Two Guys in Search of an Argument: Recent Episodes
The Two Guys Team
Two Guys in Search of an Argument is the podcast on arts, culture, law and the good created by Jim and John, two guys constantly in search of an argument. Based out of Chicago and DC, these two have a lot to say.
This is a relatively serious episode in which we are joined by Gwenn Danet-Desnoyers to discuss our personal experiences of losing individuals close to us. Among other moments, Gwenn discusses the death of his mother. Peggy talks about losing her father suddenly, Shelly reminisces about the tragic death of her very first boyfriend, Jim remembers one of his former debaters who died very young, and John discusses those people he knew who died from AIDS.
Continuing our series of conversations during the pandemic we welcome Janine from Downer's Grove, Illinois. She is a long-time friend of Shelly and Peggy who is known for her willingness to discuss topics that others might shy away from, in particular, her own vagina. The three friends engage in a discussion of Janine's vagina and vaginas in general and related matters with minimal interruptions by John and Jim. Before they enter into that part of the conversation, Janine discusses her work at the University of Chicago with Dr. Maria Lucia Madariaga and how it pertains to the COVID virus. There is also reminiscence from everyone (except Jim) about times past when they all lived and worked in Chicago (except Jim) and how their friendship developed over the years (except Jim). To make up for the fact that he is relatively quiet throughout the episode Jim overcompensates by pontificating incessantly during his recommendations for ten non-fiction books.
Subscribe to our new podcast on your favorite service. This feed is going away soon!
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
Google Podcasts
Overcast
Spotify
In the first episode under the new title, a cold opening is attempted.
With help from a famous voice out of the past, the Gang of Four tries to get in synch, but the results are not quite perfect. John Heintz explains about the new title and what it means (and what it does not mean).
That segues into a discussion of the value of “opinion” v. the value of “facts.” That discussion segues into a broader discussion regarding trust in government in general and the performance of government during the current crisis in particular.
That in turn becomes a Trump discussion (as all discussions seem to have become over the past four years). New ground is broken when the possibility is raised of a Trump supporter appearing on the podcast. (If there are any Trump supporters listening, get in touch. This could be your chance for instant fame.)
Jim Gentile introduces some factual comparisons of the current epidemic to the influenza outbreak of 1918 and John actually praises him and Jim becomes even more insufferable.
Peggy and Shelly provide some interesting personal updates regarding their work and all four make recommendations.
Subscribe to our show on your favorite service.
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
Google Podcasts
Overcast
Spotify
The newest in our series of episodes in reaction to the effects of the ongoing pandemic was recorded four weeks into the current crisis. We present additional feedback from listeners, reflections by the hosts about the events of the past month, and, in particular, some long-awaited input from Peggy Bennett about her experiences as a health care worker. Included in the discussion is a long colloquy between John and Jim over how to interpret current events and what is the appropriate way to view the future.
Also, and unrelated to the current crisis please watch the documentary, "The Definition Of Insanity", a production sponsored in part by the Matthew Harris Ornstein Foundation. The link to the trailer is here.
More
Free Coronavirus coverage at the New York Times
Support us!
Send an audio or written comments to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
See all our recommendations here.
This is a continuation of the previous episode which includes additional voice memos from some of our friends and listeners regarding their experiences during the current crisis. The five questions we asked people to answer are: 1. Do you know anyone personally who is confirmed to be infected by the virus? 2. How are you personally dealing with the crisis on a day-to-day basis? 3. What is the biggest negative effect of the crisis on you personally so far? 4. Is there any positive side effect for you personally as a result of the crisis? 5. What do you recommend to read, watch, or listen to, in order to help get through the crisis?
MORE
Free Coronavirus coverage at the New York Times
Support us!
Send an audio or written comment to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
See all our recommendations here.
The Gang of Four solicited voice memos from several of our friends and listeners regarding their experiences during the current crisis. This is part one of two parts listening and reacting to the voices of some of the people who are sharing this unique and frightening moment in history. The five questions we asked people to answer are: 1. Do you know anyone personally who is confirmed to be infected by the virus? 2. How are you personally dealing with the crisis on a day-to-day basis? 3. What is the biggest negative effect of the crisis on you personally so far? 4. Is there any positive side effect for you personally as a result of the crisis? 5. What do you recommend to read, watch, or listen to, in order to help get through the crisis?
MORE
Free Coronavirus coverage at the New York Times
Support us!
Send an audio or written comment to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
See all our recommendations here.
Being located in four different cities they are used to social distancing. But the circumstances of this particular episode are unquestionably unique. Our hosts each give their own individual accounts of the effects of the coronavirus crisis on their personal lives. They try to stick to the known facts (except for John). And Peggy's participation was limited due to technical challenges. But we promise to fix them before the next episode.
Jim’s Guide to the 2020 Oscars!
Support us!
Send an audio or written comment to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
See all our recommendations here.
Become our patron. Go to www.twoguysinsearch.com and click on the Support button.
Check out our recommendations here.
Jim, Peg and John return in a fortnight for more easy-listening story-telling news-chattering talk.
We would love your audio comment. Record and email your comments to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
If you want to write to us, that's fantastic! You can reach out to Jim, Shelly, Peggy and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact, on Twitter at #twoguysinsearch, on Facebook, Instagram or whatever platform you love. Or just text us!
Silent auctions lead to high-flying experiences. Shelly recounts her experience with vivid descriptions of the quickly approaching ground during a particularly death defying near loop de loop.
Check out all the end-of-show recommendations from Peggy, Jim, Shelly, John and guests since the inception of the show!
Five friends talk about fluid feelings of home. Familiarity, comfort, challenge, aggravation, relaxation, life, relationships, holidays and death tie together the experiences of Eloise, Jim, Peggy, Shelly and John.
Check out all the recommendations from all the shows.
Runner and Grand Rapidian Peggy Bennett sprints from being a co-host to taking her first stroll to the guest chair. Peggy becomes a guest in the wake of her age-appropriate half marathon performance along the shore of one of the Great Lakes. Regulars Jim Gentile, Shelly Cummings and John Heintz discuss Peg’s run, body and mind.
Become our patron. Go to www.twoguysinsearch.com and click on the Support button.
Jim, Peg and John return in a fortnight for more easy-listening story-telling news-chattering talk.
We would love your audio comment. Record and email your comments to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
If you want to write to us, that's fantastic! You can reach out to Jim, Shelly, Peggy and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact, on Twitter at #twoguysinsearch, on Facebook, Instagram or whatever platform you love. Or just text us!
Expert Two Guys in Search aficionados Tom McGrath and Nancy Heintz join Jim, Peg and John on this week's introspective adventure into the heart, soul and guts of the Two Guys podcast.
Become our patron. Go to www.twoguysinsearch.com and click on the Support button.
Jim, Peg and John return in a fortnight for more easy-listening story-telling news-chattering talk.
We would love your audio comment. Record and email your comments to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
If you want to write to us, that's fantastic! You can reach out to Jim, Peg and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact, on Twitter at #twoguysinsearch, on Facebook, Google Plus or whatever platform you love. Or just call us!
There’s more to guilty pleasures than fat, sugar and television, but Peg, Shelly and Jim don’t stray too far from tradition.
Olympic contender and world-class coach, Joanna Zeiger’s extraordinary life ranges from transitioning from amateur athlete to world champion, a career changing bike accident in 2009 and entrepreneurship into cannabis for chronic pain management. Joanna joins Peggy, Shelly, Jim and John for an easy-going discussion of a high-energy life.
Jim writes about the books discussed on the podcast here.
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram here.
Rating the best video entertainment is what Nielsen Media Research has done sine the 1920s. Still the most reliable system for broadcasters, Jim Gentile talks this fortnight about his experience being a “Nielsen Family,” a throwback reference to the days when families would sit and watch television together. Peggy Bennett, Shelly Cummings and John Heintz join Jim for a reflection on the system and how Nielsen does it today in average, and non-average, American homes.
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram here.
The 1980s seem like a distant memory to some and even more of a distant memory to those of us who are asked to remember Jim’s trivia about them. For the Two Guys’ second podcast of 2019, new regular Shelly Cummings joins the old guard Jim Gentile, Peggy Bennett and John Heintz as they discuss the 1980s and its excesses - in quiz format.
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram here.
Jim Gentile, Shelly Cummings, Peggy Bennett and John Heintz reflect on 2018 and make their predictions for 2019. They hit on economics and politics with a healthy dose of international relations, film, music and love.
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram here.
Peggy Bennett and Shelly Cummings give Jim and John an introduction to the hopes, limits and facts of immunotherapy.
He elaborates upon his recent books and writings that have traced the origins of our current dysfunctional political system and its ominous portents for the future in the context of the recent midterm election. It is a unique demonstration of knowledge and eloquence brought to bear in the service of clear-eyed truth-telling about our bleak present and our contingent future. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dr. Ornstein's distinguished career and body of work, please see his a summary below. Also below see a link to the New Republic article Dr. Ornstein references during the podcast episode.
https://newrepublic.com/article/152127/republicans-broke-congress-democrats-can-fix-it
Recording from Grand Rapids, Jim, John, and Peggy welcome local author Tobin Buhk who has written a number of books exploring true crime as it has recurred throughout American history. In particular, they focus on one of Buhk's works, "True Crime In The Civil War". In that work the author explores very notorious events of that war such as the horrors of the Andersonville prison operated by the confederacy, as well as more historically obscure crimes that were committed on both sides of the war. Buhk's themes include the pervasiveness of psychopathology throughout human history and how the outcome of the war shaped the narrative of what was considered a crime and what was not.
Follow us on Instagram.
Follow us on Twitter.
In the first of three episodes recorded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jim, John, and Peggy talk to local podcasters Luke Ferris and Tiffany Szakel of the I Heart Grand Rapids podcast. What happens when the very nice (I Heart Grand Rapids) meets the sometimes-not-so-very-nice (Two Guys In Search of an Argument)? Find out as the two sets of podcasters compare notes on podcasting, scrutinize the virtues of Grand Rapids, and explore the subtleties of western Michigan Nice. And Peg's dogs are there too.
High school pop music fan Annie Heintz joins Jim, Peg and John in a free-wheeling discussion founded on five songs by five contemporary artists receiving a lot of streaming time. Alone by Halsey, Barcelona by Ed Sheehan, Friends by Anne-Marie, No Tears Left to Cry by Ariana Grande and In My Blood by Shawn Mendes. The tri-generational conversation includes Gen X, Gen Z and the Baby Boom, leaving only Millennials excluded and set for a future pod.
We are looking for a patron. If you like the show, take a look at us at https://www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/support/ or send an email, text or call.
Expert Two Guys in Search aficionados Tom McGrath and Nancy Heintz join Jim, Peg and John on this week's introspective adventure into the heart, soul and guts of the Two Guys podcast.
Become our patron. Go to www.twoguysinsearch.com and click on the Support button.
Jim, Peg and John return in a fortnight for more easy-listening story-telling news-chattering talk.
We would love your audio comment. Record and email your comments to twoguysinsearch@gmail.com.
If you want to write to us, that's fantastic! You can reach out to Jim, Peg and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact, on Twitter at #twoguysinsearch, on Facebook, Google Plus or whatever platform you love. Or just call us!
Eloise Maxwell and David Persky return to the podcast to discuss Sondra Perry and Dayanita Singh, two artists at the edge of the contemporary art world.
Internationalist Richard Young joins Jim, Peg and John a discussion of highlights and lowlights of the current political situation in the United Kingdom. Brexit and Trump compete for attention with European Union citizenship, French passport makers and global economics. Listen for Richard's picks of the hot-shot politicians to watch.
Documentarian Nikki Brake Sillá joins Peg, Jim, and John for a conversation focused on the acclaimed documentary I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck. She also discusses her own work and her views on the current state of race and culture.
I Am Not Your Negro is a 2016 film regarding author and activist, James Baldwin. Baldwin was born in the United States but Lived most of his adult life as an expatriate. During the crucial years of the late 1950s and the 1960s he returned to his native country to participate in the upheaval of American society as it was challenged to its core by the widespread effort of African-Americans to assert their claim to equality and justice. During this time, Baldwin befriended, among others, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, all of whom became the victims of assassination. The documentary itself is somewhat unique in that the audio track consists almost entirely of clips of Baldwin himself speaking as well as Baldwin's written words as spoken by Samuel L. Jackson.
MacBeth used dogs to encourage murderers.
Yes, you’re part of the species called men. Just as hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, mutts, shaggy lapdogs, swimming dogs, and wolf-dog crossbreeds are all dogs. But if you list the different kinds of dogs according to their qualities, you can distinguish which breeds are fast or slow, which ones are clever, which ones are watchdogs, and which ones hunters. You can classify each dog according to the natural gifts that separate it from all other dogs.
Dog Lover Beth Shannon joins fellow Dog Lover Peggy Bennett and Dog Sceptics Jim Gentile and John Heintz in this quippy conversation about dog ownership.
Guest
Beth Shannon is a proud dog owner who calls her connection with her pet the best relationship of her life. She lives and works in Washington DC.
More
Jim, Peg and John return in two weeks for more easy-listening story-telling news-chattering talk.
Reach out to Jim, Peg and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact or on Twitter at #twoguysinsearch or on Facebook, Google Plus or whatever platform you love by using your preferred search engine.
The Turner Classic Movie Channel (TCM) hosts an annual festival of classic films showing in vintage film palaces in Hollywood. Will Gentile attended this year for the fourth time in his relatively young life and arose a t 6 a.m. to share his impressions of this year's event as well as to voice his thoughts on films and filmmaking generally. During the conversation he relates his experiences growing up as a film buff and overcoming the burdens of having Jim for a father. Peg is absent from this week's conversation for "legal reasons" - as in she wanted to go see the Alps instead of being on the episode.
The Two Guys crew take a fortnight off from interviews after one of their many technical glitches. Keeping up the discussion about Jim, Peggy and John discuss their podcast, other podcasts, video, parenting, work, Better Call Saul and the economics of bicycles and cars in Shanghai.
Peg gets subpoenaed. John rants about China’s economy. Jim says no to everything. To the extent that these friends have ever been on the same planet, this podcast jettisons them to opposite ends of the cosmos.
Alex Berger, Co-Executive Producer for the hit NBC Drama, Blindspot, joins Jim, Peg and John to talk about his successful series, writing for Warner Brothers and life in LA.
This fortnight’s podcast offers an in-depth look at the television and film industry from the perspective of a long-time Hollywood insider. The conversation hits on Hollywood career trajectories, the writer’s room, the democratization of content, changing audience expectations and some of the biggest names on big and little screens.
Sharon Post, public health expert, returns to the podcast to discuss the opioid crisis. Sharon, Jim, Peggy and John discuss the roots of the crisis, media bias, political point-scoring and paths toward hope for a solution. Health care reform, improved pain management, community partnerships and federal funding for local innovation around the country are discussed solutions. Blaming takes a back seat to thinking and, where there’s consensus, it’s around the need for big plans to respond to a growing challenge.
Art experts David Persky and Eloise Maxwell join the podcast this week in a wide open conversation about the nature of art. David and Eloise join Jim, Peg and John in a wide-ranging and probing discussion of pastel-colored wrapped candies, artistic vision, art as process, Leonardo daVinci, David Geffen, Neil Young, the Beatles and the Obama portraits.
The arc of history of the Academy Awards is the subject of this week’s podcast. Jim, Peg and John discuss Oscar history over the decades. Picks for this year’s winners, the post-2009 Best Picture voting changes, the decline of the director and a whole lot of movies are addressed as Jim takes the role of guest while Peg and John ask questions and anticipate this year’s Awards.
In today's episode John, Peggy and Jim are talking to Frankie Wagner. She is a vivacious young actor who has spent four years in Hollywood seeking fame and fortune. She talks honestly about her experiences and frustrations but exudes a sunny optimism and and unshakeable confidence. She is the daughter of documentary filmmakers based in Charlottesville, Virginia. You can check out Frankie's website to see the full scope of her credits.
Guest Nate Tribble joins John, Peggy and Jim for a freewheeling conversation centered on problematic depictions of race and ethnicity in popular culture.
The point of departure for the conversation is the 1942 film Holiday Inn which featured the music of Irving Berlin(including the world premiere of the song "White Christmas"), the singing of Bing Crosby, the dancing of Fred Astaire - and an unfortunate blackface performance in "tribute" to Abraham Lincoln. This episode of our podcast was inspired by an episode of Karina Longworth's podcast "You Must Remember This."
Naval pilot power couple JT and Courtney Tierney join Peg, Jim and John discussing making the move from Naval pilot and prisoner-of-war training to civilian life with four children. Charm, intellect, service and fun characterize the couple and the episode.
Futurist George Kouros joins Jim, John and Peggy on this discussion of favorite future forecasts in fiction and film. Science fiction creates future worlds, and the first podcast of 2018 looks at successful current and past attempts at imagining brighter and darker futures.
Splitting life between New York and Chicago, Sharon Post talks no trash about either city. Sharon joins Jim, Peggy and John for a rare live recording bringing together Jim from Maryland, John from China, and Peggy from Michigan in beautiful Pilsen for a discussion of art, music, socializing and life between two of our favorite cities.
Join us for a discussion of the resurgently popular drama series The West Wing with two superfans of the show, Nicole Wanzer-Serrano and Caitlin Wilson.
Thanksgiving from a nonAmerican perspective. Outside the US, Thanksgiving tastes rich, bitter, sweet and secular.
Belly gazing about movies, books and television, Jim, Peggy and John are interview-free this week and discuss their podcast and current subjects of their reading, watching and listening.
Hitting high and low culture, the list of mentionable include: Provenence, Mark Maron, Shania Twain, The Sellout, Paul Beatty, Roxanne Gay’s Hunger, Bad Feminist, Anne Hornaday’s Talking Pictures, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Battle of the Sexes, Thor Ragnoroc, Life with Jake Gyllenhaal, Hacksaw Ridge, Saving Private Ryan, New York Times, New Yorker, Evicted, Nickled and Dimed, Errol Morris, Frederick Weissman, All the Light We Cannot See, Postwar, Blade Runner 2049, Metacritic.com, Dunkirk, Point Blank. Lee Marvin, The Dirty Dozen, Lee Marvin, Dover Castle, The Big Sick, Mad Max Thunder Road, Mozart in the Jungle, Amazon, Search Party, TBS, The Original Blade Runner, Aliens, The Tick, Narcos, Victoria, The Crown, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, Adam Hochschild, House of Cards and David Fincher.
Genetics counseling is blowing up. A field with origins in baby-protecting parents has exploded across medicine. With last week’s announcement of the first ever FDA-approved gene therapy for existing cancer patients creating a whole new industry in which generic counselors are best positioned to help hundreds of millions of new patients, Jim, Peggy and John welcome their long-standing friend and important voice in genetic counseling, Shelly Cummings.
Two prominent progressive voices, Eli Kaplan, election expert and founder of Rising Tide Interactive, and Yvanna Cancela, Nevada’s rising-star State Senator join regulars Jim Gentile, Peggy Bennett and John Heintz in a look at what’s next for the Democrats. Topics include sexism, economics, vision, messaging, turnout, money and the soon-to-be-smoking-gun of the next decade, redistricting.
The largest city in the world has a new guest. Two Guys’ co-founder John Heintz reports on his first thirty days in Big Red, and that’s not the chewing gum. Jim and Peggy quiz John on all things Far East from the newest Shanghai metro lines to international hamburgerization and John’s new friends. A day in the life of an outspoken, gay, artsy Shanghai ex-pat includes bike sharing, intellectual property and home deliveries. As the super-hot and humid days of summer switch to rainy typhoon-type weather, John connects with his old friends in a casual chat about life in a city where high rises and construction ladders fill a 360 view from almost anywhere in the city. The 34 million folks in John’s neighborhood will love to hear this episode.
A voice of her generation, Grand Rapids high school student Maddie Vonk won a best new writer award at last summer's prestigious Interlochen gathering of up-and-coming artists. Maddie gets to be the voice of her generation while being quizzed by Jim, John and her Aunt Peg. She whisks past issues including global climate change and the persistent annoyances she feels from the current US president to present a witty and upbeat vision of a wired, global future. Maddie's funny, thoughtful and personal stories span her time on the east coast surrounded by liberals through her move to the midwest and peers at the other end of the political spectrum. It was Peggy's idea to bring Maddie on the show as the voice of her generation, and Maddie provides a fun view of life under voting age.
Maddie's program and award are from Interlochen, and her middle-class-boring-lifestype-be-damned uncle in New York works with the Upright Citizen's Brigade. Jim, Peggy and John had more fun making this show than Maddie's parents will have saving the $60k per year for Interlochen tuition.
How historically significant is Charlottesville? What is the importance of the President’s response to Charlottesville? Does Charlottesville make us more hopeful or less hopeful about the future of the United States? John Gentile from New York joins Peggy and John in a new format for the podcast. Jim moderates a discussion from the Nation’s capital to New York to the Midwest to the Far East and ranges from violence to speech to power.
Reach out to Jim, Peg and John with a comment, question or complaint by going to www.twoguysinsearchofanargument.com/contact or at
twoguysinsearch on Twitter.
Nurse Peggy Bennett has helped children with cancer in Michigan, women giving birth in Darfur, multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Uzbekistan and Russian helicopter pilots flying her out of a South Sudan war zone. Jim and John talk with Peggy Bennett about her career, adventures and values. Note: We are still working out the technical aspect of the podcast, and we will admit Jim's voice is particularly hard to follow. Peggy sounds great, however, and we wanted to put up the podcast to be sure you could hear her.
Do you prefer film or live theatre? Jim and John keep it all in the family in this lo-fi summer vacation episode. New York film and theatre fans John Gentile, diversity expert, William Gentile, aspiring filmmaker and Fiona Grouazel, actress, discuss with Jim and John the draw of movies and live productions. Film's permanence and theatre's transience are contrasted with these young professionals' experiences of democracy, community, entertainment and genius.
Summer travel is here. Jim and John discuss the value of travel for leisure, work and world peace. They also discuss the point of this podcast. Here is the book and movie they reference. This is an abbreviated podcast
It’s the summer Pride months, and while numbers attending Pride celebrations are greater than ever, an increasing number of voices inside the LGBTQ movement worry queer culture is losing its edge. In this episode of Two Guy in Search of an Argument, Jim and John discuss what’s next for the gay movement looking at three articles from the New York Times.