Chip on My Shoulder

When it comes to wellness and trying to get all the latest things into your routine/regimen, it's easy to get swept up in everybody's marketing campaigns. More lasers! More whole body scans! More tests, diagnostics, assessments and supplements!  We look at a few of these items, their typical costs and what other ways we might all be better served than exclusively focused on individual wellness.  H...

At this point, collaborations in the format of Lululemon x McDonalds (not real yet) or El Chapo x Samsonite (again, not real, that we know of) have become very familiar to us all. But what's really behind every collab and once again, we find ourselves asking, is this really necessary?  Good stuff mentioned in this episode: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshanna Zuboff Money Feels podcast...

We promised not to do too much celebrity content, but when Meghan Markle's Netflix trailer came out a few weeks ago, she nearly broke the Youtube comments section (64k comments and counting!) and the overwhelming majority of them were negative, and people's frustration with the Meghan and Harry narrative reached a tipping point.  Americans tend to get divided online and in public debates about man...

Hey guys! Don't feel like reading executive orders today? Doom and gloom (or unrestrained glee) about a new world order? What, you thought we would be exploring the impacts of 25% tariffs on your daily life? Maybe another time, today let's talk about trends that have gone viral over the years and what they are supposed to do versus what the research says on the benefits. It's going to be fun, let'...

Happy 2025 y'all! And we're STILL here, talking about our favorite subject, which is how much money you're making. In the last episode (part 1 of this topic), we showed the data that Americans on average have decent purchasing power. And some costs have leveled off in recent years (healthcare) but are much higher than our say, European counterparts. So what gives? Why do we still feel like it's no...

If you've ever looked at lower cost of living areas on Redfin to see what is the most house you can afford in say, Tulsa, OK, and then remembered pressing reasons why you can't just move to the most affordable place, this episode is for you. We talk about why everything feels expensive and whether Americans really do have some of the highest purchasing power in the world, or if there are key piece...

We're back baby! Welcome to Season 2, the massive chips on my shoulder have evolved into wider malaise about the state of certain lofty goals we have for ourselves and as a nation. Let's talk about it! First up is life in the workplace and academia in pursuit of diversity, and how the path towards that worthy goal has gotten bogged down by selective self-reporting, unclear targets, and too much at...

Thank YOU for listening.  Your hosts wrap up the first season and say goodbye to these chips on their shoulders, while welcoming in the next set for Season Two.  Everyone deserves peace, safety, and dignity. You can donate to World Food Program USA to help the most vulnerable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Haiti and many other locations.  Have a question, like what you hear or want...

Short Story Fridays, where I explore the depths of my insecurities, hope you guys enjoy! That short "Iranian accent" clip is from comedian Amir K, check him out, he's hilarious: Amir K - Traffic Court Amir K - Instagram Also mentioned, Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com...

We talk about the well-meaning but awkward questions we sometimes ask each other.  Here's a funny video that gets to the heart of "Where are you from?" Also mentioned, Dr. Derald Wing Sue , who has a whole interesting body of work around microaggressions.  Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  

Get the bestselling and tearjerking (for most people) children's book classic, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch Don't take my word for it, read the CDC stats on birth and fertility in the US We use Bookshop affiliate links, which support local bookstores with every purchase. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  

If you're in the US, you can donate to UNRWA   You might enjoy the occasional celebrity content but you've probably had your fill of the endless celebrity gossip, Reese Witherspoon x Snoop Dogg collabs (idk if that's a thing but probably at this point), and total celebrity oversaturation in every aspect of our lives (MrBeast peanut butter wafers?!), so as usual our hosts go off on some tangents wh...

This week's Short Story Friday features inimitable transition music from the late 90s vocabulary building program, Verbal Advantage. The program almost veered into Stephen Covey/Dale Carnegie territory, but it was way cooler because it only cared about one thing: giving you a really kick-butt vocabulary which would, according to the author, almost certainly turboboost your personal and professiona...

You've probably had at least one boss or CEO you've come across who is insufferably self-important, but is that the narcissism or is it just a requirement of the role? We consider the CEO, why they're a glass ball waiting to shatter, and why it's not so easy to replicate their success as they move to new roles.  Show notes: The MBA Myth and the Cult of the CEO Read more about Jack Welch and his re...

Another Short Story Friday: where we dive into the nostalgia of growing up in the boomtown age of mid-1990s Southern California and its sea of red-tiled, salmon-colored tract homes. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  

Chip on My Shoulder is a podcast of two people discussing ideas, the resentments they sometimes have, and how they're living and embracing life anyways. In today's episode, we continue the privilege chat and dig into private collections (what is that really?), hotels as a side hobby, attitudes around universal basic income and any type of cash transfers. Plus our PhD in residence takes it a step f...

We dissect ideas we've been holding on to around status in 5 minutes or less, beginning with the woman I would obsess over at the gym and her Hermès Birkin handbag. Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us! chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com  

Chip on My Shoulder is a podcast of two people discussing ideas, the resentments they sometimes have, and how they're living and embracing life anyways. Join us on our very first episode, it can only get better from here! Show Notes:   Who Picks the Next Kings of Tech?     Have a question, like what you hear or want to send us a story idea? Email us!  chiponmyshoulderpodcast@gmail.com