New Episode: Cao Speaks - "The Farm Report" - Turkey Alternatives

Posted at 4:13 PM on November 20, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (0 Comments)

It's In The Loop for November 20, 2009.

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* After telling his story in song last week, we get our interview with Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA), the lone GOP Congressman to vote in favor of health reform in the House.
* Listeners and Facebook fans share their alternatives to turkey on the Thanksgiving table.
* A NewsNiche interview with Missouri farmer Richard Oswald.
* A dandy tune giving thanks for the most ridiculous stories of 2009.
* The year of IHS Global Insight.

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Rep. Joseph Cao talks health care vote and song parodies

Posted at 11:52 AM on November 19, 2009 by Sanden Totten (0 Comments)

We write a lot of songs. But it's not very often the subject of those songs is willing to sit down with us and talk about the points we raised in verse.

Then again, Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao isn't your average person. He's a first term Republican representative hailing from a very Dem-friendly district. He's also the lone Republican that said "yes" to the House health care reform bill.

Last week we commemorated his bold decision in a song called "The Ballad of Joe Cao." This week he joins us for a conversation about that song.

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Will health care reform survive the Senate?

Posted at 10:22 AM on November 18, 2009 by Sanden Totten (0 Comments)

Last week when the House passed a version of the health care reform bill, many people in the country took a moment to celebrate. That moment was short lived though, as reform now faces it's next massive hurdle: getting through the Senate.

To see what chance there is of something making it through the smaller, often slower body of legislators, we called up Molly Hooper. She's an ace reporter for The Hill and someone with a passion for politics. Her best guess is that something will pass, but it might not be what we expect.

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Visanthe Shiancoe: the Twittering Viking

Posted at 10:58 AM on November 17, 2009 by Sanden Totten (0 Comments)

Like everyone in Minnesota, we at In The Loop were surprised the day that Brett Favre became a Viking. Of course we wanted to talk to him about donning the purple jersey and playing for the team that was once his greatest rival. It's a story so epic you could imagine it as a segment on This American Life, the theme could perhaps be "turn coats" or something like that.

Visanthe's Twitter background. Clearly this guy is awesome.

After politely asking for an interview with number 4 we were informed that there's no way we'd get it. So we started thinking of other Vikings we'd love to interview. And it was kind of a stroke of luck, since instead we found Visanthe Shiancoe, number 81, tight end and social media super-star. Since our show also makes much use of the social webs we figured we'd have a lot to talk about with this guy. To top it off, the NFL has been having a host of problems with players using social media in inappropriate ways, even causing one player to lose his job.

So we called up Visanthe and had a fun conversation about Twitter, interacting with the fans and his new pet cow named Li'l Moo Moo. Check it out.

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New Episode: Congressional Cowboys - App Store Rejects - Twittering Tight Ends

Posted at 7:46 PM on November 13, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (0 Comments)

It's In The Loop for Friday, Nov. 13, 2009.

Featuring an interview with Minnesota Viking Visanthe Shiancoe, The Hill's Molly Hooper on health reform's chances in the Senate, Sanden Totten on why Droid's open platform might be a boon to app developers, and a new NewsTune, "The Ballad of Joseph Cao."

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NewsTune: The Ballad of Joseph Cao

Posted at 11:35 AM on November 12, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (2 Comments)

You know: The lone Republican to cross party lines in the house and vote for the health reform bill.

Dude seriously needed a song. Now he's got one.

Formally: Representative Anh "Joseph" Cao (pronounced "Gau") of Louisiana's 2nd District (New Orleans). I call him "Joe."

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Super rich tax cheats beware!

Posted at 3:31 PM on November 9, 2009 by Sanden Totten (0 Comments)

Like everyone else these days, the IRS could use some extra money. But without raising taxes where can they get it? Well, one plan is to hunt down taxes from people rich and enough and clever enough to keep their wealth hidden from Uncle Sam.

Still hiding those millions? Think again!

Enter the Global High Wealth Group. This is a new wing of the IRS designed to track down those untold millions sitting in off shore banks and bring the tax cheats to justice. To find out how this plan will work, In The Loop called up Kelly Phillips Erb, aka TaxGirl. She's a tax blogger and tax attorney based out of Philadelphia PA.

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New Episode: Tax Cheats, Secret Sources & My Guy Karzai

Posted at 10:18 AM on November 6, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (1 Comments)

Starting today, we're going to start putting up blog entries for each episode. This should make the podcast easier to use with iGoogle and some other applications.

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* TaxGirl Kelly Phillips Erb on the new IRS push to collect from sneaky rich people
* Christian Science Monitor writer Ben Arnoldy from Kabul, on what happened with Karzai, Pakistan vs. Afghanistan priorities, and Afghan nightlife
* Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Chris Ison stops by with details on the federal "shield law" proposal working its way through Congress
* NewsTune: Our guy, Karzai. (video)
* Listener responses to: How have you been shaped by where you're from?
* Swine-flu vaccine, Chorus Line-style

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The nightlife in Afghanistan

Posted at 11:12 AM on November 5, 2009 by Sanden Totten (0 Comments)

Whether or not they supported Hamid Karzai, Afghans everywhere must be breathing a small sigh of relief now that the drawn out fall election is finally over. He may not be everyone's dream come true, but at least it's one less uncertainty in a country plagued with uncertainties.

For Ben Arnoldy the end of the election means a chance to get out of Kabul and see the beautiful country side. Ben's a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. He explained to In The Loop why Hamid Karzia's greatest strength as a leader may also be his greatest weakness. He also gave us the details of the modest night life in Kabul. Listen in.

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NewsTune: Karzai (the song)

Posted at 2:24 PM on November 4, 2009 by Jeff Horwich (1 Comments)

I might have a slight cold, but the news-worthy-of-karaoke-parody-treatment never rests. This week it's the "election" of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. Our buddy.

Listen for it as well in the next podcast, paired with a great interview with the Christian Science Monitor's reporter in the region.

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