A Cynic's Guide to Optimism: Recent Episodes
Ben Lester & Ed Barker
Does DiCaprio have a dishwasher? What are the top 5 cereals? Pressing issues solved by two 20-something friends Ben and Ed.
Website: www.cgto.show Twitter: @cgtopod
Gen Z hospital, pointless Mars rovers, Ed becomes aware of his speed, the usefulness of scientific research, visiting the dentist and more!
Oh and we revisit top cereals.
Audio a bit messed up on this one - must try harder in future...
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Links to things we discussed
- Autobahn
- Mars Rover
- Gen Z Hospital
- The Telegraph - Houseplant peat article
- Express - Meghan avocado article
- 2013 horse meat scandal
- Sabine Hossenfelder
We're back! And there's more of us!
TikTok dad watch, human faeces apathy, autocomplete betrayal, other uncool stuff!
Please send us your mundane life excerpts, dad questions for Patrick and anything else you might find that will upset Patrick.
Social Stuff* Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Twitter @justinpither * Twitter @pjtunney * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Sink reviews
- Tom Scott on UK individual taps
- Shabooya roll call during PwC elevate program
- Yogic flying
Ed went and bought himself a canal bought and is coming to grips with never being able to stand up straight again. We talk long bike rides and perturbed undercarriages. And we have both started a chess rivalry with stakes lower than the world has ever seen.
Please send us your mundane life excerpts.
Social Stuff* Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- UK canal map
- The Mitchell and Webb Situation - Farming
- I was going to link to the Wickes advert Ed was talking about, but honestly it’s not worth it, save yourself the time.
- More info about C2C
- Ed at the top of Hartside pass
- Oz Cycle - chain waxing video
- 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs
- List of oldest trees
- Llangernyw Yew
- Lichess - Ben’s account & Ed’s account
- Chess.com - Ben’s account & Ed’s account
- Magnus chess.com drama I forgot to explain
- Bongcloud chess opening
- Deep Blue - IBM chess supercomputer
- Chess variants
Quarantine blues? Us too, so please do listen to us complain.
Stay safe everyone, please don’t do anything silly.
Please send us your mundane life excerpts.
P.S. Ed informs me I didn't add the fast bit of his rapping at the end, but I wasn't particularly inclined to edit out naughty words at 500bpm.
Social Stuff* Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Strava
- Zwift
- Zwift example ride
- Ben’s Zwift removing userscript
- Strava's "NHS challenge”
- Army veteran aged 99, raises money for NHS
- Slactivism
- Kony 2012
- Clap for the NHS
Thought we had disappeared for good? Think again.
Ed is shaving in his dark little crack den. Ben has tales from the frontline of burlesque. The Papa Industry awards and more!
Please send us your mundane life excerpts.
Social Stuff* Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed:
- Papa Industry Awards
- Crows using water displacement to get food
- Billie Eyelash - bad guy
- Damien Hirst
- Hirst diamond skull thing
- Mark Rothko
- Mike Boyd
- Sideline Cookies
Ed went on a silent Buddhist retreat, did he manage to find himself? Or did he lose himself? And collective nouns - they’re all a load of rubbish.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre
- Triratna Buddism
- Zen Buddhism
- Lochearnhead
- Tara
- Collective nouns for animals
- List of mountains of the British Isles by height
- Trolltunga
Ed has finished university and has fitness plans. Ben has started his motorbike licence exams. Which super power is best - if you read the fine print? And Ed gets shamed on holiday. I still have no idea what person I should write these things in, enjoy!
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Rectal Teaching Assistant
- AI Scene
- MyFitnessPal
- Grenade Protein Bar
- Yorkie - it’s not for girls
- Bouldering
- UK motorbike test
- Scoubidou
We're back after a little break. It turns out launching a podcast isn't quite as easy as you would think it is.
We have officially launched, and it only took 7 episodes. Get in touch at contact@cgto.show or if you prefer twitter @cgtopod
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- CGTO.show
- Walkers Ready Salted Crisps
- Cofresh Lemon & Chili Grills
- Tyrell's Root Veg Crisps
- Walkers Sensations - Thai Sweet Chili
- Nik Naks
- Nachos
- Frazzles
- Monster Munch
- Tear 'n' Share
- MyFitnessPal
- Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll
- Not so exclusive - Aldi Vegan Sausage Roll
- Fleabag
- Liverpool LightNight
- Twitch Slots
- Loot Boxes and Belgium
- Max's Severed Head - TF2 hat - current price
More talk than you can shake a stick at about your favourite breakfast cereals. Plus advanced advice for eating Weetabix or if you’re an Aldi connoisseur - Wheat Bisks. Ben and Ed are counting their calories. And Ed gets bullied by some school children.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Weetabix
- Wheat Bisks (Aldi Weetabix)
- Golden Nuggets
- The Butterfield Diet Plan
- Triple Chocolate Crisp (Coop)
- Bran Flakes
- Frosties
- Shreddies
- Jordans Country Crisp
- Coco Pops
- RollerCoaster Tycoon
- Tesco Tropical Fruit Granola
- Krave
- Porridge
- Farrow and Ball Paint Colours
- MyFitnessPal
- Halo Top
You didn’t ask for it, but you got it! More mundane travel talk! 10 legs of travelling, train delays, rude security staff - we have it all! Ed talks about meditating, and Ben tries mood tracking. The whole Argos catalogue is now enjoyable for both Ben and Ed. And toward the end some spoiler talk about Bandersnatch.
It’s very hard to write these things sticking to first/third person.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed * Daylio * ASMR * Exotropia - Ed doesn’t actually have this it turns out * Bourg Saint Maurice * Les Arcs * Funicular * Siddhartha * Bandersnatch * Sex Education * Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Another blast from the not too distant past, this was recorded just before new year 2019. Ed has a horrible hangover and a squeaky chair. Christmas becomes more of a chore as you get older. Germans speak better English than the English. Why bother reading the news? This podcast is also a plane clapper free zone.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- Devils on horseback
- Aachen
- Aachen VR
- Aachener Printen
- Melon drop earthquake
Ben talks about how birthdays are a weapon of emotional blackmail, how Amazon gift wrapping gives the game away and asks Ed what his upcoming birthday plans are. The top used emoji on twitter aren’t perhaps what you expect. Somehow rejected trainers from the school PE kit box are worth $1,645, we also discuss the process of ‘relicing’. Then we ramble about our perception of time.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links to things we discussed
- 27 Club
- Emoji Tracker
- Mountain Cableway - official CGTO emoji
- EmojiSaver - Twitter account
- Maison Margiela Sneaker - $1,645
- Jason Smith Builder Select Garage Mod Stratocaster
- TempleOS
- Terry A. Davis
- PETA speciesism tweet
- Time Warped
What does the UK’s only rectal teaching assistant have on his CV now? Do thatch roof specialists have turf wars? Can pasta actually be ’slamming’? Ed talks about his homicidal tendencies in The Sims. Also covered - Christmas plans, memories and preemptive damage control (we originally recorded this episode last year).
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links of things discussed * Rectal teaching assistant loses his job to robots * Jamie Oliver’s restaurant word list * Millenial Monopoly
Addiction, laundry paranoia, noncommittal emoji use, and the importance of awful first jobs - it's all here in the very first episode of A Cynic's Guide to Optimism. Join us (Ben & Ed) as we discuss the downright unimportant.
Social Stuff * Twitter @cgtopod * Twitter @gangly_ed * Twitter @benmlester * Our website www.cgto.show * Email us! contact@cgto.show
Links of things discussed * Thumbs up emoji * Shrug emoji * Thinking face emoji * Rubbish icon emoji * Celebrate emoji * Hands in the air like you just don't care emoji * Fire emoji * 100 points emoji * Winking face emoji * Crying laughter emoji * Watermelon emoji (?!) * "Egg yolk man" - not an emoji