Make Innovation Great Again!

What this episode covers

The genesis of the hat is shrouded in mystery. It’s safe to say that dinosaurs didn’t sport them, though a triceratops with three beers dangling from her spiky crown would’ve been the life of any prehistoric party. Fast forward about 63 million years, and the tallest ape ever to exist was likely too preoccupied with the looming threat of extinction to fuss over a fedora. One might pardon Gigantopithecus, the ape, but what about the hominid Australopithecus or the ever trendy Neanderthal? Surely, they would have valued a bit of protection from the weather, not to mention a fashionable accessory to attract a mate. A short hop and skip through time and space bring us to Ötzie, the intrepid traveller of the Bronze Age who was just recently found -- petrified, of course -- en route through the Alps hat in hand, and to Babe Ruth and his legendary home run in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. By then, the baseball cap had become emblematic of America’s favorite pastime. Half a century later, it became firmly entrenched among the up-and-coming with the emergence of the health club. What better way to flaunt and extend your leisure-time than by rocking a baseball cap while perusing Camemberts at the cheese shop? Our guess is that the baseball cap didn’t make its way to the political big leagues, so to speak, until the late 1980s. Jesse Jackson often donned one on the campaign trail in his 1988 presidential bid. The Donald kicked it up a notch (thanks, Emiril!) in 2016 when he championed a bright red cap, a matching tie, and a new twist on the Tea Party movement (no thanks, Sarah!). Who but the Australopithecines could have possibly guessed that evolution might occasionally take a step backward? We wouldn’t propose that the Democrats go that route, but they might find a key to success in the four iconic letters emblazoned on The Donald's headwear. Not that we have a vested interest, but we’d suggest that the Dark Brandon make a go at it with “MIGA.” You know, Make Innovation Great Again. It would pair perfectly in blue, and who could have predicted it better than the Gershwin brothers in the refrain of their 1937 musical hit “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”: You like potato and I like potatoe; You like MAGA and I like MIGA; Potato, potatoe, MAGA, MIGA! Let's call the Mayorkas impeachment off! Which brings us, in the usual roundabout way, to today’s episode. Our guest is John Daniels, a tinkerer turned entrepreneur who is daring fate by joining the Innovation Blab in a discussion of his latest venture. It’s developing a rapid diagnostic kit to test for Covid and whatever else ails mankind. With a bit of luck, he’ll launch the product before Kari Lake returns to Arizona politics following a two-year break. (Bribe? What bribe?)

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