If you didn't see Last Week Tonight with John Oliver last night, the Main Story was on the skyrocketing costs of renting. It's a problem that far too many Americans are aware of, and they tell the story and its hurdles well, along with a good deal of humorous ridicule.
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If you missed Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Sunday, the Main Story was about tech monopolies -- notably Apple, Google and Facebook, and how they control the flow of information you get. It's a very interesting story with a lot of room for humor, of which there's plenty.
On this week’s Al Franken podcast, his guest is University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee (who served as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and was a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet) who talks about – as Al says – “Guess What? The Economy. Historic Growth, High Inflation, & Strained Supply Chains. Oh, My!”
If you didn't see Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Sunday, here's his Main Story about Subway, in particular on its abusive franchise contracts. It's an enjoyable story, one that clearly leaves itself open to a lot of humor. I think he's unfair in repeatedly saying how terrible their food is -- I hardly think it's great, but I hardly think it's terrible. It's basic subs -- but overall it's an interesting, fun story. If you missed Last Week Tonight with John Oliver last night, the Main Story was on Utilities. More specifically, on why their charges are so high and the relenting scandals involving them. It's very well done, and an excellent vent for people who've been gnashing their teeth for years. And an excellent platform for often being very funny, especially since will note that Oliver enjoys saying the word "Twinkle." The only thing that surprises me about the segment is that while it references PG&E a great deal as a very troubled utility that covers much of California, for all the scandals they mention, the show leaves out that it was PG&E that was the utility whose massive scandals brought about the movie Erin Brockovich. Yes, that PG&E. So, when you can leave out Erin Brockovich when referencing their many scandals, imagine how bad PG&E is... By the way, or those who might be remotely curious for some reason, no, I do not have PG&E as my provider. in my area of Los Angeles, I'm covered by the DWP and Southern California Gas. Not that they're any great shakes, but they're not PG&E.
To explain this podcast, the show wrote that a few weeks earlier their Apple TV+ version had taken on “the stock market, GameStop, and the Robinhood app. Spencer Jakab, an editor with The Wall Street Journal, took to Twitter to vent his disagreements with it. So we invited him on the podcast (we’re gluttons for punishment) to talk it out.” Additionally, Jon is joined by writers Kris Acimovic and Kasaun Wilson to talk about “rising gas prices and why comedy clubs are the only landmarks comedians know.”
This podcast is from a couple months ago, but my procrastination has worked out well. That's because this Sunday (May 15), MSNBC is airing a documentary on somewhat the same subject. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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