Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Derrin Brown asks What are your thoughts on the future of AI and its practical application to our lives. Especially through the context of historic technological innovation

There is obviously a potential for huge disruptions in certain fields. We are already seeing this with large language models that can produce well-written answers to questions. One of the best uses currently is in the area of customer support. If there is a set knowledge base of information, using AI is a quick and easy way to get answers from that knowledge base.

However, there are still huge problems. People ask me if I’ve used AI in the creation of this podcast. The truth is, I’ve tried, but the results have not been very good. There are very serious factual errors I’ve found in almost every search I’ve done on ChatGPT.

As of right now, it can create something that seems impressive, but it has no idea if it is right or wrong. It also doesn’t care if it is right or wrong.

I’ve had people suggest I could use an AI-rendered voice of myself reading an AI-generated script. If I did that, it would be a horrible experience for everyone.

So, right now, it seems to work better on a limited data set, not a generalized one. That is not a bad thing. One of the best applications I’ve seen for AI has to do with education.

For centuries, it has been known that the best way to teach someone is via individual tutoring. The problem is that tutoring doesn’t scale very well. One tutor can, at best, serve only a few students, and even then, it is expensive.

However, an AI tutor can provide custom teaching for every person. It can correct particular mistakes that a person makes to help them better understand. Khan Academy is already doing this online. There is also potential in applications that involve analyzing large sets of data. This could be revolutionary for the diagnosis of diseases.

It is hard to know exactly where AI will go because the term is so ambiguous. Everyone is excited about it right now, but I don’t think anything revolutionary has happened to justify the excitement. It is just that some tools have been made available to the public. Its become a buzzword that people are not using to generate interest in their products and inflate their value.

Many of the fears people have about AI, I think, are unfounded because computers don’t have a will. They have no desire other than what they are programmed to do.

Computers can do many remarkable things that mimic human intelligence, but ultimately, they are not the same as a human brain. Underneath, at least given how computers currently are, it is all still boolean logic. So, I’m not too worried about AI taking over the world.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

FatYankee asks, Sometimes your episodes correlate with the release date. Some are a history of the holiday, like Canada Day, but others correlate in a broader sense, like American Flag history on July 4th or a father/son-themed episode aired on Father’s Day.

How do you decide which special days get such an episode? Do you limit these types of episodes so as not to become a daily history podcast? I love these types of episodes and hope you add a Count Chocula episode in time for Halloween. Thanks, Gary, this podcast is my first listen to every day.

FatYankee, you basically nailed it.

There are only a few days on the calendar that are meaningful to people, and most of them are holidays. There are a few days people remember when something historic happened, but as you get further away from the event, we tend just to remember the year it happened.

In the case of holidays, it would be sort of weird to do a history of Saint Patrick’s Day in September. It makes a lot more sense just to release the episode on Saint Patricks Day.

However, I don’t necessarily want to be straight-jacketed by having to have every episode associated with a particular date on the calendar. Many of my episodes have nothing to do with any particular date. Some topics from ancient history have no dates associated with them that we are aware of.

There is also a marketing angle to doing that. Some podcast directories, like Apple Podcasts, will promote podcast episodes around certain holidays, and people often search for those episodes on those dates.

So, yeah, sometimes I do release episodes associated with a specific day, but that only happens a few times a year. If anyone has a suggestion for a particular holiday or national day in your country that you think would make a good episode, don’t hesitate to send me your suggestions.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Sylvain Charbonneau asks If you could change one thing in professional sports, any sport, what would it be?

One of the first things I’d do is put a hard salary cap in major league baseball. Baseball is the one North American sport without a hard salary cap, and it results in massive differences in payroll between teams.

For example, the Philadelphia Phillies this year have a payroll of $215 million dollars, while the Oakland A’s only have a payroll of $33 million. I’d institute a cap as well as a floor because right now, teams can make good money by losing by just not spending money on players.

I would also take an extended break in the middle of the baseball season for a single-elimination playoff tournament. This would be taking a page from the single-elimination tournaments which are held in Europe, like the FA Cup. Like the FA Cup, I’d allow minor league teams to take part as well, with major league teams getting a buy to later rounds.

One thing I like about the way European sports are organized is that there are multiple trophies that a team can contend for each year.

Another thing I’d change is the odd way Major League Soccer signs players. Technically, every MLS player is signed by the league, not the team, which is bizarre. Each team also has odd rules about the amount that can be spent on which position, so defenders are usually underpaid.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Chuck Ferraro asks, How many items are on your list of future episodes?

As of the moment I am writing this, I have 919 show ideas on the master list of future shows.

Not all of these ideas will see the light of day. Some might get rolled into other topics for an episode that covers a bigger subject.

Before I started the show, I began with a list of 100 show ideas, and many of those ideas I still haven’t done episodes on.

The list tends to grow in fits and starts. I’ll sometimes do an episode that will spawn five other episode ideas. Sometimes I’ll just be watching TV and come up with an idea. Other times I’ll be having a discussion with someone who has a good idea, and I’ll take out my phone to add an idea.

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Alex Ketner asks, What is Your Mt. Rushmore of Packer players?

That is a very difficult question. Would it be the people who had the biggest impact on the franchise? Would it be my favorite players? Would it be the best players?

I’m going to go with a mix of those and say Reggie White, Ray Nitschke, Vince Lombardi, and Aaron Rodgers.

Honorable mention goes to Sterling Sharpe, Don Hudson, Curly Lambeau, Bart Starr, Brett Farve, Tony Canadeo, Jim Taylor, Dave Robinson, Forrest Gregg, and James Lofton.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

David Kessler asks, What inspired you to start making podcasts?

I was a very early Internet user, and I can remember listening to very early Internet audio on software like RealAudio.

I was part of a live videogram streaming program back in 2000 before podcasting was even a thing, and I would stream music to my Everquest guild around that time using Shoutcast on Winamp.

I co-hosted a podcast called This Week in Travel starting back in 2009, and I was appearing as a guest on podcasts as early as 2007.

I have always been comfortable speaking. I was a very successful competitor in speech and debate in high school and college.

Podcasting, I guess, was a natural thing for me to do.

I’m also just a big believer in podcasting. Hearing someone’s voice is far more impactful than just reading an article from someone who is nothing more than a name online.

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Amanda Carlin asks, “What are some of your favorite sites in the US that you think are underappreciated/recommended/visited?”

I’d have to start with Alaska. Most Americans, and in fact, most Alaskans, haven’t explored much of the state because most of the state is difficult to reach.

When people visit Alaska, they will usually take some sort of cruise along the inside passage and then maybe go up to visit Denali National Park. These are all wonderful things, but there is a whole lot more to the state than that.

One of my big recommendations is Wrangell/St. Elias National Park. It is one of the parks that can be reached by car, and it is also the largest national park in the United States. It is larger than Switzerland. I had a great time there, glacier hiking, and it should be a part of any Alaska visit.

In the lower 48 states, I’d recommend places in the middle of the country that are often overlooked.

My first would be Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. This is a highly overlooked national park in the grasslands that has some of the most accessible bison, mule deer, and wild horses that you’ll see in any national park. It is also located right off Interstate-94, so it’s easy to reach if you are willing to make the drive.

I’d also recommend Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. The island is technically part of Michigan, but it is easiest to reach from Northern Minnesota. The park is mostly wilderness, and it is one of the best places for backwoods camping in the US. It is the least visited National Park in the continental United States because it is an island and because it is closed in the winter.

Another great spot is Antelope Canyon in Arizona. It is on Navajo land, and you have to be on a guided tour, but it is well worth it if you are in the Four Corners area.

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Benjamin Arndt, no relation, asks, What’s the best travel experience you’ve had after making a wrong turn?

It wasn’t a literal wrong turn, more of a metaphorical one, but I had a flight scheduled from Samoa to Tonga. At the time, the countries were on opposite sides of the international date line.

The flight was a weekly Air New Zealand flight that started in LA and stopped in Samoa and Tonga on the way to Auckland. Because of the dateline and time zone difference, I accidentally read my ticket wrong and thought the landing time was the takeoff time.

When I arrived at the airport in Apia, I literally saw the plane taking off and realized what had happened.

I went back to the guesthouse I was staying at and had to try to get my ticket changed to the next flight in a week.I ended up spending the next week on the island of Savai’i, which I otherwise wouldn’t have visited. I had a great time, Air New Zealand was sympathetic and changed my ticket, and it was an experience I wouldn’t have otherwise had if I had made the flight.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Sam Robinson asks, What is the most interesting topic that you don’t think you’ll ever do an episode on?

Last month I said that I’d probably never do an episode on the Kennedy Assassination. That simply has to do with the fact that no matter what I say, I’ll have to deal with very passionate people who will find fault with anything I say.

However, there are a host of topics that I haven’t done episodes on yet, that I would like to do at some point in the future.

At some point, I’ll do an episode on quantum physics and one on the standard model.

I have an episode covering the various Chinese dynasties that has been staring me in the face forever, and I have several covering various South and Southeast Asian empires.

Ultimately, whatever topic I do an episode on, it is something that I have find interesting, I have to have some knowledge about it, and I have to be able to explain it in such a way that it can be understood by a wide variety of people.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

The first question comes from Bob Green, who asks:

Which meaning of Grand Slam came first, baseball or winning a series of tournaments? Certainly not breakfast at Denny’s.

Bob, this is a great question, and before diving in to find the answer, my instinct said that the baseball reference came first. However, I was wrong.

It took me a good two hours to get an answer to my satisfaction.

The origin of “Grand Slam” actually comes from card games. In the early 19th century, the first use of the term ‘grad slam’ was used in conjunction with the game of whist in July 1800.

A grand slam was if someone were to take every trick in a single hand.

The game of bridge then adopted the use of grand slam in the late 19th century for similar use.

The definition at this point was simply to convey something that was a complete success.

The first use outside of the world of card games was in 1930 when Golfer Bobby Jones won the American Amateur, the British Amateur, the US Open, and the British Open in a single year.

At the time, those four were considered the major tournaments.

His complete success in winning every major tournament was dubbed the grand slam.

Jones’ accomplishment was all over the news, and it brought the term ‘grand slam’ into widespread use.

In 1933, the first use of ‘grand slam’ with respect to the four major tournaments in tennis was used when Australian Jack Crawford won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in a single year. He was runner-up at the US Open that year, losing in the final by a single set.

The first use of the term to describe a home run with the bases loaded only occurred in 1935. As early as 1920, there were interviews with Babe Ruth where he used the term ‘grand slam’ to describe simple home runs.

Both the golf, tennis, and baseball grand slams involved the number four and the definition of a grand slam changed slightly from ‘a complete success’ to ‘winning four of something.’

For those of you outside the United States, Denny’s is a national diner chain that is famous for its breakfasts. In 1977, Denny’s in Atlanta, Georgia, offered up a meal deal called the ‘grand slam’ in honor of the great Hank Aaron, who played for the Atlanta Braves.

The original Denny’s Grand Slam consisted of two buttermilk pancakes, two eggs, two bacon strips, and two sausage links.

There are now grand slams in many different sports and activities, usually revolving around winning four of something.

Of course, Operation Grand Slam was the plot hatched by Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond movie of the same name.

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Sylvain Charbonneau asks,

Hey Gary! Is there a subject you know you will never talk about in the show?

There are a whole bunch of subjects that I have no desire to talk about. I don’t really want to get into current events. I don’t want to do shows on divisive topics.

If there is one show from history I’m probably not going to do an episode on, it would probably be the Kennedy Assassination.

I’ve actually read quite a bit about the Kennedy Assassination. Probably close to a dozen books in my life. I’ve been to Daily Plaza and been up in the Texas Schoolbook Depository.

The reason why I wouldn’t do an episode on it is that no matter what I say, people would come out of the woodwork who have never listened to the show before to criticize it.

It is a no-win situation. To use a Star Trek reference, it is the Kobayashi Maru of episodes.

Even though it took place sixty years ago, there are still people who are very passionate about it.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Bertram Atleo asks:

Have you ever been to Port Alberni, BC, on Vancouver Island?

No, I have not.

And follow-up question, if the answer is no, have you been to Tofino or Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island,

Yes, I have been to Tofino. I drove there while visiting Pacific Rim National Park.

If yes, then you’ve been through Port Alberni, as it is (on) the only highway to Tofino and Ucluelet.

Very well, I would like to amend my original answer and say, yes, I have been through Port Alberni.

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Kelvin Cook asks

[The question text is corrupted in the available transcript. The response below is preserved from that source.]

That is a very easy question to answer, Kelvin. I had one show. I recorded it and released it and then began working on the next show after that.

Fast forward three years later, and that is still pretty much my system.

Most people I meet, especially other podcasters, assume that I have a buffer of shows ready to go. That is not the case. If I were doing an interview show, I could probably do that because interviews are relatively easy.

The time-consuming part of doing this show is the writing and research. Doing more than one a day is difficult if I want to do anything else with my day.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Trina Wellington DeAnda asks,

Now that you have found your passport, where are you going first?

Just a bit of background to the question, I moved back in September 2020, and when I moved, I was in a bit of a rush. I literally packed up everything I had in a single day.

In the process of moving, I thought that I had packed my passport in a box, and I even wrote “passport” on the box so I would know where it was.

When I later checked the box marked “passport,” I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t find it in any of my boxes, almost all of which remained packed up. It wasn’t until April of this year, when I moved again, that I went through the process of unpacking everything I had originally packed back in 2020 and most of the stuff that I had put in storage back in 2007.

I did eventually find my passport. It was in a plastic bag with my other old, expired passports.

So with that, where will I go first? As of right now, I have no set plans to go anywhere other than Puerto Rico in September, and I don’t actually need a passport to travel there.

If I go anywhere, it will probably be to one of the few countries in the region that I haven’t been to yet. Jamaica, Cuba, Colombia, or Nicaragua. Jamaica or Colombia would be the easiest to get to by far, and both would be a nice break in the winter.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Dan Last asks,

You have unlimited time and an unlimited budget – where would you go and why?

If money were no object, I would do a couple of things. One would be visiting the South Pole. It is doable but expensive. The same is true with the North Pole.

What I would really want to do is hire a ship and sail around the South Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean and visit many of the islands that basically get zero visitors. Herd and McDonald Islands, Bouvet Island, the Kerguelen Islands, and Tristian da Cunha.

Maybe even sail up and visit one of the islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

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Sam Garrett asks

If you could only travel to one country per continent, which countries would you choose?

That is easy. I’d choose places on each continent I haven’t been to before. North America would be Nicaragua, South America would be Peru, Europe would be Moldova, Africa would be Kenya, Asia would be Bhutan, and in Australia, I’d go to Christmas Island.

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Lores Tyler Steury asks

Do you have a favorite photo you’ve taken on a trip?

I don’t know how many photos I’ve taken, but just counting every time I clicked the shutter, it has to be a couple hundred thousand.

Of those, there are a few tens of thousands that I’ve uploaded and are available publicly. Of those, there are probably a few hundred that I think are actually decent.

It is hard to pick just one, but it might be a photo I took on the island of Dominica. It was of a woman, who I don’t know who she is, standing up with her arms outstretched with her back turned to the camera in front of a waterfall. She couldn’t have posed better if I had planned it.

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Kyle Dunham asks

Are there any updates on an Everything-Everywhere cruise or tour in the future?

Sadly, no. I’ve reached out to several river cruise companies, and I haven’t even got so much as a reply back from anyone.

I’m still interested in doing it. I think the next step might just be to get a list of people who would be tentatively interested in attending an Everything Everywhere river cruise.

If there are enough people interested, then economics might just compel getting an answer from someone.

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Andrew Reck asks

If you were to quit EED and start a new podcast, what type of program would you do?

I would most probably do some sort of deep dive history podcast. Probably something that combined a linear narrative story with some expert interviews.

I’ve also thought about doing a limited series, which is something I could probably do while still doing this show. The problem is that limited series, from a business standpoint, are very difficult to do because, by the time you build up interest in the show, it’s over.

I’ve been interested in doing a rewatching podcast of the 1976s BBC series “I, Claudius.” It is a 12-episode series based on the 1934 novel of the same name, and it tells the story of the Roman emperor from Augustus through Claudius through the eyes of Claudius.

In addition to commentary on the episodes, it would be possible to interview some of the cast who are still around, and I think it would be a lot of fun.

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Fabio Fidanza asks

What is the most welcoming place you’ve ever visited?

That is difficult to say because people can be welcoming in different ways. I found places like Samoa and Fiji to be very warm and welcoming.

In Arab countries, people maybe aren’t as warm, but they can be extremely hospitable. They will take you into their homes and feed you. I had a stranger in Oman give a ride of over 100 kilometers and refused any payment.

If you go to a pub in England or Ireland and people hear my American accent, I can be guaranteed to have an interesting conversation.