The Compost Bin of History

In the final part of our series on the Clean Water Act, we explore how the last three decades of lawyer-stuff have turned this important environmental legislation into the toothless beast we know today. A cavalcade of real estate developers and petty officials seek to whittle away at Corps of Engineers new authority to protect our precious wetlands. Waterfowl step-in and hold the frontline of cons...

U.S. President Richard Nixon, original author of the "War on ______________", turns his sights on America's polluted waterways after being goaded by a large, predatory fish posing as a U.S. Senator - Edmund Muskie. This conflagration of Government Power and 1st-class sportfishing gave rise to the Clean Water Act, and set the tide-mark for the next 50 years of regulatory conflict and collusion amon...

Prior to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the waters of the United States were a largely unregulated, polluted mess. They're still a largely unregulated, polluted mess, but slightly less so! #Biden2020 In this episode, Jared and James discuss how U.S. streams, rivers, and lakes became the dumping grounds of industry, and introduce the second key player in our story: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A...

The Clean Water Act of 1972 was a significant achievement for the United States, and yet today the nation's waterways remain extremely polluted. If we have a "clean water" act - why is it so damn hard to find clean water? In this introductory episode the lads discuss the recent failures of the Clean Water Act, the material science of water and the water cycle, and introduce the first key player in...

It's Compost Bin of History University time, as James and Jared take you to class on Ethics and why it's bullshit and not worth caring much about. They discuss how individual morals influence our actions and bring us into ethical conflicts - and how those actions and conflicts are filtered through the mass of society. None of this has anything to do with the Election. Also in this episode: idealis...

After two failed attempts at recording an episode about the Colorado wildfires, James and Jared relent for a more conventional history topic, a la the Podcast King himself: the World War I battle, the Attack of the Dead Men. They break down the effects of chemical weapons, and detail the tactical exploits of the Russian regulars defending Osowiec Fortress in what is now northeast Poland. These pun...

Always late to the party, James and Jared finally break down the rest of the climate and environment portion of the first (only?) US Presidential Debate. With the breakthrough technology of video replay, they deliver blow-by-blow analysis of this classic bought between intellectual heavyweights, President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden. Did Trump plant a billion trees? Were they all Russian...

The lads swap-out their pitchforks for rakes and venture into the forest of political discourse, looking for the answer to what's causing catastrophic fires in the American West. They are briefly distracted by straw men, before examining how principles of ecology are related to indigenous people's land-use ethics. TickMan makes his first appearance.   Links to Sources:   - Anderson, M.K., and Mora...

Jared and James break into Grandpa's Stash, but find only boudoir photos of old tractors. An investigation of agribusiness in America leads to crazy sh*t in South Dakota. Also, David Attenborough vs. David Hume, and long-term goals for the podcast.   Links to sources:  - Acharya, Pramod. "Design of South Dakota meatpacking plant contributed to high number of Covid-19 cases, CDC says". The Counter....