Hope…. Is it the one thing that kept you going the past six months? Did hope sustain you through the recent drought of Red Taped episodes. Do you find comfort in the simple fact that no matter what happens no one can take your hope away? This episode we give your feeling brain what it is craving and leave your rational mind wanting by discussing (poorly) Mark Manson’s latest book, Everything is F*cked, A Book About Hope.

Back in April your fearless and house-bound hosts decided to watch Season 1 of Parks and Recreation and talk about it with their friends.  Yes, season 1 is pretty horrible but re-watching it was just a small, fading ember of the dumpster fire that is 2020. (Don’t’ worry, dear listener, just like pizza, bad Parks and Rec is still pretty good and season 1 is only 6 episodes.)

Is this episode good or bad?  Trick question: Only a Sith deals in absolutes.  This episode two caged bearcats wrap-up their lengthy discussion of Ralph Waldo Emerson by reviewing his short essay, “Compensation.”   We were hoping for a get-rich-quick scheme but instead we got an essay on the inherent natural tendency of all things to find balance and the resulting ethical framework that transcends artificial institutions (or something like that).  

Social distancing, teleworking, virtual happy hours, and forgetting to hit mute—is Ralph Waldo Emerson the person we need to transcend all this?   This quasi-normal episode gets a little off topic and explores: tiny mammal things; virtual train travel for cool guys; less than horrible elevator music; cider virginity stories; hot and bothered bats; and the erotic lives of America’s nonagenarian intelligentsia.   If you want to skip us catching up and get straight to the book forward to 17:50.

A few weeks ago, two bearcats met via technology from their respective cages to honor a fellow bureaucrat with the prestigious Walter Peck Excellency in Bureaucracy Award.  They also took some time to talk about their recent transition to “all-telework-all-the-time” and other random things.  This is the first in a series of “Caged Bearcats Episodes” where we will be playing around with different formats and topics while social distancing.  

Two bearcats went over the mountain to see what they could see. When they got to the peak, they immediately fell into a deep valley where they “dulled-out” for several months. We taped this episode two months ago, put it on a shelf, and quasi-retired. However, during these trying times we all need to do our part. Unfortunately for you, our part is keeping you occupied with a meandering podcast about the meandering pathways of peaks and valleys that form modern life.

This week we finally meet the legendary Santa Claus and he is not the jolly, old elf you imagined. In reality, Santa is a hard-driving, down to brass tacks CEO with lots of leadership (and other) secrets to share. We also spend some time rambling about the joys and miseries of the holiday season, discover the true meaning of “bearcat,” feel some slight remorse about being capitalist pigs, and worry about our parents’ Hallmark addictions,

We don’t want to be a couple of old guys that disappear for months and return unannounced to give you life advice, but we think you should listen to this episode.  This week we remedy all your dysfunctions while discussing The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.  We also travel to the Napa Valley to eat Pizza Hut and drink domestic beer; fall in love with a narcissist ex-ballerina; rant about the growing gaps between episodes; and opine on the evolving norms of meeting etiquette.

Please join us as we navigate a messy break-up and discuss The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Did you really think a couple of bureaucratic, soy-boys and a pair of Navy SEALs would last?  Please feel free to express your disgust or support: [email protected]  (email) and @RedTapedPodcast (Twitter).

We recently visited our fictional hero and the “James Bond” of the public sector, Ben Cromarty. We were enthralled to partake in a new bureaucratic adventure.  However, as Ben began slipping in and out of statutory loopholes , aligning himself with questionable nonprofits, throwing basic principles of competitive procurement to the wind, and hobnobbing with venture capitalists, we found ourselves questioning our loyalty and devotion.  Is Ben a double-agent fixated on watching his state...

Red Taped was dying without a roar and only the faintest impression of a whimper.  For better or worse America's national weird-uncle, Ben Franklin, saved us.  His “feel-good juice" restored our vigor and his 13 virtues fortified our minds, bodies, and spirits.  Today we explore the question: “Who has a better story than Ben Franklin?”

Feeling hopeless, lost and stuck? It happens to most people at some point or multiple points in their lives.  Fortunately, the solution is easy: 1.) find a manic pixie dream girl; 2.) expand your mind by consuming some “not-red-rocks”; and 3.) lucid dream yourself to a new reality--Basic stuff, people!  We hope you are hungry because this week we are reading Out of the Maze: An Amazing Way to Get Unstuck by Spencer Johnson and concluding the “Red Taped: Cheese Trilogy.” 

Do you have a minute?  How about sixty?  If so, please join us as we meet the New One Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.  In addition to offering a plethora of “1-minute man” jokes, we eventually get around to sharing our analysis of this management classic.  We also criticize management cults after unconditionally pledging ourselves to a Red Priestess, proclaim the power of motivational screensavers, consider tattoos for managers, learn how not to train a dog, and impregnate a...

Lovable losers? These two bearcats have something in common with the Chicago Cubs.  At Andy's request or insistence, we celebrate the beginning of the baseball season by discussing The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci. In order to do this, your hosts were joined by a hibernating bearcat to equip them with the only drink you can have when discussing Chicago.  Pour yourself a shot of Malort, give yourself a "Chicago handshake" and "Try Not to Suck."

This week we are joined by our one listener/special guest, Spartacus and discuss his book recommendation: Unsung Heroes: Federal Execucrats Making a Difference by Norma. M. Riccucci.  We also explore the uncharted realm of bureaucrat porn; do poli-sci reps in the squat rack; look for Reagan era officials in Pound Town; watch a brawl between a humble philosopher and a big, swinging Richard; and desperately try to forgive our mothers for the irreversible damage created by their '80s hair...

If you are seeking a paradigm shift that creates synergy and results in a win-win situation, this episode will be 7th heaven for you. This week we review the leadership classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey. We also test the effectiveness of bottom shelf whisky, meet the neighbors, find a new bar, fly with Harrison Ford, go on a blind date with the author, welcome ourselves to show biz, and sharpen our saws until we feel the burn.

It will be funny, he said.  It is an easy read, he said.  We’ve earned a little light-work, he declared. This week your hosts get hypnotized and led down an oyster-crab infested rabbit hole.  We also complain about the outbreak of live music in the DC suburbs, review bureaucrat fashion trends, and travel via chicken wings to Korea……Don’t worry we stayed true to form and got drunk on aged coffee while discussing the merits of the Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams.  

This week two bearcats walk into a bar to wrestle with a green turtle and leave with bleeding eardrums— I am still not sure what Andy said during the past hour but I am sure it was heartfelt.  We also get our hopes smashed by a panda, get needlessly nostalgic over forgotten sodas  and find a politician who has mastered the F-bomb (Spoiler: Beto O' Rouke is a true cussing artist).  Most importantly, Mark Manson teaches us The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by showing us how to give a f*ck?  

It is only during that brief transition between a late-night and an early-morning that life’s weightiest questions become apparent, such as:  OK, seriously, who moved my cheese? This week is book two in the “The Red Taped Cheese Trilogy”: I moved Your Cheese by Deepak Malhotra.  If you are new to the maze consider going back to our discussion of book one: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. 

This week we read Chess not Checkers by Mark Miller.  This short fictional story about Blake, a former douche turned CEO, carefully balances leadership insight with cheesy story-telling.  This is a fun discussion that includes, multiple movie/tv quotes, fond memories of our former purveyor of ointments, the strange overlap of crazy and genius, drinking like your grandpa, and the subtle art of getting employees to fire themselves.

In the long tradition of radio shows, TV sitcoms, and podcasts, we present you with our holiday episode. In lieu of the usual end of year rankings, we are revisiting our previous “tape (like) or toss (dislike)” verdicts and attempting to provide very short summaries of each book we covered during 2018. To wit, we are slacking off a bit but still providing some Grade A Prime aural delights. Full show notes and contact information: http://redtaped.libsyn.com/

It was a tough week in bearcat country.   To get through this episode, your fearless hosts had to dig deep and feel feelings, which is a very overrated experience.   We also meet a fan, remember H.W. Bush, dance with the green fairy, pay a welfare check on Darrell Hammond, find out which host has more EQ, and ponder the existence of a Red Taped curse.  Please join us as we discuss Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves.

Everyone has one but don’t be one; this week we are talking about a-holes. Is one too many, not enough, or just right? Please join us as we review the No A**hole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t by Robert Sutton. Did we fail the no a-hole rule this week? Let us know: [email protected] and https://twitter.com/RedTapedPodcast.