Note: The first episode shown during the Fourth Quarter 2021 was a rerun of #903 on September 20, 2021.
Episode #904: One Gigantic Hologram
First Broadcast: 9/27/21
Repeated: 10/18/21
René Descartes once said "I think, therefore I am." Can we ever know anything beyond that? Do we all live in a giant simulation of reality? Is the Universe one big hologram? Would a holographic universe explain quantum entanglement, a.k.a. "spooky action at a distance"? How weird is quantum physics? Why does existence exist? Did life on Earth come from aliens? Do we really know if our reality isn't a projection by a demon, or some version of The Matrix (or an episode of the rebooted Twilight Zone)? Did the Matrix movies ruin our lives by contributing the term "red pill" to the language? How hypocritical was Ayn Rand? Are selfish people prolonging the COVID-19 pandemic? Could we really have stopped the virus in its tracks if we had all literally stopped going anywhere for a few weeks? Won't the virus keep mutating if we don't all get vaccinated? How common are feral children? Why does there seem to be such a narrow window in which humans can learn how to be social with other humans? I don't know if we found too many answers this week, but now you can think about these questions just as much as we did!
Episode #905: The Volume
First Broadcast: 10/4/21
Ever use an all-night typing service in Los Angeles? Maybe you've got some background noise going to help you work at home? If you live in Manhattan, you could be forgiven for thinking that COVID-19 is on its way out, based on our increasing vaccination rates and decreasing positivity and hospitalization rates. But in states with lower vaccination rates, which seem to have a direct relationship to a higher percentage of Trump votes, the COVID situation is much grimmer, with hospitals filling up with so many mostly unvaccinated COVID cases that they're over capacity, turning away other patients, and telling patients to go to hospitals in other states. On top of that, many patients are refusing to acknowledge that COVID is real, assaulting health care workers and making them fear for their lives, causing many already burned-out health care workers to quit the profession completely, adding understaffing to an already horrific situation so that patients wait even longer for treatment. As long as people keep refusing to get vaccinated, or do anything else to help lessen this virus's spread, this pandemic may never truly end, despite all the many times the "former guy" promised that it would just "go away" on its own. Is there a solution besides just letting the virus take its course with everyone who refuses to get vaccinated? There has to be, because the alternative is just too grisly.
Episode #906: Spin the Universe Around
First Broadcast: 10/11/21
Repeated: 11/22/21
Expanding on some thoughts I had in Episode #904: If the Universe is a hologram, does that mean information about the entire Universe is included in every part of the Universe, in the same way that every part of a hologram contains information about the whole hologram? It's too bad the Museum of Holography isn't still around in SoHo for us to explore. If anyone ever figures out time travel, that would be a good place to visit--right after Stephen Hawking's party for time travelers, of course. I don't suppose any of you out there have some first hand experience with time travel? Although, if you did, maybe I would have heard about it already...
Episode #907: That Puzzled Me
First Broadcast: 10/25/21
Specifically, the first debate between mayoral candidates Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa left me puzzled by some of Adams' platforms ("drone development"?) and Sliwa's not-quite-Trump shtick (since he's a self-proclaimed "never Trumper") of treating the whole debate like a combination stand-up routine and grievance session. Despite Adams' condemnation of Sliwa's "buffoonery", the debate itself didn't provide much in the way of the candidates cross-examining each other's positions on issues, and instead more resembled an hour-long lightning round in which any answer that took longer than 30 seconds was quickly deemed irrelevant for the sake of keeping the show moving along. It's hard not to blame Trump for this new strictness in the debate format, since he effectively destroyed any good will a moderator may have shown when he exhibited such abusive behavior during his first debate with Joe Biden in 2020. Will their second debate show any improvement? Does the city really care? Are you voting early? You don't have a lot of time to decide!
Episode #908: An Amuse-Bouche With Raspberry Foam
First Broadcast: 11/1/21
Repeated: 11/8/21; 3/14/22
Once again, the prospective heat death of the universe pervades my thoughts. How will it all end? With a steady march towards the ultimate equilibrium? An endless cycling and recycling of the arrow of time? Can a quantum particle popping into existence into a state of absolute steadiness be volatile enough to cause the universe to burst forth with energy anew, like a lake filled with carbon dioxide that suddenly becomes agitated, or a cup of superheated water from a microwave suddenly boiling over when touched by a spoon? Or does the heat death of the universe take into account the quantum foam that exists even in the emptiest corners of space? And does space really taste like raspberries? I'll probably keep asking these questions until I find them out personally...whenever that may be...
Episode #909: Earth Wears You Down
First Broadcast: 11/15/21
Repeated: 12/6/21
After discussing the condition of Kenny Rogers and his Roasters, we talk about booster shots for COVID-19 (get yours now, if you can!) and vaccine eligibility for kids, both of which could come in handy if you run into some deer, or tourists from Europe, now that the U.S. is open to international travel again. Try not to eat too much while you sleep! "Pre-existing conditions" are just an excuse for insurance companies to deny coverage! And if I think of any more advice, I'll let you know!
Episode #910: 4th of Kringle
First Broadcast: 11/29/21
Is it me, or did "Black Friday" start a lot earlier this year compared to years past? Then again, hasn't the Christmas season been starting earlier and earlier each year as well? Are you all set for "Cyber Monday"? Have you got your proof of COVID-19 vaccination handy so you can see movies in theaters again? There were a bunch I missed, not the least of which was the new Bill & Ted film that came out during the pandemic. But the pandemic isn't over yet! So you gotta get vaccinated, otherwise you run the risk of joining all the idiots who have won the Herman Cain Award so far, who have been persuaded by all the idiots who keep protesting vaccine mandates! Is a severe lack of critical thinking what led us all to this point in history? The point where dozens of people are camped out in Dallas, Texas, seriously waiting for John F. Kennedy and his son--you know, the 35th U.S. President who was assassinated in 1963, and the founder of George magazine who died in a plane crash in 1999--to return from the dead??? Maybe I should just stick to Thanksgiving leftovers, since they're a lot less complicated...
Episode #911: Pow Sock
First Broadcast: 12/13/21
Be thankful you live in a county where Trump overwhelmingly lost the election in 2020, because that means you're much more likely to either be vaccinated or not die from COVID! Be thankful you're not trying to establish a family dynasty in the White House, something a lot of these "all-American" types ought to know is one of the main reasons why we had a revolution! Be thankful you're not attempting to make the former guy Speaker of the House, or whatever the current crazy scheme is for his cult of idiots to get him another term he didn't earn! By the way, don't we still have troops in Iraq, and elsewhere? Get boosted if you haven't already done so!