Punching Out
Society & Culture
About
Punching Out is a show about work that airs each week on WAYO 104.3 in Rochester, NY
Episodes
- Episode 252 - News About The News
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss another round of layoffs in the news media.
- Episode 251 - Public Defenders
Ryan and Lou talk to Greg about his work as a public defender and why Monroe County's Public Defenders have unionized.
- Episode 250 - Labor Against War
Ryan, Lou, and Hannah discuss the American labor movement's disappointing record when it comes to opposing war.
- Episode 249 - The Case Against Wellness
Ryan, Lou, and Jade deliver the case against Wellness™
- Episode 248 - Grief at Work
Ryan, Red, and Megan discuss the impact of grief on
- Episode 247 - NYSNA Strike
Ryan and Noah talk to K.A. about the NY State Nursing Associaton's ongoing strike, and the organization that made it possible
- Episode 246 - ICE's Hiring Blitz
Ryan, Hannah, and Lou discuss ICE's recent actions through the lens of their 2025 ramp up in hiring
- Episode 245 - Women's Sports at a Crossroads
Ryan, Noah, and Zoe discuss the labor battles that are currently taking place in the WNBA and NWSL.
- Episode 244 - Around the World
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss developments from other countries in 2025, and the lessons the US may learn from them.
- Episode 243 - Heroes
In a year without Geniuses, Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss some of the people who fought to make 2025 better.
- Episode 242 - Jeffy
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the arc of Jeff Bezos, once held up as one of the good billionaires, now happy to help the Trump administration.
- Episode 241 - Entertainment!
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss waves of layoffs and consolidations that have hit the TV and video game industries.
- Episode 240 - Shutdown
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the ongoing federal government shutdown
- Episode 239 - Hospital Closures
Ryan, Lou, and Matt discuss the shutdown's impact on healthcare, and hospital closures caused by the GOP megabill.
- Episode 238 - Academic Freedom
Ryan and Noah are joined by James to discuss academic freedom and the threats to it that have emerged over the last couple years.
- Episode 237 - Homelessness
Ryan, Hannah, Miriam, and Edwin discuss homelessness amid crackdowns by the Trump administration and Mayor Malik Evans
- Episode 236 - Work Requirements
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the new requirements imposed on American safety net programs in the GOP omnibus bill
- Episode 235 - Anti Intellectualism
Episode 235 - Anti Intellectualism by Punching Out
- Episode 234 - The Girlboss Era
Lou, Megan, and Kate discuss the Girlboss aesthetic, its flaws, and the attempts at replacing it.
- Episode 232 - The Case Against Productivity
Ryan, Hannah and Lou make the case against productivity
- Episode 233 - Militarization
Ryan, Noah, Lou and Matt discuss the militarized response by the Trump administration towards pushback against its deportations.
- Episode 231 - The Middle Class
Ryan, Scott, and Lou discuss the nebulous concept of the Middle Class
- Episode 230 - AI In Education
Ryan, Noah, Zoe, and Matthew discuss the hamfisting of AI into the field of education
- Episode 229 - Manufactured Nostalgia
Ryan, Lou, and Hannah discuss the nostalgia many Americans feel towards the post-war era of manufacturing labor, warts and all.
- Episode 228 - Social Security
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the Trump administration's efforts to cut social security
- Episode 227 - ICE At Work
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the Trump administration's resumption of workplace immigration raids, and ICE's roots in the War on Terror
- Episode 226 - Federal Layoffs
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the widespread layoffs being illegally undertaken in the federal government, and what they portend for labor more broadly.
- Episode 225 - The Scam Presidency
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the omnipresence of scams in modern American life
- Episode 224 - Tech's Right Turn
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the rightward shift of tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos
- Episode 223 - Genius Awards Pt. 2
Ryan, Noah, and Lou conclude the 2024 Genius Awards with discussions of New York's elected officials
- Episode 221 - Undocumented Farm Labor
Ryan, Noah, and Liz discuss undocumented farm labor in light of the electoral victory by a candidate promising mass deportations.
- Episode 222 - Genius Awards Pt. 1
Ryan, Noah, and Lou hand out the first batch of 2024 Genius Awards
- Episode 220 - Boeing Crashes
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the recently-finished strike at Boeing, a company that may be representative of the country.
- Episode 219 - Growth In Women's Sports
Ryan, Noah, and Zoe discuss the remarkable growth in popularity women's sports have experienced over the past couple years, and whether all that new attention and revenue will benefit the players at the center of it all.
- Episode 218 - The Heat Is Back On
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the impacts of climate change on workers, and the Supreme Court on climate change.
- Episode 217 - JD
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the Republican nominee for Vice President, and the weird ideology that guides him
- Episode 216 - Capital Strikes Back
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the efforts at shutting down pro-Palestine protests on college campuses.
- Episode 215 - Olympics
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the labor abuses that have been required to build the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
- Episode 214 - Back To College
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the changing landscape of youth athletics, and a wave of graduate student unionization
- Episode 213 - Non Profit Industrial Complex
Ryan and Kathryn discuss the ways in which non-profits mirror profit-driven workplaces
- Episode 212 - Child's Play
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss a disturbing trend of crowdsourced labor in games targeted to children.
- Episode 211 - Good News
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss good news coming from the UAW and, of all places, the federal government
- Episode 210 - RCSD
Ryan and Noah are joined by Rajesh and Howard to discuss the challenges faced by urban school districts like RCSD.
- Episode 209 - Education News
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the connections between conservatives' targeting of diversity in education and America's ongoing teacher shortage.
- Episode 208 - The Long Red Scare
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the long-lingering effects of the "Red Scare."
- Episode 207 - ZIRP
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss something called ZIRP
- Episode 206 - Brands On The Run
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss yet another round of media layoffs and the philosophical question of "what makes a Brand Authentic?"
- Episode 205 - All The Work We Cannot See
Ryan, Noah, and Lou discuss the hidden drudgery that underpins the tech industry's supposed innovations.
- Episode 204 - Genius Awards Pt. 2
Ryan, Noah, and Lou conclude the 2023 Genius Awards, and name our Genius of the Year
- Episode 203 - Genius Awards Pt. 1
In our Fifth Annual Genius Awards, Ryan, Noah, and Lou take a look at the brightest minds in tech and public office