Ned and Meg expound on bookstores past and present. There are 2500 independent bookstores in the US apparently although that seems like a lot. It’s up almost 50% from ten years ago. WOW! We compare the rich experience of book reading to the impoverished experience of e-reading. Plus, card catalogs, lawsuits, illuminated text, Borders vs. Barnes and Noble, little free libraries, murder hobos, and books in bookstores as liminalities within liminalities. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg cover a lot of ground in this one! Tune in for discussion of improbable vacuum levitation trains, kids soccer and the monetization of simple joys, wind turbine reiterative technology, beavers and the environment, additive vs subtractive solutions, self-governance, bad solar citizens, brakes both drum and disc, pressure canning, and the glorious return of the design snack. Strap in, wash your hands, don’t be a dick, thanks for listening!

Ned and Meg talk about the final two episodes of The Prisoner (the American series version) and explore the outrageous design elements present during the grand finale of the series. Check out those stove pipe jeans and turtleneck sweaters! Very mod. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg dissect some common buzzwords and talk about exit strategies, quiet quitting which our generation basically perfected and owns forever, mindshares, toxic positivity, mouthfeel, internauts on the runway, and so many more. If you like people who complain loudly and randomly about pop culture, this is for you. Thanks for listening, Hi Buster, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg continue their discussion of design elements from The Prisoner television show. Why is Number Six in black? Why does everyone in town have a cape and an umbrella? Who pairs pea green walls with camel brown textiles? We compare the Disney-like appearance of the village to Portmeirion and rattle off some other works we feel are derivations of the show. Number two in an ongoing, indefinite installment of conversations about this show in specific, and the umpteenth conversation about dystopias. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, watch The Prisoner, don’t infect anyone with coronavirus.

Ned and Meg start to talk about design elements from The Prisoner television show, which is very dystopian in nature and thus sparked another Designing Dystopia installment! Just as we are about to get going, we have to stop, so this one’s a short! Thanks for listening, look for more episodes about this, wash your hands, watch The Prisoner, don’t infect anyone with coronavirus.

Ned and Meg discuss Ned’s adventures in Germany. We discuss the differences between ice cream and gelato. And then, we get around to THE LINE, which is basically Architectural Menace 2: Electric Boogaloo. Oh, do we have lots to say about that! Thanks for listening, wash your hands, don’t spread deadly germs, don’t be a dick, don’t move to THE LINE, whatever you do.

Ned and Meg talk about movie reboots and propose a TMNT offshoot wherein Master Splinter is the focus of the story. Did you know that German TMNT fans are much more discerning than American ones? Is serializing the same story over and over again killing creativity? Does it annoy you to be asked endless questions in headers that are supposed to be informative? Us too! Thanks for listening, hi Buster, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg discuss healthcare in the US and in other countries, because we have lots of injuries in lots of geographic locations. Also on the menu is curing feet with hammers, emergency rooms, debilitating injuries, recent meta-research debunking SSRI antidepressants as snake oil, and driving on the autobahn.

Ned and Meg gripe about the problem of echo chambers, those ubiquitous spaces that come in literal or figurative form, and share in common the utter lack of critical self-reflection. We cover targeted advertising, the art world, search engines, friend groups, podcasts, Amazon, academia, industries, and abortion protestors. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, listen to criticism, vaccinate the rest of the planet, don’t be a dick.