We’re backkk! What’s good Decoding 40 family? Hope everyone had a great holiday.

This week’s episode starts off with a song from L.O. and a reenactment of the calls that we all miss or avoid from LIFE!

We start off with a discussion about dealing with contractors and their ability to capitalize on our fears and ignorance when it comes to home repairs.  Alaric tells us about his recent run-in with lead abatement and shady contractor practices.  

This leads us into the astronomical cost of health coverage in this country and how one trip to the hospital can change your financial life.  And, speaking of changes, we then talk about the growing trend of couples deciding to blend their last name when getting married versus the traditional practice of wives taking on their husband’s last name. Is it a time-honored tradition or an archaic idea?

We round out the show with the Black man that America loves to hate O.J. Simpson who has recently plunged into social media by recently joining Twitter. We also discuss reparations.  Will Black people ever get them?  If so, in what form should they be handed down.

Once again thanks for listening to another episode of Decoding40! And, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  You can also check us out on Patreon.

Hey everybody, we’re off this week, so we’re giving you a little bonus episode to tide you over until next week.

In this episode we play you some of our favorite clips since we started recording. See you guys next week!

This week, the guys recap the details of their Father’s Day and Mack raises the bar with a captivating and explicit story about his dad meeting a woman at the senior residence home who may or may not have worked there.

They also give their take on the outrageous viral video of a kindergarten graduation where a young boy hurls an explicative or two at a teacher at the start of the ceremony. They explore some of the scenarios that could have driven the boy to be so vulgar. 

The discussion continues about reality television and some of the staples of the genre that include Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. They also tackle the question if reality shows are dumbing down the culture.

The guys round out the hour talking about the impact of the Golden Age of Hip Hop versus the current culture, imagery of Black people in film, television, and music, Lil Nas X and how he is connected to Joan Rivers and her Black History moment. And, finally, we give you our whiskey of the week. 

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Episode 16 starts off with a trivia question. What is Sisqo’s most successful song? Here’s a hint, it’s not the Thong song or the remix.

The natural transition from the thong song is of course porn. The crew discusses their go to searches and we find out L.O. likes Bedstuy amateurs.

Next, we discuss possible 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s controversial idea to give every American an extra $1000 a month. Yang feels his idea is necessary because of the growing use of automation and artificial intelligence which is causing the human workforce to shrink. Will it really help the average citizen or will it lead to massive inflation?

Finally, Willy Strings stops by and answers some questions for the crew. We then get into a conversation about music, and the differences in taste we share with our significant others. We cover all genres from 90’s Hip Hop to Kendrick to Sade to Erika Badu.

In this episode… we’re on a world tour with Mack, my man, as Mack tells us about his honeymoon trip that starts across the pond and then to beautiful Grenada where he got to see the great Buju Banton and ending in the Crescent City of New Orleans.

Next, the crew discusses the Wu-Tang Clan and Sasha Jenkin’s four-part docuseries “Of Mics and Men” that gives color and texture to a true American success story. We also discuss the cultural and personal impact Wu-Tang has had in the world and in our own lives. 

We round out the show discussing the SUV versus minivan debate, when we typically gas up our cars and the unfortunate times we ran out of gas. Of course, there is a police harassment story involved. Check it out….