Randy Unscripted Episodes
Why does every graduation ceremony seem to use the same song? In this episode of Randy Unscripted, we explore the surprising history behind “Pomp and Circumstance,” the melody that has become synonymous with graduation season across America. Long before it echoed through school gymnasiums and commencement halls, the piece began…
Episode #43 of Randy Unscripted takes a reflective look at Memorial Day and the meaning many Americans have gradually lost sight of over time. While the holiday has become widely associated with cookouts, travel, sales, and the unofficial beginning of summer, this episode gently revisits the original purpose behind Memorial…
In this episode, we discuss the psychology of podcasting and why the format can feel especially personal and intimate. We explore parasocial relationships, how repeated listening and familiar voices can make creators feel like part of a listener’s social world, and how the microphone can shape what we emphasize and…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy explores the growing cultural phenomenon known as “Main Character Syndrome” — the mindset that life revolves around us and everyone else exists as supporting characters in our personal story. From social media and performance culture to identity, validation, anxiety, and loneliness, this episode…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy explores the concept of Continuous Partial Attention, a term coined by Linda Stone to describe the modern habit of constantly dividing attention across multiple devices, notifications, conversations, and streams of information. He reflects on how smartphones, social media, email, and the expectation of…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy reflects on a powerful 60 Minutes segment featuring Scott Pelley interviewing former university president and senator Ben Sasse about community, relationships, and the growing isolation present in modern culture. The discussion centers on a terminally ill professor’s perspective on what ultimately matters in…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy examines public education funding in West Virginia and asks whether the state is seeing meaningful academic results from its educational spending. Using publicly available statistics and national assessment data, he compares West Virginia’s per-student spending against national averages while also looking at student…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy reflects on the meaning of the word “remarkable” and why it has been occupying his thoughts lately. Inspired by comments from podcasting educator Dave Jackson about creating remarkable content, Randy examines how the word is often automatically associated with praise and success even…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, we examine the fatal shooting of a woman in Minnesota by a federal ICE officer. Many discussions around this incident have focused on emotion, politics, or selective interpretations of video footage. Here, we cut through the noise and analyze what Minnesota law actually says…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy Black takes a thoughtful, even-handed look at the growing school choice movement in West Virginia, with a particular focus on the Hope Scholarship Program. As the program expands toward universal eligibility, it has sparked intense debate among parents, educators, policymakers, and taxpayers. This…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, we explore the top ten myths about podcasting that can hold creators back before they even hit record. From the pressure to include video, to fears about gear, downloads, and consistency, we examine the most common misconceptions and why they aren’t always true. This…
In this episode of Randy Unscripted, Randy reflects on a thought-provoking opinion article published by Fox News that challenges a long-held assumption in education: that a 4.0 GPA automatically signals academic mastery. Drawing from the article and his own experience as an educator, Randy explores how grades have increasingly come…