Episodes - Page 1 | 50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD

May 7, 2025

The Way Down rewind | Examining media about cults

We’ve been talking about cults and how they’re covered in the media. Back in 2021, we looked at the HBO documentary series “The Way Down: God, Greed and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin” on a couple of episodes. It is about a crazy, scary religious cult....

April 30, 2025

How YouTubers covered the downfall of a Scientologist’s skateboard channel | Examining media about cults

The founder of the biggest YouTube skateboarding channel is a Scientologist. Has that fact become public, explaining the channel's drop in popularity over the past few years? Was it the money he spent climbing the rungs of this cult (and not on his...

April 23, 2025

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)| Review | Examining media about cults

We’re taking a closer look at a topic that we’ve touched on briefly before: Media covering the effects and inner workings of cults. The HBO documentary Going Clear is one of the most recognizable documentaries about the Church of Scientology....

April 16, 2025

Getting stiffed by knee sleeves : The politics of IPF approval

A couple of episodes ago, we talked about a dramatic change in leadership at the International Powerlifting Federation. The latest wrinkle is that the federation has recently notified the manufacturers of “stiff” knee sleeves that their products are...

April 9, 2025

Hungry for Change (2012) | A 50% Facts Review

A stroll back 13 years in time takes us to a very “well-reviewed” nutrition documentary that ultimately only delivers a laundry list of fear appeals, misinformation, and pro-vegan propaganda. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a vegan, but...

April 2, 2025

IPF drama at the top, AI stealing jobs at the bottom?

We take a stab at which jobs AI might eliminate (do you want your drive-through order taken by a bot?). Plus, the long-time IPF president resigned suddenly a few weeks ago. Is there any situation where a quick exit from a top position like that...

March 26, 2025

Court of Gold | Netflix Documentary | Olympic Basketball (2025) | A 50% Facts Review

The 5-part Netflix Documentary Court of Gold chronicles the 2024 Olympic Basketball tournament in Paris. It’s obviously a love letter to the gold medalist US team, but more specifically, Kevin Durrant, Steph Curry, and to a lesser extent, LeBron...

March 18, 2025

Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life (2020) | A 50% Facts Review

The third sequel to the bodybuilding documentary Generation Iron is all about the natties. It follows a group of competitors during the countdown to the Natural Olympia of 2019. Will natural bodybuilding ever gain the kind of traction that its...

March 11, 2025

Would you rather live under the ocean or on the moon?| One Good Question

We’re pulling from our backlog of short, unreleased One Good Question episodes to fill this week’s gap in scheduling due to travel. This time, we tackle a listener question that’s pretty philosophical in nature: Would you rather live under the ocean...

March 5, 2025

CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession (2015) | A 50% Facts Review

The “Superman from Compton” took YouTube in the 20-teens by way of a video called “The Strongest Man You’ve Never Heard Of.” Who was this man who “commanded” his arms to grow and reminded us over and over that it was indeed still our set? This...

Feb. 26, 2025

Generation Iron (2013) | A 50% Facts Review

This documentary, the first from Generation Iron, covers the runup to the 2012 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest. Phil Heath is a repeat winner, but Kai Greene is pushing him hard. A number of other well-known competitors are also hoping to dominate...

Feb. 19, 2025

Is powerlifting in a slump?

Have you noticed that powerlifting is experiencing a bit of a dip in popularity? We have. What might be the cause? We kick around some possibilities. Is the last wave of lifters starting to age out and move on to other hobbies? Is it turmoil among...

Feb. 12, 2025

Ronnie Coleman: The King (2018) | A 50% Facts Review

This documentary from Generation Iron recaps the career of 8-time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, as he prepares for yet another back surgery. While we don’t gain a lot new information, it’s a nostalgic look at some of the most iconic training footage...

Feb. 5, 2025

Generation Flex | A 50% Facts Review

This documentary from Men’s Health tells us that body dysmorphia is running rampant among teenage boys in America. It follows four teens who take “extreme” measures to try to match the body images they see on social media (sorta). Then, the video...

Jan. 29, 2025

Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever |A 50% Facts Review

Bryan Johnson, former head of the firm that owned Venmo (and sold it to Paypal), is obsessed with slowing down his aging process. Is there anything he won’t try toward that end? Dozens of daily vitamins, nearly religious workouts, red laser masks, and...

Jan. 22, 2025

Weight Loss Island and East Coast travels

And we’re back with a fresh 2025 episode! Mike headed to Florida to coach three streamers to losing 25 lbs each while streaming 24 hours a day from "Weigh Loss Island." Jim went to Canada for some family time, and to NYC for some shows, including a...

Jan. 15, 2025

If you could start a business with zero risk, what would it be?

We’ve still had some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault again for a One Good Question episode to fill the gap. FRESH 2025 EPISODE NEXT WEEK. A listener asked, “If you could start a business with zero risk,...

Jan. 8, 2025

Do vegans crave meat?

We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap. This episode features one of our gym members who is a practicing vegan, Nick Squires, sharing some...

Jan. 8, 2025

How to make new friends in the gym?

We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap. A lot of people are joining gyms at this time of year. Some for the first time. Gyms can make you...

Jan. 1, 2025

Top Fitness Trends for 2025

It’s a new year, and it’s time once again to examine at least one publication’s ideas for fitness trends in the coming year. This time, we tapped into a more serious -- and less pop culture – source: the American Council on Exercise. Let us know on...

Dec. 25, 2024

Lethal Weapon (1987) | A 50% Facts Review

Is this the most Christmas movie of our little film festival? Probably. Is it even better that we’re dropping it on Christmas Day? For sure! Mel Gibson and Danny Glover starred in one of the first really great buddy cop movies. Will they catch the...

Dec. 18, 2024

Just a quick little break in the action

Well, we had some confusion about the movie we were planning to cover on that day, a guest who couldn’t make it, and an acute shortage of time. So, we punted with a quick discussion about the state of streaming services, a crazy old music video, and...

Dec. 11, 2024

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) | A 50% Facts Review | Christmas, not Christmas

There’s a Christmas in the first Harry Potter? Yes! Three of the eight films include a bit of Christmas. This one seems to show Harry’s first Christmas gifts ever. There are a ton of other firsts as well. This film set the tone for the seven films...

Dec. 4, 2024

Die Hard (1988) | A 50% Facts Review | Christmas, not Christmas

So, whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, Die Hard definitely happens at Christmas. Is it the original action-adventure hostage film? We can’t think of an earlier one. Beyond that, Bruce Willis would never have become a movie star without it. Why is...