The Mike Neumann Show
Mike Neumann
A variety podcast, minus the singing and dancing. You're welcome.
Ceremony
Episode 62: Ceremony
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim discuss the concept of ceremony and its relevance to the US federal government. They reflect on the lack of ceremonial events during President Biden's tenure, contrasting it with President Trump's consistent use thus far of ceremony in his signing of Executive Orders. They highlight the importance of ceremonies in validating significant events and decisions. The conversation also touches on the administrative state, the role of the press, and the con
Words Words Words
Episode 61: Words Words Words
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss various topics, including climate change, sea level changes, and the implications of earthquakes. They delve into SpaceX's achievements, noting that SpaceX accounted for 84% of the total mass launched into orbit in 2024 and 50.5% of all launches. They explore the concept of antagonistic systems in evolution and competition within the space industry. The conversation shifts to social media and political views, touching on th
Let's Party
Episode 60: Let's Party
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss the role and effectiveness of political parties in a constitutional republic. They analyze the recent Senate vote on a confirmation, noting the Vice President's tie-breaking role and the split within the Republican Party. They debate the purpose of political parties, suggesting they should organize political action based on shared principles but are mainly used for fundraising and gaslighting their constituents. They critique the
Antagonism
Episode 59: Antagonism
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim discuss various topics, including the challenges of recording audio in a noisy environment, the concept of orthogonality in control systems, and the importance of antagonistic systems in nature and technology. They delve into political and social issues, such as the need for justice in legal systems (yeah, really), the importance of administrative actions to address systemic problems, and the necessity of legislative changes. They also touch on the
Heroes
Episode 58: Heroes
In episode 58 of the Mike Neumann show, Mike and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss the concept of heroes. Dr. Tim reflects on his admiration for Elon Musk, considering him a hero for speaking truth to power despite his wealth. They explore the distinction between heroes and admired figures, citing historical and biblical examples like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus. The conversation delves into personal reflections on heroes from their lives, including teachers and fami
More Bunnies
Episode 57: More Bunnies
Mike and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss various topics, including the renewal of passports, travel experiences, and the upcoming SpaceX Starship launch. Dr. Tim shares his methodical approach to government correspondence and his interest in the universe's appearance from space. They also explore Tim's concept, turned family project, of a family seal with his motto, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing," and delve into the complexities of holiday decorations and heraldry.
Weaving
Episode 56: Weaving
In the conversation, Mike and Dr. Tim discussed the recent SpaceX Starship launches, marveling at the precision and choreography of the Starship booster landing. Tim noted how the visuals and control of the boosters returning to land on the "chopsticks" was surprisingly different than what he had envisioned. The conversation then shifted to discussing the challenges of public transportation and urban planning in Austin. Dr. Tim argued that autonomous vehicle networks wou
Dragging Main
Episode 55: Dragging Main
In the conversation, Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen reminisce about Tim's youth in western Oklahoma, focusing on the cultural phenomenon of "Dragging Main," a social activity where young people would drive around in cars, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. Dr. Tim shares his experiences of helping his father with the mail route and the challenges of starting his father's truck in cold weather. They discuss the evolution of social activities and the impact o
Social Media
Episode 54: Social Media
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss the impact of social media on society, emphasizing its role in shaping relationships and modern communication. They note how platforms like Facebook and Twitter have evolved, with algorithms filtering content and interactions. They express concerns about the erosion of trust and the potential (No, Mr. AI, not potential - it's documented) for manipulation, particularly to shape the outcome of elections. The conversation touches o
Community
Episode 53: Community
Mike tries to introduce the topic of "local programming" as a topic. (Borrowed from Adam Curry's mention of same several times on Podcasting 2.0) and Tim delves into the nature of art as a communication channel. The discussion explores the role of advertising in manipulating cognitive systems and the impact of advertising on local content. They explore the concept of community formation and the challenges of maintaining authenticity in a world dominated by advertising. The
Culture
Episode 52: Culture
Once again Mike and Dr. Tim discuss some space stuff with the upcoming 5th launch of SpaceX's Starship taking the opportunity to ruminate on the FAA's involvement in the decision-making process. They also discuss the economic and social challenges faced in general by businesses and society, including currency devaluation, government intervention, and the need for adaptation in the face of inflation.
Dr. Tim and Mike then venture into discussing culture as a driving inf
July
Episode 51: July
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discuss the challenges of advancing space travel and technology, including naming and regulating spaceflight technologies, cultural differences between space exploration programs, and contrasting approaches to space exploration.
They also engage in a thought-provoking discussion on the ongoing clash between individualism and collectivism in various industries and politics, highlighting the importance of protocols in maintaining individual freed
Resilience
Episode 50: Resilience
Mike Neumann and Dr. Tim Jurgensen discussed the future of space exploration, comparing Boeing and SpaceX. They emphasized the importance of building infrastructure for starship launches and highlighted the role of companies like SpaceX in driving innovation. They also discussed the reusability of rockets and spacecraft, and the impact of technological innovation in various fields. These space kids emphasized the need for a top-down vision that aligns with the end goal of
Back in Space
Episode 49: Back in Space
Some rockets lifted off while we were away, so Dr. Tim and I chatted primarily about SpaceX's 4th Starship flight.
And check out this bonus tune, the value4value way!
Two Weeks In Nashville - Running Away With It
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Rite of Passage
Episode 48: Rite of Passage
Tim came totin' a topic, so we rolled with that. We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
And check out this bonus tune, the value4value way!
Ainsley Costello - People Pleaser
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Communication Interrupt
Episode 47: Communication Interrupt
Mike and Dr. Tim take a second swing at Episode 47. We bounced back in our own way and hopefully you'll enjoy our conversation about various 'communication interrupts'.
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
And check out this bonus tune, the value4value way!
Jack Holliday - Tip Toe
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Fanboys
Episode 46: Fanboys
Mike and Dr. Tim are back on schedule at least for now, but hey, don't let that fool you; we put as much forethought into this one as the last one. But hey, that's what you love about this show, the spontaneity. Listen in this week as Tim launches into some solid Fanboy analysis of SpaceX and Elon Musk just doing things, where other seem to want to just continue with endless planning.
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Interaction Redux
Episode 45: Interaction Redux
Mike and Dr. Tim return to our regularly scheduled gnoshing and lip flapping at our favorite North Austin eatery. This time, we pick up/return to a topic we at least glanced at in the past; Interaction. Honestly, I think we're getting a little bit better at this. You decide. :)
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
No end of show music this time, but please email us or boost us with a request from the Value-verse!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Reentry
Episode 44: Reentry
Mike and Dr. Tim are back at it for another Breakfast with Dr. Tim. Today's conversation was spurred by the 3rd SpaceX Starship flight. As usual, we found some bunny trails to meander through.
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
End of show musical interlude by June & The Jets - Leave It Alone
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Happy Birthday
Episode 43: Happy Birthday
Mike and Dr. Tim sat down at our favorite North Austin eatery for another Breakfast with Dr. Tim. It just happened to be on March 9, Tim's Birthday, so we chatted about that and birthdays and a few other things along the way.
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Swimming
Episode 42: Swimming
Mike and Dr. Tim sit down for another Breakfast with Dr. Tim. Today, Tim introduces the topic of Swimming as not only a sport, but his observations on it as a broader societal tool for the healthy development of young people.
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Letters
Episode 41: Letters
Mike and Dr. Tim once again manage to discuss a range of topics; including the impact of writing letters, alternative punk rock on a rainy Friday night, and a song!
We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Farmer Tim
Episode 40: Farmer Tim
Dr. Tim regails us with a bit of his history involving gardening as a boy and then farming cotton as a young man in Western Oklahoma in the 50s and early 60s.We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Years
Episode 39: Years
Mike and Dr. Tim discuss how the passing of years took on different begin and end markers through the phases of our lives. It's a different take on the year-end episode that all the cool kids are doing, or trying to avoid doing, on this weekend in the calendar. We had good fun, and we hope you find some value in our discussion.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Communication
Episode 38: Communication
It's been over a month, and that's all on Mike. Dr. Tim brought "Communication" as a topic for today's show. We hope you'll enjoy our conversation.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Taxonomy
Episode 37: Taxonomy
You guessed it! Once again, Dr. Tim and I sit down to chat about things, and today we talked about "Taxonomy", Identity, and I tried to link it to Podcasting. Good times. Let us know what you think!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Sports
Episode 36: Sports
Mike has been out-of-pocket for quite a while, but Tim and Mike are finally back together for another scintilating expisode of philosophizing and reminiscing. This time, the topic is Sports and the role that they play in training and education of youth; with some stories along the way as usual.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Friendship
Episode 35: Friendship
Dr. Tim springs a topic on me today; Friendship. That's what freinds are for! In all seriousness, we delve a bit into the mystery of friendship and end up with more questions than answers, but it was a good discussion as always.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
The OODA Loop
Episode 34: The OODA Loop
Dr. Tim and I jump into the OODA Loop.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Abstractish
Episode 33: Abstractish
Finally, an episode with some forethought. Probably because Tim and I spend a lot of time thinking this way. We delve into language, metaphors, and paradigms with the goal of characterizing characterization. Ok, I'm freebasing a bit, but Tim and I pulled from our experiences and his study to put some pavement under our feet for future discussions that address how we communicate concepts in a way that is hopefully understandable by other abstract thinkers.
Go Podcasting!
-
Vacation
Episode 32: Vacation
After I spent 10 days away on vacation, Tim wants to talk about vacation; so we did! It's that time of year, so let's embrace it.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
On the Road Again
Episode 31: On the Road Again
Dr. Tim and I finished Tim's ten, no eleven, travel-related questions so we reminisced about some trips in the past. It's all in the journey!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Paths Taken
Episode 30: Paths Taken
Dr. Tim and I enjoyed another fine breakfast and conversation about exploration, a little space stuff, and then the main topic; converting horse-drawn implements into tractor-powered implements. You know you don't want to miss this one!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Guilty Pleasures
Episode 29: Guilty Pleasures
Dr. Tim and I again rolled without a plan and this time we made our way through some innocent "guilty pleasures" mainly centering on Tim's YouTube viewing habits inspired by "The Machine." Listen along for the fun of it!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Bunny Trails
Episode 28: Bunny Trails
Dr. Tim and I chatted LIVE this week, and without a plan. That means bunny trails, but we found our way home. Listen along for the fun of it!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Super Heavy Liftoff
Episode 27: Super Heavy Liftoff
Dr. Tim and I were pretty excited about the SpaceX Starship + Super Heavy liftoff, so we chatted about that, after we chatted about Smart TVs. Enjoy the chat!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
More Rockets!
Episode 26: More Rockets!
Dr. Tim and I just wanted to talk more about rockets today and so we did. Enjoy the chat!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Rockets!
Episode 25: Rockets!
Dr. Tim and I just wanted to talk about rockets today and so we did. Enjoy the chat!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Five Travel Questions
Episode 24: Five Travel Questions
Dr. Tim showed up with questions today, so we answered them! Join us as we recall some of our favorite travel memories. Enjoy the tour!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Being a Good Customer
Episode 23: Being a Good Customer
Mike and Dr. Tim and I ponder what it takes to be a good customer, explore life in the early 80's as far as the Second Oil Embargo in the US, and touch typing class. Yeah, it's an episode full of nuggets. Enjoy the tour!
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
We Have Interlock
Episode 22: We Have Interlock
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. Today we continue the satellite communication story; all the way to interlock. We enjoyed our time and we hope you will as well.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Geosynchronicity
Episode 21: Geosynchronicity
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. Today we continue where Episode 17: Almost to Space left off. We enjoyed our time and we hope you will as well.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Lagrange was here
Episode 20: Lagrange was here
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. Today we discuss some space things on Tim's mind; covering SpaceX in 2023, the 2022 SLS mission, and Legrangian points in space. We enjoyed our time and we hope you will as well.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Merry Christmases Past
Episode 19: Merry Christmases Past
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. It being Christmas Eve and all, we decided to reflect on a few of our own personal memories of Christmases Past. We enjoyed our time of discussion and hope you will as well.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Busy Day
Episode 18: Busy Day
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. There was a lot going on at the diner this morning, but we made our way through it. Mostly. Join us for the adventure as we move the story a bit further along toward Space.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Almost to Space
Episode 17: Almost to Space
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. We were headed to space for Tim's second big work project, but at least we made our way from Houston to Austin. We'll get there soon enough.
It's a fun journey and as always, We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Digital Beginnings
Episode 16: Digital Beginnings
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. This time, Tim discusses his first major assignment at Schlumberger; a project to upgrade well site data acquisition and communications systems from analog to digital.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
More Travels
Episode 15: More Travels
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. This time, Tim reflects on some of his early business travels that took him on his first international flight.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Early Travels
Episode 14: Early Travels
Mike and Dr. Tim meet up for conversation at breakfast once again. This time, Tim reflects on some of his early travels beyond small town Oklahoma.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
AI or not AI
Episode 13: AI or not AI
Mike and Dr. Tim dive in to share our understanding of what is "AI" (Artificial Intelligence), and what it might require from a human perspective at least, to achieve 'true' cognition. We also ask if AGI (Artificual General Intelligence) were to appear, would we realize it, or not?
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Language and Philosophy
Episode 12: Language and Philosophy
Mike and Dr. Tim began our conversation on the power of language, the meaning of words, and what happens to conversations when the meanings of words are changed. We then made our way to philosophy in a way; discussing NASA's Artemis/SLS vs. SpaceX Starship. We wrapped up discussing Dr. Tim's favorite philosopher: Abraham Maslow.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Small Towns and Satellites
Episode 11: Small Towns and Satellites
Mike and Dr. Tim tried to stick to one topic today; The Social Fabric of a Small Town. Of course, we ended up talking about space because, we're still fifteen years old.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Down a Black Hole We Go
Episode 10: Down a Black Hole We Go
Mike and Dr. Tim try to stick to one topic today; Physics. Physics is a big bite to chew, so we have a go at relativistic things and specifically black holes. Ok, that was still too big a bite to chew.
We had good fun.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Agendaless
Episode 09: Agendaless
Mike and Dr. Tim are all over the map today. Find something to hang on to.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
A File System If You Can Keep It
Episode 08: A File System If You Can Keep It
Mike and Dr. Tim discuss Tim's observations on "Due Process" using a computer file system as an analogous framework.
We had fun. We hope you enjoy the listen as well.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Elon's Grand Plan
Episode 07: Elon's Grand Plan
Mike and Dr. Tim chat as we usually do over fine plates of migas. Today we discuss the grand visions of Tim's favorite African American; Elon Musk.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
So That Happened
Episode 06: So That Happened
Mike and Dr. Tim chat, and not as much about yesterday's historic event as you might think. We go meta, which in some ways is more fundamental to the world we all have created for ourselves today.
-- Mike
From Sayre to Paris and back
Episode 05: From Sayre to Paris and Back
Mike and Dr. Tim outline a journey from Tim's hometown of Sayre, Oklahoma to Paris and back, discussing culture, generations, the 1950s, Route 66, and more.Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
We Have Questions
Episode 04: We Have Questions
Mike and Dr. Tim "Wade" back in to the leaked draft Supreme Court majority opinion discussed in the previous episode, but with a focus on the specific argument made by Justice Alito as his primary reason for overturning Roe vs Wade.
Along the way, we discuss condos razing community gyms, general real-estate escalation, skyscrapers, SpaceX launches as theater, etc.
We also get in to some things that are not being discussed in the news, that probably should be; l
Supreme Leak
Episode 03 - Supreme Leak
Mike and Dr. Tim tread boldly, yet carefully, through the biggest news of the week in another "Breakfast with Dr. Tim".
Of course the biggest news this week was the leak of a draft SCOTUS majority opinion on the new landmark abortion case from Mississippi.
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Saturdays
Episode 02 - Saturdays
Mike and Dr. Tim return to the scene of this crime (the first episode) for another "Breakfast with Dr. Tim".
We talked longer than we planned because I was too lazy to turn off the mic.
I'll be back before the next episode - I hope - to update these show notes and chapters with relevant info.
Until then...
Go Podcasting!
-- Mike
Hello World
Episode 01 - Hello World
There has to be a first episode, and this is what I have to show for it.
Dr. Tim and I make a go at our first recording at our favorite local Austin breakfast spot. We ended the recording rather abruptly as we get the feel for recording in the middle of a busy restaurant.
Fortunately, Dr. Tim is a frequent flyer at the diner, and we expect to be let back in again in a few weeks. :)
Some links that I mention in the wrap-up at the end of the show.
Podcasting 2.0
Adam Curry