Anytown, USA

Who owns those poles behind your garage?  Who pays for them?  Why are all the cell towers in Dave's bedroom? The guys talk about the exciting mundanity that is infrastructure.  From cell towers to water meters to why it is a bad idea to build your garage in the easement, they cover it all.  Along the way, our producer figures out the right buttons to make sound effects, somebody is called a private notary, and we find out what is in Brendan's garage. Thanks for listening! Hit the like button and be sure to subscribe wherever you find your podcasts.

In this very special bonus length episode: After our sound engineer drowns out Vernon's introduction with the theme song, Dave points out they still need a theme song.  It gets better from there though... Vernon explains the process of being a candidate, Dave tells us the actual reason why Mickey Mouse never wins as a write-in, and Brendan gives us an example of a lawyer not being a lawyer. From there they talk about how the size of a town can impact its elections, voting options, discuss ideas to make elections better, misquote Churchill and Lincoln, and finally find the best sound effect to end a show on.

Brendan, Vernon, and Dave discuss the ins and outs of talking with elected officials. Briefly touching on collapsing porches in Chicago and people posting crime in progress on Facebook before calling the police.

In this episode the gang discusses issues surrounding reviews on social media and the bias against small business with special guest and small business owner Brandon.

The Anytown crew explores the many facets of walkable communities, how cars change communities, and how lack of walkability hurts local business.   Early discussion explains how far people had to walk to get off their own farms.  Other topics covered include how well spaced the grammar schools are in the town, minus where Brendan lives (even though he has two schools he can throw a rock to).  Also, a brief history of how the rise of the supermarket may have contributed to less walkability, along with their larger, evil(?) cousins, the shopping mall.  Vernon talks about sending his kids to the park, mobile phone etiquette is breached, a preference for prime numbers is mentioned, and once again the idea of a new theme song is bandied about.

Thank you for joining us for the pilot episode of Anytown USA, the podcast where our hosts Brendan, Vernon, and Dave discuss issues, anecdotes, and the ins and outs of living in a midsized town in suburban America.  In this episode, the guys set the groundwork for what they hope the podcast will be, name off a list of great topics for future episodes, and talk about where they live, without mentioning where they actually live. Also touched on are where your local tax dollars go, levels of government, concepts like walkability scores, and the need for a jingle or theme song.  Tune in next show to see if that issue gets solved in episode two.  (Spoiler alert: It doesn't.)