Hello from Below the Median Hello from Below the Median

This week, we start by revisiting mail-in voting as an issue, checking out if there is any new information since we covered the topic back in May. We do this using articles from the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via the New York Times - https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-nyt-coronavirus-voting-by-mail-20200525-ewdetupwrrda7pyz5kegfzjf3e-story.html) and a USAToday report about the biggest critic of the practice, the President, and his use of mail-in voting (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/13/trump-requests-mail-ballot-florida-primary-despite-rhetoric/3371605001/). Then, we discuss the subject of representation in video games. Though our population is very diverse, does that diversity translate to the creators of our games or the products that they create for us to buy? We discuss a CNBC article on the subject (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/14/video-game-industry-grapples-with-murky-track-record-on-diversity.html) as well as some supplemental statistics (https://www.statista.com/statistics/189582/age-of-us-video-game-players-since-2010/)(https://www.statista.com/topics/1680/gaming/) related to gaming demographics. In our last segment, we talk about the rising cost of college as it relates to the Covid-19 pandemic (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/covid-college-tuition.html) and why we believe parent's outrage at the cost should have happened well before collegiate use of virtual instruction was an issue (https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/why-college-costs-are-so-high-and-rising.html).

Hello from Below the Median is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to support our efforts our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters; at the moment patrons get access to our pre-show notes and on-air personal acknowledgement, but we are looking to expand the benefits that we can offer to our supporters.

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As Mini is missing celebrating another turn around the sun, Jake and Flavius discuss leaving social media behind and some terrible news regarding climate change from the land of our neighbors to the north (Canada). Using the article found at , Jake compares his own experience with ignoring social media to the benefits identified by the author as Flavius provides a fresh perspective on the issue. The guys then pivot to talk about the ice shelf that collapsed in Canada that occurred earlier this month .

Hello from Below the Median is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to donate our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters; at the moment patrons get access to our pre-show notes but we are looking to expand the benefits that we can offer to our supporters.

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For our second episode in the new and somewhat less political format, the guys discuss a wide range of topics. We begin with a discussion of the Rock's buyout of his former boss's football league, then move into discussing tech breakthroughs that might be important (and hopefully more cost effective) following the conclusion of the current Covid-19 pandemic, then Jake and Mini discuss his experience as someone who comes from an immigrant family yet is probably the first generation in that family to be "just white enough" to be included in the casual racism that can be prevalent in certain parts of the country in which the three of us live.

Untying the Knot is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to donate our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters; at the moment patrons get access to our pre-show notes but we are looking to expand the benefits for our supporters.

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This week we attempt a new format that gives each host time to talk about an issue that has been on their mind this week. Mini, unfortunately, is unable to join us. Jake leads us on a winding road about comic book movies that might be an example of why this new format is not so good, while Flavius leads us on a discussion of the issue surrounding the formerly "Washington Redskins" that provides an example of the positives of the change.

Untying the Knot is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to donate our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters; at the moment patrons get access to our pre-show notes but we are looking to expand the benefits for our supporters.

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This week Flavius, Mini, and Jake do a deep dive into two representative samples of how the partisans covered the shootings that occurred over the July 4th weekend. Which side tried to explain the violence, and which side chose to limit their explanation? How does the pandemic and the protests factor into the "wrong kind of fireworks"? Which side received the higher bias rating, and was that the side the three of us wished had provided more information?

Take a listen to find the answers to these questions in our discussion.

Untying the Knot is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to donate our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters; at the moment patrons get access to our pre-show notes but we are looking to expand the benefits for our supporters.

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The week Mini, Flavius, and Jake break down representative samples of how either partisan side is covering (or not covering) the June 24 executive order regarding the foster care system. We go over the details of the order and why it got almost no coverage on the left (spoiler: it's hard to sympathetically tear into an action aimed at helping children in the foster care system, and everyone knows if you don't have anything mean to say you shouldn't say anything at all... wait, I think that's incorrect somehow). 

We also share our perspectives on the St. Louis couple who have been in the news recently, and while we are sympathetic to people protecting their property there is something to be said for gun owners who demonstrate proper safety protocols...

Untying the Knot is a listener supported podcast - we appreciate all of your likes, shares, reviews, and listens. If you would like to donate our Patreon site link is below. We are currently working on ideas and gifts to send to our Patreon supporters.

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