Is Marcel Proust that author we all should be reading or just the founding father of internet trolling and incel culture? In this new old-stock episode (recorded February 2021) we finally get around to reviewing Alain de Botton’s How Proust Can Change Your Life. In addition to 50 minutes of mispronouncing “Proust” we also go off on a bunch of tange…

Hope…. Is it the one thing that kept you going the past six months? Did hope sustain you through the recent drought of Red Taped episodes. Do you find comfort in the simple fact that no matter what happens no one can take your hope away? This episode we give your feeling brain what it is craving and leave your rational mind wanting by discussing (p…

Has it been minutes, days, weeks, months, years? We are not sure because life has become the overlapping timelines of the Witcher. Back in April your fearless and house-bound hosts decided to watch Season 1 of Parks and Recreation and talk about it with their friends. Yes, season 1 is pretty horrible but re-watching it was just a small, fading embe…

“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.”- Ursula K. Le Guin “Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth. Who explained working hard may help you maintain. To learn to overcome the heartaches and pain.” - “C.R.E.A.M” by Wu Tang Clan Is this episode good or bad? Trick question: Only a Sith deals in absolutes. This episode two caged bearcats w…

“Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!” ― Winston Zeddmore, Ghostbusters (1984) “We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener.”― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot Social distancing, teleworking, beans and rice/rice and beans, TP shortages, virtual happy hours, and forgetting to hit mute—is…

Fat monks, tigers, cobras, and viruses, oh my! A few weeks ago, two bearcats met via technology from their respective cages to honor a fellow bureaucrat with the prestigious Walter Peck Excellency in Bureaucracy Award. They also took some time to talk about their recent transition to “all-telework-all-the-time” and other random things. This is the …

I asked him, “How can a man be brave if he is afraid?” “That is the only time a man can be brave,” he told me. – Robb Stark describing Ned Stark, Game of Thrones Two bearcats went over the mountain to see what they could see. When they got to the peak, they immediately fell into a deep valley where they “dulled-out” for several months. We taped thi…

Q: What do you get when you combine 1-part Sean Connery, 1-part Jimmy Stewart, and 2.5-parts sketchy guy that lives in a van? A: Santa Claus. This week we finally meet the legendary Santa Claus and he is not the jolly, old elf you imagined. In reality, Santa is a hard-driving, down to brass tacks CEO with lots of leadership (and other) secrets to s…

We don’t want to be a couple of old guys that disappear for months and return unannounced to give you poorly-informed life advice, but we think you should listen to this episode. This week we remedy all your dysfunctions while discussing The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. We also travel to the Napa Valley to eat Pizza Hut and drin…

“You wanted to kill your father in order to be your father yourself. Now you are your father, but a dead father.” -Sigmund Freud “Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish like his father and so I destroyed him.” – Kylo Ren Once again, the Red Taped bros found themselves becalmed in the doldrums of summer. Despite valiant efforts, the Navy SEALs co…

In this episode we return to Trillium, Oregon to visit our fictional hero and the “James Bond” of the public sector, Ben Cromarty. As true fan-boys of author Scott Lazenby, we were enthralled to partake in a new bureaucratic adventure. However, as Ben began slipping in and out of statutory loopholes without hesitation or remorse, aligning himself w…

After being lost in the woods (actual and metaphorical), we have returned to the parasocial experiment that is Red Taped. Representative democracy, separation of church and state, a system of checks and balances, and national independence form a very small sample of our forefathers’ legacy. However, the greatest gift they bestowed upon the American…

Feeling hopeless, lost, and stuck? It happens to most people at some point or multiple points in their lives. Fortunately, the solution is easy: 1.) find a manic pixie dream girl; 2.) expand your mind by consuming some “not-red-rocks”; and 3.) lucid dream yourself to a new reality--Basic stuff, people! We hope you are hungry because this week we ar…

Do you have a minute? How about sixty? If so, please join us as we meet the New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. In addition to offering a plethora of “1-minute man” jokes, we eventually get around to sharing our analysis of this management classic. We also criticize management cults after unconditionally pledging ourselves …

Lovable losers? These two bearcats have something in common with the Chicago Cubs. At Andy's request or insistence, we celebrate the beginning of the baseball season by discussing The Cubs Way by Tom Verducci. In this episode, we discuss and analyze the key management players that built the team that finally broke the famous Cubs curse. In order to…

It was not the threesome we wanted but it was definitely the one we deserved. This week we are joined by our one listener/special guest, Spartacus and discuss his book recommendation: Unsung Heroes: Federal Execucrats Making a Difference by Norma. M. Riccucci. We also explore the uncharted realm of bureaucrat porn (Spoiler: It consists entirely of …

If you are seeking a paradigm shift that creates synergy and results in an unprecedented win-win situation, this episode will be 7th heaven for you. This week we review the leadership classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey. We also test the effectiveness of bottom shelf whisky, meet th…

It will be funny, he said. It is an easy read, he said. We’ve earned a little light-work, he declared. This week your hosts get hypnotized and led down an oyster-crab infested rabbit hole. We also complain about the outbreak of live music in the DC suburbs, review bureaucrat fashion trends, and travel via chicken wings to Korea...Don’t worry we sta…

This week two bearcats walk into a bar to wrestle with a green turtle and leave with bleeding eardrums— I am still not sure what Andy said during the past hour but I am sure it was heartfelt. We also get our hopes smashed by a panda, get needlessly nostalgic over forgotten sodas (Coke 2, Crystal Pepsi, Upper 10, and Super Mario Bros?) and find a po…

It is only during that brief transition between a late-night and an early-morning that life’s weightiest questions become apparent, such as: Does drinking an ultra-light beer make you ultra-unlikable? Is the opening theme to Unsolved Mysteries the scariest music of all time? Could a woke as f**k mouse steal your college girlfriend? Do mice even lif…

Bargain bins are usually home to knock off sneakers, workout DVDs, XXXL- or XXXS -sized clothing, expired gourmet condiments, and misfit toys, but this week we struck gold by finding a copy of the management fable, Chess not Checkers by Mark Miller. This short fictional story about Blake, a former douche turned CEO, carefully balances leadership in…

The holidays are upon us and we have been making ready for the long winter ahead by developing a thick layer of bearcat blubber. In the long tradition of radio shows, TV sitcoms, and podcasts, we present you with our holiday episode. In lieu of the usual end of year rankings, we are revisiting our previous “tape (like) or toss (dislike)” verdicts a…

It was a tough week in bearcat country. To get through this episode, your fearless hosts had to dig deep and feel feelings, which is a very overrated experience. Fortunately, we were supported by the thoughtful words of our super fan, BearcatFan#1. We also remember H.W. Bush, dance with the green fairy, pay a welfare check on Darrell Hammond, find …

Everyone has one but don’t be one; this week we are talking about a-holes. Is one too many, not enough, or just right? We also search for the cause of all conflict (a local taco shortage?!), launch the now defunct Red Taped Consulting Firm, rant about TMI in email signature blocks, discover exotic whiskey pairings, and one bearcat gets forever lost…

This week we discuss Playing with Fire by Scott Lazenby and introduce you to Ben Cromarty, city manager of Trillium, Oregon and original bad-boy MPA. When he is not picking fights with unions, circumventing city council rules, or backpacking in the midst of winter, you can find him in his office seducing middle-aged women via his government-officia…

Unfortunately, Inside Bureaucracy almost took us out. Fortunately, the magnificent and magical phoenix that is Red Taped was reborn this week in the fictional flames of Playing with Fire by Scott Lazenby. Since we are taking a break from our normal genre of books, we are providing you, our listener(s?), with a short trailer. Get the book and join u…

How do the Red Taped bros tackle a classic academic tome on bureaucracy? We have a simple three-step approach. Step 1: Take an unplanned three-month sabbatical to get your head right. Step 2: Reach for your top-shelf scotch. Step 3: Attempt a serious conversation for approximately 20 minutes before traversing a downward spiral of somewhat pertinent…

Q. What pairs best with cheap cheese? A. Apparently, bureaucrat tears. This week we drink several bottles of wine, get emotional, regret major life decisions, opine on the wonders of guava paste, and think deeply about change. We also get a visit from 50’s dad, who is still trying to make friends and influence them. It is time to quit your hemming-…

Fun fact: Bearcat urine smells like buttered popcorn. Sad fact: Bureaucrats smell like burnt popcorn, old coffee, and loneliness. Don’t worry about this unfortunate situation because we have your back. This week we drink like Don Draper, suffer subway shame, exchange vintage marriage advice, and review How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dal…

Water your horse and gather around the Red Taped campfire. This week we reminisce about Ross Perot, search for milk of the mare, debate the efficiency of equine-based microwave technology, and plan for the end. We also read the management cult classic, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts, PhD. Hold on tight! This one gets a little …

Squirter: A person, assumed to be an enemy, running away from a military attack. Alternative: A reluctant bureaucrat turned podcaster running away from the microphone. This week we read Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. In hindsight, we should have saved one of our all-time favorite books for a lat…

The Red Taped Podcast was born during a post-work happy hour that went several hours too long. In this episode, your hosts, Andy and Larry, briefly introduce the show's vision and accidentally stumble across our quasi-official mascot. Attributes: Music "Bubblegum Punk" William Settle - Guitars & Drums Chris Settle - Bass https://exit.sc/?url=https%…