Episode 64: The Paris Attacks

November 24, 2015

“Once again we’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”

— President Obama, in November 13th statement on the attacks

“Terrorists wanted to show the world that we were brutal and unjust, and we did our best to help them do that. Terrorists wanted a war, and we gave them one. And we lost. We lost by giving them the stupid, fearful, angry response that they wanted.”

— Hamilton Nolan, "Terrorism Works" on the September 11 attacks

With the recent terror attacks in Paris, we felt it worthwhile to discuss their political, social and personal impacts. Various news organizations have covered the details and both citizens and countries around the world have united to mourn and grieve, but several factors appear to be overlooked. Among the responses, Syrian refugees have been blamed, similar terror attacks (like those in Beirut) have been seemingly ignored by the press and ISIS's intentions and goals appear simplified. As always, we do not have the answers to the questions we ask, but we find the dialogue to be both invaluable and necessary. Our thoughts go out to all of the victims of these recent attacks, as well as their friends and families.

Episode 63: "Don't Stay in School"

November 18, 2015

“I’m only fluent in this language, for serious?
The rest of the world speaks two, do you think I’m an idiot?
They chose the solar over the political system
So like a typical citizen now I don’t know what I’m voting on”

— David Brown, "Don't Stay in School"

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”

— Albert Einstein

This week we discuss a viral video of the past year entitled "Don't Stay in School". It deals with critical flaws in the current educational system, including the lack of practical information, training and life skills given to students. As upcoming college graduates, we felt our simultaneous experience with the educational system and our oncoming endeavors with independence offer a unique perspective through which to analyze the points made in the video.

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Episode 62: Black Mirror Part II

November 11, 2015

“Breaking down in tears, Skillane admitted to filming Jemima’s final moments, claiming her fiance had pressured her into helping him, maintaining she was under his spell. The jury was not convinced by Skillane’s story, and neither was the judge, who labelled her ‘a uniquely wicked and poisonous individual’.”

— Baxter, explaining Victoria Skillane's crime to her.

This week we return to the BBC series Black Mirror to discuss and review its second season. As with the first season, the show continues to deal with topics relating to technology. Specifically, these episodes examine our relationship with obsessive recording, death and technology and modern political candidates. As this conversation spans details from multiple episodes, we spoil plot details and recommend that you refrain from listening if you wish to watch the show first.

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Episode 61: The Loss of Digital Data

November 4, 2015

“The library, with its Daedalian labyrinth, mysterious hush, and faintly ominous aroma of knowledge, has been replaced by the computer’s cheap glow, pesky chirp, and data spillage.”

— P. J. O'Rourke

“You can use all the quantitative data you can get, but you still have to distrust it and use your own intelligence and judgment.”

— Alvin Toffler

While computers of the modern age offer us a tremendous amount of flexibility and function in storing, transmitting and accessing data, they are still fallible. Often, this fallibility manifests in the loss of large quantities or entire regions of data. As a members of a highly-technological generation, we wanted to discuss our experiences with digital data loss and its implications.

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