The Bart Baggett Show: The World’s Most Interesting People Podcast

No Scandal Here: The Real Emily Austin Is an Open Book

“I don’t think failure is a choice. You’re going to fail over and over again,” says Emily Austin, though it’s difficult to imagine her as anything but a success. At only 22 years old, she interviews basketball’s finest as an NBA sideline reporter and host of The Hoop Chat podcast. She even served as a judge in the 2022 Miss Universe pageant—after a failed attempt to run for Miss New York. It wasn’t long ago, though, that everyone–from major executives to her own family–discouraged her from becoming a sports reporter at all. 
 
Despite all of her success, she is still humble, hungry, and delightfully charming.  Emily is often confused with another female sports reporter with a similar name who was fired for making anti-semetic remarks. The real Emily Austin, who is our guest on this latest episode of The Bart Show, got into a little internet squabble with the NBA star Kyrie Irving accidentally promoting conspiracy theories about The Holocaust never happening. Even the real Emily Austin stirs up a bit of controversy now and then.
 
Success, of course, begins with self-belief. Emily’s father taught her from an early age to walk into every room with her head held high. No matter how impressive the people in the room, he taught her that she should always feel as if she belongs. Bart agrees and they share stories of how belief systems predict a person’s worldview. Bart tells a story about a Flat-Earther strapped himself to a rocket in an attempt and flew himself 600 miles per hour into the desert floor.  Apparently, stupid beliefs can get you killed.
 
Quotes
“You don't need anyone else's support or approval to chase your dreams because if I had listened to the best in the game, discouraging me not to do it, I wouldn't be where I am.” (4:48 | Emily Austin)
“There are two Emily Austins, another sports reporter who was fired for anti semitic remarks. That wasn't me.” (7:38 | Emily Austin)
“Just two weeks ago, I was going to a very high profile event where everyone was an A-lister and my dad's like, guess what? You're going. So you deserve to be there and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And just his repetition of telling me that since I'm like five, you know, even in school, like you're the smartest, you're the best. Instead of becoming a narcissist, he just showed me like, you know, you belong in a way, like no one's better than you. I don't think I'm better than you, but I don't think you're better than me.” (22:27 | Emily Austin)
“When you lift weights, your goal is take your muscles to failure.  Failure is the key to building a strong body.  Just as in life… failure is necessary to grow strong and succeed”
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Emily Austin
Website: https://peoplesbeauty.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily.austin/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilyraustin
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emilyraustin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehoopchat/
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Lou Santini - Badass Seventh Grader and Other True Comedic Stories

“That’s the name of my next comedy album: Badass Seventh Grader,” says Lou Santini, who joins the show to talk about this and other of his early experiences along the way to becoming a successful comedian. Is he a badass, or is everyone else just what he calls an amateur, people with no common sense who are doing life wrong? Whether it’s people going slow in the fast lane or Hollywood executives who act as gatekeepers despite admitting they have no idea what they’re doing, everyone, it seems, is getting in the way. 
 
Too many people form an identity around their problems and ailments, and have developed almost allergic reactions to certain words and jokes. Bart and Lou discuss how hypersensitivity and political correctness have altered the landscapes of both comedy and dating. Lou’s own dating experiences include appearing on a dating show hosted by Jerry Springer with a woman who, as it turns out, was an ex-girlfriend of Bart’s! 
 
They also share a common career trajectory, having both started out cutting their creative teeth on radio. They trade stories from those days and discuss how radio prepared them for standup comedy–while also not preparing them at all. This new age of creating content on the internet means that audiences can go around the gatekeepers to find your material. 
 
No matter how crazy the world gets, there are still comedians, whom Bart considers the intellectuals and poets of our time, to observe and critique it. He discusses what it was like meeting his hero George Carlin and Lou recalls his experience opening up for Bob Saget, and why it’s not always a good idea to meet your heroes. Even Russell Brand had a lesson to impart on today’s guest. In return, he shares with us the key to success and to popularity in high school, and the one thing you must always possess, even when you’re broke. 
 
Quotes
"I remember seeing the albums of Robin Williams and thinking those guys were the smartest people in the world…And that's what I aspired to be like, maybe I could be that wise." (2:57 | Bart Baggett)
“While I generally, of course, feel sad if a celebrity dies–I mean, death is sad— when a comedian dies, it almost makes me angry…it really affects me more than if a regular celebrity were to pass.” (4:10 | Lou Santini) 
"I saw Bob Saget, I paid my own money, took a date in high school, tiny little comedy club in Canton…Flash forward years later, I get to do a half hour before Sagat in front of 3000 people. So I tell Bob Saget that story. He remembered the shoes I was wearing, because he made fun of my shoes. So he goes, “I remember that you had those really weird shoes made of rope. And he says, Listen, my crowd sometimes has a tendency to arrive, drunk and or high. So he says, if you lose him, and you can't hold the stage, I can make up your time. And I've looked him in the eye, and I said, Oh, I'll hold the stage. And I crushed it, right? They let me bring him on. And I got to tell the story of how he was the first guy ever paid to see and I brought him on, he comes out and gives me a hug. And he whispers in my ear goes, thank you for making my job so much easier. And that was that was it. And then like I said, he passed, you know, five or six years later is pretty sad about that." (5:11 | Lou Santini)
“And then all of a sudden, you know, you get called up to the majors…You know,  that's what it's like. 10 years of hard work.” (27:50 | Lou Santini) 
Links
Connect with Lou Santini:
https://youtube.com/@lousantini
https://facebook.com/lousantinientertainment
https://instagram.com/lou.santini3
https://www.lousantini.com
Podcast: Amateur Nation:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6DjOZFnhSZ5bggIlMSbsXg
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amateur-nation-with-lou-santini/id1434632597
Amazon Book: "Amateur Nation: The Decline of Common Sense, Manners, and Social Skills"
https://www.amazon.com/AMATEUR-NATION-Decline-Common-Manners-ebook/dp/B08254WSV4
Connect with Bart Baggett
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Chuck Salvo: Be Your Own Chief Happiness Architect: Applying Disney’s Magic to Your Own Life

Building a corporation of happiness is similar to building happiness in your own life. Know your why, what, and stay true to your values. “A culture needs to be created intentionally,” says Chuck Salvo, Chief Happiness Architect at SALVO Innovative Solutions. Baggett discussed how Chuck spent 15 years developing the blueprint for happiness among the employees at the Disney Institute. 
 
Nurturing happiness within a corporate culture is more than just providing unlimited snacks and sleeping pods, Chuck explains. Beginning at the macro level, a company must have a set of boundaries for employees to “know how to flow.” This starts with establishing the company’s purpose, or what Chuck calls, “the why.” From there, the company establishes the structures, or “the what,” and behaviors, “the how.” This way, workers remain “on purpose,” which is more important than simply hitting the right numbers and metrics. 
“Diversity is a good thing in theory.” Chuck explains that in practice a lot of diversity efforts result in herd mentality. Diversity for the sake of diversity is not always the best policy. 
 
Finding our what, why, and how is key to triggering happiness in our personal lives. People's individual happiness is suffering due to a lack of genuine human interaction. These days people are afraid to have real conversations with each other.  People have a fear of being canceled for saying the wrong thing. Chuck discusses the R.A.V.E. method he teaches in his workshops, which helps people (re)discover that we are much more like-minded than we have been led to believe. 
 
Chuck himself is a conversationalist and a teacher. Bart analyzes his handwriting which confirms his talkative and mental acuity.. He also has a rare characteristic that he shares with prolific science fiction writer and founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Listen now to find out whether Chuck has what it takes to make a great cult leader, or if he would be better suited to writing books. 
 
Quotes
"You have to have a structure, a set of boundaries for people to know how to flow…everything is about metrics these days. And metrics aren't bad. However, they become the controlling force, as opposed to the measuring force." (5:36 | Chuck) 
“Finding that structure is good. And knowing that structure is good. Individually, though, people need to realize what their purpose is… and then the behaviors that go along with that, build the structure." (7:20 | Chuck) 
"And you're right: businesses, more often than not, I'd say the highest percentage of the upper 90%, they have mission statements, they have vision statements, but they don't have purpose statements, right? Same thing is true for individuals, they truly understand the why of what they're doing." (11:53 | Chuck)
"You also have a very odd personality trait that I don't see very often…the only person I can tell you that I know for sure that has that that's not from the 18th century was L. Ron Hubbard… you can either be a prolific writer or cult leader. This is your destiny. (15:12 | Bart)
 
Links
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Connect with Chuck Salvo:
Website: https://salvoinnovativesolutions.com/Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-salvo-3383a212/
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://thebartshow.com
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Could Mike ter Maat Be The Next President of the United States?

“You might be the funniest politician ever since Trump,” Bart exclaims about Mike ter Maat, who joins the show today in the midst of running for president of the United States on the Libertarian ticket. If he wins, he may or may not be the first president of the United States to be named Mike. One thing he knows for certain is that a sign saying “no molestar the alligators” means something entirely practical and not nearly as risqué as it may sound to our non Spanish-speaking listeners. 
 
Mike’s knowledge of alligators, and the laws related to them – both factual and otherwise – was accrued during his nearly 12-year stint as a police officer in southern Florida. Perhaps due to this background in law enforcement, he holds firm opinions on America's flawed criminalization policies.
 
Mike believes that attempting to reshape culture through the criminal code or public policy, without appropriate funding or the cooperation of all parties involved, inevitably results in catastrophe. Such attempts foster black markets, like the human trafficking that emerged from the immigration crisis or the illicit drug trade that persists despite America’s longstanding “war on drugs.”
 
To face the significant challenges ahead, Mike says that America must acknowledge both its strengths and weaknesses. He delves into the vulnerabilities of the U.S. military and the shortcomings of its strategies. He sheds light on changing American perceptions of war, shares his stance on U.S. involvement with NATO, and highlights the risks of what he terms the U.S.'s "strategic ambiguity" concerning China. This ambiguity, he suggests, could ignite a potential conflict over Taiwan, with serious repercussions for the next generations.
 
If one were to judge by Mike’s handwriting alone, Bart says he may be a great fit to lead us, as he is a perfect blend of ambition, tenacity and follow-through. Join the fun to hear the libertarian presidential hopeful reveal his greatest concern regarding Donald Trump, and the joke that may result in a gun to his and Bart’s heads.
 
Quotes
“You might be the funniest politician ever since Trump…he probably could have gone out on Fifth Avenue and shot someone without losing a great deal of support. (12:23 | Bart Baggett)
“You look at our immigration catastrophe. We have tried to make something illegal without dedicating the resources to either stop it or recognizing the fact that culturally, neither the culture on our side of the border or the culture on the other side of the border is ready to shut this down. And so we have a black market in human trafficking.” (17:50 | Mike ter Maat)
“The other thing that I think has changed in the last generation is that Americans are waking up to the idea that to be honest, and a lot of Americans are not going to hear this - but I'm on your show, so I might as well say it because it's the truth - we're not good at this. At a tactical level, we seem to be fantastic. We're good at killing people and blowing things up. We're good at moving material, taking land, holding land. We're good at opening seaways, holding seaways. We're even good at toppling governments, if you don't mind the secrets coming out in the long run. It seems to be the narrative. Right. So we're good at all those at a tactical level. On a strategic level, in terms of achieving things that the American public could point to and say, that was a good idea, we're just not there.” (20:26 | Mike ter Maat) 
"People are ready to hear a message that says, you can be patriotic and still recognize that we stink at the idea of using military intervention as a foreign policy to achieve long-term strategic objectives in the interest of the American public." (22:00 | Mike ter Maat) 
Links
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Aidan Park: You Can’t Be Too Yay! On This Show

“My life is like a frickin’ Dickens novel,” says Aidan Park, comedian and author of “The Art of Being Yay.” Born in Korea to an unconventional family, Aidan learned to spin the dramatic and often tragic events of his early life into comedy gold. Growing up gay under the ultra conservative values of Korean culture and the Baptist Church, he was subject to a lot of shame-based programming and he admits he still has trouble determining what is actually right and wrong versus what he’s been gaslit into believing. 
 
Thankfully, this concern with morality proves at the very least that Aidan is not a sociopath. His handwriting reveals him to be talkative, fast-paced, a bit arrogant but still concerned with being respectful. He and Bart discuss Korean culture’s deep preoccupation with reverence toward elders which is woven into the nuances of the language. But of course, Botox has made it almost impossible to determine anyone’s real age anymore.
 
In an effort to distance himself from the abusive men in his life, Aidan initially played into his feminine nature. Most people, he insists, love masculine men with a take-charge attitude. He learned to embrace his own naturally dominant masculinity thanks in part to Mike, with whom he shared a relationship most of us would be lucky to experience once in our lives, until Mike’s untimely death. 
 
Join the discussion as Aidan explains the difference between true freedom and mere rebellion, what he’s like in bed when he’s not so sexually frustrated and why he identifies the husky as his spirit animal. 
 
Quotes
“I rebelled against that when I was 15. I thought, ‘Screw that. Screw that. Screw that.’ But that's not actual freedom. That's just rebellion against the Right.” (13:28 | Aidan)
“I actually disowned my masculine part of myself, for many years actually, because my only examples were about my grandfather, who beat my grandmother. So I had no real good male role model. So I kind of identified more with my feminine, thinking the men are evil and abusive, and I'm not going to be that guy. So I actually almost put on a more feminine energy. But as I started exploring myself, I discovered I had this whole part of me that I wasn't honoring. I brought that in, and I learned that I can actually be a good man.” (18:11 | Aidan) 
“I work out all the time. You know? I do Orangetheory fitness. Oh, that seems painful to me. It's painful, but I do it. Because you can only masturbate so many days, you gotta go to Orangetheory. I work out. I think, ‘Wow,’ but I seem sexually frustrated.” (20:09 | Aidan and Bart)
“I'm a young widow. I was with a guy. And I loved him, loved him, loved him, loved him. Five years. Michael James. Oh my God. He was the love of my life.” (20:43 | Aidan)
“If you're lucky, you get a love like that once in your life. And I'm very lucky to have had it.” (21:50 | Aidan) 
 
Links
Connect with Aidan Park 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aidanparkshow/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aidanparkshow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidanparkshow/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AidanParkShowYT
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast
https://bartbaggett.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Kaytlin Bailey: Breaking Taboos Making A Difference: Kaytlin Bailey’s Road from Bedroom to Boardroom

Prostitution has been called the world’s oldest profession. And until fairly recently, prostitutes enjoyed a much more visible profile in centuries past as major contributors to society. As today’s guest Kaytlin Bailey, former sex worker turned writer, comedian and sex worker rights’ advocate explains, with their healthy wages, they even helped to settle the American West. It wasn’t until the early 20th-century that the U.S. began aggressively criminalizing prostitution at the federal level in 1910.
 
There have been many instances of moral panic in our country’s history, Kaytlin explains, whereby people have been stripped of their civil liberties under the guise of eradicating a problem that doesn’t actually exist. For example, in 2018, former president Trump passed the FOSTA Act into law in an attempt to fight human trafficking. Kaytlin explains that as a result, instead of protecting women from violence and exploitation, services provided to and by consenting adults were eradicated or pushed further underground, ironically leaving sex workers more vulnerable to harm.
 
It was the FOSTA law that inspired Kaytlin to bring her personal story–which she had been telling in op-eds and stand up routines–to the political arena. She shares other peoples’ stories, too, profiling sex workers from throughout history on her podcast “The Oldest Profession.” The podcast is part of Old Pro Productions, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to creating conditions which change the status of sex workers in society.  
 
Kaytlin’s handwriting demonstrates a mix of openness, pride and stubbornness. As long as she avoids the pitfalls of being too proud and too honest, she will remain a formidable champion of women’s rights. 
 
#sexwork #womensrights #comedian 
 
Quotes
“Well-behaved women don't make history.” (0:59 | Kaytlin)
“We are very susceptible to moral panics.” (2:44 | Kaytlin)
“We tend to pass laws stripping all of us of civil liberties to go after a problem that isn't really happening.” (2:48 | Kaytlin) 
“Of all the jobs that I've done, the erotic exchange felt like the most straightforward, the most transparent…I do political fundraising, which is way worse than prostitution.” (5:03 | Kaytlin) 
“We criminalized alcohol, abortion and prostitution all at the same time and for the same reasons.” (6:42 | Kaytlin)
“If you have too much desire for status, you become arrogant. If you can keep that arrogance at bay, and just want pride and respect that's always really good. It's a fine line, though.” (12:33 | Bart)
Links
Connect with Kaytlin Bailey:
Website: https://kaytlinbailey.com  
Old Pros: https://oldprosonline.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaytlin.bailey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KaytlinBailey/
 
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Cody Wisniewski: America’s Love Affair With Guns...Blame the Lawyers

Lawyers, Guns, and the US Constitution. Constitutional Attorney Cody Wisniewski fights daily for a voice for the constitution… not for a specific person.  In a strange world view, he feels it is his job to interpret what people who wrote the Constitution meant and stick true to those meanings over 200 years later.  Of course, the 2nd Amendment’s Right to Bear Arms is the hot topic of the day when Bart presses him on whether or not kids have a right to not be shot in a holiday parade. 
 
Bart avoids being contiguous about how the issue of gun rights in today's era of drones and F16  compares to the times in which battles were fought with muskets and cannons. 
 
Cody Wisniewski serves as a senior attorney specializing in Constitutional Litigation at the Firearms Policy Coalition. In his role, he actively challenges governmental attempts to pass laws that infringe upon citizens' rights to bear arms. One such example he highlights is the ongoing geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, where he sees the populace defending itself against tyranny. Additionally, he presents compelling statistics that underscore the correlation between gun-free zones and incidents of mass shootings. 
 
Cody explains that each state has its own constitution and its own ideas of how things should be run and compares some of the differences between states. People who want to protect themselves should be empowered to, Cody argues everyone should have guns. More guns… less crime. That is his argument and he believes every word. 
 
Today’s discussion gamely volleys important questions back and forth, addressing the many facets of one of the most complex and pressing issues facing Americans today: our love affair with guns.
 
Quotes
 
“Two hundred thirty years ago, a lot of things have changed. And so you're trying to interpret their intent, but you can't imagine they're perfect, because they kind of forgot about, oh, let’s say women and black people and voting…I feel the same way about people that quote 2000-year-old scriptures of any religion. I just feel like, look, it's a great book, but...” (3:41 | Bart)
“It feels like it should be a right to have my kid go to school, or walk in a parade on Fourth of July and not get murdered.” (5:36 | Bart)
“We know by preventing people from possessing arms, you do not make them safer. The vast majority of public shootings in the United States occur in gun-free zones. We know for a fact that shooters target places where they know that people are disarmed.” (6:02 | Cody)
“The beauty of the Constitution is that it was written to be everlasting. It wasn't written to constrain us to what  the world looked like in 1776.” (9:41 | Cody)
“The system that we have, a constitutional republic is, as far as I can tell, the clearest balance that you have that empowers people to be able to live their lives as they want to. It's not the role of government to tell people what they have to do, how they have to live, what they have to buy. That’s not the role of especially the federal government but the state governments as well.” (13:21 | Cody) 
“So if you had your own island, and you were the creator, and all mighty president, you would let everybody have a gun in church, in a grocery store? Absolutely, if they want them…You have to empower the people to protect themselves.” (15:46 | Bart and Cody) 
Links
Connect with Cody Wisniewski:
https://instagram.com/gunpolicy
https://instagram.com/thewizardoflawz
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Links
Connect with Bart Baggett
https://instagram.com/bartbaggett
https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Merle Haggard’s Wild Ride with Author Marc Eliot

If you thought you knew who Merle Haggard was, Marc Eliot, author of the bestselling “The Hag,” the definitive biography of the country music legend assures you, you don’t. Marc, who got his start contributing to magazines while enmeshed in New York’s famous Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, has written about such 20th-century icons as James Dean, Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan. On today’s show, he offers a glimpse of the man behind the indelible image of a hard-living, chart-topping “Lonesome Fugitive.” 
 
Merle, along with fellow musicians Buck and Bonnie Owens, defined the Bakersfield Sound, which rebelled against the mainstream country sound coming out of Nashville. Marc discusses Merle and Buck’s contentious relationship, and the cunning way Buck got his revenge after Merle married Bonnie. 
 
Profoundly affected by the early death of his father, Merle became an ambitious if not overly strategic juvenile delinquent, and was eventually sentenced to 30 years in California’s infamous San Quentin prison. Hear how he managed to be creative and enterprising even while behind bars and what his driving force was to becoming a musician. 
 
Marc, who himself got his start as a child actor, would eventually go on to tutor child star Danny Bonaduce. Marc shares his views on the problems with the entertainment industry and why the shock-jock era led by Howard Stern will be hard to replicate.
 
Meet the man whose own life has proven to be as interesting as those of his many subjects. 
 
Quotes
“When you talk to people about their favorite movies, let's say everybody has the same top five. ‘Vertigo,’ ‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘The Searchers.’ But the action is in the 20th or  25th Film. That's what I like–when you get to talk to people who aren't standard issue stars.” (2:14 | Marc)
“I babysat for Danny Bonaduce at one point when he was a kid…And we became very friendly. It was a fun afternoon, he was still young and cute.” (4:32 | Marc)
“You're only good if you're a talent. Management, they're not talent. For non-talent to tell talent what is good, what is funny, what is usable is insane. What they should do, and they never do, is sit back and say, ‘Go for it.’” (6:41 | Marc)
“Somebody asked Merle, ‘What's the difference between Nashville country music and Bakersfield and Merle said, ‘Nashville country music comes out of the church. Bakersfield country music comes out of the bars.’” (9:30 | Marc)
“He took a man's wife and then he's indebted to him for the rest of his life. That's got to be so painful. Well, that's country.” (12:28 | Bart and Marc)
“Did he believe he was gifted? How do you go from being just a kid to thinking, ‘You know what? I'm going to be a superstar?’ It never entered his mind. He just was interested in women and women.” (15:22 | Bart and Marc)
Links
Connect with Marc Eliot:
Website: https://www.marceliot.net/
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

The High Road. Weed, Money, & Morals with Robin Goldstein

Robin Goldstein, author of “Can Legal Weed Win'' joins the Bart Show to spark up a conversation about what really happens when you legalize marijuana. He walks us through California’s specific trajectory to legalization which started in 1996 with medical weed. In 2016, with Prop 64, recreational weed became legal, forcing vendors—aka ‘bud tenders’---to operate like traditional businesses. This meant dealing with California’s notoriously difficult tax regulations in addition to cannabis-specific taxes. 
 
Further complicating the issue, this law included a loophole that ended up having the opposite effect than “Yes” voters likely intended. Bart compares the issue to the plight of cab drivers in New York City and raises questions about government overreach. 
 
If, like Bart, pot isn’t really your thing, Robin also provides a wealth of knowledge about wine and beer, having earned a PhD in wine economics from University of Bordeaux in France. He has published a series of guides which explore the reason people pay for expensive labels when they can’t tell the difference between the two in blind taste tests. 
 
Learn about the prank he played on Wine Spectator Magazine that got the industry talking and even made the news. Bart explains why these prestigious organizations are easier to fool than one might think. You’ll also learn how college students ruined good beer, why the drink is so much better in Europe versus the U.S., and the incident in Amsterdam that turned Bart into a beer snob which is decidedly different from being a beer geek, as Robin explains. 
 
Join as the two pull the curtain back on the vices that so many people partake of yet remain largely mysterious. 
 
Quotes
“You know, I’m actually not a big pot fan. But I lived in LA long enough, I realize it’s lots of peoples’ thing. People like it…I'm all for other people having what they want.” (1:13 | Bart)
“Oh, it was so easy. By the end, you could go on Skype or Zoom and in five minutes, get a medical card from a doctor. One time I went to a medical appointment. As I was sitting there waiting, I noticed the doctor was seeing all the patients who were waiting in the front of this big room. That's how much of a joke it was. Like an MLM meeting with pot. Come here. Sign up. Tell your friends, and you're high.” (2:32 | Robin and Bart)
“I got interested in the question of why people can't tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive wine in blind tastings. That's what got me interested in economics because why are people willing to pay all this extra money for nothing but a label when they can't tell the difference?” (8:08 | Robin) 
“I wrote a song called ‘It Was Beer’ that's basically complaining that in California, it's no longer possible to get normal beer. All you can get is craft beer.” (15:15 | Robin)
 
Links
Connect with Robin Goldstein:
Instagram @hipsterpatrol
Twitter @robingoldstein
Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com 
 
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Gary Richied: A Twisted History of the United States

Much of what we’ve been taught about US history is a lie. Historian Gary Richied, author of the new book “A Twisted History of the United States, 1450-1945,” believes this is the case. In his book, Gary presents his subject in an accessible and entertaining way—such as when he tweets about current events from the point of view of George Washington—while never dumbing it down. Considering most Americans can’t locate Thailand on a map, and many Texans think their home state is a country, we need all the help we can get. 
 
It is in our nature to be curious about and ascribe meaning to past events. Yet, even "students" of history, Gary explains, often simply absorb what their textbooks and teachers tell them. For example, many textbooks focus on the wrong aspect of the Zoot Suit riots in the early 20th century, if they mention them at all. Listen in as Gary takes The Bart Show listeners through a parallel history of U.S. participation in World War II, which looks very different from the portrayal in movies. Gary suggests that we question our understanding of WWII and ask questions like, "What were our true objectives? Did the U.S. actually win?" While we're at it, what major events did we know about but purposely ignore? Was Roosevelt merely picking a fight? What was Churchill really saying in his famous Iron Curtain speech that continues to be misinterpreted?
 
By the end of this episode, you may find yourself questioning everything you thought you knew. There’s also a rather colorful quote from Dizzy Gillespie which gives insight into Black Americans’ true feelings about fighting on behalf of America in WWII. Gary explains why America’s scores-long love affair with Abraham Lincoln needs to end and the best way to get out of jury duty. 
 
You won’t want to miss an eye-opening conversation that will challenge your preconceived notions and inspire a deeper exploration of the complex tapestry that is American history.
Quotes
“To be a historian is to be engaged in a perpetual argument and engagement with the sources.” (3:18-3:24 | Gary)
“Generally traveling the world, most Americans can't point out Thailand or Ukraine on a map for a relevant conversation.” (4:22-4:46 | Bart) 
“There’s this famous George Santayana line that goes, ‘Those who are unaware or ignorant of history are condemned to repeat it.’ That gets a little too cliched or played up. I think it's more so that history deep down is naturally human…if history in the Greek etymology simply means ‘knowledge,’ then in engaging in it, we're simply wondering about the world around us.” (5:09-5:48 | Gary)
“‘Zoot Suit riot’ has never crossed my mouth.” (7:32-7:34 | Bart)
 
Links
Connect with Gary Richied:
Website: https://hoth2ohistory.com/
Twitter @garyrichied
Facebook: https://facebook.com/gary.richied
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Twisted-History-United-States-1450-1945/dp/B0B475C9P4/
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