The Big Life Questions Show show

The Big Life Questions Show

Summary: The Big Life Questions Show podcast is all about seeking answers to the mysteries of humanity and the world around us. Each week cohosts Doug Schneider and Chris Nerney (and occasional guests) explore both timeless and timely topics such as how to overcome adversity, the dangers of populism, the causes of and cures for burnout, our obsession with sports, the definition of freedom, whether the world would be better off without religions, wealth inequality, how to fix a broken democracy, the corrosive impact of predatory capitalism, the psychic value of gratitude, the cost of higher education, advice we’d give our younger selves, what we owe future generations, the healing effect of humor, which historical figures would be fun to have dinner with, how “fear of the other” is mankind’s greatest flaw, dealing with medical mysteries, coping with loss, what the Founding Fathers would say about the United States today, the benefits and drawbacks of immigration, presidential politics and impeachment, when quitting makes sense, signs of hope for humanity amid the chaos and uncertainty of modern life, and much more.

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  • Artist: The Big Life Questions Show
  • Copyright: Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.

Podcasts:

 Episode 100: What Are You Looking Forward to Doing Once the Pandemic Is Over? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:52

Show Notes we wrap up our first 100 episodes by looking forward to life without Covid, and with some stats from our first 100 episodes. we send love to our loyal audience. 1.10 Doug's answer to the question 2.40 The Thing that Chris is Most Looking Forward To 5.40 Being relaxed in public 8.40 Doug Pats himself on the back 11.45 What Doug has been Right About, Part Two 14.30 What We've Learned from Covid, Per Chris 18.15 The First 100 Episodes - Stats 28.30 A Crazy Time in US History

 Episode 99: Why Is March Madness So Exciting? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 22:46

Show Notes We take a detour from politics to answer all questions (well, some questions) about March Madness 1.00 The Attraction of March Madness 3.20 Why Are There 68 Teams Picked for the Tournament? 12.00 Chris links Seeding to Final Four Appearances 14.15 Gonzaga 17.25 Your Team Loses, But Then It's Spring 18.40 Big Life Questions Show Announcement

 Episode 98: Why Are We So Fascinated With Mars? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 29:14

Chris, whose father was an astronaut (or so he told his friends), provides expert analysis of the meaning of the Mars landing Video Link to Mars Landing Mars Landing 0.30 A Brief History of Space Travel 2.50 The Mars Landing 6.30 Is there life on other planets? 10.20 Nation-States Competing in space 14.40 Human nature is to pursue discovery 19.00 Do we need to send humans into space? 22.00 The Planet B Fallacy

 Episode 97: What Does the Political Landscape Look Like for 2021? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 25:39

Here we survey the landscape of American politics for this year. 0.40 Predictions for the Biden Administration 2.15 The Republican Party is in a pickle 9.00 College student debt 11.30 Biden and the Trump drama 11.50 Texas and Ted Cruz 17.55 Andrew Cuomo 22.30 Mitch McConnell       

 Episode 96: What's the Problem In Healthcare That No One's Talking About? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 44:38

This episode's guest, Frank Cutitta, tells Chris and Doug his incredible story of spending more than three months in the hospital with COVID last year -- including 40 days in an induced coma -- and what he learned about our healthcare system. 1.15 Our Guest Intro 2.00 40 Days in a Coma 15.10 Caregiver Stress & Loneliness 20.15 The Anonymity of the Mask 21.45 Rehab 27.30 How Frank is doing now 29.15 Last Rites Twice 35.00 I'm Not My Healthcare Dashboard

 Episode 95: Can the Democrats and Republicans Achieve Unity? (And If So, How Should Biden Approach Getting There?) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 20:56

Show Notes We discuss if and how Biden can get to the Unity that he and some Republicans keep talking about. 0.45 Chris answers the question 3.15 American popular opinion favors government intervention 4.55 Oppositional defiance disorder 6.45 The anti-democracy movement 11.45 What Biden has going for himself 13.45 Marjorie Taylor Greene 15.45 Republican money sources drying up

 Episode 94: What Can Be Done About Right-wing Extremism In the United States? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:49

Show Notes 1.40 How much extremism there really is 4.30 Planned terrorists, Internet Stars and Insurrection Tourists 6.45 The Republican Party 9.40 Does the Republican Party need Trump? 10.20 When Chris Voted for a Republican 16.30 Will the Republicans ever abandon Trump? 18.20 The Right Wing Extremists Speak for Themselves

 Episode 93 - What Can We Expect From Donald Trump's Second Impeachment Trial? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 23:39

Show Notes Here we contemplate Trump's 2nd impeachment trial. He was going for 3, but he got kicked out of office.  1.10 Doug's dim view of the Republicans 3.45 What's different about this impeachment trial? 5.30 Will Trump stay relevant politically? 9.30 Trump's Greatest Accomplishment 10.45 The delay of the trial 12.15 Will the Republican Party split in two? 14.15 The Republicans and The Whigs

 Episode 92: Can We Expect Violence During Biden's Inauguration and In the Days After? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 21:42

Show Notes We contemplate the state of the world, such as it is, potential violence around the Inauguration, the 2nd amendment and right wing extremists.  0.40 Wash DC becomes a police state 1.50 Arming the Extreme Right 3.40 Is Unity the Next Step, Really ? 6.30 Chris reads crazy-people posts from Parler 14.00 Accommodating the white supremacists seems like a very bad idea 18.10 The 2nd amendment & false equivalency   

 Episode 91: How Should Donald Trump Be Held Accountable for Attempting to Overthrow the U.S. Government? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 28:21

Show Notes We discuss potential consequences for Trump and his enablers 0.30 A quick review of Trump's insurrection program 4.00 A second impeachment? 4.50 The Trump Family & Friends Pre-Rally Party 9.00 Whatever happened to individual responsibility? 13.20 Should Trump be prosecuted? 15.10 What about Trump's enablers? 18.10 What options does the Trump crowd have left? 27.10 Should we worry about riling up the Trump base?

 Episode 90: What Are the Statistics That Shaped 2020? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:28

Show Notes We use some key stats to do a brief re-cap of the mess that was 2020- but, overall, we definitely recommend turning the page to 2021. 0.30 Doug's Netflix recommendation 1.00 The Covid Pandemic, Again 8.50 Food Lines & Economic Disaster 12.00 Absentee and Mail In Ballots 15.40 Many Americans lack high speed internet 16.10 Biden's Low Hanging Fruit 18.00 Will Trump run in 2024? 19.30 The Demise of Local Newspapers  

 Episode 89: What Would You Like to See Happen In 2021? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:24

Show Notes 0.30 Covid and the Vaccines 2.45 The Global Economy and Jobs 4.50 Truth and Reconciliation 7.20 Getting Our Democracy Back 9.00 The Georgia Elections 12.00 The International World Order 13.40 More Bi-Partisanship

 Episode 88: What Is the Best Way to Give and Receive Expert Advice? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 34:06

Here, with substantial help from Amiel Handelsman, an experienced coach who works with individuals and organizations, we explore how to process expert advice. Links Contacting Amiel 3.15 Distinguishing expert advice from other forms 5.30 Financial advice and uncertainty 7.10 How do you determine if someone is an expert? 9.10 Expert advice from the pandemic experts 11.15 Executives giving and receiving advice 16.20 The roles and elements of trust 20.25 Hearing advice you don't want to hear 26.50 Getting tips from Amiel 28.20 How to process advice from someone who doesn't know you

 Episode 87: What 3 Big Things Would You Love to See Happen In The World Over The Next 10 Years? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:58

Show Notes We finally break out of Trump Doom to brainstorm on what could really help fix the world over the next 10 years - all things being possible. 1.00 A Cure for Cancer 1.45 Health Report from Chris 3.10 The Browns Win the Super Bowl 3.30 Re-invigorating Democracy 9.00 Wealth Inequality  10.30 Solar Power and Climate Change 14.20 More Women Leaders 17.45 Population Health  

 Episode 86: Why Have State Election Officials Held the Line Against Trump? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:09

Show Notes Here we explore why, despite unrelenting pressure and threats from Trump, state election officials in the swing states - both Republicans and Democrats - have protected the integrity of the election 0.45 The election that wasn't really that close 4.00 State election officials take their jobs seriously 9.40 Chris says, "There are good people on both sides." where have we heard that before? 10.30 The Right Wing Echo Chamber 14.20 The Courts Hold the Line 16.50 Trump's Branding Problem

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