Hero or Dick

What is camping, really? We trace its evolution from survival to recreation, debate tents versus RVs, glamping, van life, and campground culture, and share our own favorite camping memories, meals, and mishaps. Along the way we explore the history, economics, etiquette, and quirks of America's favorite outdoor pastime. So...is camping still about escaping civilization, or have we simply brought civilization into the woods? 

Tha...

We order from Amazon. Probably more than we should. In this episode, we ask whether the convenience is worth the cost.

We follow Amazon from a garage startup selling books to one of the most powerful companies in the world, look at the role MacKenzie Scott played in its early years, and examine how Prime, Kindle, and AWS transformed the way we shop—and the internet itself.

Then we turn the box over. Worker quotas. Union battles...

Fireworks are supposed to be pure fun. But the closer you look, the more complicated they become. We start with a Fourth of July recap—bonfires, s'mores, and fireworks across the lake—before digging into where fireworks came from, why we love them, and what they really cost.

We talk injuries, pollution, pets, PTSD, billions of dollars spent every year, and whether our priorities make sense. Then it's time for the verdict...

Kate returns from a trip to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, sending us down a Frank Lloyd Wright rabbit hole. We talk prairie style, open floor plans, organic architecture, and why Wright's ideas still shape the way we live today.

We also dig into the man behind the buildings: scandal, affairs, Taliesin, murder, money troubles, and the question at the heart of the episode—can someone be a hero and still be a dick?

Plus, road tri...

America turns 250 soon, and instead of uncomplicated pride, we found questions. We talk patriotism, propaganda, immigration, inequality, surveillance, AI, and the cost of “progress” in modern America.

From 1776 to today, we look at the country’s biggest achievements, failures, contradictions, and myths—then ask the only question that matters: hero or dick?

As always, thanks for listening!

~ Kate & KJ

Drop us...

Las Vegas sells the same promise to everyone: step into the lights, forget your life, let chance take over. We trace how that illusion was built—from desert outpost to gambling hub to mob-financed Strip—backed by the numbers people argue about: visitors, rooms, revenue, constant reinvention. Then we get honest about what it is now: expensive, engineered, nothing truly free. Hero in moderation or a Dick at scale?

Tune in ...

Welcome to another episode of Hero or Dick! 

This time around, we jump from local happenings (shout out to Alpena, MI!) to a fast, funny, and frank tour of the Winter Olympics: how the Games are organized, who gets to compete, what the sports actually demand, and why hosting can be both a pride play and a headache. Between curling rocks and ski suit controversies, we land on a simple verdict: the Games bring people together whe...

It starts with a borrowed $100, a stubborn teenager, and a ferry that never slept. From there, the Vanderbilt story runs fast—from Cornelius Vanderbilt’s ruthless rise through ferries, steamships, and railroads to the cultural institutions and monuments the family later built to soften the edges.

We end where the money thins and the question sharpens: can libraries, opera houses, and grand estates ever balance out the da...

If you ever sang along to a lyric in your car because it said the thing you couldn’t, this one’s for you.

We open Season Four with special guest Harley, talking emo—where it came from, what it did, and why it still matters. From Rites of Spring cracking the door, to bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy turning private pain into something you could sing out loud. Small rooms. Big feelings. No armor.

That&r...

A thousand downloads. Cookies, steak, and one deeply suspect mushroom Swiss.

That’s how we close 2025—by taking inventory and not pretending it was tidy.

What surprised us wasn’t which episodes blew up, but why. The biggest listens didn’t come from grand arguments or hot takes. They came from small, stubborn things: cows. Pickles. Birds. Food. The way ordinary obsessions turn into memory and meaning if you sit...

This week we peel George Washington down to the bone—no marble shine, just the man. The contradictions stack up fast: hundreds enslaved at Mount Vernon, Washington freeing only the people he personally owned after Martha died, Martha burning their letters, and his scorched-earth orders against Native communities. All of it sitting beside the government he helped sketch and the power he refused to keep. The good is real. So is...

Welcome to another episode of Hero or Dick! 

This time, we trace the wild history of American game shows — from 1930s radio quizzes like Brooklyn Eagle Quiz and Vox Pop to the TV titans that shaped family routines: Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, and Wheel of Fortune.
And of course, we stop to salute (or side-eye) the chaos agents like The Gong Show that bent every rule of taste and talent.

Along the way, we unpack the ...

Thanks for tuning into another episode of Hero or Dick!

A house can be your safest place and still give you the creeps. We dive into the rooms that shape who we are—from bathrooms that reset a chaotic day to kitchens that magnetize every guest, even when there’s no food on the counter. Along the way, we face the stranger corners of home life: basements that flood or whisper, attics that store history and fear, and t...

The night’s messy and honest—perfect for comedy to tell the truth. From Carson’s cool to Letterman’s edge, Rivers’ rebellion to Conan’s redemption, late-night TV has always tested who gets to speak after midnight. We talk about ego, chaos, politics, and the power of a live moment—when the wrong word can end a career or make history.

Another Hero or Dick?episode—where fame meets fallout...