Past Shows
The trans military ban and a decline in LGBT acceptance
02.21.18 | Tim and John look at LGBT headlines from around the country on the Random Sample. The Secretary of the Army learns that service members are more concerned about their food and pay rather than serving with trans troops. GLAAD finds that acceptance for the LGBT community has dropped for the first time since they started the survey. But first, Captain Crunch, Christmas lights, and wet suits caught our eye.
TFG Unbuttoned: The Future Is Us
02.19.18 | Tim and John reflect on the latest national travesty that feels all too familiar. But Tim and John talk about why Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida feels like it might be a turning point for our country.
Valentine’s Day with The Bear Naked Chef
02.14.18 | Tim and John welcome Adrian De Berardinis—The Bear Naked Chef—for the very first Focus Group cooking show. Adrian prepares a Prosecco and Pomegranate cocktail, followed by Pappardelle with Bacon and Peas. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris Wheel, has a Business Birthday, and Tim puzzles over how often certain cothes items should be cleaned.
TFG Unbuttoned: The Obama Portraits, The Olympics, and The Cure For Baldness
02-12-18 | Tim and John give their thoughts on the Obama portraits, and how it was odd that the sitting President and First Lady were absent... They also talk about gay Olympians vs Vice President Mike Pence and Pence’s terrible track record of hiring White House staff. Lastly, the guys talk about the breakthrough cure for baldness which is fast-food french fries!
Can your passion pay your bills?
02.07.18 | Tim and John discuss the role of first impressions and how to steer them in the right direction, and wonder if passion puts food on the table. John Deere celebrates a Business Birthday, and a version of Monopoly for cheaters catches our eye.
TFG Unbuttoned: Spontaneous and immediate
02.06.18 | Tim and John quarterback the Super Bowl advertising and reveal their hits and misses. The Alabama Senate votes to stop issuing marriage licenses in favor of just filing a record of your union with the state. Does it matter? Join The Focus Group: Unbuttoned every Tuesday, for a no holds barred dive into politics, pop culture, and whatever else comes to mind.
Stuart Elliott talks Super Bowl advertising. Do brands get their money’s worth?
01.31.18 | Stuart Elliott has spent more than three decades covering advertising, marketing and media. He is best known as the advertising columnist of The New York Times, and joins Tim and John to talk about the Super Bowl ads. But first, cannabis caught our eye—from a major employer no longer screening for it, to how much it’s taxed when you buy it.
Christianna Silva of Newsweek looks at the billions states lose with anti LGBT laws
01.24.18 | Tim and John are joined by Christianna Silva, a Staff Writer at Newsweek who focuses on civil rights, with a particular look at LGBT issues. She talks about the billions of dollars lost to states due to LGBT discrimination, and how states that foster diversity might be better fits for the new Amazon HQ. A photographers take on sexist ads from decades past, and some surprising facts about plastic straws caught our eye this week.
The Pittsburgh Potty and job search mistakes to avoid in 2018
01.17.18 | Tim and John learn about the “Pittsburgh Potty,” discover a delivery service called GoPuff, and celebrate the Business Birthday of the man who invented the cardboard egg carton. Shop Talk covers the mistakes not to make on the job search in 2018, and do you have a personal brand?
The Focus Group bids Out In The Vineyard’s Mark Vogler a bon voyage to Antarctica!
01.10.18 | This week Tim and John look at new marketing programs from McDonald’s and Ikea. Roy Disney is our Business Birthday and Shop Talk explores business buzzwords that make you sound stupid. Mark Vogler, from Out In The Vineyard, updates us on what’s in store for this summer’s events. GayTravel.com has Awarded Gay Wine Weekend the Best Event of the Summer and we agree. Mark introduces us to The Velvet Mafia and how LGBT networking finally got him selected for an eight week Antarctica program with the National Science Foundation.
