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The Connect2 Podcast

Media & Entertainment Podcasts

A conversation between Mark and Jeff, two information junkies, about a wide range of contemporary issues. We discuss current events, nerdy things, business concepts, marketing, technology, media and photography. As we are based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, there are lots of local topics. The podcast is generally upbeat and often covers current events and we occasionally have guests. Each episode typically has a central focus for most of the podcast but also lots of other regular topics including what they learned in the last week and what media they are consuming.

Location:

Edmonton, AB

Description:

A conversation between Mark and Jeff, two information junkies, about a wide range of contemporary issues. We discuss current events, nerdy things, business concepts, marketing, technology, media and photography. As we are based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, there are lots of local topics. The podcast is generally upbeat and often covers current events and we occasionally have guests. Each episode typically has a central focus for most of the podcast but also lots of other regular topics including what they learned in the last week and what media they are consuming.

Twitter:

@hughesmarkc

Language:

English

Contact:

5877127532


Episodes

What forms your identity? What makes you you?

3/26/2024
Mark and Jeff discuss how people thing of themselves and how they form the identity that makes them who they are. We also discuss the politics of identity and the confusion regarding gender pronouns, where it started and where it has ended up as a political thing. As usual we sample coffee, tell some dad jokes, discuss what we learned this week and contemplate the media that we have been consuming

Duration:00:52:26

U2 at the Sphere and How to attend a WPPI conference

3/19/2024
In this episode, Mark and Jeff discuss Mark's recent trip to Las Vegas where he went to see U2's last show at the Sphere (spoiler alert.... it was amazing) and then attended the Wedding and Portrait Photographer's conference (WPPI) one of the biggest photography events in the world. As usual, the guys discuss what they learned this past week as well as what media they are consuming. As a bonus, Mark and Jeff discuss the great photoshop faux pas of Kate Middleton (was it even her?)

Duration:01:01:32

Apple killed their Car Project... What happened?

3/5/2024
Mark and Jeff discuss the major decision from Apple to kill its autonomous EV project. Over 10 years of development and $10 Billion and a staff of 2000. Staff will be reassigned and scattered amongst Apple projects. As usual, we sample coffee, tell a couple of dad jokes, discuss what we learned this week and review media we consumed.

Duration:00:54:07

Positive Thinking and it's Effect on Your Life

2/27/2024
Positive thinking has long been thought of as important to your health and wellness. Mark and Jeff do a deep dive into how that works and what positive thinking means to them. As usual we discuss things we learned in the past week (often space related), a few corny dad jokes and media we are consuming. Check out our facebook group for links to the topics we cover (we basically fact check ourselves)

Duration:01:00:39

Modern Corporatism and where it leads

2/20/2024
Mark and Jeff discuss the concepts of Corporatism vs Capitalism vs the need to regulation in modern western societies. In particular discussing where capitalism and be made accountable for decisions that affect society and the environment. As usual there are a few dad jokes, things we learned in the last week and media we a currently consuming.

Duration:01:00:29

Synchronicity.... more than a coincidence?

2/13/2024
Back after a week's hiatus, Mark and Jeff discuss the significance of synchronicity and it's impact on your life. When are things coincidences and when are they more than that? We also discuss things we learned this week including tales of time travel and what media we have been consuming.

Duration:00:58:33

Is a Virtual Band Real? Gorillaz!

1/30/2024
In this episode Mark and Jeff discuss fake bands and in particular the virtual band Gorillaz. A band that has had a fair bit of success and was created as a bit of a thumb towards the music industry. The band has a complicated and detailed back story for the animated band members. Gorillaz is the brainchild of Damon Albarn (from Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (a graphic artist known for Tank Girl)

Duration:00:55:13

What is ASMR and is it what you think it is?

1/23/2024
There are a lot of misconceptions about what ASMR is and why people might like it. Mark and Jeff discovered that ASMR is not really what they thought it was and its a little odd/unusual, bordering on fetishness. Today's episode is a little shorter than usual but in this episode Jeff/Mark used an additional microphone to capture some ASMR trigger sounds. Unfortunately this podcast is recorded in mono, so you won't get the full effect of the sounds in each ear but you can hear the sounds of the triggers chosen for ASMR. Neither Mark nor Jeff were triggered by these sounds.

Duration:00:37:02

The Johnny Depp movie that Nobody Saw (almost nobody)

1/16/2024
Mark and Jeff explore the famous photo essayist W. Eugene Smith and his life, particularly when he went to Japan to cover something called Minamata disease. One of his most famous images was taken there and there was a feature film based upon his life and travels to Minamata starring Johnny Depp. The movie is excellent but did not do well at the box office and is a little harder to find. Worth your time as Johnny Depp does an excellent job portraying the difficult photographer that was Eugene Smith.

Duration:01:01:00

Dr. Temple Grandin, the Austistic Savanat

1/9/2024
Dr. Temple Grandin is know for two things, her autism and how she has used it to help inform her professional career in Animal Science. She has singlehandedly changed the food processing industry by making it significantly more humane. She is a fascinating individual and the main topic of this podcast. As usual we discuss what we learned in the past week, as well as what media we have been consuming.

Duration:00:58:28

What’s to come? Predictions for 2024

1/2/2024
Mark and Jeff take stab at predictions for 2024. Recorded during the Christmas break, Mark and Jeff discuss what they were most surprised about from last year as well as predictions (with differing confidence levels) for 2024. This episode covers a lot of territory and is pretty free ranging. Enjoy and have a happy new year!!!

Duration:01:03:06

Retiring at 65 was originally political smoke and mirrors

12/26/2023
Mark and Jeff discuss how a retirement age of 65 was originally arrived at. Hint, it's not what you expect and its not scientifically arrived at. The original reason for a social security program was to support people whose physical jobs were something they could no longer do to support themselves, but few were expected to take advantage of the programs at the time they were introduced. Times have changed and so have expectations. Not Christmassy (sp? is that even a word?) and not a rerun

Duration:01:05:14

Bryan Johnson’s Anti-Aging Quest... is it real?

12/19/2023
Bryan Johnson is a Silicon valley millionaire (almost billionaire) who sold his company at the age of 34 and now focuses on his anti-aging quest through the Blueprint protocol. This protocol is an open source method of trying to extend your life based upon empirical data and evidence based science. He sounds a little crazy (and he may be) but there is something to what he is proposing. It's also important to note that he is not running this to make money. He provides his entire system for free.

Duration:00:56:20

Real Estate as a Pension for Small Businesses?

12/12/2023
Most small businesses do not have pension plans or easy ways to extract their business' value. To that end sometimes small businesses think they should buy their building to reduce their costs or at least having their payments to back to them. There are pitfalls to this approach and anyone considering doing it should really think it hard and carefully. Mark and Jeff discuss and provide context on what business owners should consider when looking at buying real estate.

Duration:01:06:34

Understanding Stanley Kubrick

12/5/2023
As part of our series on Neurodivergent (or suspected) celebrities, this episode dives into the enigma that was Stanley Kubrick the auteur film maker known for feature films such as the Shining, 2001: A Space Odessey, Eyes Wide Shut to name a few. A man obsessed with detail, his meticulous attention to all aspects of a film would often mean they would take a long time to come to fruition. He would often take an extraordinary number of takes and he would spend an inordinate amount of time sourcing historically accurate props and practical lighting effects.

Duration:00:55:54

Who is Sam Altman?

11/28/2023
In the past week and a half there has been much turmoil at OpenAI, the company that has developed and launched ChatGTP (as well as Dall-E). Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI was fired on Friday Nov 17, 2023, subsequently tried to come back only to have the board decide not to hire him, hired by Microsoft and then rehired back on the following Tuesday. It is big tech news because ChatGPT has taken the tech world by storm and is valued somewhere in the region of $80 Billion US. Mark and Jeff do a deeper dive into the background of Sam Altman and discovered some surprising facts about him.

Duration:01:04:29

The Mystery that is Banksy

11/21/2023
Mark and Jeff do a deep dive into the Artist known as Banksy. Where he came from what he did and what seems to drive him. Banksy is a complicated artist whose identity is not known (although it was recently revealed!). His work is all political with lots of pranks. He did a documentary in 2011 that was nominated for an academy award. He has also done a huge amount of political commentary both by his images, what they show and where they are placed. He is a street artist that still does illegal works (sometimes), in the streets.

Duration:01:09:26

A Deeper Dive Into the Complex World of Elon Musk

11/14/2023
Elon Musk is a complicated person. Some people idolize him, others think he is a villain. He has attributes of both and although he gets some visionary things accomplished because he is relentless, he would be a very difficult person to work for. It is easy to understand how some of the things he had done can be interpreted more than one way. Mark and Jeff discuss some of his accomplishments as well as some of the problems he has caused.

Duration:01:04:15

Understanding Elon Musk is Neurodiverse

11/7/2023
Mark was interested in a biography of Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson as a result of a podcast from Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher (Pivot). He has been reading the book and feels the criticism by Kara Swisher on the writer is poorly founded (actually it feels like she was reading some other book). Her critique is that Walter Isaacson never states if he liked Elon, but that seems to have completely missed the way the book is structured. Mark also feels that Kara fundamentally doesn't understand Elon's behaviour. What is clear is that Elon is Neurodiverse and it really explains a lot of his behaviour. In this episode we dive deep into this topic.

Duration:01:02:54

Dealing with the End of Your Life

10/31/2023
As people age, at some point in time you need to deal with either an aging relative or your own inevitable demise. Many people try to avoid thinking about it until too late. In this episode, after we talk about some space stuff, we discuss common issues as people age as well as how to plan for the future. It is a difficult issue that sometimes only gets discussed or resolved when a medical crisis occurs. Even if you know better, sometimes people avoid the work to plan for their own retirement and long term care. We also talked about Ganymede and Artemis as well as the problems with the Star Wars universe.

Duration:01:04:58