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This, friends, is a From The Headlines episode. And what headline are we breaking down for you this time? “Perp walk Trump: Arrest and indictment by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg awaits ex-president” (NY Daily News).  Well, not exactly that one. More like this one, from the Washington Post:“Donald Trump Braces for Potential Charges in N.Y. Hush-Money Case, Calls for Protests. Former president urges supporters to ‘TAKE OUR NATION BACK!’”But, no matter which headline you go with, we're talking about the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, the potential crimes committed, and whether or not we'll get to see a perp walk after all.  This week's Patron-only bonus content: Our reactions to some of the WILD social media content out there on this topic. This week's Groovy Dance Jam: Blow Out My Candle, Betty Who If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!  

“It can’t be that easy to misplace classified documents, can it?!” In August 2022, a search turned up some 300 classified documents stored in former President Trump’s home Mar a Lago.  In January 2023, outlets began reporting that classified documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center, presumably from Biden’s time as Vice President. Then, just as the proverbial world was debating the differences between the two situations, reports surfaced that classified documents had also been found at Mike Pence’s home in Indiana… So this week, we’re here to break down the situation a little bit more and discuss how this might have happened, the differences between these situations, and how we can know who might have committed an actual crime.    If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!  

This week, we’re diving into the complexities of the world's most recognized symbol of existential threat: the doomsday clock. That’s right, the metaphorical clock that slowly marks our advancement toward certain doom due to humanity’s constant thirst for better and more efficient methods to completely wipe ourselves out. Okay, that may be a little melodramatic. But it is true! Learn along with us on *probably* not the last podcast episode you'll ever listen to.  If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!    

Join us this week as we venture into the (un)known with a quick (for us, anyway) discussion about the backstory of the Dungeons and Dragons Open Game License, how OGL 1.1 is splitting the party, and whether or not Wizards of the Coast is the BBEG in this campaign. And, because we are who we are, we also delve into the fallacy of false choice and explain that this (and so many other situations) really isn’t an Us vs Them encounter. If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

We’re trying something new! Or at least a new version of something old! This is Headlines Potpourri, in which we discuss timely headline news and try to add important context or helpful talking points. This week’s headlines: “McCarthy Loses 10th Speaker Vote” (15 by the time of recording…) “George Santos arrived in D.C. this week. No one is more riled than N.Y.'s other gay congressman.” “Biden toughens border, offers legal path for 30,000 a month” “Layoffs are sweeping Corporate America to kick off 2023” “Weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level since September” “Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil’s presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court” Good News: “FDA approves drug for Alzheimer’s treatment” And, the patron-only bonus headline… “This Futuristic Toilet Sensor Wants to Track Your Health With Pee” If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

It’s the first episode of 2023, and that means it’s time to take a look back at the episodes, what-ifs, and general pandemonium that was 2022. Plus, we made some predictions about… The pandemic to endemic shift Turmoil for social media platforms Changes in how and where we work The growing irrelevance of Donald Trump If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

We bounced around a variety of topics for this week’s episode, from Donald Trump’s assertion that we should chuck out the Constitution to The Twitter Files (dun dun dunnn). But right at the last minute, something caught our attention that could spell the END OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. (Are you paying attention yet?) If you’re a political/legal/electoral nerd like we are, you’ve probably hear about Moore v. Harper. This Supreme Court case is likely to determine the validity of a concept called “the independent state legislature theory,” which has plagued political conversations since the 2020 election. As always, media folks and the like are particularly bad at explaining exactly what… it means. So, we’re going to break that down. And we’ll talk a bit about why we think this decision could be a really big deal.  If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has been marked by controversy. From corruption in the bidding process to human rights violations against migrant workers, the event is wrought with issues. And, it’s causing an ethical dilemma for many of the world’s soccer teams and fans.  In this episode we’re taking a closer look at the allegations against FIFA and Qatar, and asking what kind of social responsibility the organization, the teams, and the fans have when ethical situations like this arise. Oh! And in this week’s Patron only bonus content, we’re talking about beer.    If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!  

Q: In this episode of the popular Fireside Breakdowns podcast, hosts Robin and Jon tackle some uncommon current events knowledge, Trebek style. A: What is Fireside Jeopardy? Our plan for this episode was to do a little discussion on a few concepts and terms we’ve seen in the news this week that don’t get explained very often. They’re kind of just thrown around, and everyone listening or reading is expected to know what they mean or put it together using context. So, we wanted to explain what each one means and give some reference points about why it’s important to current events.  But then we got to thinking… what was the best way to learn new concepts and test your knowledge in school?  With a rousing game of Jeopardy, of course! Listen in as we tackle topics like the Lame Duck session, the Debt Ceiling, and the Speaker of the House. If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

To introduce this week’s topic, I’d like to read you all a quote I think sums up where we’re headed in this episode: “Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, it's been nothing but a volatile rollercoaster of decline and implosion—and it hasn't even been a month.” (Lucas Ropek, Gizmodo) Honestly, with all the stress and tension of the midterms and economy talk… we’re overdue for some comic relief. So we’re going to take a moment to revel in the deconstruction of the Twitterverse at the hands of Mr. Musk. Other Episodes Referenced: S3|SS12: Democracy vs Your Wallet S2|SS29: The Section 230 Experience S2|SS22: Ghislaine Maxwell, Filter Bubbles, + The Media S1|SS26: The Paradox of Tolerance S1|SS8: Debate Takes and Boogaloo Bois If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

This week, we’re going unscripted with a potpourri of election-adjacent topics centered around one theme: What’s really on the line this Election Day? We’re talking about: How political messaging is making Americans feel like they have to choose between putting food on the table and saving democracy. The difference in the pre-election narratives we’re seeing from the Republicans and the Democrats. The differences in red and blue economic policies. The rise of stochastic terrorism after the 2020 election, especially against political figures. The number of election deniers on midterm ballots, and how that might undermine the integrity of elections in the future. If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!

Governors Abbot (TX), Ducey (AZ), and DeSantis (FL) have made news recently for bussing - and now flying - migrants from their states to other (democrat-led) states. But these stories have left us with so many questions… Why are they doing this? Who are the people they are transporting; do they understand what's happening? And who is paying for all this? If you’d like to get in touch… You can leave us a review at: https://ratethispodcast.com/fireside Or you can drop us a note from our Contact page! You can find all of our sources in our Show Notes. And, check out our Patreon Page! Patrons get access to early episode drops, bonus content, priority topic requests, quarterly happy hours, and more!