season 2
This new season of Debatable News comes with some of the old and some of the new. The same old gang of me, Chris Markopulos, Steve Carles and Murray Monastero come back to Engage in the Debate, the new tagline of the show.
In this, the first show of 2016, we run down our favorite news stories of 2015. "Are You Kidding Me?!" cuts off a three against one brouhaha when I bring up "Mister Big Mouth", presidential candidate Donald Trump.
This show demonstrates how lighthearted and off-topic we can get. It's pretty clear that terrorist videos should be banned but what impact would that have on free speech? After we pay that lip service, Chris, Steve, Murray and I, four white guys, talk about the important issue of the month: #OscarsSoWhite.
In an experiment to connect seemingly disconnected topics, Show #3 manages to link up the political primary season with the end of the NFL football season. In our usual weird and sometimes humorous ways, Chris, Steve, Murray and I vote on keeping political primaries, whether the Super Bowl is bad for you and who will actually win the Big Game. The Are You Kidding Me segment winds from real to yikes to "Leave the glass breaking for Jewish weddings."
I didn't watch the 50th Super Bowl and I am so glad I didn't. I heard about then saw Beyonce, Bruno Marz and ColdPlay's halftime show performance and it made me mad. I'm no racist but I know a bad Black tribute when I see one. Chris and Steve don't agree. The second half transitions to what I thought was going to be a more level-headed debate. Turns out, I get out-voted 3 to 1 for keeping G-d in politics. "Are You Kidding Me" lightens things and we become friends again.
This show begins with a news segment by famous radio personality Jeff Allen and was edited by my friend, fellow classmate and superb music editor Mamata Tharima.
With inspiration failing me as early as a day before the show, Apple's response to the FBI and the Justice Department gave me something to argue, stand by and believe in. All in one shot, out comes the merits, or lack thereof, of torturing foreign terrorist criminals. Most of the show is dedicated to Apple's make-or-break decision to create a backdoor that would allow government access to the iPhone. But with its connection to the ongoing investigation in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shootings, Chris, Steve, Murray and I consider the ramifications of the government getting its way.
Once again, this show is edited by my good friend Mamata Tharima.
I let it go for a week but Chris, Steve, Murray and I get down to discussing the political ramifications of Justice Antonin Scalia's untimely passing. It only seems logical to then extend the discussion to the death penalty. Are You Kidding Me involves an odd mix of Girl Scouts cookies, traveling and narcotics. Listen and find out how....
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
ProCon.org has become my new watering hole for discussion topics. Flipping through the site, standardized testing caught my eye because of issues related to the troubles my sisters have had with bad implementations of Common Core and No Child Left Behind. So dreaming of space travel, something I have dreamed of doing since I was a boy, seemed the next best place to take the debate. Knowing what has happened to NASA in its history, Chris, Steve, Murray and I discuss the merits or lack thereof of privatized space travel. Are You Kidding Me features a shaved toddler's head and shoddy journalism.
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
With numerous newspaper journalism awards under my belt and a tenacious friend in professor Gail Ramsey, we examine one of the most accurate movies based on the dying art of investigative journalism. ProCon.org and its endless list of controversial topics spurs Chris, Steve, Murray and I to consider whether G-d should be left in the Pledge of Allegiance. And how do a fox and theft combine? Listen to this Are You Kidding Me segment answers this burning question.
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
Our college's spring break was early this year then the Jewish holiday of Purim kept us off the air for two whole weeks! We come back on the day before we welcome our new Montgomery County Community College president, Dr. Kevin Pollock. Instead of diving straight into pre-April Fool's hilarity, we discuss how Moveon.org is, yet may not be, like ISIS and other terrorist groups. Then in the spirit of this year's hotly contested and controversial presidential race, we tackle a subject that is unfamiliar to me: The Democratic candidates. Are You Kidding Me shows how people in yellow balloon costumes might actually belong in a crowded subway.
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
Despite the FBI and Department of Justice dropping their demand for Apple to hack the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorists, their actions of hiring an out-of-country firm to do it for them keeps the debate alive. Since their actions involve a still-very-much-alive potential breaching of the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Chris, Steve, Murray and I go head-to-head one more time with promises for more.
Despite the heaviness of the topic, you'll hear us warmly welcome our new Montgomery County Community College president, Dr. Kevin Pollock and some new and well-constructed PSA's from fellow students.
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
Good ideas usually come from people who are on the inside. Then sometimes you just have to rip them from your class discussions. That's what I do to Chris, Steve and Murray but not before we run into some unknown technical difficulties. Suffering through bad headphones and a buzz in a mic we just couldn't shake, we still take our time to get a grip on where the lines need to be drawn with drones and what exactly is the difference between "real" and "citizen" journalists.
This show is edited by Mamata Tharima.
Someone once said that things in life often never goes smooth. Our show from April 21 is a perfect example. We aired the show. The machine said it was recording the show. The USB drive said there was a file with correct date and everything. I go to play it back after I sent it off to my editor and BANG. The file recorded nothing.
So, on we move to the final show of Spring 2016 on Montco Radio. In this show, we hash out our favorite stories of the first half of 2016. And though it's Cinco de Mayo, May The Fourth Be With You through the summer! We will return to Montco Radio in the fall! Until then, come back here, to Eclecticasts.com for periodic specials with surprising guests and the "usual suspects" of myself, Chris Markopolus, Steve Carles and Murray Monastero.
Congratulations to Chris Markopolus and this season's editor Mamata Tharima. Both are graduating on May 19 with their respective associate degrees. I wish them both luck and expect to hear from them in future.
Thanks go out to all of this season's cohosts, editor and all the behind-the-scenes people from Montco Radio for making this show a resounding success!