Don poses the question. David deflects. Don poses it again. David wants to talk about Rachel Maddow. Don keeps asking. The answers are as muddy and scattered as the 2020 debates.

In this (mostly) musical episode, David drops that he hates “Hotel California” and Don challenges it, producer Dana swoops in to interpret the Himmel dreams, and David comes back with his analysis of Don Henley as the Ira Glass of Rock.

David is previously engaged so get all quarantined and settle in to twenty-four things to do while you wait for Trump to stop having supper spreader events across the nation.

D&D start off congenial enough — a moment with David’s kid, some brief discussion of the presidential debate. Then the pleasantries are discarded as they battle it out on the question: Are We Currently in a Civil War in America? It gets ugly.

In a world so completely falling apart, how does one maintain even a semblance of optimism? DH (squared) get into the weeds on this one and still manage to demonstrate an almost pathological ignorance of names and geography.

After a week off to celebrate their respective anniversaries, the gentlemen chimps wax on about Don’s eleventh tattoo experience and David keeps drinking and talking. And drinking. And talking.

The topics today revolve around Don’s curiosity at what David actually does as a “Creative Director” and the fact that neither of them are finding voice for their personal writing in the midst of work hours, family, and the crushing hate from all sides of the political spectrum. Also, David really wants you to watch that movie with the actor who died recently with the name that confuses him.

Let’s have two white guys debate whether the #BLM protests are peaceful or violent, if the police are defacto brutal and racist or if the police system is more open to those things than it should be, and how David should dissuade his son from idolizing cops.

We see things through the lens we choose. Poop is a Flower. Moldy jam is white supremacy. The DNC was WWE. A deck of cards is a tiny pistol. “Lovecraft Country” is Jim Crow Fan Fiction.

Its an early morning recording and the Apes wander through the Catch-22 of abandoning social media and David’s non-plussed take on Chicago’s BLM Reparations via Macys night. Also, Himmel is finally sucked right into “Umbrella Academy” and they wax enthusiastic about it.

Starting with the question “Is bigger better, is more the goal?” the Apes get into some deep dive into their own financial situations both in growing up and currently. The idea that everyone’s version of “broke” and “well off” are subjective is batted around like a badminton birdie in a Country Club.

A bit of pandemic nonsense both in the casino and the world. David had to get some healthcare because of a dent in his head and his visit included an angry immigrant and a wonderful nautical gay man. And apparentally neither have a clue about reproductive science.

As a follow-up to episode 138 when Don quizzed David, this episode is David’s attempt to “dig into Don’s soul” and do his level best to put him on the therapy couch. With talk about his past, his anger issues and where they might come from, and where his almost PollyAnna optimism comes from, this is a dive into why the ApeCast’s biggest asshole embraces that moniker

National Museum of African American History & Culture put out a graphic this week defining Aspects & Assumptions of Whiteness & White Culture in the United States. The Gentlemen Apes go through each criteria to see who is the most stereotypically white and wonder if being self reliant, objective, hark working, being punctual, and optimistic are elements of white supremacy, what is the museum saying about everyone else?

Note: The graphic has since been removed from the Museum’s site and physical location with an apology for posting but not for somehow thinking it wasn’t completely ludicrous.

153 public intellectuals signed The Letter. It caused quite the Twitter-chaos as so many things do. D & D talk about its subject — cancel culture — as well as their less than enthusiastic response to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton.”

A liberal enclave in Minneapolis decides to stop calling the police and their neighborhood is overrun by homeless, drug addicts, and criminals. Major corporations are boycotting Zuckerberg and his mealy wish-washy approach to hate speech online. Carl Reiner dies at 98 years old. These among other randomness are here for your listening edification.

Today’s episode has Don quizzing David in the spirit of James Lipton. We find out how he feels about diversity training, which Friends character he identifies with, why the movie Cocktail is better than Roadhouse, and that he doesn’t know the difference between Pocahontas and Sacagawea.

David’s dog is basically a racist relative. Don decides to bag in the wokeness of Brian Sweeney without any provocation. Don then makes an argument in favor of reparations for black Americans. As an alum, David has a few things to say about the woke decision to “retire” the UNLV mascot. Oh, did you here that Chicago arts is going through a summer of reckoning and revenge?