I gave a listen to a couple of podcasts I hadn't listened to before, as a matter of fact I hadn't listened to any shaving podcasts before yesterday. I'm a big fan of podcasts and I listen to several that are not only very interesting but very well done from a technical production point of view as well as content. Its amazing that such high quality content is available for free (or almost if you contribute to those podcasts that solicit contributions). I'll address my thoughts on both Lather Talk and The Shaving Tulsan below but my general comment is that listening to these two podcasts was a little like going back in time 10+ years to the early days of podcasting with fairly low quality technical production as well as a general lack of polish and organization - like a guy, or two guys just talking about a subject and saying the first thing that comes to mind. To be fair, I'm comparing them to some incredibly well written, produced and executed podcasts that likely have a significantly bigger budget but they do all occupy the same space in podcast world so its pretty hard not to compare them. So these two were somewhat random and a little folksy but still have the potential to be interesting and engaging.First I'll discuss Lather Talk, the episode #014-The Ethics of Flipping. ( The first thing is that its pronounced Wolf-Man not Wolf-Men) I gave this one a listen because the subject came up here on DFS in the Varlet discussion thread and a member posted his opinion on the practice of selling shaving items on BSTs for higher than the price you paid for them whether you bought them new or not. Well, it seems that Jonathan and Gerard on Lather Talk are of the same view, ie, if you flip merchandise for more than you paid you are somehow violating the sacred bond among brothers in the wet shaving community and that you're essentially a douche bag. Further, they feel that because none of the markup goes to the artisan who made the item you are doing them a disservice as well. So in their view its wrong to sell your Wolfman razor or Varlet or Declaration Grooming b rushes for a nickel more than you paid for them and even worse if you squatted on a drop and bought up multiples "out from under your fellow wet shavers" with the sole intention to immediately flip them at a profit. They find this behaviour to be unethical. They also disagree with the rule against commenting on pricing in BST posts because they feel that if you're a flipping douche bag then you deserve all the trolling that your practice will attract.With all due respect, I disagree. Why would anyone sell something on the open market for less than its market value? Why are wet shaving products any different than your home or your car or art or any other collectible you may have? If I had a Picasso and chose to sell it, should I sell it at a discount to members of the art lovers community? I don't think so. There is no doubt that some people selling on BSTs are basically in the business of buying low and selling high to make money - its the primary goal and there are many who use the BST to move things they don't need or they don't like or because they just need the money as well as those that buy because they want to try the product or whatever. In my opinion the motivation and intent of the parties in a marketplace are irrelevant - items are posted for sale and the market determines the value through the mechanism of purchase and sale. A used soap is worth $5-$10. A Wolfman razor, considerably more. Why? More people want the razor than the soap and are willing to pay more. Does it matter if the seller is a sinner or a saint? Does anybody inquire after references? All that matters is that the transaction is executed as agreed upon and the merchandise is of the promised quality. If one party cheats the other than the cheater gets a bad reputation and that matters because they're untrustworthy but that's it.I's like to hear the opinions of other members on this issue.OK, The Shaving Tulsan - I don't know who this person is but from the January 6, 2020 episode that I listened to I gather that he's been reviewing products for a little while and then took a hiatus with his views having changed upon his return. He says that his reviewing the latest Zingari Man soap recently led him to re-think his whole paradigm. It was supposed to be the latest greatest but he was not impressed and this caused him to seemingly turn on almost all artisan soaps. He no longer uses them but now likes Gillette Pure (not heard of it) or Colonel Conk or whatever he can find at Target which I'm guessing is Proraso (great stuff). He says that all the artisans can still send him free soap to review but that they should be forewarned that he's going to be honest and by that it sounds like he's going to point out why they're not that great. I'm sure artisans will be sending him tons of stuff. So, my thoughts, I appreciate honesty but does this mean he hasn't been honest in the past? Why on earth does he plan to continue as a podcaster if he's only going to rave about Colonel Conk?? How many podcast episodes are you going to get out of that? How many listeners? I get that he might have reached a point where he's thinking that the hype of artisan soaps is overtaking the substance but I think he has a fundamental lack of appreciation of his role and standing in the whole process. Artisans want to sell their products and buyers want to find trusted opinions upon which to base purchasing decisions. Nobody is interested in hearing about Gillette Pure or that Colonel Conk is really not that bad. The stuff is widely available so we've probably already tried it. I know that you can get a decent shave out of cheaper, mass market shaving products but that's not what I'm here for. I lie the artisan products, I like the incremental improvements in soap bases and toners/post shave. My eyes are open and I'm not being scammed - I get a lot of pleasure from using the artisan products I use and I don't get the same joy from the mass market stuff. I just don't and its not because I'm being deceived by hype its because its a less pleasurable experience. I enjoy the SOTD, however if it were endless pictures of mass market shaving products I'd tune out. Don't get me wrong, I think this Shaving Tulsan can do whatever he wants and shave however he likes but I question why he would want to continue with a wet shaving podcast that nobody is interested in hearing.