With another Democratic Debate in the books, @chadsmart and Brandon Cooley are back to discuss their take away from what was said and who didn’t get a say due to controversial qualification standards.
Not only do they discuss the perceived front runners and the most shocking (and disappointing) omissions from the debate stage, they also talk about Ben Gleib’s little known Presidential campaign. Does the media have a duty to report on all candidates or only ones with name brand familiarity?
Positive Cynicism EP. 104: Cynical Politics [ 35:15 | 48.41 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (562)Another month, another round of trying to make sense of the political landscape. Originally the discussion was to center around the second Democratic debate and President Trump’s tweets regarding Baltimore and Representative Elijah Cummings. Unfortunately, that recording was unusable due to bad audio.
After fixing the issue and re-recording two days later, the conversation focused on the gun debate and the “Us vs. Them” perceived attitude in politics before turning attention to the debates. Sadly, halfway through the discussion, the audio was taken over by static again. The first half was a decent discussion.
Positive Cynicism EP. 102: Everything's Racist [ 1:21:14 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (580)July was supposed to be a month of reflection on 1999. This week, the time machine got jammed from all the political news coming out of Washington. Instead of going back to see what lessons could be learned from 1999 for today’s political scene, @chadsmart and Brandon Cooley simply try to make sense of everything that’s happened in the past month.
First up on the docket are thoughts pertaining to the first Democrat debate. Who shined? Who disappointed? Who will be next to drop out of the race? Why won’t Bernie Sanders pay his staff $15 an hour? Does Joe Biden know he was Vice President for eight years? Will Marianne Williamson pass out crystals before the next debate? So many questions? So many questions.
From there the topic switches to the hottest feud in the country: Donald Trump vs. The Squad in “Everything’s Racist.” Will this be the hit of the summer or fade faster than Men In Black: International?
Positive Cynicism 99: Looking back at 1999 [ 1:05:34 | 90.04 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (607)July 2019 on the Positive Cynicism podcast is all about celebrating the 20th anniversary of 1999. The first episode examines the social events of the year as well as events of the ’90s as a whole that led to 1999.
In a bit of shocking revelation for @chadsmart, the 90’s saw the rise in cynical attitudes. @TheTravisYates helps break down sports, music and politics to reason out why and how cynicism rose to popularity and if there are any ways to swing the level back to the positive side.
Intro music: 1999 – Charlie XCX and Troye Sivan
Dance Break: Jungle Love – Prince
Ending song: 1999 – Prince
Positive Cynicism EP. 97: Play Gloria [ 1:07:06 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (623)Deviating from the normal schedule, instead of talking Politics this week, @chadsmart is joined by @MikeDeKalb for a discussion about the 2019 NHL Champion St. Louis Blues and their theme song “Gloria.”
After completing the Quest for All 31 NHL Arenas in March with a game in Boston, Chad and Mike returned to TD Gardens for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. What was the deciding factor for going to game 7? What emotions were they feeling as history was made?
The bigger question is how did a hit song from 1982 become the rallying theme for the St. Louis Blues? Who is the singer behind the song? What other songs have been adopted by sports teams as rallying cries? All this and more on this episode of Positive Cynicism.
*There is some static in portions of the audio. Hope it’s not too distracting.*
Before recording this episode which focuses on politics, host @chadsmart came to the realization that due to the political climate, he didn’t want to talk politics. What’s the point? Our political discourse is so fractured that the idea of having a discussion that will have any impact on how people think is an exercise in frustration.
While there may have been some discontent with the topic at hand, the conversation with Positive Cynicism Political Expert Brandon Cooley was civil and had some valid points. After the discussion, the future of the political episodes of Positive Cynicism was addressed. What does the future hold? Listen and find out.
Positive Cynicism EP. 84: Political Theater [ 45:09 | 62.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (553)Another busy month in the political spectrum. More Democrats enter the race for 2020. A former “controversial” CNN Democrat joins Fox News. Colorado’s Governor wants to change who gets the state’s electoral votes and in a shocking turn of events, some college students didn’t get into college based solely on their merits. Brandon Cooley joins @chadsmart to discuss these topics and offer up thoughts on the current political landscape.
After listening to this episode, your political fire will be lit. The best way to stoke it is to go the Jittery Monkey Shop and pick up the “Vote Smart 2020” t-shirt. It’s the hit of all political gatherings.
Positive Cynicism EP. 80: Too Many Candidates [ 89.36 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (648)It’s been a whirlwind month since the last Political edition of Positive Cynicism. Since then, we’ve had more politicians declare their candidacy for President, a group of high school students accused of racism on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a TV star who may or may not have been attacked in a racist/homophobic hate crime, a New Green Deal that was mocked by all sides and a national emergency declared.
In this episode @chadsmart and Brandon Cooley break down all the events of the past month and try to understand what’s going on in this crazy world. A discussion of what to expect as we prepare for even more Democratic candidates to enter the race.
Positive Cynicism EP. 76: Talking Politics (No arguing/screaming/blaming allowed) [ 59:51 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (618)What does everyone like to talk and listen to people talk about? Politics, of course. With the government shut down and a day before @chadsmart embarks on a trip to Washington D.C., he is joined by Brandon Cooley to discuss current political events.
Chad and Brandon try to show that people with differing views can have a honest, open and civil discourse about polarizing subjects. There is no “my side is right, you’re side is wrong” attitude here. It doesn’t matter side of the aisle you support. This podcast attempts to bring the two sides together. Or at least point out the fallacies of thinking one side is better than the other.
POSITIVE CYNICISM EP. 67: POLITICALAMITY - INAUGURATION [ 39:57 | 54.87 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (582)It’s the holiday season and what goes better with the holidays then a discussion about politics? @chadsmart invites political junkie Brandon Cooley to the show for a new series called Politicalamity. While covering a wide array of political topics, Chad and Brandon show that it’s possible to have a reasonable, friendly conversation even when you don’t agree on everything. Is there that big of a difference between President Trump and President Obama? Should President Trump step away from Twitter? Why does Congress have such a low favorability rating yet has a huge re-election rate? Should Congress have term limits? These are just some of the topics covered in the first installment of Positive Cynicism’s newest themed edition.
*There were some technical issues and the audio does have some static issues throughout the show. We’re working to fix this on future episodes.
POSITIVE CYNICISM EP. 62: POLITICON 2018 [ 43:06 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (834)With the midterm elections quickly approaching, @chadsmart ventures into the convention halls to experience his first PolitiCon. Speakers from all sides of the political spectrum take over the Los Angeles convention center to share their thoughts on the current political landscape.
Chad samples a little of everything. From reasons why not to be a liberal to #MeToo to former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken moderating a discussion with conservative fireball Tomi Lahren, no topic was left unspoken. What was the takeaway? Are we heading to a political showdown with swords drawn or is there a chance to coexist even if you don’t agree with the person next to you? Find out Chad’s thoughts in this edition of Positive Cynicism.
Positive Cynicism Ep 18: Under Construction [ 14:30 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (664)On this episode, @chadsmart gives an update on the status of Positive Cynicism. Due to political fatigue, Positive Cynicism is moving away from any political talk and moving on to breaking down specific topics in a more detailed manner.
Positive Cynicism Ep17: Hate is Not a One Way Street [ 52:03 | 0.01 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (793)While it’s easy to condemn the recent violence in Charlottesville, VA as the result of Nazi scum unfortunately the hate has been building for years on both sides of the political spectrum. On this episode of Positive Cynicism, @chadsmart looks at the hatred that flows on a daily basis through social and mainstream media. Hatred that is not exclusive to one side.
WARNING: EPISODE DOES CONTAIN SOME LANGUAGE THAT IS NSFW.
For the record, Racism of any kind is unacceptable. White Supremacists and Nazis have no place in a productive society. (Just in case there was any confusion)
On the first episode of Positive Cynicism, host Chad Smart finds out hosting a podcast is not as easy as it sounds (literally). After struggling with organizing thoughts, Chad weighs in on the current political climate of America and has several words for anyone opposed to the Trump Presidency.
The episode ends with a look at the recent Oscar nominations and if anyone outside of Hollywood actually saw any of the movies nominated. Share you nominations for Best Picture on Twitter, @chadsmart.
