The internet was supposed to give us access to the accumulated knowledge of humanity. Instead, it may be making it harder to agree on what is true.

This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod wrestle with a question that has become increasingly difficult to ignore: What happens when the device in your pocket doesn't merely provide information, but begins shaping the way you understand the world?

It starts with something personal. Dave discovers just how much time his sixteen-year-old son is spending online and begins thinking about the phenomenon of internet radicalization. Years ago, Americans wondered how ISIS recruiters could reachordinary young people through a computer screen and gradually pull them into an entirely different understanding of reality.

Today, the machinery is everywhere.

Social media feeds reinforce what people already believe. Algorithms learn what keeps them watching. Repetitionbegins to feel like confirmation. Emotion can overwhelm evidence. Eventually, contrary information may no longer challenge a belief at all. It can simply become further proof that the other side cannot be trusted.

Dave and Rod explore the uncomfortable similarities between that process and the psychology of cults, along with the problem faced by anyone trying to remain skeptical in anenvironment where every side claims to possess the facts.

But underneath the politics, misinformation, echo chambers and algorithms is a much more personal question.

What happens when someone you love begins seeing the world through that screen?

And what can a parent, friend, teacher, podcaster, or ordinary citizen possibly do about it?

This week, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod go looking for answers, or at least for the right questions.

This is What The Frock?

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Why does everything on the internet eventually become aboutus?

This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod dive into Bean Soup Theory, the wonderfully simple idea that explains an astonishing amount of what happens on social media. Someone posts a recipe for bean soup, and instead of deciding whether they want bean soup, people start demanding substitutions, alterations, and entirely new recipes designed around their own tastes. Before long, somebody else's soup has become all about them.

Sound familiar?

The theory becomes the thread connecting three verydifferent stories. First, Dave and Rod return to the troubling story of Cambridge professor Jason Arday. Following his resignation and sudden death, arguments over his academic record quickly became arguments over racism, DEI, institutional responsibility, politics, and who should be blamed. Everybodyseems determined to stir something of their own into the pot.

Then it's off to sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where reports about an extraordinarily long deployment, shipboard conditions, food, and unhappy sailors have generated plenty of outrage ashore. Dave brings his own experience as a Navy submariner to the discussion, including powdered eggs, questionable meals, relentless cleaning, inspections, Navy chiefs, and the ancient sailor's tradition of complaining about absolutely everything.

Finally, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walksstraight into the soup pot when a podcaster asks him to play "Shag, Marry, Date." He initially refuses, she keeps pushing, Kylie Minogue enters the conversation, and Australia gets another reason to argue on the internet.
Three stories. One increasingly familiar human impulse: How can I make this about me?

Grab a spoon. The bean soup is ready.

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Sometimes the biggest story isn't what happened. It's whatpeople do when they're challenged to defend what they claim to believe.

This week on What The Frock?, Rabbi Dave and FriarRod dive into a series of stories that, at first glance, seem completely unrelated. A celebrated Cambridge professor resigns after questions emerge about his remarkable résumé. Candace Owens and the culture of perpetual "just asking questions" come under the microscope. The conversationturns back to the COVID years, Anthony Fauci's congressional testimony, and whether public officials truly stood behind the decisions they made when it mattered most.

The discussion then shifts to Washington State, whereclimate policy collides with economic reality. If government leaders genuinely believe the principles they're promoting, why do their own decisions sometimes point in a very different direction? Dave argues that actions are often the clearest window into what people really believe, and that institutions,politicians, and public figures alike eventually reveal themselves through the choices they make.

Along the way, the conversation lightens with stories fromDave and Cami's anniversary trip to Victoria, British Columbia. Afternoon tea, a marathon walk that wasn't supposed to be one, an enjoyable crossing aboard the MV Coho, and even an unexpected cricket conversation with a Canadian cab driver remind listeners that life's best moments often come between the headlines.

The episode wraps up with a look at the future of radio,podcasting, and artificial intelligence, asking where authentic human conversation fits into a rapidly changing media landscape.

Whether you're interested in politics, culture, currentevents, or simply enjoy thoughtful conversations mixed with humor and personal stories, this episode has something to make you think. Join Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod as they ask a question that echoes through every topic: when wordsand actions collide, which one tells the truth?

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