This week, we explore the power of breakup anthems! From Neil Sedaka’s timeless pop to Avril Lavigne’s raw angst, we discuss what makes these songs unforgettable. Tune in for heated debates, surprising picks, and plenty of laughs as we dive into the soundtracks of heartbreak. Connect With Us: Website: Visit our website for more episodes, show notes…

Welcome to a fresh episode of "In Search of an Argument," where we dive headfirst into the political circus of the recent Harris-Trump presidential debate. Buckle up for a rollercoaster ride through the highs, lows, and downright bizarre moments that made this debate one for the history books. What to Expect in This Episode: A blow-by-blow analysis…

Welcome to a new episode of our podcast, featuring a special guest: Ian (Fleming) James (Bond) Williamson. With his charming English accent and captivating stories, Ian takes us on a journey through his life—from growing up in the UK, navigating apartheid-era South Africa, to becoming a proud US citizen. Along the way, he shares his thoughts on cul…

Shelly shares about her new romantic interest, recounting how she met him at a bar with the expert assistance of Peggy Bennett, whom she dubs the 'World's Greatest Wingperson.' Peggy discusses her intriguing new side business, her husband's retirement, and his new job delivering cars. She also delights in becoming a first-time grandmother. Beth ref…

For the first time since May 29, 2021, we are dropping a new episode. Why? Because the last three plus weeks have been among the most bizarre and stressful in the history of American politics. At 1:45 PM EDT on July 21, 2024, Joe Biden put an end to the dread that many Democrats were experiencing by dropping out of the presidential race little more…

John is still away on his approved sabbatical but Peggy is just AWOL. (The Court of Inquiry is considering a suitable punishment for her). Beth and Jim are left to serve as Shelly’s interlocutors as she demonstrates her mastery of all facets of the human genome. The conversation varies from the scientific to the philosophical (nature vs. nurture) t…

In addition to reflecting on the merits and meaning of International Women’s Day, all five of the gang talk about women who have inspired them personally. They also talk about what the future might hold for working women and women’s voices that have inspired them personally. Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook…

The gang can see each other while they record (except for Peggy) but the video version has not yet arrived for our listeners. But keep watching for it (except for Peggy). Shelly and Peggy have money matters on their mind before the main part of the discussion begins. During her Top Of Mind segment Shelly once more proves that her attention to detai…

Shelly starts things off by giving a fulsome introduction to her friend and co-worker, Rob. She is so wrapped up in what she is saying that she has to be prodded to cue the Top Of Mind segment. Rob recounts his many and various experiences as a theatergoer; discusses his work being a producer, and lists his five all-time favorite shows. He also spe…

Richard Tobin, who loves music (and has known John Heintz since the 1980s) picked Don’t You Want Me by The Human League and explains his selection by relating a funny story from his family life. Peggy selected Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order because of her fond memories of dancing to it at the under-21 club. Shelly picked Jack & Diane by John Me…

After the Top of Mind segment (including the question of whether or not Shelly should get a dog) the discussion focuses on the insurrection of Wednesday, January 6, 2021. John and Jim had discussed these events at some length in a previous episode so the primary discussion centers on the reactions of Beth, Peggy and Shelly. They all discuss the bri…

John and Jim briefly review the shocking events of the day (placed in the context of the surprising events of the day before when the Democrats won effective control of the U.S. Senate. They discuss the significance of the mob action against the Capitol as well as the short-term and long-term impacts of the threat to democracy. They talk about the …

After initiating Beth with a short quiz to see how well she understands the minds of her colleagues, the co-hosts look back at their predictions for 2020. (Who said Bernie Sanders would be the Democratic nominee for President?) They fearlessly promulgate new predictions for 2021. (Who believes the new Ambassador to the U.N. will be Time’s Person Of…

John and Jim discuss the general issues of concern about Big Tech expressed by both the Left and the Right as well as skimming over the newest antitrust litigation. They debate at length the wisdom of repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which affords internet platforms immunity from liability for posts by users. They also discu…

Peggy, Shelly, and Beth bravely open the pages of their own lives to consider the twists and turns that resulted in their becoming the fascinating individuals they are today. While the topic is important and serious, the conversation is tinged with humor and warmth as the three women compare their experiences and sometimes contrast the courses that…

Peggy is enjoying watching both college and professional football, particularly the recent success of the Indiana Hoosiers. But John remains skeptical about sports in general and in particular the recent comments of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski regarding postponing the college basketball season. Shelly is excited that she just had her eyes…

As a respite from an impending winter that offers tantalizing hope amid bleak news, these tales of Paris represent in part a yearning for lost innocence. Beth recalls her visit to Paris with her sister twenty-three years ago. Jim remembers the food, Peg wistfully praises the champagne, Shelly enthuses about the architecture, and John thinks of Erne…

One of the questions researched is the comparison between the effectiveness of the French and German responses as referenced in this article from France. The effectiveness of the approach taken by South Korea is unquestionable but it is unclear as to which elements of the approach were most effective. Another country which followed a similar approa…

We learn who everyone is eating with today and what is on the menu. We learn that John and Peggy like to watch professional tennis and college basketball, but not the NBA. We consider Jim’s semi-urban lifestyle and ponder whether or not John, Peggy, and Shelly see their futures in the city or the country. We talk about the failure of the national g…

In response to listener demand (and by that we mean a single listener) we offer a Shelly-centric episode focused on the new frontiers of genetic experimentation. Beth Shannon returns as a special guest to participate in the discussion as to whether or not different specific examples of genetic manipulation are either cool or creepy. Predictably eno…

John is focused on the pandemic and the prospect of renewed lockdowns as cases continue to surge. That leads into a brief discussion about the different approaches to the pandemic represented by President Trump and President-Elect Biden. In turn that segues into a brief consideration of the transition process and how Trump’s recalcitrance is impact…

John spent election night trying to toggle between the election returns and caring for his infant son. Peg tried to ignore all of the election news and went to bed early. Beth spent election day helping to get out the vote in Philadelphia and election night listening to the Rolling Stones and watching Netflix. Shelly watched a smattering of news on…

The Top of John’s mind is occupied by positive thoughts that Donald Trump will turn out to be a one term President but negative thoughts about what that means. Peg is too worried about jinxing the outcome to even speculate on Trump as a one and done president. Shelly sees the silver lining emerging from the Trump cloud as the raised awareness of ra…

Will Gentile, previous podcast guest and son of Jim, returns, ostensibly to discuss what it is like to work in New York City during the pandemic. It soon becomes clear that Will’s main agenda is to flirt shamelessly with Shelly while John, Jim, and Peggy listen in haplessly. Think of this episode as an update to the online dating special. After a b…

The Top of John’s mind is occupied by negative thoughts about the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, which causes him great consternation. Peggy echoes his dim view of the nominee and the process by which she is being hurried through to a vote before the election. Shelly has two different topics on Top: A happy follow-up to her previous…

In addition to the riveting main topic discussion, the group fills the time with meaningless banter and anger management. Peggy’s mind is focused on a particular fourteen year-old child. John hates the fall (but Peggy likes it). Shelly has to fire some people (and she would not mind it if they deserved it). Jim wants to raise again the topic of sex…

Watch Star Trek here while listening! Proving that they have almost completely run out of new ideas (send suggestions!) this episode ransacks two classic television series. The original television version of Star Trek spawned a Next Generation as well an entire lineage of television and film descendants (not to mention the whole Comic.Con culture).…

Jim puts forth the thesis that the Democrats must act boldly if they are in control of both the Congress and the Presidency even if their margins are slim. That is why he identifies eliminating or modifying the Senate filibuster rule as the key to the possibility of enacting a robust set of legislation. John and Jim discuss the need for urgent acti…

While techniques like in vitro fertilization and practices like surrogacy have already enabled the rise of non-traditional parenting, the author of the article speculates that new reproductive technological advances will further break the paradigm. Shelly, from her perspective in the field of genetics, and Peggy, from her perspective as a health ca…

The topic has particular resonance at a time when many individuals are facing severe financial challenges. Furthermore two of the chief antagonists in the 2005 debate preceding the stricter bankruptcy law were then-Senator Joe Biden and then-Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren. (Although Biden supported making the law stricter at the time he now sup…

The travel tales vary from Beth spending twelve weeks in Ireland on $900 to the decadence of John and Shelly’s safari complete with manservants drawing their baths and chandeliers. Shelly draws once again upon her experiences in the world of online dating to segue into the difference between travelling within the U.S. and exploring the rest of the …

In this wide-ranging discussion of sci-fi in books, movie and television the hosts and their guest discuss the differences between sci-fi and fantasy and whether superhero movies fit into either of those two categories. They talk about good sci-fi (The original Twilight Zone episode entitled “The Eye Of The Beholder” ) and bad sci-fi (2001:A Space …

Dr. Tobin moved with his family to Australia approximately ten years ago for better opportunity and although he remains in his heart a Glaswegian, he is immensely proud of the way the people of Australian are handling the COVID crisis. (But all things considered he would love to live in Spain). Richard explains how the wildfire crisis in Australia …

During the course of their very-few-holds-barred conversation Peggy, Shelly and Janine discuss the various different dating services they have used, some of the loser men they have met, and even to venture into the area of how the pandemic has affected the search for love. (Summary conclusion: The pandemic is not-so-good for dating but is good for …

Despite the fact that a significant majority of Americans do not like Donald Trump and do not support his re-election, there remains widespread fear and anxiety that Trump will win in November anyway. In January when we did predictions on the subject, John and Peg and Shelly all predicted he would win in November despite the fact that it made them …

At a relatively somber time In the world, we decided to do an episode talking about loss from a personal perspective. Because losing loved ones is an experience that everyone goes through at one time or another this seemed to be an appropriate time for each of us to reflect and share our own stories of loss. We are joined by Gwenn Danet-Desnoyers, …

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 genera…

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. Just 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. t…