Flash Past – Modern Life Podcast Network

The newest Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, is due to arrive in theaters very soon. Dan and Lyle, being the Star Wars fans they are, decided to talk about the Star Wars franchise for this episode.

On Friday, November 13, 2015, Paris France was rocked by coordinated strikes against its people. Mass shootings, suicide bombings, and hostage situations occurred at Stade de France, the Bataclan theatre, and in the streets of Paris. The deadliest of which occurred at a concert of the American rock and roll band Eagles of Death Metal. The numbers vary by report, but at least 129 people were killed and upwards of 350 more were injured, some seriously. Many news outlets have called this the deadliest day in Paris since World War II. In this episode of Flash Past, Dan and Lyle discuss the attack, the history of Muslims in France, and Schengen in the European Union.

In Benton Harbor, reasons to celebrate have been fleeting ever since the late 60’s. This Michigan town is struggling, and its high school was in no better condition. That is, until the 2015 school year started with a new coaching staff led by once retired, 74-year-old Elliot Uzelac. Strong coaching, guidance, and genuine concern for the kids turned this losing football club, a team that had only won four games in eight years, into a serious contender for the state championship.

You don’t have to be President of the United States to know that being president is a hard job. No matter what a president does, the public has him under a microscope. People will both love and hate everything about him and his job performance. Getting to the White House is a tough job in and of itself. In this episode of Flash Past, Lyle and Dan discuss the presidents and their jobs before taking the oath of office. What is the most common previous job of the U.S. President?

On October 1, 2015, on the campus of a small community college in Oregon, a man with a hyphenated last name fatally shot nine people and injured another nine before taking his own life during a gun battle with the police. This was the second shooting at a school in Oregon in as many years, and the deadliest in the state’s recent history.

The 2016 presidential campaigns have been drawing a lot of attention over the last few weeks, and the spectacle is only going to continue to grow. One Republican candidate, and his polarizing views, has been taking a lot of the spotlight. In this episode of Flash Past, Dan and special guest Steve Lee talk about the great white, rich, self-aggrandizing, American hope that is Donald Trump. Click and listen. You won’t be disappointed.

Being a podcast about how history “really is made up along the way” means there is always something to talk about. Most of the time, Dan and Lyle focus on one main topic for a show and get into lengthy discussions about that event--be it from the past, or a current event that we believe will shape the future. This time, the guys took a potpourri approach, grabbing a handful of current headlines and chatting briefly about each. In this episode: police and football players in Texas; police and babies in Virginia; Kim Davis and the “Eye of the Tiger;” Hillary Clinton’s emails; Ashley Madison passwords; and bacon.

If you ask someone to tell you their favorite music genre, they can probably list one or two they’d consider favorites. Ask those same people to list as many music genres as they can think of, and they’ll probably get stumped before they get to a dozen. On this episode of Flash Past, Dan and Lyle, with special guest James Adkins of the band Big Virginia Sky discuss some of the intricacies of music genre classification.

One of the most frequently reported types of news story is that of the shooter. We’re drawn to these stories, and the news channels just keep pumping them out, adding fuel to the gun violence fire. People have been killing one another since before we knew what death meant -- long before the 1300s when someone decided to use an explosive powder to hurl a projectile at a target. For some reason, whenever there is a case in the news about a shooting death, it’s the gun that gets the blame.

On this episode, special guest Brad Hayden and Danny talk about the history of video games. Danny has never been what you’d call a “gamer,” and Brad was born with a joystick in his hand. The pair discuss games from 1940 today and beyond. Here’s a fun fact: A physicist named Willy Higinbotham invented the first true “video game” in 1958. It was a ping pong type game he called Tennis for Two. Willy was also part of the team responsible for creating the first nuclear bomb. Later in life he became a leader in the movement for nuclear nonproliferation. Have a listen and learn about Willy, Steve Russell, Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, Ted Dabney and whole lot of other people’s ties to Atari, Nintendo, PlayStation, XBox and more.

Episode 101 of Flash Past is here, and this time the guys have their day in court. Well, not really, but with recent events (Obergfell v. Hodges) Dan and Lyle decided to discuss some of the more important Supreme Court of the United States rulings. As both of the hosts are approximately 40 years old, they initially wanted to only address rulings that had come during their lifetimes. That didn’t pan out, though, as there were a few really important ones to be discussed from earlier. Were the cases discussed worth the time. We think so. Click the play button and judge for yourself.

In America, if you want to feed your family without shopping in a grocery store, you need a license to hunt or fish. You have to have a license to operate a business, even a lemonade stand. If you want to carry a gun, drive a vehicle, serve food, or be a childcare provider, you are required to be tested and licensed first. That is, unless the child you’re providing care for is your own. You don’t need a license to have a kid. But… maybe you should. For their 100th episode, Dan, Lyle, and special guest, Brother Brad discuss stupid parenting decisions, or better yet, stupid parents.

On the last show, Lyle and Dan had such a good time talking about cars (and not about current issues) that they decided to do it again. Avoid current issues, that is. What started out a few days before recording as a discussion about horror films turned into a podcast about their favorite movies.

Lyle is a fan of traditional muscle cars. What started as a top 10 list quickly turned into 15, and even more were included in discussion. Dan, on the other hand, has a taste for cars that are a bit more eccentric - matching his own personality. Sure, he likes muscle cars too, and some are even on his list, but it’s dominated by small imports with even smaller engines.

Immigration into America has always been a hot-button topic. For every argument for it, you can find at least one against. Without a doubt, allowing people into the United States has benefits for the American people. That isn’t to say that there are no negatives. In this episode of Flash Past, Dan and Lyle talk about the pros and cons of immigration and how they believe it is impacting our culture.

Government funded public assistance goes back just about as far as civilization. In America, it began to take root during the Great Depression. The AFDC, originally the Aid to Dependent Children, was formed to help relieve impoverished families with children and widowed mothers so that they could maintain their households during some of the United States’ most difficult times. Fast-forward to today, and there are politicians stoking the fires of American greed and entitlement. On this episode of Flash Past, Dan and Lyle discuss some of these services and possible legislation intended to regulate how the aid money is spent.

On the morning of July 1, 2009 troops at Observation Post Mest noticed one of their own to be missing. During the night, Private First Class Robert Bowdrie “Bowe” Bergdahl left his post without permission and without informing his superiors. He did this, leaving behind his weapon and body armor, but only after he had mailed his uniform, computer, and some books back home to his parents. It was while on his late-night stroll that Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban. On this episode of Flash Past, Lyle and Dan discuss some of the circumstances surrounding his desertion, captivity, release, and subsequent backlash of each.

“This dude is straight up nuts. Watch my 6.” - Chris Kyle to Chad Littlefield in reference to Eddie Ray Routh, hours before Routh killed Kyle and Littlefield. On this episode of Flash Past, Dan and Lyle discuss the trial of Eddie Ray Routh, his guilty verdict, and the difference between mental illness and insanity.

Marriage and same-sex marriage. That’s the topic of discussion for episode 93 of Flash Past. It has been a hot-button topic in the news and on social media long enough for most of us to see the stories pass by and just shrug. Sure, there may be a few minutes of contemplation, but the argument has been going on long enough. Well, not quite long enough; let’s give it enough time for a podcast.

On February 4th, 1789, the 69 members of Congress elected George Washington as the United States’ first president. Since then, there have been a total of 43 people sworn into the office of the President of the United States. Grover Cleveland is the only president to have the honor of serving two non-consecutive terms, making him the 22nd and the 24th president. On this episode of Flash Past, Lyle and Dan talk about some of the best and worst presidents in American History.