Recently Eugene and David tried a little exercise where we spent some time reflecting / journaling — in Eugene’s case at a Starbucks following a men’s retreat, and in David’s case in the middle of the night. This was something Eugene especially had been wanting to do again since 2023. It’s fair to say that we each came away surprised at what we learned about ourselves. In this episode, we talk about our process of reflection and what we came away with. As always, thanks for listening! :)
Continuing on the theme of catching up on the podcast, David and Eugene discuss the summer of pop culture 2025. As the hype of Kpop Demon Hunter is finally (maybe?) dying down, we talk about how we experienced the movie and music while Eugene predicts what the future sequels will be about. We also talk DC v. Marvel and David explains why Superman 2025 might be one of his top 3 comic book movies of all time. As always, thanks for listening!
After a looooong hiatus, we are so back! In this episode, David and Eugene discuss two recent networking events they separately attended. We've discussed the importance of networking in several past episodes but this is the first time we put it into practice, at least for the podcast. David discusses a very different kind of networking event he attended, while Eugene talks about the obstacles of finding networks when working remotely.
2025 may be off to a bit of a sputtering start for the two of us -- there are definitely reasons for that which we will discuss in future episodes. As always, thanks for listening! :)
After a solo trip to the Windy City, David and Eugene discuss how they would structure solo travel, why David doesn’t feel alone on such trips, and how (if at all!) Eugene’s extroverted self would manage. We also reflect on our childhoods living in Chicago and some of the tough choices our parents had to make at the time. As always, thanks for listening!
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"I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February." —Gary Cole
Finding a job is not easy. Like learning to drive while driving, there’s a learning curve to how to find employment, which you need to climb while applying to job openings. There’s also a mental health aspect to unemployment that often goes under appreciated, as well as the need to still feel creative and productive. In this episode, David and Eugene have an honest conversation about Eugene’s recent experience looking for work and also discuss the practical and concrete steps that he found most helpful in his job search. (Note we recorded this episode earlier this year and since then Eugene has happily been employed.) As always, thanks for listening!
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“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
Did you know that 30-40 million Americans have arachnophobia? And among them is one of the two of us? In this episode, David and Eugene review the somewhat obscure 1990 “thrill-omedy” Arachnophobia. We discuss what turns out to be our very different memories of how this movie showed up in our childhoods, whether this Jeff Daniels, John Goodman film holds up decades later, and what it was like to experience the movie again in real time. As always, thanks for watching!
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Today’s episode was meant to be the second half of our discussion of the book Who Moved My Cheese? But as sometimes (often?) happens on this podcast, David and Eugene veered instead toward a different conversation -- this time about ADD/ADHD and neurodivergence. As always, thank you for listening!
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“My brain has too many tabs open.” - Tanya Goodin
David and Eugene have been on a 90’s kick recently, and are sticking with the trend with a review of the business self-help best seller “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. We discuss the fable of the two mice and two “Littlepeople” named Hem and Haw, and how remarkably relevant the story remains today. We also apply the mindset from the book to our own lives. As always, thank you for listening!
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“What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” - Haw
In the second half of our discussion of "Queen of Tears," David and Eugene talk about how the show ends, the richness of the characters in this family drama, how meta the show was, and which characters we identified with the most. David asks Eugene whether he'd ever want to visit Sanssouci Palace, and we discuss the endless tropes in K-drama land. As always, thanks for listening!
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“I'm just a lucky man who married the love of my life.” – Baek Hyun Woo
In David’s ongoing effort to get Eugene hooked on K-dramas, we review the recent Netflix hit “Queen of Tears.” David and Eugene discuss what made this Korean drama so good, the main characters, villains, corporate intrigue, and love as seen in rom coms. As always, thanks for listening!
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“Even if I have to search the world, I’ll find a way to live.” – Hong Hae In
I (David) have always found Formula One to be an intimidating sport. Vaguely European, with weirdly shaped cars racing at break neck speeds around bizarrely shaped tracks, without a guide, it’s hard to know what’s going on. Eugene meanwhile has been an auto racing aficionado since his early childhood and can talk F1 shop for days. In this episode, we walk through the sport of Formula 1 through the lens of beginners, discussing everything from the sport itself to its business model, driver personalities, why its paradoxically an ultra elite sport with such broad, global appeal, and how the Netflix series Drive to Survive has expanded its reach, especially here in America. I ask Eugene how it is that as someone with a generally mellow personality he is so into a sport centered around hyper ambitious, ultra competitive people, and I share how after spending a week learning about the sport I became a fan. As always, thanks for listening!
In this second half of our discussion about the movie Sleepless in Seattle, David and Eugene discuss Anne stalking Sam, poor Walter and Victoria’s fates, and debate over some of the choices made by these characters. We explore some of our own theories about love and romance, how we see this movie so differently now that we are both parents, and wonder what’s in store in the future for Sam and Annie. We love doing these nostalgic movie reviews and hope you enjoy the journey as well. As always, thanks for listening!
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“It was like kismet but not, if you see what I mean.” - Annie
In 1993, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks starred in the hit romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle. With its quirky characters, clever writing, and stellar soundtrack, not only did the movie put the city of Seattle on the map, it was a huge box office success, and has since been recognized as one of the great romantic comedies. As it turns out, and to David’s surprise, Sleepless in Seattle was also one of teenage Eugene’s favorite movies. In this episode, David and Eugene stroll down memory lane, and discover a newfound appreciation for the craftsmanship of this film that neither of us recognized as kids. Eugene questions whether Walter was such a bad fit for Annie, while both David and Eugene discuss how little details like the peeling of an apple, dropping a bundle of mail, or sitting on piano keys are still memorable decades later. As always, thanks for watching!
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"I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.” - Sam Baldwin
As Eugene notes in this episode, it’s not a surprise that David has “authority issues.” In this second half of the discussion of Jocko Willink’s book, “Extreme Ownership,” we talk about the idea of being a true believer, whether Jocko is right when he says being a true believer is necessary to being a good leader, and David gets personal in his view of why his reluctance to “drink the Kool-Aid” would make him a lousy leader of any institution or organization.
In November 1978, American cult leader and mass murderer Jim Jones ordered more than 900 members of his cult to drink a mix of Flavor Aid laced with cyanide and commit “revolutionary suicide.” Since then, the term “drink the Kool-Aid” has come to mean believing in foolish or dangerous ideas based on a misguided faith. As always, thanks for listening!
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“In order to lead, you must believe.” - Jocko Willink
My daughter thinks the phrase “you can’t swing a dead cat in this town” is absolutely ridiculous, and to be fair, she’s not wrong! That said, you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting a couple self-help gurus and podcasters who love them. But the self help book, “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink caught my attention a while ago, and to me it genuinely reads different than what you typically see on the shelves. Willink is a former navy seal who emphasizes humility and detachment from ego as much as being "hard core." It’s also one of several books I’ve been meaning to talk about on this podcast. In this episode, David and Eugene discuss the concept of extreme ownership, what it means, its pros and cons, David fanboys about Jocko for a few minutes, and we discuss why the phrase “try harder” might mean something very different and ultimately more important than simply, for example, waking up two hours earlier or doing fifty extra pushups. As always, thanks for listening!
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“There is no one else to blame.” - Jocko Willink
We’re back! David and Eugene reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2024. Eugene talks about why 2023 was such a challenging year, while David discusses his marathon goals, his desire to finally pick up a camera, and what Deion Sanders and marching band taught him last year. As always, thanks for listening!
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“These kids are ready. We prepare them not just athletically, we prepare them mentally for things and challenges that are going to happen in life as well. So, I like what I see on a daily basis. I really do. Matter of fact, I love these kids. I really do.” - Deion Sanders
“A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” – Herman Melville
I (David) have always had a hard time answering this question. In part because I'm from a family of immigrants but also because we lived in so many places over my childhood. This is the second half of David and Eugene's episode about home. We discuss our "Alien Space Club," the difficult move to Wilmington, Delaware, and what home means for us. As always, thanks for listening!
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"Home is where one starts from. As we grow older the world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated ... a lifetime burning in every moment." - TS Eliot
Home is where the story begins. Home is not a place but a feeling. David and Eugene have lived in several homes over time, in different parts of the U.S. In this episode, we discuss the places we lived, from our earliest memories to significant events (like the time Eugene broke his femur), and how these spaces shaped and influenced our childhood. As always, thanks for listening!
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“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” – Maya Angelou