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Hello, and welcome to The Rob Burgess Show. I am, of course, your
host Rob Burgess.
On this, our 16th episode,
our guest is Ash Burgess.
But, before we get to that, I need to
take a moment to tell you about our sponsor.
For
you, the listeners of The Rob Burgess Show podcast, Audible is
offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give
you the opportunity to check out their service.
A
book I would personally recommend that pertains to this episode is
“Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James. At nearly 20 hours long,
this unabridged audiobook is narrated by Becca Battoe and can be
yours for free. Whatever book you pick, you can exchange it at any
time. You can cancel at any time and the books are yours to keep.
Please consider supporting those who support the show, like Audible.
You'll be helping me out, and it won't cost you a thing.
Another
totally free way you can help the show is to comment, follow, like,
subscribe, share, rate and review everywhere the podcast is
available. Whether it's iTunes, YouTube, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google
Play Music, Facebook, Twitter, TuneIn or RSS you can finds links to
everything on the official website, www.therobburgessshow.com.
You can also find out more about me by visiting my website,
www.thisburgess.com.
Back to today's show.
Ash Burgess has a dusty degree in
Religious Studies, an obsession with pineapples and an appetite for
both high and low culture. She cuts her own hair, bakes her own
sourdough bread and spends most of her time at home with her young
son. Sometimes, she blogs at burgessbaby.blogspot.com.
Today's
podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook
download and 30 day free trial at
www.audibletrial.com/TheRobBurgessShow.
Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle
or mp3 player.
Hello, and welcome to The Rob Burgess Show. I am, of course, your
host Rob Burgess.
On this, our 15th episode,
our guest is Rick Friday.
But, before we get to that, I need to
take a moment to tell you about our sponsor.
For
you, the listeners of The Rob Burgess Show podcast, Audible is
offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give
you the opportunity to check out their service.
A
book I would personally recommend that pertains to this episode is
“The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know.” This is
a nine-hour audiobook in The Great Courses series narrated by
Professor John E. Finn
and it can be yours today for free. Whatever book you pick, you can
exchange it at any time. You can cancel at any time and the books are
yours to keep.
Please
consider supporting those who support the show, like Audible. You'll
be helping me out, and it won't cost you a thing.
Another
totally free way you can help the show is to comment, follow, like,
subscribe, share, rate and review everywhere the podcast is
available. Whether it's iTunes, YouTube, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google
Play Music, Facebook, Twitter, TuneIn or RSS you can finds links to
everything on the official website, www.therobburgessshow.com.
You can also find out more about me by visiting my website,
www.thisburgess.com.
“I
grew up on a 300 acre farm in Southern Iowa during a period in which
our nation was at war. Times may have been difficult, but Sis and I
didn’t know it. The country life seemed to protect us from the
world. We didn’t want for much and created our own entertainment.
Soda pop was our reward for being good kids, so once in a while Sis
and I would slide the pitcher of sweet tea aside and share a bottle
of pop. My mother says that I began drawing cartoon characters on my
toy box at age 4. A few years later, I started drawing cartoons and
selling them to the kids on the school bus for nickels and dimes.
When our farm chores were done Sis and I would walk two miles to town
and spend the cartoon money on orange pop and Chick-O-Sticks. I had
enough cartoon money for Sis and I to each have our own bottle of
pop. I was an average student, however, there were times I was
scolded for doodling on my homework. 'He needs to focus more!' my
teachers would say. I was voted class clown by my peers and I turned
down an art scholarship in 1978, I thought I would work and
eventually farm. Under my picture it read: 'What are your future
plans?' My answer was, 'Undecided.' I was successful with my plans, I
am still 'Undecided.' My first cartoon was published in a local paper
in 1993. I traded one cartoon per week for a subscription to the
paper. Soon I was drawing for three papers and one magazine. The mailbox
was always full of newspapers. In 1995, Farm News out of Fort Dodge, Iowa
contacted me and offered me a position as their editorial cartoonist.
They were delighted to find a farmer who could draw cartoons.
Twenty-one years later, the publication cut me loose for
offending Big AG Biz and once again I am drawing on toy boxes. I am
optimistic and hope that someday I will be remembered as 'Author
Unknown.'”
Finally, I'd like to extend an open
invitation to Farm News and the seed dealer who was offended by
Rick's cartoon. You're welcome to come on the podcast and give your
sides of the story any time.
Today's
podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook
download and 30 day free trial at
www.audibletrial.com/TheRobBurgessShow.
Over
180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3
player.
Hello, and welcome to The Rob Burgess Show. I am, of course, your
host Rob Burgess.
On this, our 14th episode, our guests are Brandon Chapman
and Josh Sigler of the Sounding Off w/ Chap & Sig podcast. This
is a milestone as it's the first episode recorded live with two
guests.
But before we get to that, I need to let you know how you can support
the show. I love presenting you this podcast every week. Thank you so
much for listening. If you want to help the podcast continue on the
journey of more success, there are a few very simple things you can
do.
First, support those who support the show. I am excited to announce
we have our first sponsor, audible.com.
For
you, the listeners of The Rob Burgess Show podcast, Audible is
offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give
you the opportunity to check out their service.
A book I would
personally recommend that pertains to this episode is the new Chuck
Klosterman book, “But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the
Present As If It Was yhe Past.” During this conversation you'll
hear us allude to an essay adapted from this book that was published
in GQ, “Chuck Klosterman Asks: Will Violence Save Football?”
Whatever book you pick, you can exchange it at any time. You can
cancel at any time and the books are yours to keep.
And
second, follow, like, subscribe, share, rate and review everywhere
the podcast is available. Whether it's iTunes, YouTube, SoundCloud,
Stitcher, Google Play Music, Facebook, Twitter, TuneIn or RSS you can
finds links to everything on the official website,
www.therobburgessshow.com.
Even if you did these things and never listened to another episode it
would help more than you might realize. All these companies track
interactions and every little bit helps. All this will help the
podcast reach an even wider audience. You can find out more about me by visiting my website, www.thisburgess.com.
Now, on to today's show. This is a companion piece to the four most
recent episodes of the Sounding Off w/ Chap & Sig podcast. They
gave shout outs on Episodes 19, 20 and 22, and were kind enough to
have me as a guest on Episode 21.
Brandon Chapman, “Chap,” was born, raised and currently resides
in Peru, Indiana. He grew up a dedicated and die hard Hoosier
basketball fan. He graduated from Peru High School and attended
Manchester College for one year. In the one year, he finally found
love. That is where he met his hetero life partner, Sig. He currently
is a senior at IU Kokomo pursuing a degree in communications. He plans to
take over the world with his podcast so him and Sig can sit on an
island and count their money. He is married (not to Sig) and has two
dogs, Milo and Lucy.
Josh Sigler, “Sig,” is a fairly accomplished dude who doesn't
like to take himself very seriously. The Tipton, Indiana native
graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Media Studies
in 2006, and spent 10 years as a journalist before opting to leave
the business for greener pastures. The multi-award-winning reporter
was honored by the Hoosier State Press Association in 2015 as
producing the top sports feature series, where he covered several angles of how concussion knowledge has evolved over time, the
attitudes toward head trauma, and the viewpoints of local coaches,
athletes, trainers and doctors on the subject.
One final note, if you've ever listened to Sounding Off w/ Chap & Sig, you'll know the Parental Advisory label on their podcast is
well-earned. As such, this episode contains explicit language.
Hello,
and welcome to The Rob Burgess Show. I am, of course, your host, Rob
Burgess. On this, our 13th episode, our guest is Martin Shkreli.
Yes, that Martin Shkreli.
[A
quick programming note: If you already know the Martin Shkreli saga
and just want to hear my conversation with him, go ahead and skip to
the end now. Everyone else, keep it locked.]
Shkreli,
a former hedge fund manager and Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO, became
internationally infamous in October 2015 when he purchased Daraprim,
a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis. There is a good chance you
already host toxoplasmosis, especially if you have a cat, but you may
never know it. Only children, pregnant mothers and those with
weakened immune systems are at risk for developing symptoms. But for
those who do, the symptoms can be severe, even fatal. The medication
used to treat patients, pyrimethamine, has been available since 1953.
Shkreli inspired indignation when he upped the price of the drug
by over 5,000 percent from $13.50 per pill to $750.
Then, in
December 2015, he was arrested by the FBI on securities fraud charges. He is
currently out on bail.
On Feb. 4, Shkreli testified before the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The
album you heard mentioned in another story entirely. Starting in
2008, rap group the Wu-Tang Clan spent five years recording an album
only one person, one who couldn't legally profit from until 2103. In
May 2015, Shkreli was the winner of an auction for "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," paying
$2 million. Here's Wu-Tang Clan leader The RZA being interviewed by
Jan. 6, by Bloomberg, who broke the story in December 2015.
Later
in January, Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah was asked about
Shkreli by TMZ. He responded by calling him a shithead. A few days
later, TMZ published a video response from Shkreli, who, stemless
wine glass in hand, had three masked men placed behind him.
During
his Feb. 3 appearance on Power 105.1's “The Breakfast Club,”
Shkreli added fuel to the fire.
A
few days later, Ghostface Killah issued a video response that doubled
as a promotion for his CBD oil, Wu Goo.
You
get the idea.
So,
here's how I happened to speak with Shkreli. On May 27, Shkreli
tweeted the following: “I haven't been called by the Trump camp. I
support him vs. Hillary. He should find a VP candidate who is
seasoned in politics, an ugly game.” The same day, Colin Daileda of
Mashable published an article titled: “America's most hated man
endorses its most hated presidential candidate.” On May 28, Shkreli
published his phone number, 646-217-2783, on Twitter and asked people
who hate him to call him to prove Daileda were wrong. From there,
Shkreli and I tweeted back and forth and I dialed his number on a
phone without a redial button I knew of for more than 30 minutes.
Finally, I got through. And, now, my conversation with Martin
Shkreli.
Let
me be clear: I have loved the Wu-Tang Clan since I was college, and
Ghostface Killah is one of the best rappers ever. And, I'll admit to
a healthy case of schadenfreude when I saw Shkreli being hauled away
in handcuffs, and having to explain himself to Congress.
But,
whatever you think of Shrkeli, give him credit for doing what he
didn't have to do. He didn't have to put his phone number on social
media during a time which he would be available. (Also, if everyone
else I'm interested in talking to could just go ahead and do that,
this show would be so much easier to book.) He didn't have to agree
to be recorded for this podcast. He could have just as easily
declined. He didn't have to answer every question I put to him
without hesitation. He didn't have to talk for almost 10 minutes.
So,
Martin, if you're listening, you're welcome back any time. I had so
many more questions we didn't even have time to get to.
But,
if nothing else ever comes of this, I can always say I got more of
Shkreli than the House of Representatives did, right?
I
want to thank Josh Sigler and Brandon Chapman of the Sounding Off
w/Chap & Sig podcast for the shout outs on their last two
episodes. If you're into unfiltered sports talk, I highly suggest
checking them out on on Facebook,
Twitter, SoundCloud
and iTunes.
