To Pod Or Not To Pod
Podcasting, now in its furiously commercial stage, no longer holds as much interest for me as it did initially. My favorite homegrown podcasts are either gone or on "summer hiatus" (and I'm afraid that's a euphemism for "gone" for some.) Luckily there is Tim Gunn's take on "Project Runway" each week, and my favorite NPR shows.
I tried a new show yesterday, Penn Jillette's radio show. I thought I liked him, but was immediately relieved of that mistake. He starts out complaining about a recent study that says Americans are more stupid than ever, based on research that showed most of us can name three of Snow White's drawfs more easily than three of Supreme Court Justices, and can name the Three Stooges more quickly than the three branches of federal government. He argues that we're not dumb, and he's tired of hearing it. Okay, I somewhat agree - I'm tired of hearing it, too. Wouldn't it be more interesting, instead of filling the news with stories of how dumb we are, filling them with stories that actually make us smarter? Example: The news that it's been decided the definition of planet still includes Pluto. Now that's interesting - brings up all kinds of related thought, like what makes Pluto a planet and the Earth's moon not? What else could become a planet by this definition? How big is our solar system, anyway?
But back to Jillette - is he really convinced that education in this country isn't a joke? That we're as focused on learning and intellectual growth as many other western cultures? If so, Mr. Jillette is in need of some education himself.
Then he said that he completely agrees with Ralph Nader (okay...) that our country isn't run by politicians, but by corporations (I agree for the most part. Then again, I live in a city whose mayor is a billionaire former CEO.) And then, Jillette adds that he's fine with that! Thinks that's how it should be.
Yeah, that's when he lost me as a listener.
I tried a new show yesterday, Penn Jillette's radio show. I thought I liked him, but was immediately relieved of that mistake. He starts out complaining about a recent study that says Americans are more stupid than ever, based on research that showed most of us can name three of Snow White's drawfs more easily than three of Supreme Court Justices, and can name the Three Stooges more quickly than the three branches of federal government. He argues that we're not dumb, and he's tired of hearing it. Okay, I somewhat agree - I'm tired of hearing it, too. Wouldn't it be more interesting, instead of filling the news with stories of how dumb we are, filling them with stories that actually make us smarter? Example: The news that it's been decided the definition of planet still includes Pluto. Now that's interesting - brings up all kinds of related thought, like what makes Pluto a planet and the Earth's moon not? What else could become a planet by this definition? How big is our solar system, anyway?
But back to Jillette - is he really convinced that education in this country isn't a joke? That we're as focused on learning and intellectual growth as many other western cultures? If so, Mr. Jillette is in need of some education himself.
Then he said that he completely agrees with Ralph Nader (okay...) that our country isn't run by politicians, but by corporations (I agree for the most part. Then again, I live in a city whose mayor is a billionaire former CEO.) And then, Jillette adds that he's fine with that! Thinks that's how it should be.
Yeah, that's when he lost me as a listener.
posted by medusa at 7:42 AM
2 Comments:
Yeah, he's hardcore libertarian (which I happen to agree with). There's nothing the government can do that wouldn't be done better privately.
Check out some of the past podcasts...he's fucking brilliant.
I think there's a big difference between private entitites and corporations. The latter is putting the power into the hands of a priveleged few - how is that different than politics? Again, living in a city which has improved under the leadership of a former CEO has proven to me that business experience can be beneficial in leading a large municipality. But, it's Mike Bloomberg, a man with experience in corporate America, not the Bloomberg Corporation itself, doing the leading. Two very different things.
Post a Comment
<< Home