50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD

50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD

Mike "Silent Mike" Farr and Jim McDonald are entrepreneurs (lifestyle apparel company and a barbell gym) and veteran podcasters. In every episode, they try to answer a single question. Any question is fair game, but most involve health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, culture…even sex. They examine common misconceptions and then try to get to the correct answer -- often with the help of subject matter experts. They walk away with a better sense of the facts…and so do you. Full episodes every Wednesday. Shorter episodes every Friday, dedicated to answering a question from listeners. Business inquiries: Jim@thejimmcd.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/50-facts-with-silent-mike-jim-mcd--5538735/support.

Episodes

March 26, 2025 80 mins
The 5-part Netflix Documentary Court of Gold chronicles the 2024 Olympic Basketball tournament in Paris. It’s obviously a love letter to the gold medalist US team, but more specifically, Kevin Durrant, Steph Curry, and to a lesser extent, LeBron James. The episodes follow the tournament's progression and highlight a few of the other national teams along the way. The series features several insightful and down-to-earth interviews of...
Mark as Played
The third sequel to the bodybuilding documentary Generation Iron is all about the natties. It follows a group of competitors during the countdown to the Natural Olympia of 2019. Will natural bodybuilding ever gain the kind of traction that its “enhanced” counterpart does? And are the competitors really drug-free? Several commentators in the film cast doubt on that.  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck chops it up with us again.  

Join o...
Mark as Played
We’re pulling from our backlog of short, unreleased One Good Question episodes to fill this week’s gap in scheduling due to travel. This time, we tackle a listener question that’s pretty philosophical in nature: Would you rather live under the ocean or on the moon. After a bit of detour into stupid moon landing conspiracies, we finally offer up our answers.  

Back to regular programming next week!   Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck c...
Mark as Played
The “Superman from Compton” took YouTube in the 20-teens by way of a video called “The Strongest Man You’ve Never Heard Of.” Who was this man who “commanded” his arms to grow and reminded us over and over that it was indeed still our set?

This documentary sketches a portrait of a man whose great personal warmth can’t be obscured by his sometimes rough and compromising demeanor. A man who took a difficult, often demeaning upbringing ...
Mark as Played
February 26, 2025 51 mins
This documentary, the first from Generation Iron, covers the runup to the 2012 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest. Phil Heath is a repeat winner, but Kai Greene is pushing him hard. A number of other well-known competitors are also hoping to dominate the Olympia stage. Do any of them have a chance against “The Gift?”  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck chops it up with us again.  

Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!  

Che...
Mark as Played
February 19, 2025 52 mins
Have you noticed that powerlifting is experiencing a bit of a dip in popularity? We have. What might be the cause?  

We kick around some possibilities. Is the last wave of lifters starting to age out and move on to other hobbies? Is it turmoil among the federations? How do other hobby sports maintain their popularity?  

Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!  

Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbel...
Mark as Played
This documentary from Generation Iron recaps the career of 8-time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, as he prepares for yet another back surgery. While we don’t gain a lot new information, it’s a nostalgic look at some of the most iconic training footage from his long Olympia run, along with a painful chronical of his current, painful condition and his love of family.  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck chops it up with us again.   Join our...
Mark as Played
February 5, 2025 53 mins
This documentary from Men’s Health tells us that body dysmorphia is running rampant among teenage boys in America. It follows four teens who take “extreme” measures to try to match the body images they see on social media (sorta). Then, the video takes a turn into a “debate” about supplements for some reason.  

This doc is pretty aimless and pointless, but we had fun tearing it apart.  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck chops it up wit...
Mark as Played
Bryan Johnson, former head of the firm that owned Venmo (and sold it to Paypal), is obsessed with slowing down his aging process. Is there anything he won’t try toward that end? Dozens of daily vitamins, nearly religious workouts, red laser masks, and even experimental gene splicing are all in play. This Netflix documentary attempts to explain his motivations and the sharp contrast between the man we see now and the person he used ...
Mark as Played
January 22, 2025 53 mins
And we’re back with a fresh 2025 episode!  

Mike headed to Florida to coach three streamers to losing 25 lbs each while streaming 24 hours a day from "Weigh Loss Island." Jim went to Canada for some family time, and to NYC for some shows, including a spot in the audience for a Stephen Colbert taping.  

Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!  

Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetBarbell.com https://www....
Mark as Played
We’ve still had some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault again for a One Good Question episode to fill the gap.  

FRESH 2025 EPISODE NEXT WEEK.  

A listener asked, “If you could start a business with zero risk, what would it be?” We had to make a call about whether this meant that you’d automatically succeed (boring) or it was with someone else’s money, and there would be no financial impact to yo...
Mark as Played
January 8, 2025 22 mins
We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap.  

This episode features one of our gym members who is a practicing vegan, Nick Squires, sharing some more about how he transitioned from being an ardent meat eater to being a vegan. Since this is the time of year that some people make radical diet changes, it seemed like a good idea to d...
Mark as Played
January 8, 2025 9 mins
We’ve got some holiday and non-holiday travel going on, so we’re dipping into the vault for a couple of One Good Question episodes to fill the gap.  

A lot of people are joining gyms at this time of year. Some for the first time. Gyms can make you feel isolated…or part of a community. How do you approach other gym members to make new friends or become part of a community? Are some types of gyms better for this than others?   Should ...
Mark as Played
January 1, 2025 46 mins
It’s a new year, and it’s time once again to examine at least one publication’s ideas for fitness trends in the coming year. This time, we tapped into a more serious -- and less pop culture – source: the American Council on Exercise.

Let us know on our Discord or in YouTube comments if you agree or disagree with the list and/or our takes on it.  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck is back for this one.  

Listener resources: ACE’s list: h...
Mark as Played
December 25, 2024 68 mins
Is this the most Christmas movie of our little film festival? Probably. Is it even better that we’re dropping it on Christmas Day? For sure!  

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover starred in one of the first really great buddy cop movies. Will they catch the bad guys before Gibson offs himself?

Did Rorion Gracie choreograph one of the craziest fight scenes ever?   Dean Saddoris @deansaddoris.ck is back for this one.  

Do you have a question fo...
Mark as Played
December 18, 2024 26 mins
Well, we had some confusion about the movie we were planning to cover on that day, a guest who couldn’t make it, and an acute shortage of time. So, we punted with a quick discussion about the state of streaming services, a crazy old music video, and thoughts on handling public accusations.  

Next week, Lethal Weapon (and a bit of Rocky IV).

Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!
 
Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) ...
Mark as Played
There’s a Christmas in the first Harry Potter? Yes! Three of the eight films include a bit of Christmas. This one seems to show Harry’s first Christmas gifts ever. There are a ton of other firsts as well.  

This film set the tone for the seven films that followed and wove itself into kids' consciousness everywhere. If Harry is truly a special kid, why does nobody listen to him?  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck joins us again for thi...
Mark as Played
So, whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, Die Hard definitely happens at Christmas. Is it the original action-adventure hostage film? We can’t think of an earlier one. Beyond that, Bruce Willis would never have become a movie star without it. Why is it that the person who sees the situation the most clearly is the one no one wants to listen to?  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck joins us again for this one.

Join our Discord for free ...
Mark as Played
Continuing our festival of films set at Christmas, but not about Christmas, we take a critical look at Iron Man 3. Is this the best Iron Man flick – even though Tony Stark doesn’t spend much time in the suit? How hot is Pepper when she’s hardly wearing anything?  

Dean Saddoris  @deansaddoris.ck joins us again for this one.  

Join our Discord for free at goodcompanydiscord.com!
 
Check out our gym (Third Street Barbell) at ThirdStreetB...
Mark as Played
We’re heading into the holiday season, and with that always comes a couple of things: travel and holiday movies. Because of the first thing, we’re diving into the second thing. We’ve got another “film festival” of movies set during the holiday season, but may not be considered holiday movies.  

First up, the second Tim Burton Batman film, “Batman Returns,” starring Micheal Keaton. Does it hold up? Was it ever good? What’s the weirde...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.