Colin's Last Stand: Fireside Chats

This week, welcome Steven Neeley, MD to the show. Dr. Neeley is a radiologist at New Mexico University, and is the very first medical doctor to appear on Fireside Chats. Our discussion today revolves around two pillars: What it's like to become a doctor, and what it's like to be a doctor. Two related questions, certainly, but also two radically different things. What's it like to have someone's life in your hands? Is medical school as difficult as it seems? Are family and friends annoying when they want you to look at something? And -- perhaps most fundamentally -- is the American health care system broken? If so, how do we fix it? We cover all of that and much, much more.

Meet Max Nibler, a 19 year old college student who -- like all of us at that age -- is finding his way through life. There's a unique catch when it comes to Max, though: He's asexual. As in, he's not sexually attracted to anyone, and sex doesn't interest him at all. We sat down for a discussion about how he found his way to asexuality, what it all means, and what the future might hold for him when it comes to relationships, companionship, having children, and much more.

Right before Christmas, I went back east to visit my family, and I brought my recording equipment with me. One podcast I knew I had to record was with my mom, and I wanted to ask her something specific: How does it feel to watch and listen to your son online? More than that, though, how does it feel to read, watch, and see all the negative stuff? Does it hurt, or do you let it slide off of your shoulders? Today, we discuss that, although the conversation winds from there. Indeed, in the end, it ends up being about all of you guys and gals that listen to CLS shows and support the company... and how awesome you all are.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I really like talking religion here on Fireside Chats, and today's guest is incredibly well equipped to do just that. Michael Steinmetz is pursuing his PhD in theology, and has a ton of insight into Christianity, and all that entails. Our conversation delves deep into the life and times of Jesus Christ, and right on up 'til today, and challenges believers and non-believers alike to think critically -- and scholarly -- about something many people know to exist, yet cannot prove. If God exists, why doesn't he make himself (or herself!) known? And if I'm a good person, yet don't believe, where does that leave me, in the grand scheme of things? We discuss all of that, and much, much more.

Today, Dr. Greg Jackson -- professor of history at Utah Valley University and host of the wonderful podcast History That Doesn't Suck -- makes his valiant return to the show. I'm excited to have him here, because I wanted to pick his brain about one thing in particular: National division. The political rhetoric and behavior on display in contemporary America suggests that the US is being pulled apart at the seams, and I was curious if Dr. Jackson agreed. We delve deep into history and pull useful anecdotes and stories that indicate that while our heated nature is very real, it's certainly nothing new. Forget the Civil War. Just ask the Founders, instead.

It's been a good, long while since we've talked about video games here on Fireside Chats, hasn't it? Well, let's stop the streak. Today's guest is Will Goldstone, a Product Manager at Unity. What is Unity? It's an incredibly important, versatile, and popular game engine that many a video game is created on. So let's pick Mr. Goldstone's brain about game development, the tools of the trade, and what it takes to make a living doing this hard (and dare I say important) work. For the many millions of us that love playing video games, it's people like Will -- and perhaps even you -- that help bring these products to our consoles, PCs, handhelds, and mobile devices. Perhaps our chat will inspire you, Potential Game Developer, to take the next step.

I don't know if you've heard, but Russia Hacked the Election. Well, kinda. The entire fiasco has become more of a nebulous talking point designed to score political points than anything we can focus on and sink our teeth into. But here's the thing: Russia really did launch a coordinated operation to disrupt our system, and through all the muck and mess, we still have to deal with it. Today's guest is an ex-US military Psychological Operations Specialist with an incredible amount of insight into what happened, why, and perhaps most importantly, what we can do about it. Is Russia an existential threat to the United States? Well, no, they're not. But by fomenting internal divisions, they may, in the end, get exactly what they want: A significantly weakened America defined by infighting and internal distrust.

Christianity is full of different sects and divisions. One such sect is Mormonism -- also known as the Church of Latter Day Saints -- founded in the United States in the 19th century. Unlike many Christian offshoots, however, Mormonism is misunderstood at best, and ridiculed and joked about at worst. To give some perspective into the religion -- into what it means to be a Mormon, what their beliefs are, and more -- an everyday Mormon named James asked to come onto Fireside Chats. Naturally, I said yes. Our discussion is a winding one, with quite a bit of disagreement along the way. But, well... it turns out we can't all see eye to eye on everything, can we?

Socialism -- particularly of the Democratic Socialist variety -- comes up fairly often on Fireside Chats, and not typically in the most glowing of terms. More than a few listeners have taken issue with that since the the show began, but only one -- Sean Clinton -- offered to come on the show and make a spirited defense of the political ideology. Better yet, Sean, who was born to an American soldier and a German mother in Europe, and lived in Germany for most of his life, benefited a great deal from a system that he thinks could, in turn, benefit plenty of people in America (and elsewhere). Not only does he offer a different way of looking at the European experience. He thinks that experience, in many ways, may be the superior one.

As we move through the years, many of us end up temporarily -- and sometimes permanently -- working in a front-facing job, whether that's at a restaurant, or in retail, or in some other capacity. But few people have to work in an environment where the quality of a customer's experience hinges on a ton of things going just right, potentially for consecutive days or weeks at a time. Today's guest is a manager at a global hotel chain, and his insight into the workings of a hotel (and the many challenges they face) offers an awesome glimpse into the world of the business and leisure traveler alike, and the challenges the hospitality industry faces in meeting the demand, and keeping that demand from slipping through their fingers in an ever-competitive (and cheapening) market.

Here in the United States, the 2018 midterm elections are behind us, and so our long national nightmare is finally over. Right?! Wrong! To make sense of the split decision rendered by the American people, I've brought in popular guest Jeff Cannata to talk through the results. With the House in Democratic control, the Senate in Republican control, and the US obviously more Balkanized than it's been in 150 years, it seems like things may just get worse before they get better. So join us for a robust, fair, and even-keeled discussion on just where we stand now, and where we collectively hope to be in the future.

You may know today's guest, Lauren Chen, by her digital pen-name (of sorts): Roaming Millennial. Lauren was born in Hong Kong, moved to Canada as a kid, and heavily engages in politics both at home and in the United States, primarily through her YouTube channel and through her work on CRTV. So naturally, I invited her for a Fireside Chat all about the political climate in The Age of Trump. As a Christian and a social conservative, Lauren and I come down on the opposite side of quite a few issues, but we also found plenty of agreement. In discussing her faith, women's choice, transgender rights, and more, we investigated quite a few interesting topics of note, and prove that conservatism does indeed come in many shapes and sizes.

In the United States -- and around the world -- millions of animals go unloved, uncared for, and discarded. Bryan Finck works on behalf of The Pixel Fund, a Florida-based non-profit that tends to dogs, cats, and other animals that have been abused, abandoned, and put in otherwise awful situations. Through his care, and the care of his colleagues, animals that would have otherwise never found a loving home (or would have outright died or been put down) are living vibrant, happy lives, all thanks to the time and money of volunteers who care for the animals that, in turn, care so much for us. If this Fireside Chat reminds us of anything, it's that there's real pain and suffering in this world that goes well beyond the realm of humanity. Good news, though: We can all do something about it.

Rondale Williams is a veteran of the US Navy, a software engineer with a college degree in history, and a moderate black man in contemporary America. It's the latter point that makes him unusual, at least from the perspective of modern politics, which often considers minority voters reliable blocs, and not individuals with unique thoughts, ideas, aspirations, and ideologies. Rondale and I sat down for a little over an hour to discuss his unique path through life, growing up in Hartford, Connecticut around black nationalist influences, right on through his time here in Southern California, where he found himself in a tech industry being overrun with a virulent strand of PC culture, the kind of culture that long ago lost sight of what egalitarianism and merit is all about.

Laci Green is a popular YouTuber, sex educator, feminist, and author. She's also a personal friend of mine. I initially invited Laci to Santa Monica for a Fireside Chat about her new book (Sex Plus: Learning, Loving, and Enjoying Your Body), and intended on discussing sexuality, feminism, and all the rest. Instead, though, we had a wide-ranging political conversation, touching on topics from the deeply divisive Kavanaugh SCOTUS confirmation and the fight between pro-choice and pro-life elements, to the role of crime in America and our radically different views on the death penalty. Buckle in for a civil conversation between a liberal and a conservative. Unheard of, I know.