How do you make medium talk?

And by that I mean a conversation a step up from small talk. Small talk is boring, especially here in Southern California where the weather is always good and the traffic is always bad. And being able to make conversation seems like a useful skill in a great deal of situations.

A friend of mine follows entertainment news and sports, so she’s pretty good at starting a conversation with almost anyone. I find that most people I know are pretty interested in fitness and exercise, so when I hit on that it tends to generate a pretty good discussion.

What are other good, semi-interesting but relatively neutral discussion items? What topics do you find tend to generate a conversation that’s actually worth having with a wide audience?