Midnight Depot

Another playlist? You know it. Last week we gave some love to female singers and talked about female vocalists pretty generally. This week, we're going straight to the heart of the songs themselves. Some highlights here: - 3 Lights songs (WOO HOO!!!!) - Nathan's distaste for low, sliding, jazzy notes. - Very widely diverging thoughts on Paramore. - Nathan never having heard Royals by Lorde (I still don't believe it) - The true meaning of music therapy - Justin having way too many thumbs for one human being Check out the playlist if you haven't heard it already, and send us a quick comment about your top 3 favorites :)

Some of us dudes are just biased against female singers. Let's just call it what it is. Nathan recently noticed that he was one of those dudes, and he decided to do something about it. We put together another playlist of songs, this one with all female or half-female vocal parts. We talk about our favorite gal singers and why it's hard or not so hard for us to respect them the way we respect the dudes. Thoughts on female vocalists? Let us hear them!

When you're young, life is easy. You have to try NOT to make friends. When you're old like us, though, the problems start creeping in. How do I meet friends with a job and a family? Why am I so lonely? How did all those midnight runs to Taco Bell together disappear into yesteryear? In this one, Ryan shares our first listener-submitted question and shares from someone else's brain about how to make friends as an adult. And yeah, we want more of these listener-submitted questions, so keep 'em coming.

Smart homes are pretty cool. Until you realize they're terrifying. Should we be afraid of (some) advances in technology? I mean, people will be able to hack our homes and control whatever they want, right? But there are good guys trying to protect our privacy out there. Will that be good enough? And are we all gonna end up with chips in our bodies???? Today, the substitute lad brings his topic to the table. Enjoy. Future: yea or nay? Let us know.

Musicians, actors, friends, even politicians . . . the world is full of black men and women who have shaped all of us more than we know. In honor of Black History Month, we share some of the influences in our lives from black people and other persons of color. You've heard of most of these names, but some of them are people the world has never heard of but who mean the world to us. Oh, and we have our first guest ever on the show. No big deal. Send us your list of favorite black people on Facebook! Did we miss any musicians or actors?

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and we couldn't leave you without the best analysis in all the land. Is Tom Brady unquestionably the GOAT? Would Brady and Belichick both have succeeded without the other? Do the Eagles have a chance in this one? We give our predictions for winners, where we land on the point spread, and even manage to squeeze in some talk about Peyton Manning's oh-so-happy feet. Who you got in this one? Let us know fast before the game starts!

WHO would better handle the challenges and pain of Childbirth? Men? Or Women?! The guys get assigned sides and have to argue like their lives depend on it!! Listen in then jump in on the conversation on Facebook!!!!   - C

This discussion is pretty far out. If you could be the first person on Mars but never come back, would you do it? Is there non-human intelligent life in the universe? If so, have we ever encountered it before? In this episode, the guys spew ignorantly (as usual) about the "limits" of the universe, the distance between galaxies, and even what implications extraterrestrial life would have on the Christian gospel. This is a fun open-ending topic, so what do you think? Let us know!

You think you know about bourbon, but you don't. Or you do, and I just wanted to write a catchy first line. Listen in as Cody rips apart Ryan's favorite bourbon because it's "technically" not a bourbon before educating the world on what "technically" is bourbon. Then we talk about what we got for Christmas, because yeah, that makes sense. What's your favorite bourbon? Let us know!

I'm so happy you've decided to listen to this episode. But should I be? I mean, is it OK to be happy? Or is that a fleeting, temporary feeling that I should ignore? Is happiness a nearsighted goal that distracts us from what really matters? Or is it a worthy thing to pursue in itself? This hurts my brain. I'm not feeling so happy anymore. You know the drill: Your thoughts on happiness + our Facebook page = A tender romance for the ages.

A new year is here, and what better time to not make any goals or plans whatsoever? The guys get 2018 rolling by making fun of Ryan's suave, smooth, sexy outfit before moving on to discuss babies-number-two, HQ Trivia, and all the underwhelming plans they have for the year. Get out of here 2017. You sucked. Did you know we're on Facebook? Yeah, that's where we live sometimes.

Twilight. Tremors. The Hunger Games. Friday the 13th. Father of the Bride. What do these things have in common? They're all NOT our favorite movie series of all time. In this one, you'll hear the stupendous series of movies that actually are our favorites (three of us picked the same series!), before we devolve into a smattering of movie discussions that cover some expansive, random ground. Enjoy! What's your favorite, friend?

Last week, we went through Nathan's and Ryan's songs on our most recent playlist. This time, we're going through Justin's and Cody's. Get ready for a whole lot of Our Last Night and Dance Gavin Dance before we get into Cody's eclectic-to-the-max playlist that includes RnB, country, reggae, Metallica, and of course, Primus. We had a great discussion on Facebook about the first episode, so let's get another one going about Justin's and Cody's songs!

We're overdue for another music episode, so Ryan gave out some more homework. The guys sent in 10 songs that they're listening to right now, and Ryan put them all together in a combined playlist. Check it out here. In this one, we discuss most of the songs—what we love about them and how we feel about each other's music. This should give you lots of ideas for great new music, and it'll also give you a little more insight into us! Also, LTAP, Cody. LTAP. Once you've listened to the playlist, let us know which ones are your favorites on the Facebook page!

What is going on in college football???? Florida fires their coach after a strange, vague death threat episode and tension behind the scenes. FSU's Jimbo Fisher leaves the school he won a national championship at after an awkward week of mafia-style censorship, mistrust, and flirting with other schools. And Tennessee . . . oh, man, don't even get me started. Literally all four of our teams (Nathan's is kind of Arkansas) have either fired their coaches or lost them to another school. How crazy is that? In this one, we try to make sense of the mess. If you're a fan of any of these teams (or football in general), hit us up and tell us how you feel about this wild season—and maybe make some championship predictions, too!

Envision the future with us for a sec. Are you there? Ok, great: what do you see? Today we're presenting another old recording from 2016. Since Nathan's topic in 13.3 was about The Future, this one turned out to be a pretty nice complement to it. The topic of discussion is one major way in which the world will change in 200 years. Will we see national lines break down? If technology has vaulted forward as much as it has in the last 10 years, imagine what it will be like in 200. Let us know what you envision when you think of the world 200 years from now.

The U.S. prison population is booming, and we're not all equally affected.   In three decades, the prison population has exploded from 300,000 to over two million. There are more people in jails and prisons today just for drug offenses than were incarcerated for all reasons in 1980.   This is mass incarceration.   In this one, we discuss the problem of mass incarceration before starting to get into the premise of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: namely, that black men are disproportionately affected by the prison boom, and that this is not an accident.   Anytime race is involved, it's going to be a charged discussion. But it's SO important to talk about, so we want to hear from you. Feel free to share your thoughts on our page.   Recommended Resources:   The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander 13th - A documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America Ryan's research notes from this episode (sources included)

Finally, robotic beings rule the world . . . or at least they're about to.   We all know artificial intelligence is taking off at lightspeed. We're going to see the sophistication of these types of technology grow in ways we can't imagine. So where does that leave us? Will we all lose our jobs or sit on a beach vacationing for the rest of our fleshy days?   Also, there's this FREAKY thing called CRISPR. If you haven't heard of it, well, we're about to tell you about it here. Sneak preview: the genetic implications are astounding, and we may have the ability to play God to a degree we've never had in history.   Aaaand Cody releases the epic rant about our healthcare system that he's been trying to hold in.   Where do you think the future is headed? Is AI freaky or freaky-cool? What are your thoughts on CRISPR? Let us know here! You can also find a great Radiolab episode about CRISPR here.

What should happen with the minimum wage? Should it be raised, lowered, or kept the same? After Ryan arrives late to the recording, the guys reaffirm their commitment to ignorance before breaking out their economics caps and explaining the merits (or demerits) of raising the minimum wage. They also debate how easy it is to move beyond minimum wage positions, or to find a job at all. How much would you raise or lower the minimum wage, if at all? Hit us up and let us know.

Midnight Depot has been around around for an ENTIRE YEAR, you guys. How crazy is that? When we started this thing, we honestly didn't think anyone would listen, but they have. Each and every one of you reading this and listening to the show is a rock star in our eyes. In this one, we take some time to reflect on how we feel about the podcast after year one, where we'd like to see it go, and how reality has matched our expectations. We also run through the top 10 most popular Midnight Depot episodes of our first year. Which episode was your favorite of the past year? Give us a quick comment on the Facebook page so we know what we're doing right!