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  • Bean Soup | WTF

    Bean Soup | WTF
    2026/08/16
    Why does everything on the internet eventually become about us? This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod dive into Bean Soup Theory, the wonderfully simple idea that explains an astonishing amount of what happens on social media. Someone posts a recipe for bean soup, and instead of deciding whether they want bean soup, people start demanding substitutions, alterations, and entirely new recipes designed around their own tastes. Before long, somebody else's soup has become all about them. Sound familiar? The theory becomes the thread connecting three very different stories. First, Dave and Rod return to the troubling story of Cambridge professor Jason Arday. Following his resignation and sudden death, arguments over his academic record quickly became arguments over racism, DEI, institutional responsibility, politics, and who should be blamed. Everybody seems determined to stir something of their own into the pot. Then it's off to sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where reports about an extraordinarily long deployment, shipboard conditions, food, and unhappy sailors have generated plenty of outrage ashore. Dave brings his own experience as a Navy submariner to the discussion, including powdered eggs, questionable meals, relentless cleaning, inspections, Navy chiefs, and the ancient sailor's tradition of complaining about absolutely everything. Finally, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walks straight into the soup pot when a podcaster asks him to play "Shag, Marry, Date." He initially refuses, she keeps pushing, Kylie Minogue enters the conversation, and Australia gets another reason to argue on the internet. Three stories. One increasingly familiar human impulse: How can I make this about me? Grab a spoon. The bean soup is ready.
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    52 分
  • The Polling Game

    The Polling Game
    2026/08/13
    Polls tell us who's ahead. Until they don't. Pollsters sample voters, weight responses, model turnout, account for undecideds, and then confidently tell us what Election Day is going to look like. There's just one problem: Election Day hasn't happened yet. There is only one poll that actually matters. It's the one where people show up, cast their ballots, and we count the votes. Everything before that is a prediction. Here’s the Thing… #HeresTheThing #Polling #Elections #Politics #PoliticalPolling
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    3 分
  • Benedict Arnold Saves The american Revolution

    Benedict Arnold Saves The american Revolution
    2026/08/11
    Most Americans know Benedict Arnold for one thing: treason. But that's only the final chapter of his story. Long before he became the most infamous traitor in American history, Arnold was one of George Washington's most daring and effective battlefield commanders. In the desperate autumn of 1776, with the Continental Army driven from New York and the failed invasion of Canada leaving the northern frontier exposed, the British believed they were only one campaign away from crushing the Revolution for good. Their plan was simple: control Lake Champlain, capture Albany, and cut New England off from the rest of the colonies. If they succeeded, American independence might never happen. This week on Dave Does History, we revisit the remarkable Battle of Valcour Island, where Benedict Arnold was handed an impossible assignment: build a navy from scratch, crew it with farmers and militiamen, and face the greatest naval power on Earth. Outgunned, outbuilt, and outnumbered, Arnold couldn't hope to win a conventional battle. Instead, he relied on bold tactics, local geography, and sheer determination to buy something the Revolution desperately needed: time. We'll explore the ingenious ambush behind Valcour Island, Arnold's daring nighttime escape through the British fleet, the dramatic running fight that followed, and why the destruction of his tiny fleet may have become one of the most important strategic defeats in American history. We'll also examine how the loss of Arnold's personal financial records during the campaign helped sow the seeds of the resentment that would eventually lead to his betrayal. Sometimes the battles that matter most aren't victories. Sometimes they simply buy enough time for history to change. The story of Valcour Island is one of those moments.
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    33 分
  • When Belief Meets Reality...

    When Belief Meets Reality...
    2026/08/09
    Sometimes the biggest story isn't what happened. It's what people do when they're challenged to defend what they claim to believe. This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod dive into a series of stories that, at first glance, seem completely unrelated. A celebrated Cambridge professor resigns after questions emerge about his remarkable résumé. Candace Owens and the culture of perpetual "just asking questions" come under the microscope. The conversation turns back to the COVID years, Anthony Fauci's congressional testimony, and whether public officials truly stood behind the decisions they made when it mattered most. The discussion then shifts to Washington State, where climate policy collides with economic reality. If government leaders genuinely believe the principles they're promoting, why do their own decisions sometimes point in a very different direction? Dave argues that actions are often the clearest window into what people really believe, and that institutions, politicians, and public figures alike eventually reveal themselves through the choices they make. Along the way, the conversation lightens with stories from Dave and Cami's anniversary trip to Victoria, British Columbia. Afternoon tea, a marathon walk that wasn't supposed to be one, an enjoyable crossing aboard the MV Coho, and even an unexpected cricket conversation with a Canadian cab driver remind listeners that life's best moments often come between the headlines. The episode wraps up with a look at the future of radio, podcasting, and artificial intelligence, asking where authentic human conversation fits into a rapidly changing media landscape. Whether you're interested in politics, culture, current events, or simply enjoy thoughtful conversations mixed with humor and personal stories, this episode has something to make you think. Join Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod as they ask a question that echoes through every topic: when words and actions collide, which one tells the truth?
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    58 分
  • The Great New Fire of 1776 | DDH

    The Great New Fire of 1776 | DDH
    2026/08/04
    For most Americans, the story of September 1776 begins and ends with Nathan Hale. We remember the young schoolteacher turned patriot spy, the gallows, and the words that have echoed through American history: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." But Hale's final days unfolded against the backdrop of an even larger drama. Just two months after the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's army stood on the brink of collapse. At Kip's Bay, frightened American soldiers broke and ran before the advancing British Army, leaving Washington in one of the darkest moments of his military career. New York City, the largest city in British North America, fell into British hands, while the Continental Army barely escaped destruction. Then, in the middle of the occupation, disaster struck. In the early hours of September 21, a massive fire erupted at the southern tip of Manhattan. Driven by fierce winds, the flames raced through the wooden city, destroying hundreds of buildings and transforming British victory into panic. Was it an accident? An act of sabotage? Or the opening move in a campaign of resistance? Nearly 250 years later, historians still cannot answer that question with certainty. As British soldiers searched desperately for the people they believed had set the city ablaze, Nathan Hale quietly entered New York on a dangerous intelligence mission for George Washington. Within days, he would be captured, condemned as a spy, and executed. At the same time, Washington faced a crisis within his own army, forcing him to decide whether discipline demanded another execution or whether mercy would better serve the cause of independence. This week on Dave Does History, we explore one of the most dramatic and overlooked weeks of the American Revolution, when fire, fear, espionage, and leadership reshaped the struggle for independence and revealed that the Revolution would not be won by words alone.
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    32 分
  • Baboons In the Road

    Baboons In the Road
    2026/08/02
    This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod discover that the best-laid plans never survive first contact with the morning news. What begins with tourists ignoring warnings and climbing an active volcano quickly spirals into one of the strangest conversations the show has ever produced. Before long, they're discussing baboons digging through garbage, social media's obsession with creating content at any cost, and why one bizarre interview became the perfect metaphor for modern culture. From there, the conversation turns to the latest controversy surrounding the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham, and the ongoing debate over biological males competing in women's sports. Along the way, Dave raises a question that few people seem willing to ask: if the movement's logic is consistent, why are there no openly transgender athletes playing in the WNBA? The second half of the episode shifts from sports to technology as the pair examine reports that artificial intelligence companies are purchasing printed books, cutting them apart, scanning every page, and destroying the originals to train AI models. For two lifelong lovers of books and history, the practice raises unsettling questions about the future of literature, publishing, and preserving the written word. Finally, they close with another reminder that reality is often stranger than satire, exploring how modern news organizations can still be fooled by internet memes in an era when virtually everything has become content. It's an episode filled with humor, sharp observations, unexpected detours, and more than a few moments that leave everyone asking the same question: how did we get here? Join Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod for another lively edition of What The Frock?, where the week's headlines become the starting point for conversations you won't hear anywhere else.
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    59 分
  • Patriot, Prisoner and Grandson

    Patriot, Prisoner and Grandson
    2026/07/28
    What happens when the greatest legacy of a Founding Father isn't his own life, but the life of a grandson he never knew? In this episode of Dave Does History, we celebrate the 280th birthday of Thomas Heyward Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence whose story deserves far more attention than history has given him. Born into one of the wealthiest families in colonial America, Heyward had everything to lose. Instead of protecting his fortune, he risked it all by signing the Declaration, serving as an artillery commander, suffering wounds in battle, enduring imprisonment by the British, and returning home to find much of his world destroyed. His was not the comfortable life we often imagine when we picture the Founding Fathers. It was a life defined by sacrifice and conviction. Yet this story takes an unexpected turn. Thomas Heyward was also a slaveholder, and that uncomfortable truth cannot be ignored. The ideals he pledged his life to defend were larger than the world he himself could fully imagine. Decades later, those same ideals would be claimed by his own biological grandson, Thomas Ezekiel Miller, a Black congressman from South Carolina who stood on the floor of the United States House of Representatives demanding that America finally honor the promise that "all men are created equal." This is not a story about choosing between celebrating the Founders or condemning them. It is about understanding how ideas can outgrow the people who first expressed them. The Declaration of Independence became something greater than any individual signer. Its promise endured, challenged future generations, and inspired Americans to continue the work of creating "a more perfect Union." Join us as we explore one of the most remarkable—and deeply human—stories of the American founding, and discover why the greatest legacy Thomas Heyward Jr. left behind may have been a promise fulfilled by someone who carried both his blood and his unfinished dream. #DaveDoesHistory #ThomasHeywardJr #DeclarationOfIndependence #AmericanRevolution #FoundingFathers #RevolutionaryWar #AmericanHistory #HistoryPodcast #Liberty250 #ThomasEzekielMiller #CivilRightsHistory #AbrahamLincoln #DeclarationPromise #BillMickLive #HistoryMatters
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    33 分
  • Sometimes Your Purpose in Life is to be Bot Scrapings | WTF

    Sometimes Your Purpose in Life is to be Bot Scrapings | WTF
    2026/07/26
    Have you ever wondered if your greatest contribution to humanity might be... accidentally training artificial intelligence? That bizarre question launches one of the funniest and most unexpectedly thoughtful episodes of What The Frock? After a sudden spike in podcast traffic revealed that a surprising amount of the audience may actually be AI scraping bots, Rabbi Dave finds himself questioning everything from internet analytics to personal legacy. Is there a way to confuse the machines? Should creators deliberately feed AI absurd information? And what happens if your life's work ends up teaching computers instead of people? From there, the conversation takes one of those classic What The Frock? turns that somehow makes perfect sense. A chance to drive a lifelong dream car—a 2005 Corvette—in the Silverdale Whaling Days Parade becomes an unexpected lesson about confidence, maturity, and why the coolest person on the road isn't always the fastest one. Sometimes real power comes from knowing what you're capable of without feeling the need to prove it. The episode also dives into President Trump's appearance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the fine art of trolling the media, and a candid discussion about hearing loss and tinnitus after Rabbi Dave's recent audiology appointment. Along the way, there are plenty of detours, laughs, and the kind of conversations that only happen when two friends start with one topic and somehow connect it to half a dozen others. Whether you're interested in artificial intelligence, politics, fast cars, history, or simply enjoy listening to two friends chase ideas wherever they lead, this episode has something for you. So settle in, subscribe if you haven't already, and join Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod for another entertaining, irreverent, and occasionally philosophical edition of What The Frock? Just remember... if the bots are listening, they may leave this episode knowing even less than when they started.
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    40 分