Questions & Answers: Volume 6

Podcast Transcript

According to the laws of supply and demand, an equilibrium will eventually be researched where suppliers will meet the demands of consumers at a given price and quantity level.

In the case of this podcast, the supply and demand for questions are met at an equilibrium point of exactly one episode every month.

Stay tuned for volume six of questions and answers on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

It is time once again to do my monthly dive into your questions so I may provide you with answers. If you’d like to submit a question, just join the Facebook group and leave your question when I post the monthly Q&A thread.

With that, the first question comes from Lenny Zuriff. He asks, how long does it take to produce one episode, to include all the research you have to do?

The amount of time it takes is totally dependent on the type of episode it is.

For every episode, I have a rough idea of what I’m going to say before I even start. I have a running list of episode ideas that I write down when I come across them. When I write an idea down, I have a kernel of an idea of the story I want to tell.

The smaller the story, the easier it tends to be to write an episode. For example, if an episode is about a single person or a single event, it is much easier to write. Episodes that have a larger focus are more difficult to write because I have to condense an enormous amount of information into a small amount of time.

In some episodes, I’m trying to condense a subject that could be someone’s lifetime work down to about 10 minutes. That means making decisions about what to put in an episode and what to keep out.

With that being said, I’d say the average amount of time it takes to write and record an episode is around four to six hours. Sometimes it takes less, and sometimes it takes more.

I will often select an episode based on how easy it is to write and how much time it will take. I have several episode ideas that have been staring at me for, in some cases, years. I really want to do them, but they are just daunting in how difficult they would be to write.

The next question comes from Matt Bitner. He asks, On your website there’s a picture of you wearing a racing suit that says “Best Lap F1 Event”. Where did this take place? Did you meet any current or former drivers?

That took place during the 2011 Gran Pre of Europe, which took place in Valencia, Spain.

I was there with a group of travel journalists who were invited to the race by the Valencia Tourism Board.

As part of the event, we got to visit the behind-the-scenes of the race, including going into the paddocks where the cars were being worked on.

As part of the events surrounding the Formula One race, there was a company which set up at a local race track that provided a Formula One experience.

They owned an actual Formula One car that had actually won a Formula One race several years earlier. The company acquired the car and put a custom body on the chassis. The new fiberglass body had seats for two passengers between the wheels.

So, the company would offer passengers rides in an actual Formula One car with a professional driver. I believe our driver raced on the Formula Two circuit.

We did three laps around the track, and it was really an incredible experience. What I learned, in a very visceral way, is that the key to Formula One cars isn’t their top speeds but rather their acceleration.

We hit about 180 miles per hours in the straightway, but that is possible to achieve in some high end luxury cars. Where Formula One cars shine is in their acceleration. The acceleration I experienced riding as a passenger in a Formula One car was second only to the acceleration I experienced getting launched from an aircraft carrier.

That, however, is another story.

The next question comes from Sharon Nelson DuBois. She asks, Any updates on the travel program you talked about a year or so ago?

That is a very good question, Sharon.

My original idea was to lead an in-depth tour in Rome to visit all of the things most tourists never get to see. I had a lot of interest in tour and worked behind the scenes to make it happen.

That was quite a while ago. Since then, the number of people listening to the podcast has increased dramatically. The number of people interested in going on the tour is now vastly greater than the number of slots which would be available.

Moreover, given that this is a daily show, taking extended time off from the show has consequences.

I’m still interested in doing a tour with listeners. However, I now have to figure out how to accommodate a larger number of people.

My current idea is to do a river cruise that could accommodate more people. It would also solve several problems, including managing accommodations and allowing for lectures on board in the evening.

Right now, I’m trying to find a river cruise company to work with. When i have more information, I will provide it.

The next question comes from Jeroen De Boer in the Netherlands. He asks, Hey, Gary. When I talk to my friend and colleagues about your daily podcasts, I always mention one or two that I find great. The Colosseum and why the sky is blue. I was wondering, do you have a favorite episode that you recommend to others to get them to listen to your podcast? Greetings from the jacuzzi in the completionists club.

I do not have an episode that I refer people to. When I ask listeners what their favorite episode is, the answers I get are all over the map. I don’t even know if I’ve had two people mention the same episode as their favorite episode.

When I tell people about the podcast, I usually just tell them to pick any episode they think looks interesting and start from there. Either they will get it immediately, or this podcast just isn’t for them.

Sara Fredman Aeder asks, What’s your favorite Taylor Swift song?

That’s easy. It would have to be the one about her ex-boyfriend. You know, the one. The one song about her ex-boyfriend. I believe she only wrote one song about it, so that is the song I’m talking about.

Mathew Lehmann asks, You made a comment a while ago about a WrestleMania event that was so interesting you rewatch it every year. Can you explain why, as someone who has never watched wrestling before, insight into why it is appealing or special would be nice.

OK, Matthew, I’m going to tell you the story of one of the most famous professional wrestling matches in history. The Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell in a Cell match at the 1998 King of Ring show.

This single match has been the subject of documentaries, has its own Wikipedia page, and, twenty-five years later, is still the number one question they get.

The Undertaker, aka Mark Calloway, and Mankind, aka Mick Foley, were scheduled to have a Hell in a Cell match at the King of the Ring show. A hell-in-a-cell match is just like a steel cage match, except there is a roof on it. The entire structure is made out of chain link fencing. This was to be the third hell in a cell match in history.

In planning the event, Foley was talking with hall of famer Terry Funk about how they could top the previous hell-in-a-cell matches. Funk suggested that they fight on the top of the cage, and maybe the Undertaker could throw Foley off the top of the cage.

This was an unprecedented suggestion. The top of the cell was 16 feet off the ground. The Undertaker was concerned that this could kill Foley. While professional wrestling matches are scripted and the outcomes predetermined, the action in the ring is all real.

Being thrown 16 feet off a structure can’t be faked.

They lied to WWE officials about what they were going to do. The announcers weren’t aware of it.

When the match came, they climbed up to the top and sluggishly hit each other. It turns out chain link fencing wasn’t designed to support people walking on it, especially two guys who were both around 300 pounds. In fact, they both almost fell through.

They eventually get to the edge, and they perform the spot where the Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the cage and he crashed through the announcer’s table.

Everyone in the area was shocked. The announcers were shocked. No one had ever seen anything like this. A stretcher was brought out, which was not an act. He was put on the stretcher to be taken out to an ambulance.

If that was the only thing that happened, it would have been one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history.

However, Mike Foley then wakes up on the stretcher, gets up, and climbs back to the top of the cell.

Everything at this point was unplanned. They keep fighting on the top of the cage, and the Undertaker then does a chokeslam on Foley onto the top of the steel cage. Normally, this is a very safe move on a wrestling mat.

However, as I mentioned, the top of the steel cage wasn’t designed to support the weight of people walking on it, and certainly not a 300-pound man landing on it.

Foley broke through the top of the cage and fell into the ring below. On top of the fall, a folded steel chair that they were using fell down with him and hit him in the face.

Once again, staff and medical officials went into the ring. Foley refused to be sent out on a stretcher twice in one match, so he was assisted out of the ring walking. On the camera, you can see something in his nose that looked like a booger. It turns out it was his tooth that was sticking out of his nose.

This still wasn’t the end of the match. Foley goes back in to continue fighting, and the final spot of the match was Foley spreading thumbtacks on the mat, real thumbtacks, and getting slammed once again into the thumbtacks by the Undertaker.

At that point, the match ended, and everyone was in disbelief as to what they just saw. There had never been anything like it before, and there will never be anything like it again, as there is no way something so dangerous would ever be allowed.

It wasn’t technically a “good” wrestling match, but it is one of the most famous ones in history.

Graham McIntosh asks, Have you ever been to Scotland? If so where? Have you ever had haggis? Irn Bru? Deep fried Mars Bar?

I have been to Scotland. I’ve been to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and I visited the World Heritage Site at New Lanark. However, I’ve never been further north.

I have had haggis, and I didn’t really see what the fuss was about. Haggis and neeps really isn’t that different than shepard’s pie.

I haven’t had Irn Bru or a Deep fried Mars Bar, but I also have to say that deep-fried candy bars I don’t think are uniquely Scottish. I’ve actually seen them all over the world.

I’d like to visit Scotland again and visit the highlands and possibly visit the Hebrides, Shetland, and Orkney islands as well.

Jerry Gardner asks, Hey, Gary I understand through the podcast that you’re a big Green Bay Packers Fan. I live in Kansas City, and we just hosted the NFL Draft here, and there was a Hugh Chiefs fan turnout. Though your world travels, who do you think is the most enthusiastic ?and passionate fan base for a local team? I’m guessing Football (Soccer) is the world’s most popular sport. What do you think are the second and third most popular sports in the world?

Enthusiastic fans can be found all over the world. I’m not sure there is any one team or sport which has an edge over any other.

In terms of popular team sports, after football, it would probably be cricket, basketball, baseball, or rugby, depending on how you want to define popularity.

The biggest sports league in the world in terms of revenue is actually the NFL, but interest in American Football drops off dramatically once you get outside of the United States and Canada. There has been talk of creating an NFL franchise in London. American football is about as popular in the UK as the English Premier League is in the United States, however, when taken over the entire population, the numbers might be enough to support a team.

Glenn Folau from New Zealand asks, Why your disdain for the Chicago Bears? Is it because they, like the Green Bay Packers, are from the Northern States, and you share a regional rivalry, or are they as you say, just truly horrible? Cheers

The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers are the two oldest NFL franchises. They have the longest rivalry in American football, and they have played the most games between each other.

The Packers have the most championships in NFL history with 13 and the Bears are second with 8

Since their first meeting in 1921, the all-time series has the Packers up 105–95–6.

On top of that, there is the social and geographic aspect of the rivalry. Chicago is one of the largest cities in the United States. Green Bay is the smallest city with a professional sports team.

People from Illinois are always driving north into Wisconsin for vacation, and they have developed a reputation for driving extremely fast and being obnoxious.

Moreover, the teams tend to be good when the other team is bad. The Bears were last good in the 1980s when the Packers were horrible. However, over the last 30 years, the Packers have been good, and the Bears, for the most part, have been bad. They did have one super bowl appearance where they lost.

That wraps up this Q&A episode. If I didn’t get to your question, feel free to submit it again next month. If you would like to ask a question, just join the Facebook group, to which you can find the link in the show notes.

The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel.

The associate producers are Thor Thomsen and Peter Bennett.

Today’s review comes from listener ‘saying addict’ from Apple Podcasts in the Philippines. They write:

Amazing!

Stumbled upon this podcast around the time that the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once was the buzz. I loved the movie, and while I’m willing to watch it multiple times, I’m sure there’s a limit. But with Everything Everywhere Daily, there’s always something new.

I enjoy listening while on my drives to and from work or during my morning walks. For me, nothing beats being able to learn while accomplishing other things too. I love the format and style, as I feel that even the most complex topics can be made clear and understandable.

I’m nowhere near being a completionist, but I look forward to joining that exclusive club in time.

Keep it up!

Salamat, SayingAddict! You have officially unlocked the Philippines badge.

I’m glad some people have found this show because of the movie. I have a difficult time explaining to everyone that I actually was using this name since 2006, well before the movie came out or the British mobile phone company launched in 2010.

Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostagram, you too can have it read on the show, and also remember you can now leave reviews on individual episodes on Spotify.