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Episode #18 "I Still Don't Know What This Podcast Is About" · The Kevin Stone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Alright, welcome to the Kevin Stone Podcast. I am Kevin Stone.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: You know what I've discovered after 17 episodes of having
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a podcast? I still have absolutely no idea what my
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: podcast is about. 17 episodes. You'd think somewhere around episode 12,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: somebody would have called and said, Kevin, we've reviewed the
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: material and we've determined what your show is. Nobody called. Apparently,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: there's no government agency responsible for this. Although, if there were,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I'm sure it'd have a $ 14 million budget and a
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: website that didn't work. So here we are. Episode 18
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: of the Kevin Stone Podcast. One guy, one microphone, absolutely
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: no qualifications. And I think I've finally figured out what
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: this show is supposed to be. It's about whatever I
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: got to thinking about. That's it. That's a beautiful plan.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I've spent entirely too much time
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: trying to figure out what kind of podcast I should have.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Should it be politics, current events, local issues, history, science? Space, faith,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: funny stuff, serious stuff. And I finally arrived at the answer. Yes.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Because here's my problem. I'm interested in all that stuff.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I'm just not an expert at any of it. I
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: like politics. Doesn't make me a political scientist. I like
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: looking at the night sky and doing some astrophotography. That
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: doesn't make me an astronomer. I believe in God. That
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: certainly doesn't make me a preacher. And sometimes I read
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: something happening in the world and I think, you've got
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: to be kidding me. Which, as far as I can tell,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: doesn't require any professional certification whatsoever. So maybe I've been
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: trying to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist. Maybe
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the podcast doesn't need to be about one subject. Maybe
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: it just needs to have one point of view. Mine.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: God help us all. And I actually want to make
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: something clear about that. When I talk about politics on
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: the show, I'm not going to sit here and pretend
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: like I know everything. Because I don't. That's why I
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: research things before I talk about them. Or more accurately,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Charlie researches things before I talk about them. Charlie, for
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: those of you unfamiliar with the massive corporate organization behind
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: the Kevin Stone podcast, is my imaginary chief of staff.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: He's unpaid. He has no benefits. There's no dental program.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: And his primary responsibility is apparently preventing me from saying
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: something completely stupid into a microphone and uploading it to
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  Speaker 1: the internet. It's a very demanding position. So here's how
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: I want this show to work. Something catches my attention.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Maybe there's something happening in Arkansas or Washington. Maybe somebody
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: discovered something interesting in space. Maybe there's a new technology
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: I don't understand. Maybe somebody in Florida tried to rob
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: a convenience store while using an alligator. I don't know,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: but I see it and think, what in the world's
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: going on here? Then Charlie and I start digging into it.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: We find credible sources. We figure out what's actually happening.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I learn something, and then I talk about it. That's
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the show. Sometimes there won't be any research, because sometimes
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: I just want to talk. Maybe something about getting older, friendships, relationships,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: things I believed in when I was younger that I
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: don't believe anymore, things I understand now that I wished
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I understood 30 years ago. Why common sense apparently became
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: an optional accessory. Well, every object I own has a charger,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: but yet I can't find the right charger for it
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: when I need it. Important issues facing America. And occasionally
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: we might get serious because life isn't always funny. There
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: are things worth thinking about. There are things worth questioning.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: And there are things we probably ought to talk about
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: even if neither one of us has a perfect answer. Actually,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: especially when we don't have a perfect answer. This would
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: normally be the part of the program where a major
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: corporation gives me money. Unfortunately, major corporations have continued their
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: long-standing policy of not knowing I exist. So today's commercial
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: break is brought to you by the Kevin Stone Podcast.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Do you enjoy the Kevin Stone Podcast? Then congratulations, you're
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: already using the product. And if you don't enjoy the
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Kevin Stone Podcast, I'm honestly a little confused why you're
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: still listening to episode 18. Either way, we appreciate your business.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Now back to whatever this is. There's something else I
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: figured out. I don't want to manufacture outrage five days
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: a week. There's enough of that already. I don't want
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: every episode to be, here's what you're supposed to be
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: angry about today. Politics will absolutely be a part of
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: this podcast because I genuinely find politics interesting. And when
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: government does something stupid, I'm probably going to talk about it. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Martian,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I don't care who's responsible. If something deserves criticism, it
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: deserves criticism. But I don't want to spend every morning angry.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes I'd rather talk about a galaxy that's two and
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: a half million light years away. Sometimes I'll find something
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: happening right here in Arkansas. Sometimes I'll talk about something
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: completely ridiculous. Sometimes I might talk about God. Not because
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: I'm qualified to teach anybody how to live. Trust me,
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: that class would have a very low enrollment. But because
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: faith is something I think about. And sometimes the questions
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: are more interesting than pretending like we already know the answers.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's the show. And that's where I've landed after
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: 17 episodes. Maybe you don't have to come here because
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: you desperately need information about one particular subject. Maybe eventually
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: you come here because you wonder, hmm, what's Kevin talking
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: about today? Could be important. Could be interesting. Could be ridiculous.
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  Speaker 1: Could be all three. I want to learn things. I
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: want to question things. I want to laugh at things.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: And every once in a while, maybe we'll stumble across
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: something that actually matters. That's enough of a reason for
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  Speaker 1: me to turn on the microphone. So I've developed an
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: extremely sophisticated production system. And here it is. Step 1.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Kevin finds something interesting. Step 2. Kevin develops an opinion
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  Speaker 1: despite having absolutely no qualifications to do so. Step 3.
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  Speaker 1: Charlie says, Kevin, perhaps we should actually research this. Step 4.
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  Speaker 1: We research it. Step 5. I discover that approximately 37%
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: of my original opinion was wrong. Step 6. We quietly
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: delete those parts. Step 7. Podcast. That's our operation. CNN,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Fox News, and NBC have hundreds of employees. The Kevin
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Stone Podcast has... Me, an imaginary chief of staff. Our
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: overhead is fantastic. But underneath all the jokes, there's actually
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: something I want this show to be. Curious, fair, funny
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: when it can be, and serious when it needs to be.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: And I'm willing to admit, I don't know. Because I
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: think we've reached a strange point where everybody is expected
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: to immediately have an opinion about everything. Something happens at
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: 9 o'clock, by 9.04, everybody on the internet has become
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  Speaker 1: an expert. I don't want to do that. I'd rather say,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: I don't know. Then we'll look at it together. Maybe
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: I'll change my mind. Maybe you'll change your mind. Or
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: maybe neither one of us will change our mind. That's okay.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Because despite what social media would have us believe, two
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: people can disagree about something without challenging each other to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: a duel in the Walmart parking lot. So that's episode 18.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: 17 episodes later, I still don't know what this podcast
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: is about. And strangely enough, I think that's exactly what
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: it's about. Life, politics, space, faith, local stuff, weird stuff,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: things that matter, things that absolutely do not matter, and
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: whatever else I got to thinking about. I'm Kevin Stone.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: This is the Kevin Stone Podcast. One guy, one microphone,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: absolutely no qualifications. And apparently, we're doing this again tomorrow.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you then. This concludes our broadcast day.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Good night, and God bless America.