エピソード

  • Live From New Orleans (with Bob Scopatz)

    Live From New Orleans (with Bob Scopatz)
    2026/08/25
    The SoapBox Lex hits the road!Paul and Eric are live from New Orleans at the 51st Annual Traffic Records Forum, where they're joined by Bob Scopatz for an appropriately chaotic edition of "What Grinds Your Gears?"What starts with a conversation about autonomous vehicles quickly goes everywhere.Should self-driving car companies be required to share crash data? Should manufacturers be protected from lawsuits if autonomous vehicles ultimately make roads safer? What actually makes someone a great musician? Could humans someday routinely live to 150? And if artificial intelligence eliminates huge numbers of jobs, are we eventually going to need Universal Basic Income?That last question turns into the real debate.Would UBI give people freedom and dignity—or risk taking away some of the purpose we derive from work? Would putting more money into the economy simply drive prices higher? Should government assistance come with restrictions, or does trying to police how people spend it create an even bigger problem?And somewhere along the way, Jim Markham and Patrick Dolan wander into the podcast and give us an unexpected bonus edition of "What Grinds Your Gears?"This one goes places.What do you think? If AI eventually eliminates a significant percentage of today's jobs, should the United States adopt some form of Universal Basic Income? Why or why not?
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    55 分
  • Damon Darling... Fake Altruism?

    Damon Darling... Fake Altruism?
    2026/08/14
    Does a good deed become less good when everyone knows you did it?Comedian Damon Darling became known online for surprising strangers by paying for their groceries. But after filming his encounters inside Walmart stores, Darling found himself banned from Walmart and other affiliated properties.That got us thinking about something much bigger.Does genuine altruism actually exist? If helping someone makes you feel good, does that make the act selfish? What if you get recognition for your generosity? And could publicly taking credit for giving actually encourage more people to give?Eric argues that we've made a mistake by treating anonymous generosity as morally superior. Paul pushes the idea further, asking whether virtually every human act of generosity contains at least some element of self-interest—and proposes one major exception.Along the way we get into social pressure, tipping, free will, secular grace, Christianity, Walmart's missed PR opportunity, and eventually attempt to invent an entirely new category of altruism.Also: Eric turns 50!!!
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    38 分
  • Can Local Media Save America? (with Leo FreakDaddy Brown)

    Can Local Media Save America? (with Leo FreakDaddy Brown)
    2026/08/06
    Legendary Kentucky radio personality Leo "Freakdaddy" Brown returns to The SoapBox Lex for another thought-provoking conversation about his latest project!After leaving corporate radio, Leo is launching an ambitious nonprofit media project called Noise for Hope, built around one simple idea:What if local media existed to strengthen communities instead of chasing algorithms?We discuss:-Why corporate radio continues to collapse-Why local journalism matters more than ever-Building a nonprofit media network-Whether politics hides how similar we actually are-Why podcasting isn't just about microphones-The importance of process over popularity-What happens when creators stop chasing advertisersPlus…-"Snitches get stitches?" Is that ever good parenting?-Why podcast success is mostly what happens after recording.-The lessons Leo learned from forty years in broadcasting.Whether you're interested in podcasting, media, entrepreneurship, or simply making your community a better place, this episode has something for you.If you could completely redesign local media, what would it look like?
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    41 分
  • Is Extra Medium Real? (A Return to The List)

    Is Extra Medium Real? (A Return to The List)
    2026/07/26
    Sometimes the best episodes are the ones with absolutely no plan.This week we bounce between:Was Colonel Sanders secretly Japanese?The greatest pickup line ever inventedWhy Japan loves KFC at ChristmasThe best fried chicken in KentuckyPhone notification overloadThe strange math behind "Extra Medium"AI-generated musicHourly hotel roomsSmart homes gone wrongAmazon shutting down a customer's houseKentucky taxes and government spendingFlat tax vs income taxIt's basically two friends chasing rabbit trails for over 40 minutes...and somehow it all works.Question of the Week:👉 Is Extra Medium actually a thing, or is Medium already the most medium something can be?Drop your answer in the comments.
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    42 分
  • Cancelled

    Cancelled
    2026/07/20
    Everyone says America is more divided than ever—but is that actually true, or are we all trapped inside algorithms designed to keep us angry?This week, Paul and Eric dive into political polarization, media bias, cancel culture, January 6th, term limits, celebrity activism, comedy, and why social media may be the biggest force shaping public opinion today. Along the way they ask whether we're forming our own opinions anymore—or simply inheriting them from the internet.Whether you lean left, right, or somewhere in between, this episode is less about changing minds and more about challenging assumptions.Question for the comments:What's one opinion you've changed your mind about—and what convinced you to change?#Cancelled#Politics#CancelCulture#SocialMedia#TheSoapBoxLex
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    35 分
  • You'll Own Nothing (The Death of Physical Media)

    You'll Own Nothing (The Death of Physical Media)
    2026/07/07
    You bought it. You paid for it.So...why can a company take it away?This week Paul and Eric dive into one of the biggest shifts happening in gaming, movies, and music: the death of ownership. From PlayStation abandoning physical discs to Nintendo removing games from digital storefronts, we ask whether we're actually buying anything anymore—or just renting access.Along the way we discuss:-Physical vs. digital games-Nintendo Switch cartridges that don't actually contain games-Raspberry Pi retro gaming-Battlefield Vietnam disappearing forever-Streaming services and digital libraries-Whether companies should open-source abandoned games-The ethics of piracy in a world where "buying" doesn't mean owningWhere do you stand?Would you rather own a physical copy forever—or have the convenience of digital downloads?👇 Join the conversation in the comments!
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    51 分
  • Episode 69 - Nice!

    Episode 69 - Nice!
    2026/06/23
    Episode 69 practically wrote itself.This week Paul and Eric explore accidental innuendo, misunderstood phrases, innocent words that sound dirty, and the strange ways language changes over time. From "balls to the wall" and "blowing your wad" to cockpits, dongles, Rocky Mountain oysters, and church bloopers, the conversation is equal parts comedy and linguistics.If you've ever laughed at a completely innocent phrase, this episode is for you.Subscribe for weekly conversations covering culture, language, history, technology, current events, and the absurdity of everyday life.
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    41 分
  • Youth Sports Chaos (with Ryan Tenges & Gabe Dadi)

    Youth Sports Chaos (with Ryan Tenges & Gabe Dadi)
    2026/06/15
    What happens when four coaches sit down and start sharing youth sports stories?In this episode of SoapBox Lex, Eric Green and Paul Ross are joined by Gabe Dadi and Ryan Tenges to discuss coaching youth soccer, track, and cross-country. The conversation covers sports parent nightmares, youth athletics, leadership lessons, accountability, volunteer coaching, childhood adventures, engineering projects, and the challenges of keeping hundreds of kids organized.Whether you're a coach, parent, athlete, or just someone who survived youth sports, you'll probably recognize at least one of these stories.
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    52 分