Smells Like Human Spirit Daily Podcasts | Latest Episodes
205: THE NFL, BRAIN TRAUMA, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the National Football League. Ever since a sickening video emerged on September 8th of Baltimore Ravens’ running back Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee (now-wife) Janay Palmer, the public outcry over the league’s handling of a series of domestic violence issues has been at fever pitch, even reaching the nation’s highest office. All the while, the looming specter of concussion consequences is generating more discussion than ever regarding the future viability of the sport itself.
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204: SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE
Tomorrow, Thursday September 18th, voters in Scotland will be asked in a referendum to vote on whether their nation should be an independent country, breaking away from the rest of the United Kingdom. A yes vote would establish a separate Scottish state for the first time since 1707, when a need for economic security resulted in union with England, and the subsequent formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
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203: THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
Throughout July and August of this year, social media users were inundated with an almost constant stream of short videos featuring people from seemingly all walks of life dumping buckets of ice water on their heads. This trend, known as the ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge‘, went viral in an effort to promote awareness for the disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. It soon became a most unlikely pop culture phenomenon, with various celebrities, politicians and athletes performing the challenge and posting their videos online.
On August 29th, the ALS Association announced that the total donations resulting from the challenge had exceeded $100 million. For this reason, it would appear that it would be difficult to criticize the campaign, but it certainly has not been met without any detractors.
To download Episode 203, click here.
202: THE BIRTH OF KOREAN COOL, WITH EUNY HONG
For Episode 202 of Smells Like Human Spirit, Guy Evans interviews Euny Hong, a journalist and author whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, among many other places. Euny’s most recent book, ‘The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture’ examines the 21st Century rise of South Korea becoming a global leader in business, technology, education, and – as the title implies – pop culture.
Download Episode 202: ‘The Birth of Korean Cool’ here.
201: MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY, WITH MIC.COM WRITER TOM BARNES
This episode of Smells Like Human Spirit is a continuation of sorts from SLHS 197, a show which examined the rise of the so-called ‘evil empire’ of radio, Clear Channel Communications. To further explore the current state of the music industry and mainstream music in particular, Mic.com writer Tom Barnes joined Guy Evans to expound on his very popular recent article, ‘The Music Industry Is Literally Brainwashing You To Like Bad Pop Songs – Here’s How‘. Enjoy!
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GUY EVANS INTERVIEW ON TOM SECKER’S ‘CLANDESTIME’ PODCAST (AIR DATE: 09/03/14)
This podcast episode contains the audio of Guy Evans’ recent appearance on Tom Secker’s ‘Clandestime’ podcast (aired 09/03/14).
As part of Tom’s series of shows looking at various motion pictures with surveillance themes, the subject at hand was the 2002 movie ‘Minority Report’. Throughout the 40+ minute talk, specific topics of discussion included the film’s origins, the technology featured in the film and how much of it is now operational in 2014, and the philosophical dimensions of the movie. Enjoy!
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200: MEDIA MATTERS
On the heels of the decision by the New York Post to defy basic rules of decency with its disgraceful James Foley cover, Guy Evans looks at three other recent instances of egregious coverage in the mainstream media.
Thank you for helping SLHS get to 200 episodes!
Click here to download Episode 200.
SUBSCRIBER ONLY BONUS EPISODE: “THE PARADOX OF CHOICE”
I just released a 46 minute exclusive podcast entitled “The Paradox of Choice” for bonus content subscribers. Check out the SLHS campaign page at http://www.patreon.com/smellslikehumanspirit to help support the podcast, and to get episodes such as this one that will not be available anywhere else!! -Guy
199: PODCASTING NO LONGER UNDER ATTACK? ERIC GARNER UPDATE, AND ‘THE TECH UTOPIA NOBODY WANTS’
Guy Evans welcomes Sydney-based writer James ‘JR’ Hennessy to the podcast to talk his recent Guardian article, ‘The tech utopia nobody wants: why the world nerds are creating will be awful.’ Other topics of discussion in this episode include Adam Carolla’s refusal to accept patent troll company Personal Audio’s offer to drop their lawsuit against him, and an update on the fallout from Eric Garner’s death.
Click here to download Episode 199.
198: BEYOND THE PAINT – HOW PHILADELPHIA BECAME THE ‘CITY OF MURALS’
1980s Philadelphia. Reeling from rising crime, Mafia warfare and the proliferation of drug gangs, the city’s murder rate had skyrocketed. Although the birthplace of America was in desperate need of healing, the pain and uncertainty experienced by local residents manifested itself in a radical change to their city’s outward appearance, courtesy of the prevalence of graffiti. Graffiti became such an issue, the most pressing issue according to then-mayor Wilson Goode, that it came to be seen as a social epidemic.
Click here to download Episode 198.
197: MANUFACTURING POPULARITY – THE RISE OF CLEAR CHANNEL, RADIO’S ‘EVIL EMPIRE’
While a slew of recent corporate mergers and acquisitions this year have sparked renewed concerns over media monopolies, the radio and concert conglomerate Clear Channel has long been considered the poster child for what’s wrong with media deregulation. The corporation is the number one radio station owner in the United States, with the 840 stations under its umbrella amounting to about 245 million listeners per month.
Click here to download this Episode 197.
196: THE DEATH OF ERIC GARNER
One week has passed since the tragic and controversial death of 43-year old Eric Garner, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., and father of six. In an incident captured on camera, Mr. Garner died after resisting arrest from NYPD officers for the apparent charge of selling untaxed cigarettes. Footage shows the man being put in a suspected illegal chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo, before audibly protesting of his inability to breathe and then collapsing outside a beauty salon. He was later pronounced dead at the Richmond University Medical Center following cardiac arrest.
For this edition of Smells Like Human Spirit, Guy Evans welcomes native New Yorker Jason Melendez to the show to discuss both the case and the wider issue of perceived police brutality in New York City.
Click here to download Episode 196.
GUY EVANS INTERVIEW ON ‘THE RIPPLE EFFECT’ PODCAST (AIR DATE: 05/03/14)
This podcast episode contains the audio of Guy Evans’ most recent appearance on ‘The Ripple Effect’ podcast (aired 05/03/14). Topics of discussion include:
- Edward Bernays’ influence and impact;
- The continued existence of the British Royal Family;
- Increased corporate involvement in podcasting;
- The unfortunate passing of investigative journalist and activist Michael Ruppert; and much more in this mammoth TWO HOUR discussion.
Click here to download this podcast.
195: HOLISTIC NUTRITION, WITH GUEST NANCY GUBERTI
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third (34.9%) of U.S. adults can now be classified as obese, making the estimated annual medical cost of obesity in America some $190 billion dollars. Despite a growing public awareness that the problem is truly of epidemic proportions, many proponents of purely conventional medicine have suggested that the causes of the obesity wave remain a mystery.
Click here to download Episode 195.
194: SLHS UPDATE
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Click here to download Episode 194.
193: LOUIS THEROUX’S ‘WEIRD WEEKENDS’…REVIEWED!
Fresh off reviewing Syfy’s ‘Joe Rogan Questions Everything‘, Guy Evans enlists James Wilson to deconstruct an episode of Louis Theroux’s classic documentary series ‘Weird Weekends‘. Enjoy!
Click here to download Episode 193.
192: REFLECTIONS ON THE ‘TAO TE CHING’
With the exception of the bible, the ‘Tao Te Ching’ has inspired more translations than any other book in the world. It is considered to be among the most profound and influential philosophical texts ever written on the nature of human existence, and is almost universally regarded as one of the great treasures of spiritual literature. Its timeless message of peace, simplicity and humility has been subject to a great many interpretations – and in this episode of SLHS, Guy Evans looks at three particularly profound excerpts from Lao Tzu’s magnum opus.
Click here to download Episode 192.
191: KEVIN DeLAPLANTE OF THE ‘CRITICAL THINKER ACADEMY’ ON LEARNING HOW TO THINK VS. WHAT TO THINK
Kevin DeLaplante, creator of the ‘Critical Thinker Academy‘ and former Chair in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Iowa State University, joins Guy Evans for Episode 191 of the Smells Like Human Spirit Podcast.
In this hour-long episode, Kevin and Guy define what the study of critical thinking entails, discuss why it is important, and evaluate its application to institutions such as politics, business, and advertising.
Click here to download Episode 191.
190: THE ANALOG VS. DIGITAL DEBATE
Conventional wisdom would suggest that consumers of music have benefited greatly in the digital age. Aside from the obvious advantage of portability, other long standing issues with the formerly predominant analog formats (vinyl records and cassette tapes) have become a distant memory.
For the iPod generation, the mere suggestion that repeated listens could induce degeneration of an album is incomprehensible. The digital revolution has ensured that never again will a song skip during playback. Never again will an audible hiss serve as the unofficial introduction to a track. Never again will it matter how conscientious the owner is with respect to preserving their music.
Click here to download Episode 190.
189: THE POWER OF IMAGINATION
There is great power in our imagination - manifesting thoughts into actions, creating something seemingly out of nothing, sharing our vision for the rest of the world to see.
On a basic level, we can all recognize that almost nothing that exists around us (in our physical, man-made environment at least) would exist without imagination. Everything from a towering skyscraper to a zooming space rocket was once only a thought. Without imagination, progress would be impossible, understanding unattainable, empathy incomprehensible.
Click here to download Episode 189.
188: ARE CEO’S OVERPAID?
Words cannot describe this podcast.
Click here to download Episode 188.
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