Chip on My Shoulder

When it comes to wellness and trying to get all the latest things into your routine/regimen, it's easy to get swept up in everybody's marketing campaigns. More lasers! More whole body scans! More tests, diagnostics, assessments and supplements!  We look at a few of these items, their typical costs and what other ways we might all be better served than exclusively focused on individual wellness.  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

At this point, collaborations in the format of Lululemon x McDonalds (not real yet) or El Chapo x Samsonite (again, not real, that we know of) have become very familiar to us all. But what's really behind every collab and once again, we find ourselves asking, is this really necessary?  Good stuff mentioned in this episode: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshanna Zuboff Money Feels podcast episode on "Stealth Wealth/Quiet Luxury" and why it's not really what you think it is. 16 of the best brand collaborations of all time (can't deny the KFC x Lifetime collab with Mario Lopez) We use Bookshop affiliate links that support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com   

We promised not to do too much celebrity content, but when Meghan Markle's Netflix trailer came out a few weeks ago, she nearly broke the Youtube comments section (64k comments and counting!) and the overwhelming majority of them were negative, and people's frustration with the Meghan and Harry narrative reached a tipping point.  Americans tend to get divided online and in public debates about many things and the duality of that division can be disheartening so watching everyone unite in their common disdain for Meghan is sadly, kind of hilarious. Why so much hate for Meghan? We dive into some of the most common complaints without getting into the undeserved vitriol that some of her haters reserve only for Meghan (when really it would apply to any insulated, wealthy celebrity). This is our first episode also published on Youtube - check that version out too. Half-Baked Harvest is an awesome food blog - check it out! Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  Find us on Instagram! 

Hey guys! Don't feel like reading executive orders today? Doom and gloom (or unrestrained glee) about a new world order? What, you thought we would be exploring the impacts of 25% tariffs on your daily life? Maybe another time, today let's talk about trends that have gone viral over the years and what they are supposed to do versus what the research says on the benefits. It's going to be fun, let's talk about: Grounding Dry Brushing Gua Sha Perineum Sunning Seed Oils Oil Pulling  Pre-workout supplements Trad wife/trad life Getting up at an ungodly hour to hustle Cold plunge Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  Find us on Instagram! 

Happy 2025 y'all! And we're STILL here, talking about our favorite subject, which is how much money you're making. In the last episode (part 1 of this topic), we showed the data that Americans on average have decent purchasing power. And some costs have leveled off in recent years (healthcare) but are much higher than our say, European counterparts. So what gives? Why do we still feel like it's not enough (hint: because it's not)? From the Gini coefficient to the Bankrate survey on financial freedom in America, let's talk about what people are really making and if it's enough to live the life you want.  Here's the survey showing inflation growth vs. wage growth in the last four years.  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com   

If you've ever looked at lower cost of living areas on Redfin to see what is the most house you can afford in say, Tulsa, OK, and then remembered pressing reasons why you can't just move to the most affordable place, this episode is for you. We talk about why everything feels expensive and whether Americans really do have some of the highest purchasing power in the world, or if there are key pieces of the puzzle we're still missing.  Sources you can check out for more reading: Home prices in Los Angeles, California In Los Angeles, only 1.9% of homes for sale in December 2022 were affordable to a household earning the median income. Home prices in Charlotte, North Carolina Home prices in New Jersey US housing cost as a percent of real income is about 26% in 2023, versus 22% in 1993. Higher education has experienced an average annual increase of 7% and it's risen 141% over the last 20 years. Healthcare spending in the US is also disproportionately higher than our peer countries. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

We're back baby! Welcome to Season 2, the massive chips on my shoulder have evolved into wider malaise about the state of certain lofty goals we have for ourselves and as a nation. Let's talk about it! First up is life in the workplace and academia in pursuit of diversity, and how the path towards that worthy goal has gotten bogged down by selective self-reporting, unclear targets, and too much attention being paid to the reactionaries. We remind ourselves that when you take away the semantics (instead of using "DEI programs" asking about hiring employees from underrepresented groups and minorities), nearly 70% of Americans support these types of diverse hiring efforts. We mentioned Alison Taylor as someone to follow on LinkedIn and here's her new book Higher Ground. If you've never read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, we highly recommend it. I joke when I say he's my "favorite" hedgie, but I still like the original Herbalife short research by Pershing Square and Bill Ackman, although this latest iteration of Ackman definitely paints him in a more sinister (but was probably always there) light. We use Bookshop affiliate links, which support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Thank YOU for listening.  Your hosts wrap up the first season and say goodbye to these chips on their shoulders, while welcoming in the next set for Season Two.  Everyone deserves peace, safety, and dignity. You can donate to World Food Program USA to help the most vulnerable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Haiti and many other locations.  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Short Story Fridays, where I explore the depths of my insecurities, hope you guys enjoy! That short "Iranian accent" clip is from comedian Amir K, check him out, he's hilarious: Amir K - Traffic Court Amir K - Instagram Also mentioned, Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

We talk about the well-meaning but awkward questions we sometimes ask each other.  Here's a funny video that gets to the heart of "Where are you from?" Also mentioned, Dr. Derald Wing Sue, who has a whole interesting body of work around microaggressions.  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Get the bestselling and tearjerking (for most people) children's book classic, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch Don't take my word for it, read the CDC stats on birth and fertility in the US We use Bookshop affiliate links, which support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

If you're in the US, you can donate to UNRWA  You might enjoy the occasional celebrity content but you've probably had your fill of the endless celebrity gossip, Reese Witherspoon x Snoop Dogg collabs (idk if that's a thing but probably at this point), and total celebrity oversaturation in every aspect of our lives (MrBeast peanut butter wafers?!), so as usual our hosts go off on some tangents while thinking about how celebrity plays a role in our lives and what we might do about that while remembering the one time they saw Suge Knight at the mall (pre-voluntary manslaughter conviction).  Show notes: Parasocial relationships A great reddit thread on Taylor Swift and her intentional cultivation of the parasocial relationship Athleisure, barre and kale: the tyranny of the ideal woman (the best article Jia Tolentino ever wrote) The Age of Instagram Face (another great Jia Tolentino article) Stargirl podcast (highly recommend the Ballerina Farms and Kim Kardashian episodes!) American Time Use Survey, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Does the World Still Need Celebrities?  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

This week's Short Story Friday features inimitable transition music from the late 90s vocabulary building program, Verbal Advantage. The program almost veered into Stephen Covey/Dale Carnegie territory, but it was way cooler because it only cared about one thing: giving you a really kick-butt vocabulary which would, according to the author, almost certainly turboboost your personal and professional success (women/men will be unable to resist a man/woman who has a way with words!) In honor of the late Charles Harrington Elster, who accompanied and entertained me and my dad on many a car ride throughout San Diego County. Verbal Advantage, Success Edition is still available, and I can personally attest to its efficacy (see that?!). We use Bookshop affiliate links that support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

You've probably had at least one boss or CEO you've come across who is insufferably self-important, but is that the narcissism or is it just a requirement of the role? We consider the CEO, why they're a glass ball waiting to shatter, and why it's not so easy to replicate their success as they move to new roles.  Show notes: The MBA Myth and the Cult of the CEO Read more about Jack Welch and his real legacy in GE and beyond in The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America and How to Undo His Legacy Mentioned briefly but an in-depth read on Donald Trump's psychology from his niece, Mary Trump, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Don't worry, you're probably not a narcissist COP28 picture (how does this image make you feel?) We use Bookshop affiliate links that support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Another Short Story Friday: where we dive into the nostalgia of growing up in the boomtown age of mid-1990s Southern California and its sea of red-tiled, salmon-colored tract homes. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Chip on My Shoulder is a podcast of two people discussing ideas, the resentments they sometimes have, and how they're living and embracing life anyways. In today's episode, we continue the privilege chat and dig into private collections (what is that really?), hotels as a side hobby, attitudes around universal basic income and any type of cash transfers. Plus our PhD in residence takes it a step further and ties these ideas to liberation psychology and gives us lots of additional reading to consider. SO FUN guys. Show Notes:  Estelle Manor hotel in the UK Playa Grande Beach Club in the Dominican Republic Read this book: Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond GiveDirectly, a charity for direct cash transfers to recipients City of Stockton, California UBI experiment Read this book: The Colonizer and The Colonized by Albert Memmi  Read this book: Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire  About Ignacio Martín-Baró Personal finance expert and commentator Bridget Casey Antiwork subreddit WorkReform subreddit We use Bookshop affiliate links that support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com     

We dissect ideas we've been holding on to around status in 5 minutes or less, beginning with the woman I would obsess over at the gym and her Hermès Birkin handbag. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com 

Chip on My Shoulder is a podcast of two people discussing ideas, the resentments they sometimes have, and how they're living and embracing life anyways. Join us on our very first episode, it can only get better from here! Show Notes:   Who Picks the Next Kings of Tech?    Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com