Brian Gongol Show: Recent Episodes
WHO Radio (WHO-AM)
Make money, have fun, clean up after yourself, and mind your business. It shouldn't be much tougher than that, right?
What a children's book about Irish immigrants hints about dealing with job upheavals in the 21st Century
People react differently to things they already have (and then lose) than to things they never had in the first place. Cedar Rapids is about to give us a prime example.
If there's one thing that could make breaking a fluorescent bulb even worse, it's having to do the cleanup in a toddler's bedroom
Anonymous jerks on social media are a real menace to polite society, but regulating them would be a big mistake
A lot of people feel disrespected -- but the answer isn't to compound the disrespect. Also: Why I loathe CFLs, whether the government should regulate anonymous accounts on Twitter, and an honest conversation about being black and white in America.
A one-on-one conversation between two old friends who were long overdue for an honest talk about what it means to be black and white in America
Too many Americans feel disrespected -- in politics, in commerce, in culture, and in daily life. The solution isn't more disrespect. We need constructive things to do, alone and together.
If American companies want into China, they have to play by certain rules. Is it worth the compromise?
It might not be time to panic yet, but you may need to give a second look to your antivirus programs. One of the best may also have a previously unknown risky side.
The clock is ticking for our country -- our fiscal situation is a time bomb, and we can only fix it through some newfound discipline and some speedy economic growth. Both of those take some self-control that we haven't shown lately.
Some takeaway thoughts from the movie "Dunkirk" and how they apply to our choices about what to do today with opponents like North Korea
Consciously or not, we're always setting the stage for what prosperity (or poverty) comes later. So we ought to be conscious about it.
As the government reacts to the opioid crisis, we need to treat people as assets to be enhanced, not liabilities to be locked away.
A walk through the model railroad exhibit at the Iowa State Fair causes me to wonder: How will the next generation of entrepreneurs and proprietor-capitalists make their mark?
How will the next generation of proprietors survive? "Dunkirk" and the modern meaning of honor. Treating people like assets to be enhanced, not liabilities to be hidden. And coverage of the Charlottesville terrorist attack as it was breaking.
Why was it so hard for the President to condemn an act of terrorism? It was clear even in the midst of the breaking news that day that it was a terrorist act.
There's a very good argument to be made for simplifying our tax code. Maybe it goes hand-in-hand with radically simplifying our welfare system, too. Maybe.
It's more than a little cynical to think that immigrants are only worth their earnings potential.
He's reportedly hired a pollster -- but that doesn't mean Zuckerberg wants to be POTUS. But it could very well mean he wants a hand in picking the next one.
Russia is banning VPNs -- the only really safe way for someone to use the Internet under a snooping government.
With so much anxiety about how angry and extreme our politics have gotten, who's ready to put back the guardrails of democracy?
What would it take to re-erect the "guardrails of democracy"? Is Mark Zuckerberg running for President? What's an immigrant worth? Should the Federal courthouse take a prime Des Moines riverfront spot?
Short-term thinking is going to come back to haunt the USA. To put it frankly, we're being inexcusably stupid about debt.
The Boston Globe published a truly bizarre story about Mitt Romney going waterskiing while the Republicans debated health care. So what? He had as much responsibility for ACA repeal as Michael Dukakis had to push the "Contract With America" in 1994.
Technology itself is neutral -- neither inherently good nor bad. What's good or bad is in how people use it, and we have lots of reason to beware the way that Russia's government is trying to use it against us (and our allies). We need to get smarter about how we defend ourselves.
When the President tried to turn police brutality into a punchline, he demeaned the policing profession -- one that deserves far better than to be treated as a stereotype of bullies with badges.
While he was there (with his wife), he found one of my favorite books of 2017: "The Vanishing American Adult" by Sen. Ben Sasse
The President is clearly unhappy with the lack of progress on his agenda. He fired Reince Priebus, but it's really James Madison who's standing in the way. (And I side with Madison.)
It's a serious question: The President tweeted about his plans to kick transgender service members out of the military, but is the Department of Defense obliged to follow that tweet as if it's an order?
Brian Dean makes a guest appearance as we talk about one of the most unpredictable weeks in political history. The President fired his chief of staff, went to war with his Attorney General on Twitter, and trained his fire on Republicans in the Senate. Meanwhile, North Korea launched an ICBM.
About one in five American adults uses the Internet but skips out on social media. How come? Is it all about privacy? Security? Not wanting to be bothered? A few callers weigh in.
I want to thank my friends who have used social media to give me a perspective on the things that matter to them. Those glimpses help us gain a little bit of empathy -- something everyone could probably use in light of the recent police shooting in Minneapolis.
Donald Trump. Kid Rock. Caitlyn Jenner. Al Franken.
Should celebrity status be a key factor in deciding whether to run for office? Only if their fame was earned in a way that reflects some kind of virtues we want to see in the office itself.
In fact, it's not even lukewarm. If you're only getting 1.2% on your money, then you're losing buying power.
A CEO who thinks it's a good test to pester job candidates on Sunday mornings is just tormenting people.
The law might not punish some Florida teenagers for mocking a drowning man, but they should have called 9-1-1.
The Newseum Institute says that only a minority of younger voters actually back the full extent of the First Amendment. It's time to fix that.
Should celebrities run for office? If they do, when should we vote for them?
Also: We need an NTSB-type agency for police shootings.
The First Amendment is in trouble, and it's our own fault. Also: What's wrong with the teens who watched a Florida man drown and mocked him as he died?
No fluff, no hype. Just the facts and what you need to know in plain English. And what you need to know about "Grade 14".
It's arrogant and anti-factual to say that any "threat" the news media might pose is greater than that of a government that is openly hostile to personal liberty and the rule of law.
Even if we can't solve all the world's problems, we have to be committed to recognizing them
Artificial intelligence is finding its way into all kinds of devices -- but how far should it go to protect us?
America can't fix everything about the world, but we have to be a moral lighthouse. Also: Straight talk on the economy, Microsoft's rural broadband plan is like the trans-continental railway, and how Des Moines is like Helsinki.
Propaganda is rarely about one big effort, happening once. It's about a repeated and relentless effort to influence minds. That's what's happening on the DC radio dial as Sputnik moves in.
High-powered weapons, long-range rockets, and low-stability leadership: It's a recipe for trouble
Some demographic groups spend an incredible amount of time playing video games. But are they just displacing other leisure activities, or screwing around even more?
We're on the verge of a completely unprecedented era in video manipulation -- in no more than a few years, it will be easy (and cheap) to fake just about anything on screen. What happens then?
Give me openness. It's never going to be limitless -- not open borders, not unrestricted free trade, not perfect competition. But to the greatest extent practicable, give me "open" instead of "closed".
US Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska doesn't often sound like a regular politician -- he's worried about big issues that are setting the stage for a lot of surprises (both good and bad), both inside and outside of politics. He's saying things we all need to hear.
If you think your career is "safe" because you've gotten a professional degree or license, think again. Airbnb and Uber are just the beginning.
A listener takes issue with how I define "Western values". Is it all about what religion you observe and your ethnic heritage? Or is it about valuing your liberty enough to guarantee that everyone can enjoy theirs, too?
Defending the West, Senator Ben Sasse's big ideas, and what doctors need to learn from Airbnb
And they're not easy to satisfy. They might work in Sweden or Norway, but hardly anywhere else.
In search of a big, constructive national goal -- we need something to strengthen our character
To the extent legally possible, the states should reject the Federal government's snooping into voter rolls
The Federal debt isn't sexy stuff to talk about, but what's political independence without fiscal independence?
Estonia takes over the EU presidency -- at just a time when cyberwar and the Russian threat deserve the attention
Every time the President tweets, we should read it with the words "My fellow Americans" at the beginning, and "God bless you, and God bless the United States of America" at the end. If those words don't fit what he writes, then he's hurting the country.
The full episode of the Brian Gongol Show from July 1, 2017 -- including the Federal government's attempt at massive invasion of voter privacy, the President's misbehavior on Twitter, and what the state budget disasters in Illinois and New Jersey should warn Iowans to worry about.
Most kids could probably stand to be kept away from their smartphones by attentive parents. But what about the good kid with parents who aren't so good? Or the one who lives too far from resources that could make life better?
Boeing is phasing out the legendary 747, which is sad news for kids like me who spent our Little League years plane-spotting in right field
Anyone who thinks the attempts to use the Internet to manipulate our elections stopped in November 2016 is making a huge mistake
The Iowa Congressman stands up for trade that is essential to the 3rd District's economy
People all over the planet are falling for the myth of the strong leader. Time to get with the 21st Century: We need smart, prudent, curious leaders far more.
Over-reaching promises just paper over the more serious problem of getting people onto a path of upward mobility early on
The day isn't far off when you'll be able to call up historical figures in artificial intelligence on your phone
A hacking attack. A presidential candidate. A high-risk election. Sounds familiar, right
Small business is hugely important -- but I'll take benign indifference over the wrong kind of "helping" any time
If we don't start acting like adults, we could lose the very things that have always made America great
Prominent Democrats think they can swear their way to success. Meanwhile, the country owes Mitt Romney an apology.
Three people have been arrested. Was it terrorism, carelessness, mischief, or something else?
A statewide, flattened minimum wage makes sense -- but only if we also have a plan to keep people above it
For a company that got its start by disrupting direct-to-consumer sales, Sears sure didn't make the transition to the Internet age as well as expected
Without a clear idea of what was supposed to replace it, the repeal of the ACA was doomed
It doesn't matter who your parents are or what they look like. It matters whether you learn and live our values.
If skills fade and technology changes quickly, what should we do to keep adults from being left permanently behind
Automation is creeping up on a range of low-wage jobs -- but also on high-wage ones, too
To believe that teenagers will be indoctrinated by their teachers and professors is to assume they lack the instinct to rebel
Venezuela's economy is in critical condition because its leaders tried to cut it off from the world. Don't let America make the same mistake.
Running away from an argument only leaves you soft. College conservatives should welcome the chance to have their ideas challenged.
There's a big difference between a 9 mph difference on the freeway and in a parking lot
Baseball wouldn't survive if every team had to make individual sets of rules with every other
Sure, some rich people have more to protect than the rest of us. But we all pay for defense together.