the Vince Guiraldi Trio doing "Skating"; and Podington Bear doing "Trader Ho Hey". KMFDM backs Soledad O'Brien in a new opening for the show; and I close this show with Mistle Thrush.

I'm releasing this and all my shows under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike, and non-commercial license.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Episode 140: As The Plots Thicken

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Take just about any phenomenon, and with enough searching it's usually possible to discover the first instance… or at least the first really, really popular occurrence. Serial broadcast drama is my focus on this Episode 140: As The Plots Thicken.

In this episode, I read from: Tim Wu's The Attention Merchants; from the findings of the Commerce Department's 1922 hearings on the future of radio; and from a Wikipedia page about Amos 'n' Andy. I play two recordings from the Amos 'n' Andy show, one of them probably a record released for the 1928 presidential election season, the other from their eighth anniversary broadcast featuring Walter Huston. (Oh, drat! The link for that last mp3 seems to be expired, along with the entire website!)

I also play the theme for the Amos 'n' Andy, a tune called "The Perfect Song"; and Jahzzar doing Moonxine "Part VII". I open the show with huckster Clark Gable backed by KMFDM, and I close with Mistle Thrush.

I'm releasing this and all my episodes under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike, and non-commercial license.