May 29, 2017
EP. 182 — 14 Simple Changes That Would Revolutionize the World
The world is full of systems and orders that we never really question because they’ve seemingly exited forever. And we’re not talking about overthrowing the government or anything, we just mean basic things like how we take out our trash, when we vote and what movies we like to see when.
Think about it, why do all the big action-tentpole movies come out in the summer? Is it because kids are out of school? Beauty and the Beast has made a half-billion dollars domestically but it came out in March. If the next Spiderman came out in February, would nobody see it? Of course people would, so again, why all the big movies in the Summer?
This week on the podcast we’re asking questions like these to some of the big staples of modern living. Jack O’Brien is joined by Adam Ganser and Alex Schmidt. They ask if there’s a better way we can be voting, doing taxes and disposing of our trash, and make simple tweaks to improve professional sports, comic book movies and the 5-day work week.
And be sure to come see the next live taping of the Cracked Podcast on Saturday, June 10th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theater in Los Angeles. Guests inlcude Daniel O’Brien, Tom Reimann, Jamie Loftus (The Bechdel Cast) and Dave Schilling (Bleacher Report, Grantland, Vice) as the Cracked crew discusses insane behind the scenes stories from movies and tv shows. Tickets are $7 and available here: https://goo.gl/lsCBDm
Footnotes:
Article: Cracked: 5 Terrible Ideas That Solved Huge Global Problems: https://goo.gl/d4a0y
Article: New York Times: Seeking the Truth in Refuse (about William Rathje garbologist) https://goo.gl/eLjCfi
Podcast/Article: NPR: Utah Finds Surprising Benefits In 4-Day Workweek: https://goo.gl/RFic4C
Article: CNN Money: The 4-Day Work Week Is Real For Employees At These Companies: https://goo.gl/K7H1mA
Article: Slate: Maybe Making Election Day a Holiday Wouldn’t Really Work: https://goo.gl/GDrj0u
Podcast/Article: NPR: Stanford Professor Loses Political Battle To Simplify Tax Filing Process: https://goo.gl/PzUDQq
Podcast: The Cracked Podcast: Real Superpowers and New Human Senses: https://goo.gl/gusNq4
Article: The New Yorker: Seeing With Your Tongue: https://goo.gl/da1hnQ
Video: Cracked: Why Everybody Wins if Batman & Superman Are Public Domain: https://goo.gl/qRUA5s
Recent Episodes
January 26, 2020
Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.
Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/
January 19, 2020
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Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think
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Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.
Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/