In this episode, Tripping Raul opens by discussing an unconventional method she has employed to create her podcast’s intro and outro. She uses a service called “Suno” which automatically generates jingles based on given topics and keywords. Raul hints that she’s still figuring out some technical aspects of audio editing using Audacity but assures listeners she is adamant about continuing to learn.

The focus of this episode is the ethical considerations in quoting people in journalism, particularly those who are considered mentally unstable by society. Tripping Raul shares her experience with quoting individuals verbatim during her time as a sports reporter at a major daily newspaper and contrasts it with the practices of a competing newspaper that opted to clean up quotes. She expresses her preference for maintaining the integrity of people’s speech, including their verbal nuances.

Raul then recounts her encounters with two interesting characters at a small New Mexico daily newspaper. She references an interview with a conspiracy theorist named Tim, who had peculiar views on the state of the country and was known for flying the U.S. flag upside down as a distress signal. Raul discussed the importance of capturing both sides of any story, although she mentions an instance when she couldn’t do so due to a lack of response from the opposing view.

She details Tim’s relationship with the newsroom. Tim appreciated Raul for accurately quoting him, unlike her colleague Bill, who admittedly altered Tim’s quotes to make him appear more stable. Raul states that it was important to quote Tim exactly as he spoke because he believed what he was saying was rational.

Tripping Raul also hints at another strong story involving a cancer patient’s drastic actions which she plans to discuss in a future episode. She shares briefly about her continued friendship with Bill and his eventual death, as well as her dismissal from the newspaper after the publisher claimed divine instruction.

The episode takes a sober turn as Tripping Raul talks about death. While journalism school taught her to report death in a straightforward manner, she personally disagrees with this approach. Raul then reveals that Tim died sometime after she left the New Mexico daily, his death was ruled as a suicide because he fell from a scaffolding. She hints at skepticism surrounding the circumstances of his death given his controversial nature.

The episode concludes with Tripping Raul promising to maintain a weekly posting schedule and teases the next episode’s topic about being picketed.

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