50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD
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50% Facts with Silent Mike & Jim McD
Mike "Silent Mike" Farr and Jim McDonald are the owners of Third Street Barbell in Sacramento, CA, and veteran podcasters. On this podcast, they try to answer a single question. Any question is fair game, but most involve health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, culture…even sex. In some episodes,...
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493 episodi
Comedian Nick Scopoletti
Comedian (and personal training manager) Nick Scopoletti returns to chat about growing his comedy career, working with Lisa Lampanelli, managing perso...
Things that make dieting hard (plus some influencers who are getting it right)| Guest: Jerry Molinero
Jerry Molinero, one of our trainers here at Third Street Barbell, joins to talk about losing over 100 lbs and some of the habits, foods, and situation...
Navigating Parenthood and Performance | Guest: Jonathan Gregg
In this conversation, Jim McDonald and Jonathan Gregg explore a variety of themes, including parenting, the dynamics of living in New York City, the j...
David Thomas Tao
David Tao returns to the show to take us inside the world of theater production and spirits (not the BOO!) kind. Following up his role as the successf...
Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser | 50% Facts Review
From 2009 to 2020, The Biggest Loser was a phenomenon. A huge cultural moment.
What it wasn’t, however, was a show about healthy lifestyl...
The inside scoop on rehabbing an on-the-job injury | Guests: Ammar Alhaidar and Mohammed Rashed
Our gym, Third Street Barbell, is blessed to have three physical therapy providers as members at the moment. Ammar and Moe work together in a clinic t...
Getting older but getting stronger | Guest: Ralph Caggiano
Some things definitely diminish with age, but the need for strength is not among them. After being introduced to designing fitness training for others...
Journey to bodybuilding | Guest: Riley Corbett
Unlike some powerlifters who turn to bodybuilding, Riley always knew it was something he wanted to do. Other goals and priorities simply got in the wa...
What should powerlifters eat to maximize performance? | Guest: Dan Feldman, RD
Powerlifter and Registered Dietitian Dan Feldman guests this episode to break down some nutrition strategies for competitive powerlifters. Is a crazy...
USAPL calls out the IPF on drug testing | Guest co-host: Josh Hajar
The former International Powerlifting Federation affiliate representing the United States, the USAPL, took to instagram recently to criticize the inte...
The keys to fitness for executives | Guest: Justin Wright
Justin Wright is a sales executive who found himself in a position that’s all too common for executives: overweight and out of shape. Work stress, the...
The “Okayest Coach” on finding purpose as a male military spouse and the essentials of good coaching | Guest: Toby Ralph
Toby spent a decade as a first responder -- with all the stress and hazards those careers entail. Then, he left it all behind to marry a woman with a...
The Voices of Men (2020) | Men’s mental health documentary | 50% Facts Review
Just a couple of days past the official Men’s Mental Health Month, we take a look at a short, but powerful documentary available on YouTube, “The Voic...
Untold: The Fall of Favre (2025) | 50% Facts Review
Some athletes are made for super stardom on the field of play, but truly fumble in their personal lives. Brett Favre is one of them. From dick pic sca...
What to look for in a good physical therapist (or coach)? Guest: PT Dr. Patrick Bell
At Third Street Barbell, we’re lucky enough to have three physical therapists as members. Jim’s been working with Patrick Bell on a shoulder injury an...
Why don’t lifters share a bar anymore? Guest: Jacob Ross
Jacob Ross joins Jim to take on the question, “Why do so many lifters resist training in groups in the current age of powerlifting?”
We...
Josh Hajar: Staying positive, beating cancer, and losing over 100 lbs
Mike is out of town, so Jim brought in one of Third Street Barbell’s most consistent and inspirational members, Josh Hajar.
Josh is an em...
Netflix’s How to Change Your Mind (2022) | Review
Psychedelics in psychotherapy. That’s the theme of this four-part documentary from Netflix. Can psychedelics break damaging thought patterns and allow...
Netflix’s Untold: The Liver King | Review
Netflix’s Untold documentary series takes a look at the phenomenon of The Liver King. Purportedly already a multi-millionaire, Brian Johnson launched...
The IPF reverses on stiff knee sleeves plus World’s Strongest Man quiz
Under pressure from, well, pretty much everyone, it appears the IPF will allow stiff knee sleeves through the end of 2026.
World’s Stro...
The Way Down rewind | Examining media about cults
We’ve been talking about cults and how they’re covered in the media. Back in 2021, we looked at the HBO documentary series “The Way Down: God, Greed a...
How YouTubers covered the downfall of a Scientologist’s skateboard channel | Examining media about cults
The founder of the biggest YouTube skateboarding channel is a Scientologist. Has that fact become public, explaining the channel's drop in popularity...
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)| Review | Examining media about cults
We’re taking a closer look at a topic that we’ve touched on briefly before: Media covering the effects and inner workings of cults. The HBO documentar...
Getting stiffed by knee sleeves : The politics of IPF approval
A couple of episodes ago, we talked about a dramatic change in leadership at the International Powerlifting Federation. The latest wrinkle is that the...
Hungry for Change (2012) | A 50% Facts Review
A stroll back 13 years in time takes us to a very “well-reviewed” nutrition documentary that ultimately only delivers a laundry list of fear appeals,...
IPF drama at the top, AI stealing jobs at the bottom?
We take a stab at which jobs AI might eliminate (do you want your drive-through order taken by a bot?). Plus, the long-time IPF president resigned sud...
Court of Gold | Netflix Documentary | Olympic Basketball (2025) | A 50% Facts Review
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 meda...
Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life (2020) | A 50% Facts Review
The third sequel to the bodybuilding documentary Generation Iron is all about the natties. It follows a group of competitors during the countdown to t...
Would you rather live under the ocean or on the moon?| One Good Question
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 tack...
CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession (2015) | A 50% Facts Review
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 “com...
Generation Iron (2013) | A 50% Facts Review
This documentary, the first from Generation Iron, covers the runup to the 2012 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest. Phil Heath is a repeat winner, but Ka...
Is powerlifting in a slump?
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...
Ronnie Coleman: The King (2018) | A 50% Facts Review
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 d...
Generation Flex | A 50% Facts Review
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 “ext...
Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever |A 50% Facts Review
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...
Weight Loss Island and East Coast travels
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 hour...
If you could start a business with zero risk, what would it be?
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. ...
Do vegans crave meat?
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. <...
How to make new friends in the gym?
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. <...
Top Fitness Trends for 2025
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...