50% Facts

Netflix’s Untold documentary series takes a look at the phenomenon of The Liver King. Purportedly already a multi-millionaire, Brian Johnson launched a muscular social media and YouTube presence as a “primal” influencer who used raw organ meats, including testicles, rather than steroids to build his crazy physique. He amassed a huge following and reaped more revenue for his supplement company, but...

Under pressure from, well, pretty much everyone, it appears the IPF will allow stiff knee sleeves through the end of 2026.   World’s Strongest Man is back in Sacramento this week, just about a mile from our gym. We take a look at the history of WSM and take an online trivia quiz. Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com! Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com...

We’ve been talking about cults and how they’re covered in the media. Back in 2021, we looked at the HBO documentary series “The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin” on a couple of episodes. It is about a crazy, scary religious cult. This week, Mike’s under the weather, and we haven’t had a chance to record, so this seems like a good time to present these episodes again as one. As a...

The founder of the biggest YouTube skateboarding channel is a Scientologist. Has that fact become public, explaining the channel's drop in popularity over the past few years? Was it the money he spent climbing the rungs of this cult (and not on his skaters and staff)? Or was it just the normal life cycle of a YouTube channel? Rather than reviewing a documentary, this time we’re examining the handl...

We’re taking a closer look at a topic that we’ve touched on briefly before: Media covering the effects and inner workings of cults. The HBO documentary Going Clear is one of the most recognizable documentaries about the Church of Scientology. Celebrities like Tom Cruise have deep ties to this cult that was founded by prolific author L. Ron Hubbard.   Some interesting aspects of this belief system...

A couple of episodes ago, we talked about a dramatic change in leadership at the International Powerlifting Federation. The latest wrinkle is that the federation has recently notified the manufacturers of “stiff” knee sleeves that their products are banned from use in competition – immediately. Is the IPF being fair to manufacturers or its members? What prompted this sudden change?   Mike offers s...

A stroll back 13 years in time takes us to a very “well-reviewed” nutrition documentary that ultimately only delivers a laundry list of fear appeals, misinformation, and pro-vegan propaganda. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a vegan, but getting there because you’ve been told that every other way of eating is somehow dangerous is kind of a cheap way to do it. Sugar is the poison, but so...

We take a stab at which jobs AI might eliminate (do you want your drive-through order taken by a bot?). Plus, the long-time IPF president resigned suddenly a few weeks ago. Is there any situation where a quick exit from a top position like that doesn’t mean really bad things have happened?   Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!   Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStr...

The 5-part Netflix Documentary Court of Gold chronicles the 2024 Olympic Basketball tournament in Paris. It’s obviously a love letter to the gold medalist US team, but more specifically, Kevin Durrant, Steph Curry, and to a lesser extent, LeBron James. The episodes follow the tournament's progression and highlight a few of the other national teams along the way. The series features several insight...

The third sequel to the bodybuilding documentary Generation Iron is all about the natties. It follows a group of competitors during the countdown to the Natural Olympia of 2019. Will natural bodybuilding ever gain the kind of traction that its “enhanced” counterpart does? And are the competitors really drug-free? Several commentators in the film cast doubt on that.   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris....

We’re pulling from our backlog of short, unreleased One Good Question episodes to fill this week’s gap in scheduling due to travel. This time, we tackle a listener question that’s pretty philosophical in nature: Would you rather live under the ocean or on the moon. After a bit of detour into stupid moon landing conspiracies, we finally offer up our answers.   Back to regular programming next week!...

The “Superman from Compton” took YouTube in the 20-teens by way of a video called “The Strongest Man You’ve Never Heard Of.” Who was this man who “commanded” his arms to grow and reminded us over and over that it was indeed still our set? This documentary sketches a portrait of a man whose great personal warmth can’t be obscured by his sometimes rough and compromising demeanor. A man who took a di...

This documentary, the first from Generation Iron, covers the runup to the 2012 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest. Phil Heath is a repeat winner, but Kai Greene is pushing him hard. A number of other well-known competitors are also hoping to dominate the Olympia stage. Do any of them have a chance against “The Gift?”   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck chops it up with us again.   Join our Discord fo...

Have you noticed that powerlifting is experiencing a bit of a dip in popularity? We have. What might be the cause?   We kick around some possibilities. Is the last wave of lifters starting to age out and move on to other hobbies? Is it turmoil among the federations? How do other hobby sports maintain their popularity?   Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!   Check out our gym (Thir...

This documentary from Generation Iron recaps the career of 8-time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, as he prepares for yet another back surgery. While we don’t gain a lot new information, it’s a nostalgic look at some of the most iconic training footage from his long Olympia run, along with a painful chronical of his current, painful condition and his love of family.   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck...

This documentary from Men’s Health tells us that body dysmorphia is running rampant among teenage boys in America. It follows four teens who take “extreme” measures to try to match the body images they see on social media (sorta). Then, the video takes a turn into a “debate” about supplements for some reason.   This doc is pretty aimless and pointless, but we had fun tearing it apart.   Dean Saddo...

Bryan Johnson, former head of the firm that owned Venmo (and sold it to Paypal), is obsessed with slowing down his aging process. Is there anything he won’t try toward that end? Dozens of daily vitamins, nearly religious workouts, red laser masks, and even experimental gene splicing are all in play. This Netflix documentary attempts to explain his motivations and the sharp contrast between the man...

And we’re back with a fresh 2025 episode!   Mike headed to Florida to coach three streamers to losing 25 lbs each while streaming 24 hours a day from "Weigh Loss Island." Jim went to Canada for some family time, and to NYC for some shows, including a spot in the audience for a Stephen Colbert taping.   Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!   Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell)...

We’ve still had some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault again for a One Good Question episode to fill the gap.   FRESH 2025 EPISODE NEXT WEEK.   A listener asked, “If you could start a business with zero risk, what would it be?” We had to make a call about whether this meant that you’d automatically succeed (boring) or it was with someone else’s money, and the...

We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap.   This episode features one of our gym members who is a practicing vegan, Nick Squires, sharing some more about how he transitioned from being an ardent meat eater to being a vegan. Since this is the time of year that some people make radical diet chan...

We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap.   A lot of people are joining gyms at this time of year. Some for the first time. Gyms can make you feel isolated…or part of a community. How do you approach other gym members to make new friends or become part of a community? Are some types of gyms be...

It’s a new year, and it’s time once again to examine at least one publication’s ideas for fitness trends in the coming year. This time, we tapped into a more serious -- and less pop culture – source: the American Council on Exercise. Let us know on our Discord or in YouTube comments if you agree or disagree with the list and/or our takes on it.   Dean Saddoris   @deansaddoris.ck is back for this o...

Is this the most Christmas movie of our little film festival? Probably. Is it even better that we’re dropping it on Christmas Day? For sure!   Mel Gibson and Danny Glover starred in one of the first really great buddy cop movies. Will they catch the bad guys before Gibson offs himself? Did Rorion Gracie choreograph one of the craziest fight scenes ever?   Dean Saddoris @deansaddoris.ck is back for...

Well, we had some confusion about the movie we were planning to cover on that day, a guest who couldn’t make it, and an acute shortage of time. So, we punted with a quick discussion about the state of streaming services, a crazy old music video, and thoughts on handling public accusations.   Next week, Lethal Weapon (and a bit of Rocky IV). Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!   Ch...

There’s a Christmas in the first Harry Potter? Yes! Three of the eight films include a bit of Christmas. This one seems to show Harry’s first Christmas gifts ever. There are a ton of other firsts as well.   This film set the tone for the seven films that followed and wove itself into kids' consciousness everywhere. If Harry is truly a special kid, why does nobody listen to him?   Dean Saddoris   @...