Sociology of Gambling (2 Hours)

Opening Segment (10–12 min)

• Song: Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley

• Intro Commentary: Gambling as fun and spectacle; Dawson’s Gold Rush saloons; casinos as community theatres of risk.

• Sociology Tie-in: Erving Goffman (Interaction Ritual), gambling as performance — front stage bluffing, backstage anxiety.

Segment 2: The Social Rituals (10 min)

• Song: The Gambler – Kenny Rogers

• Education Clip: A short Goffman or Gerda Reith excerpt (risk and modernity).

• Commentary: How poker talk, superstition, and “reading tells” are all social rituals.

Segment 3: Risk Society (10 min)

• Song: Roll the Bones – Rush (Canadian content)

• Commentary: Anthony Giddens / Ulrich Beck — modern society as risk-taking. Gambling is a mirror of modern life.

Segment 4: Bingo Culture (10 min)

• Song: Bingo – Little Richard (playful choice)

• Local Tie-in: Dawson’s radio bingo & baseball bingo, First Nations community bingo halls.

• Sociology Tie-in: Community, gender, and class in bingo culture (research shows women & seniors often find social belonging here).

Segment 5: Addiction & Stigma (12 min)

• Song: Poker Face – Lady Gaga

• Clip/Reading: Howard Shaffer on pathological gambling.

• Commentary: Becker’s labeling theory — “degenerate gambler” vs. “big shot risk taker.” Stigma and who decides the line.

Midpoint Comedy Break (5–7 min)

• Comedy Clip: George Carlin bit on gambling or a local Dawson joke about losing your paycheck at the casino.

• Song: Luck Be a Lady – Frank Sinatra.

Segment 6: Gendered Gambling (10 min)

• Song: Queen of Hearts – Juice Newton (Canadian)

• Commentary: Men in poker/sports betting vs. women in slots/bingo. Gender roles play out even in chance.

Segment 7: Political Economy (12 min)

• Song: House of the Rising Sun – The Animals

• Commentary: Casinos as local economies, First Nations casinos in Canada, Dawson’s Gold Rush heritage. Who profits, who pays?

Segment 8: Technology & Gambling (10 min)

• Song: You Bet Your Life – The Mint Juleps (fun, quirky)

• Commentary: Online poker, sports betting apps, loot boxes in video games. Gambling sneaks into everyday tech.

Segment 9: Crime & Deviance (10 min)

• Song: Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones

• Clip/Reading: Gerda Reith on regulation & morality.

• Commentary: Gambling’s liminal space: legal, illegal, tolerated, celebrated. Mafia in Vegas, underground poker in Dawson.

Segment 10: Wabi-Sabi Outro (12 min)

• Song: Loser – Beck (playfully ironic closer)

• Commentary: Gambling as metaphor for life’s uncertainty. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win — but the community, the ritual, the laugh, those are the real takeaways.

• Outro: Circle back to Dawson, Radio Bingo, and your “be nice” philosophy — the gamble is life itself.

⏱️ That’s a 120-minute skeleton: ~10 segments averaging 10–12 minutes each, with a mix of music, sociology, comedy, and commentary.

Would you like me to slot in more Canadian artists (to hit CRTC content needs) — e.g., Joel Plaskett, Sloan, Bif Naked, Tragically Hip — or do you want to keep it open and international for now?