Mechanical Freak

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This one is a downer. We're still rambling on about abortion rights because we can't help it. For flavor there is also both a Boeing update and a Star trek update. Both involve the inevitability of WWIII.

With the recent leak of a draft decision indicating that the Supreme Court plans to reverse Roe v. Wade later this summer, the guys take a trip down memory lane and trace how the anti-abortion movement evolved from an extreme minority position to an extreme minority position with billions of dollars in funding and the support of both parties. We finish by suggesting things that you can do that are...

Greg and Wes give us a review of DJ Khaled's new ghost restaurant and then we welcome Sidney, Billie, and Liz on the show to talk about how they helped to unionize local Starbucks stores and what it takes to roast management’s anti-union campaigns. Finally, we discuss some late breaking news courtesy of the octogenarian freaks in the wizard’s chamber in the nation’s capital.

We ask, “Can a police officer be fined for not-wearing a mask in a casino, if the casino is there to pay off judgements and fines against the police in the first place?” Then we explore the gritty, dark-night of housing in America.

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We are joined by Rich Smith from The Stranger to talk about the recent adventures of our newest local crank, Jonathan Choe. Then we ask ourselves: What makes Seattle and the Pacific Northwest such fertile ground for right-wing grifters?

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We're joined by our friend and loyal listener Madison (@AetherUnbound) to discuss the current wave of trans panic sweeping state legislatures and the minds of sick little bigots the whole country over. It's never been easy, but it feels like a particularly bad time to navigate survival as a trans person right now with Florida, Texas and other states passing horrifying new laws that are being used...

Greg and Brian catch up with labor news from around the country. We celebrate a big win for Amazon workers and hear the plight of Seattle billionaire, Howard Schultz. Then we get a taste of what it takes to win a Pulitzer in today’s world of hard-hitting journalism.

Listen to the episode in its entirety on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/64917240

Charles Mudede on the racism of Boeing and America. An extended section from part 2 of our interview with Charles about the 737 Max crashes and the new Netflix doc. Find the entirety of part 2 on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/maximum-pt-2-64510835

We are joined by The Strangers’ Charles Mudede to talk the end of the Covid Pandemic and the new documentary about Boeing’s 737-MAX disaster, Downfall. Despite Boeing’s efforts to distract us by crashing another 737, this time in China, we make our own case against Boeing and the neoliberal economics that made disaster inevitable.

In a follow-up to EP 17, Brian and Munya revisit the political origins of the suburbs, talk about the possible ramifications of siding with the Nazis after the Second World War, and answer the eternal question, “Is Jackson Pollock an op?”

We observe the yin and yang of the editorial section with news of REI’s bold new plan to fight discrimination through lower wages and a very smart plan to fight climate change by sticking it to Russia.

Brian and Munya begin their descent into the history of the Cold War. They discuss McCarthyism in the academy, the rehabilitation of Nazi Germany, and the role of the CIA in the art world. This part 1 of a two-part discussion of the early Cold War meant to pair with Chapter 11 of The End of the Myth.

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Brian and Munya dip into the listener mailbag to answer important questions like: How did the US get away with abandoning de-Nazification? What’s wrong with academia? And, What are our thoughts on drunk driving? All this and more!

Brian and Munya watch Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address so that you don’t have to. And guess what? It’s bad folks!

There's a war on between various national elites and they're taking it out on the people of Ukraine. Want to know more? Read Brian's latest on MechanicalFreak.website to understand the ins and outs. We've got our friends Jacob (@Stukhov) and Wes (@wescz1312) to help us talk out the ups and downs, or just downs.

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Munya, Brian, and Greg are back to check in on the most progressive city council in America, see what the WA legislature got up to this week, and to look at right-wing psychos and the police response in Portland.

Economist and host of the excellent weekly show Economic Update Richard Wolff joins the show to explain what the Bretton Woods Agreement was, how it worked, and how it ultimately fell apart. Join us on an exciting ride through the decline of the US empire!

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Brian is on his own, but not alone. Friends of the show Brynn and Chuy join him to dissect the Xs and Os of the Super Bowl and get into the nitty gritty of Facebook nanny forums.