KoPoint

In which American Conversation teams up with Stuart Tracte, host of KoPoint's Beer Diplomacy. Our amalgamated panel discuss the election, the future of the RNC, and how social media employed employed by Israel during the recent skirmish with Palestine. Listen on iTunes Download Audio: American Conversation, EP 17 - Forward 

This is AFK On Air: Obsessions explored; tropes dissected; geek questions answered. AFK On Air, EP 02 - Cosplay Lindsay: "There's the I-made-this people, there's the I-bought-this people, there's the this-was-my-Halloween-costume-earlier-this-year people..." Lauren: "There's the I'm-naked people." Whether you're embodying a comic-book heroine down to every piece of suggestively-placed spandex or presenting a new, unique take on a traditional character, it takes some ladyballs to cosplay. In AFK On Air's second episode, we discuss the lure and rewards of creating your own costume for display, from hunting down the right jewelry to dealing with praise, criticism, and sometimes harassment for your final look. Some of our co-hosts regularly cosplay at conventions; others have dressed up only for Halloween. Join the discussion of the different types of cosplay, and learn what "Rule 63" means. Learn More: http://afkonair.com KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes

Beer Diplomacy, EP 108 - I'm Glad We Solved That Israel/Palestine Thing Recorded on November 19, 2012 at KoPoint Studios in NYC This week, host Stuart Tracte welcomes comedians Liam McEneaney & W. Kamau Bell into the studio for a raucous time. We discuss a wide variety of topics including Jezebel's outing of racist children, nudity in San Francisco, Caffeine in our food, the dumping of Mitt Romney, and Israel/Palestine relations. (or lack thereof) Thought provoking hilarity ensues. Topics can be found at http://bit.ly/BD108Topics KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes Learn more at http://kopoint.com Thanks for listening.

Managing the Gray, EP 110 - Just Do It: MTG Joins KoPoint CC Chapman KoPoint Today we are excited to announce that Managing the Gray has officially join KoPoint. Dan Patterson started KoPoint to be the media network that we always hoped for and I’m excited to see a lot of fellow old school podcasters becoming involved as well. Big things are coming, but I couldn’t wait to get this new episode out. Enjoy! Topics Discussed: - The Lorax - How to become a writer - Gladwell’s 10,000 Hours - Amazing Things Will Happen Thanks for listening and make it a great day. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe in iTunes to get future episodes automatically. Learn more: http://www.cc-chapman.com/podcasts/mtg-joins-kopoint/ KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes

KoPoint makes podcasts about business, politics, comic books, technology, and zombies. iTunes | RSS | Newsletter The new KoPoint website is live, and new programs are broadcasting now. The new KoPoint website makes listening to our shows and subscribing to our podcast very simple. To emphasize simplicity and speed, the front end of KoPoint is hosted on and built around Tumblr. Our backend data is managed by Rackspace and served by a variety of CDNs (depending on your physical location). I care about the relationship listeners have with @kopoint in their ears and minds, not on a screen. Subscribe + Listen > Click. — Dan Patterson (@DanPatterson) November 13, 2012 The website experience (eg, kopoint dot com) is important. The website serves as a handshake introduction, a distribution hub, and a community portal. More important, however, is that the website help guide you towards developing an off-screen experience.   At it's heart, KoPoint is a content company produced by humans. Yes, our studio shows do pop, hiss, and crackle. KoPoint has always been a fun and messy company. It is my sincere hope that KoPoint becomes something you listen to, relax with, and experience in your mind's eye. In the past year, KoPoint has produced over a hundred full-length episodes, traveled with the presidential campaign, covered Comic Con, and interviewed thought leaders like Steve Wozniak. We've servered several hundred thousand downloads and millions of minutes listened. Our sponsors and underwriters include some of the tech world's most sophisticated start-ups. The new season of KoPoint content features a fantastic slate of shows focused on business, technology, and culture created by talented hosts and producers: AFK On Air Stacey Brook, Lindsay Johnson, Lauren Panepinto, Michele Reznik, Natalie Zutter American Conversation - Marc Lizoain and Dan Patterson Beer Diplomacy - Stuart Tracte The KoPoint Comic Book Show - Jeff Newelt, Jon Lazar, Dan Patterson Digital Flotsam - PW Fenton

AFK On Air, EP 01 - Pilot; Fandom The pilot episode of AFK On Air: Obsessions explored; tropes dissected; geek questions answered. Conversation away from the keyboard, between your ears, in your head. Co-Hosts: - Stacey Brook - Lindsay Johnson - Lauren Panepinto" - Michele Reznik - Natalie Zutter Recorded live in studio and streamed as a video Hangout via the KoPoint Google+ feed. Learn more at http://kopoint.com. Thanks for listening.

Beer Diplomacy [EP107] We're all Republicans | recorded Nov. 12, 2012 at KoPoint Studios, NYC. Stuart Tracte and Beer Diplomacy return to KoPoint Studios after a long break. This week, Dave Mathews (not that one) and Jon Reznick (not that one) join Stuart to discuss Obama's reelection, the state of the Republican Party, Los Angeles' porn/condom ballot measure, marijuana legalization, & NYC politics. This week's audio is raw and the conversation is authentic. Next week we'll be back to streaming video in the full studio. Topics are always used as a guideline, and this week's can be found at http://bit.ly/BD107Topics

KoPoint Election 2012 Coverage Learn more: http://live.kopoint.com KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes After a long and dirty trail, the campaign ends here, with KoPoint's live election night coverage. This audio podcast summarizes peak moments of election coverage from the KoPoint studio in New York City. Election night highlights include: Live reports from Obama HQ in Chicago filed by Justin Duckham of Talk Radio News Election day in photos with Michael Shaw of Bag News Notes Women, Silicon Valley, and the election with Elisa Camahort Page Broadcast media analysis from Lisa Wexler Tech and the election with Tom Merritt and Tech News Today A Reddit Report and an update on South Dakota politics by Josh Wolff We were joined by our friends, colleagues in media, significant others, and the fine folks of our studio host, SumAll. Here's a list of the KoPoint contributors  who joined KoPoint on-air on election night: Justin Duckham Jon Lazar Marc Lizoain Tom Merritt Dan Patterson Joaquin Roca Michele Reznik Adam Sherlip Doc Stodden Lisa Wexler Josh Wolff Our team also participated in a live election night mobile Bonfyre conversation. We take the show in and out with 'Sail' by AWOLNATION. Thanks for listening. - Dan Patterson

A few quick thoughts on the process of covering elections. - Reflection on the process. Second general election, things have changed yet I am starting to hear the same messages, and starting to see how and why partisanship works. - Personal reflection - 07 and 08 vs 2012 - I'm more centrist because real decisions are made on local level, by courts, by activist groups, and because I believe more and more in continuity of government. - Who did I vote for? Why? - Have we actually moved to a more parliamentary system, with a strong executive? - Who am I? Do I matter? Yes, meta reporting; no, because everyone can do it. Also: why listen to me? Maybe because I have some experience, but I’m still bothered by the pretense. - Does this election matter? - The process does matter? - Does tech matter? Yes. Tech has built tools that help democratize information dissemination. - How do we drill down the ballot, beyond the nominee? - Social media has matured - Peripheral exposure to news and information has lead to saturation - Is this good or bad? I think good because the process has become democratized. But in the process have all issues become more siloed, angry, and trivial? - Have we learned anything? I don't know. We've changed a lot. - Have I learned anything? Yes, I've become humbled and more neutral. - What is journalism? Who knows? Who cares. - Why do I do this? Who knows. - What does the future look like? Learn more at http://americanconversation.us and get KoPoint podcasts on iTunes at http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes Thanks.

Underwriting Post: Bonfyre Makes Conversations and Photosharing Relevant and Private Join Bonfyre and KoPoint for a mobile election day conversation: https://www.bonfyreapp.com/events/electionday2012 Editor’s Note: KoPoint offers select underwriting partners the opportunity to participate in content-appropriate sponsored audio interviews and blog posts about topics that are tightly related to the product vertical. These posts are clearly marked as underwriting, though the content is relevant, sincere, and organic . We hope you enjoy the podcast and post. The following is a sponsored audio interview and blog post with Bonfyre co-founder and CEO Mark Sawyier, and  co-founder and director of communications Raymond Gobberg. [caption id="attachment_2644" align="alignleft" width="300"] Bonfyre co-founder and director of communications, Raymond Gobberg[/caption] Bonfyre App ditches newsfeeds and brings relevant, private chat and photo sharing to your fingertips, election-day 2012 By: Raymond Gobberg, Bonfyre Co-Founder and Director of Communications Pew research recently released a study that found the average Facebook user has more than 200 friends on the network. But does anyone actually hang out with 200 people on a regular basis? Unlikely. Those 200 friends are really an accumulation of everyone you’ve ever met. While that Rolodex is a powerful way to share something with everyone, or see what people are up to, the reality is that these connections become less relevant over time. Enter Bonfyre, our free mobile app for iPhone and Android that answers the question: How do I share better with the people that matter? The platform is built on the simple concept that sharing around experiences and events rather than through decaying connections, static circles, or noisy newsfeeds is a better reflection of real life. For a relevant example, consider election-day: every person has unique political opinions, but not everyone wants to discuss them with their entire Facebook or Twitter network. Many just want to discuss the presidential election-day drama among close friends. While this appears to be a fairly obvious statement, deeper reflection uncovers some of the larger impacts of social networks and digital sharing as they have become ingrained in our daily lives. Over the past decade as social media has evolved, it has become easy to connect with a wide audience, instantly sharing location, activity, photos and opinions without pause. And while this unprecedented level of connectivity has enabled revolution (Egypt), aided those in need (Hurricane Sandy) and fostered democratic process (election-day 2012) it has uncovered an interesting dynamic where consumers are increasingly exploring ways to share with a limited audience, versus the status quo of broadcasting everything to everyone across their social graph. Broadcast as a default, while useful for certain situations, inevitably creates a challenge for individuals traversing the personal data environment: how do I keep anything private in an age when it is difficult to predict where my information will ultimately end up? Personal worlds that previously could be managed and segmented – work, family, friendships and personal secrets—become harder to keep apart in this reality. Some innovative and well capitalized organizations have recognized this need and launched products that attempt to deal with

American Conversation, EP 14 - Election Predictions KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes On this Election prediction special of KoPoint's American Conversation, the veteran campaign predictors Doc and Dan discuss their predictions for the coming election. The two covered important current topics like: How will the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy affect the Presidential Election? What color will the battleground states ultimately be when the dust is settled? What is the role of Social media and the 24 hour news cycle in modern elections and what are the prospects for the future of democracy in media? Doc's 2012 prediction: http://ElectoralMap.net/2012/myPrediction.php?d=bo0wqwr0nr0orwn0q Doc and Dan referred to tried and true poll analysis websites electoral-vote.com and http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/ Doc also noted a site that a person can use to predict the outcome of the election and see how the Electoral college will come out at http://electoralmap.net/2012/myPrediction.php. Finally, both Doc and Dan wax nostalgic about our previous election prediction shows, the golden age of Creepy Sleepy, and why the Horse Race still matters. Listen now to one of the best election prediction shows available by some of the most experienced election commentators in social media! Learn more: http://americanconversation.us

American Conversation, EP 13 - Sandy and the Election In this episode, American Conversation co-hosts Dan Patterson and Marc Lizoain are joined by organizational psychologist Joaquin Roca in storm-battered New York City. Forced to record from Brooklyn after the KoPoint studios were left without power, the three gentlemen discuss the storm, the impact of Sandy on the presidential race, what it means to be an undecided voter, and finally, the likelihood of an Obama re-election on Tuesday. Roca is sure that Obama will win, but Patterson and Lizoain are not so sure. No matter what happens, we'll bet you $1000 that you get your money's worth out of this episode of KoPoint's American Conversation! Donate via the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations  1-800-RED CROSS KoPoint on iTunes Learn More: http://americanconversation.us KoPoint on iTunes: http://kpnt.co/kopoint_itunes

Happy Halloween! We’re starting an annual tradition here at KoPoint to celebrate this most spooky of holidays. One of the best parts of this season is gathering together to tell scary stories and share the creepy things that make our skin crawl. This year, KoPoint invited archaeologist Quentin Lewis, resident storyteller Daniel Andrlik, and our own Dan Patterson to talk about our favorite scary stories, and what they mean to us. We start off discussing one of our favorite horror writers, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, then broaden our discussion to horror in media and fiction. Along the way we discuss the stories that matter to us, the link between scary stories and urban myth, as well as our favorite Halloween traditions. We would love to hear about your favorite scary stories, your favorite scary movies, and all about your personal Halloween traditions. Share them with us in the comments below, or use the hashtag #spooktacular on your social media site of choice. Topics of discussion Intro: About Halloween Wikipedia entry on Halloween How Stuff Works: Halloween Segment One: H.P. Lovecraft (but of course!) H.P. Lovecraft: History and Influence The dark side of Lovecraft: racism Lovecraft Stories Discussed: “Pickman’s Model” “The Temple” (also available in audio from KoPoint here) “The Rats in the Walls” “The Music of Erich Zann” Segment Two: Horror in Fiction History of the E.C. Comics horror series Why is Halloween so personal, and why do all these stories matter? Dread and Tension in Horror House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski Urban Myths and Slenderman: MarbleHornets Ranker’s list of the 13 scariest internet memes of all time Dan Patterson shares his own personal Halloween story Original Fiction by Daniel Andrlik: What his Sister Told Him Segment Three: Traditions The gang shares their personal Halloween traditions and a few of their favorite spooky bits. The Ring “Click-Clack the Rattlebag” by Nei

Happy Halloween and welcome back to KoPoint's series of H.P. Lovecraft short stories as read by anthropologist and friend of KoPoint, Quentin Lewis. Stoke the fire, draw the shutters, and settle in for 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth,' one of Lovecraft's most well-known and horrifying tales. From Quentin's Shownotes: "Hello All--as per halloween tradition, I welcome you to another annual reading of H.P. Lovecraft. This year, I've chosen "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1931), one of my favorite Lovecraft stories. I hope you like it as well. Cover of the original printing of Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Music this time around came from two creepy blues tunes: "Devil Got my Woman" by Skip James, by "See that My grave is Kept Clean" by Blind Lemon Jefferson" and by Slint, assorted cuts from Spiderland." More Lovecraft show notes at http://quentinlewis.com/podcast. More audio renditions of classic H.P. Lovecraft stories can be found at http://kpnt.co/lovecraftstories. Thanks for listening.

'Dagon' explores the early foundations of H.P. Lovecraft's notorious 'Cthulhu Mythos'. with another episode in KoPoint's H.P. Lovecraft short stories. Read by friend of anthropologist and KoPoint, Quentin Lewis http://quentinlewis.com. More audio stories by H.P. Lovecraft: http://kpnt.co/lovecraftstories Happy Halloween! "Dagon is an early Lovecraft story, where he's feelling out the Cthulhu Mythos, but hasn't quite articulated it out yet. It's also a nice companion piece to last week's "The Temple". Both are last testaments of dying men, and both have WWI naval combat as the central plot device, and both rely on the ocean and it's mysteries for their crowning horror. It also has some of the great literary tics that Lovecraft would become known for--particularly the suicide note feverishly scrawled and cut off in the last sentance. This has been parodied many times, but perhaps not so well as Patton Oswalt's Onion AV Club review of KFC's Famous Bowl. Have a great Halloween!" Thanks. http://kopoint.com