Episode 31 - The Bell Curve Is A Bell Curve For A Reason
In this episode of The Chris and Andre Show, the guys rap about music, debate politics while trying not to talk about Donald Trump, get down to business on the economy and COVID, and geek out on technology with Chris' new Chromebook and their shared hatred for Windows.
(00:00:24) Intros - The guys are back and Chris has a new toy that he finally got working (be sure to visit chrisandandreshow.com for Chris’ blog post about his new mixer and how the podcast gets made).
(00:03:07) Music - The guys introduce a new bumper for this segment as Chris shares how he’s been educating himself on Keith Murray, and Andre explains his hip-hop education and why he’s frustrated with a lot of music today. The guys talk about the accessibility of music and the ability to distribute it on your own and debate the commercial aspect of the industry.
Other music topics include Prince, Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Xzibit, Limp Bizkit, 00’s Punk, and more.
(00:14:58) A Brief Intermission - Helena stops by to say hi to “Mr. Andre” and tell him all about the start of her new school year, her new teacher, and make funny noises.
(00:18:06) Music cont’d - The guys continue their discussion on the low barriers to entry in content creation and Chris shares a little about the equipment the guys use to make the podcast.
(00:20:34) Politics - What doesn’t seem like a political conversation at first quickly heads that way. Chris asks if the “media” is to blame for the dumbing down of society, Andre shares a recent conversation with some family members about Donald Trump, and the guys discuss political fanaticism and the need to remain politically open-minded. Chris explains why he can’t get down with the current Republican party, Andre says Black Lives Matter might need a makeover and explains why he takes issue with Franklin Graham being the face of his religion. The guys talk about the difference between “evidence” and facts, the latest polls, the enthusiasm behind Donald Trump’s re-election, the DNC and the performances from Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders.
The guys debate whether a dictator could ever come to power in the United States.
(00:57:15) Business - The guys switch gears and discuss the continued economic impacts of the pandemic including Infosys abandoning its Raleigh plans, RTI furloughing 1,200 employees, Walmart’s e-commerce sales reporting, plant-based protein products’ demand increase, North Carolina Universities closing down in-person classes due to multiple COVID clusters, plans to reopen North Carolina public schools in 2020.
The guys get pretty serious for a bit discussing the lack of common sense around masks and taking simple measures to protect ourselves and each other. Staying sersious, they decide to tackle the Confederate Flag issue, the recent clashes at the Stone Mountain monument, and people’s continued misinterpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
(01:16:55) Technology - In an effort to not depress everyone too much, the guys close things out geeking out over Chris’ new Samsung Chromebook he got for his daughter’s classwork, hate on their respective Windows machines (and Windows itself), bash Cisco and Webex, and talk about the fact that most people don’t need “real” laptops while reminiscing about the less-than-a-gig computers of yesteryear.
(01:31:01) That’s a wrap! - Andre didn’t get to talk about food but gives a shout out to the Beyond Burger, Chris is excited for his Very Good Butchers order to show up eventually (which it just did!), and the guys are now on just about every streaming platform you can possibly imagine (including YouTube)! Tune in soon for another episode!