Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
The title refers to the quiz included in Dr. Charles Murray's new book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960 – 2010. One of our hosts scored so low that we had to book Dr. Murray to come on and personally berate him (The quiz is here. Take it and give us your score in the comments). We'll let you guess who this outlier actually is. Later, the WSJ's James Taranto on politics, parsing Obama's approval numbers, Rush, and the best place to buy a cigar in Manhattan. Finally, the "Ricochet Podcast Member Post of the Week" is back and Matthew Gilley, come on down! You're our first winner for your post A Little South in Mitt's Mouth. Congrats and we'll be in touch.
Music from this week's episode:
- This Is Why We Fight by The Decemberists
- Small Town by John Mellencamp
Here's the direct link to this week's episode (but use our new audio player below), however the best way to hear the podcast is to subscribe! Visit our Feedburner page for a number of other subscription options. Or better yet, use Stitcher.
Actual, un-retouched photo of Rob Long by EJHill.
The Ricochet Podcast is proudly sponsored by Encounter Books. This week's featured title is The Case for Polarized Politics: Why America Needs Social Conservatism by Jeffrey Bell. Coming soon to EncounterBooks.com and Amazon.com.
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Comments:
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
On the abreviated test linked to yesterday I got 5-8. On this test I got 44. Small town but a university town with great schools, military service, summer job in a cannery, Dad was a doctor. But it really underscored me because, an evangelical Christian, I participate in a weekly Bible study that meets at.....Denny's. So, if I got full credit for eating at Denny's 50 times last year......
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
Jordan W:
I enjoyed the material about men and their portrayal in popular culture. We haven't had a positively portrayed patriarch on TV in a good while it seems. · 4 hours ago
Check out 'Blue Bloods'. I think it has the best "values" portrayal of any dramatic tV show in a long time.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
I got a 66, which is just right for who I am -- a middle-class son of working-class parents. I'm also from Iowa, like Murray, so that couldn't have hurt. Like Stu in Tokyo, I live in the far East, and have done for over 20 years, so I missed points on TV and other pop-culture items.
May '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
What does it say about the bubble that the elite Ricochet podcast presenters live in that they did not seem to be aware of Diane Ellis's post on this very subject? (just kidding of course!)
May '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
No union rep, but the head gaskets, yeah, on a 67 Chevy Impala on the street in front of the parts shop we got the gaskets from....
You should take a tour of my Dungeon Workshop, in downtown Tokyo.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
This must be the first podcast comment thread that almost completely ignores the quality and particular issues of the podcast itself. We braced Rob on his complicity in the male-hating entertainment-industrial complex, for heaven's sake. We had James Freakin' Taranto on! If I wanted to listen to people recite numbers I'd go back and watch Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus."
(Just kidding. And that's the most intentionally obscure & elitist reference I've ever made here - if anyone can name what I'm talking about, you get called out and praised on the next podcast.)
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
I'm still not finished with the podcast; I'll finish it on the way to work later this morning. And I have to say that this discussion about how men are perceived/portrayed in pop culture is right on the money. It's made me sick for some time. Rush talked about this a few years back and I remember him discussing Paula Cole's Where Have All the Cowboys Gone along with the whole 'metrosexual' male phase.
I work a second job in the evenings at a big-box retailer. This particular retailer plays the same songs over and over again even while the store is closed for business. I can swear to this: that the songs that men sing these days are all emotional crud. I swear that it's even worse in the aggregate than what came from the 80s -- when many bands were comprised of men who weren't all that interested in women. Indeed, where have all the cowboys gone?
Jun '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
I feel your pain, brother. Hollywoods's war on manhood is worth a post or two in its own right. Television dads in my youth were archetypes: wise, patient, judicious, and pipe-smoking. Today we have Al Bundy and his clones. Losers all. Deliberate? You betcha.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
James Lileks: . We had James Freakin' Taranto on! If I wanted to listen to people recite numbers I'd go back and watch Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus."
(Just kidding. And that's the most intentionally obscure & elitist reference I've ever made here - if anyone can name what I'm talking about, you get called out and praised on the next podcast.) · 19 minutes ago
They're mad at you for mis-pronoucing his name.
Note: That was totally my fault. Evidently, I never learned how to spell out a word phonetically and have a propensity for putting the accent on the wrong SYLL-a-ble. In my defense, I never needed this skill until I started producing this particular show.
Edited on March 15, 2012 at 7:48amMay '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
Rob, you amaze me. I am 61, moved overseas at 11, & have lived overseas for the vast majority of the subsequent years - of course going to prep school in Maine + Univ of Maine helped. I still scored a 38 - 42 I had no idea of college grad % within x distance. I saw one Oprah, once. not a lot of places outside the US have pick ups - and virtually none substitute for personal cars. I find it fascinating. When you speak fiscal reality and economic whatever, we agree about 98.9% - but boy is the rest different. vivre la diferance as we say in Biddeford/Old Orchard......or did when I was there.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
25. I didn't want to take the quiz because I was afraid I would score low. But the questions were fair, and they confirmed that I am somewhat of a bubble-dweller.
I suspect, however, that I share very few opinions with most bubble-dwellers of a similar score.
Edited on March 15, 2012 at 10:44amMar '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
I may have scored lowest of all (8), but, while I live in a bubble, it's definitely not an elitist American bubble.
Back to the rest of the podcast after that quiz-taking break!
Dec '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
James Lileks: This must be the first podcast comment thread that almost completely ignores the quality and particular issues of the podcast itself. We braced Rob on his complicity in the male-hating entertainment-industrial complex, for heaven's sake. We had James Freakin' Taranto on! If I wanted to listen to people recite numbers I'd go back and watch Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus."
(Just kidding. And that's the most intentionally obscure & elitist reference I've ever made here - if anyone can name what I'm talking about, you get called out and praised on the next podcast.) · 6 hours ago
Never fear. Here is a website on the revitalization of masculinity:
http://artofmanliness.com/
My general theory is that as long as you only describe masculinity in terms of its burdens, you arent going to have a winning arguement. If you cannot describe manliness otherwise, I think you will have discovered the critical problem that needs addressing.
Edited on March 15, 2012 at 1:47pmMay '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
I got a 39... which pegged me pretty well "First generation upper middle class with middle class parents"
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
SettlerMom: I may have scored lowest of all (8), but, while I live in a bubble, it's definitely not an elitist American bubble.
Back to the rest of the podcast after that quiz-taking break! · 3 hours ago
I think this quiz is a little biased against women. Maybe that was the idea- this is more a test for men. For instance, he didn't address the shopping habits of families, which would be a clear economic indicator, but most women do the shopping.
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
A question for Rob: toward the end of the podcast, you stated something to the affect that a Republican must run as a Centrist to win. What is your support for that position, considering the lack of success of Dole, George H.W., and McCain and the victories of identified conservatives Reagan and Bush ?
Apr '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
Scored a 32, mostly (20 pts) from the first section on Life History.Lived in a small town in my childhood, and have actually had a manual labor job when I was younger.
The only question that was a little sketchy for me was the Jimmie Johnson one - I took the 3 points for identifying him as a racecar driver, although I would not be able to pick him out of a 2 man lineup, nor have I ever seen a NASCAR race, on TV or otherwise.
May '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
70. It would have been higher if I hadn't been blessed with a mother that sewed prom dresses etc. to pay the tuition that got me into a Jesuit high school, that got me into Cal Berkeley (class of '70, an interesting time to attend) and out of El Paso. A stint in the Army, active and reserves, garnered some extra points. And since my mother was "southren" lady, I was raised an evangelical Christian and came to know country music. However, those guys in the long cassocks got me to eventually convert to Catholicism as an adult; that probably cost a few points!
Nov '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
Interesting discussion on TV dads. I like the Ed O'Neil character. The best TV dad I think I've seen was Kurtwood Smith's character (Red Foreman) on "That 70's Show" he was tough, practical, a provider and didn't take any guff.
Nov '11
Re: Ricochet Podcast #110: I'm A 13
That's bc we all stopped mid-podcast to take the test!
I'm a 41, btw.
Also, 13 seems like an absurdly low score.
Edited on March 15, 2012 at 5:01pm