You Can't Win

We open with our mixed feelings about the new Dave Chappelle special and related issues. Then we dive into your questions for the remainder. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom introduces Don to the book "All is Clouded by Desire" by Alan Block and Clarence Weaver, which discusses transnational crime networks and financial flows. We discuss how crime often seems to dwarf the traditional economy in importance and how it can overwhelm surface political institutions. We also get into some of the operators who seem to facilitate these enormous flows. Intro by auntie004....

Beloved third mic AgileTablet joins us to talk about Squid Game and Midnight Mass. We also discuss recent movies like The Green Knight, No Time to Die, The Card Counter and several comic ones. Just a fun laid-back episode. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Big Keven returns to tell us how he became fabulously wealthy through stock trading. Along the way we learn about how life is in Alaska, the struggles of bald men, and the joys of acting. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

We're joined by our friend Cyd and beloved third mic AgileTablet to joke about various topics, including Cyd's life in Los Angeles and suicide. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom and Don answer your questions and chat about topics like the vaccine rollout, pornography, Maoism and more. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our wonderful friend Big Dave drops by to talk about Nine Eleven, hate crimes and India. We get a nice discussion about contentment in between the more controversial points. Apologies for the bootleg audio. Mentioned: Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade Book by Anthony Kaldellis. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Ibrahim returns to discuss the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan from his well-informed perspective. We talk about the relative speed of the recent offensive, the diplomatic challenges facing the Taliban and the balance of internal forces - among other topics. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

We talk about driving tests, the pros and cons of car ownership and public transportation, the future of car use, and then transition into a discussion of Marx and his conception of morality. We also get into some of your questions about vaccine passports, Islamic biker gangs and rolling around town blaring YCW.

Our friend Niko joins us from Nanjing to discuss living through the pandemic in China and the contrast in responses worldwide. We also get into learning the language and managing cultural divides, from the funny to the bureaucratic. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

It's the August Q and A episode, where we culled your anonymous questions and work through them for your pleasure and edification. From the Dao De Jing to heroin, from the 12th Imam to the IWW, we give quick answers to a bunch of your topics. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Seinfeld voice: "What's the deal with television?" Beloved curmudgeon 'Ed Buck' returns to talk about his TV-watching experiment and the prestige TV boom. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our beloved third mic AgileTablet returns to answer your questions about food and life. We talk about Central Asian cooking, personal goals and even our favourite spices. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our pal Goatstein returns to discuss language learning as a hobby before we get back to our common disgust at the US military. We talk about a recent Vanity Fair article about murders at Fort Hood in Texas and the conspiracy of silence around the Troops. Article: "The Only Thing I Knew How to Do Was Kill People": Inside the Rash of Unexplained Deaths at Fort Hood. (Vanity Fair: July 6, 2021) Link:...

Our pal Freddy returns to discuss the classic theological and philosophical problem of evil. Often used as a knockdown argument against belief in God, we talk about the contours of the debate and how thinking about the problem helps us think through our concept of God. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Akh joins us to talk about his journey to Mecca to participate in the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. We work through the basics of what's expected of the millions of people who travel there in a typical year, from the heat to the religious fellowship. We also discuss a bit about the city of Medina and other aspects of Saudi life. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom and Don chat about the news - the life of John McAfee, the release of Bill Cosby, rising prices and the recovery, the heat wave, and Donald Rumsfeld. Then some questions about Islamic crypto, the future and struggling with faith. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Increasing freedom is the official reason for almost every policy offered by both the right and the left. We tend to agree that more choice is better, but that's not always enough. We discuss how this rhetoric can be pretty flimsy as a way to make social decisions. This takes us into topics like socialist planning and the decision of some Catholic Bishops to possibly deny Joe Biden communion. Intr...

Tom catches us up with his move and then we get into your questions. We get into lapsed Catholics, the corrupting influence of power, superstitions, regrets, time travel, professional comedians, Palestinian health care and a few more. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

We had a slew of technical and health problems this weekend so we are uploading a bonus to keep the content flowing. Apologies. We open with Tom's (limited) experience in Palestine and his personal impressions of the people there, from how the occupation works to the uniqueness of Jerusalem. Then we move into a broader discussion of current events and Israeli politics - using the somewhat silly ex...

Our friend Mike returns to the show to sort through the rumors around vaccines and why he is being cautious about the whole thing. How does big pharma try to shape public messaging to avoid regulatory control? And does the focus on wilder theories mislead away from more reasonable criticisms? Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Khalid and Dimitri of Subliminal Jihad join us to discuss the book The Yankee and Cowboy War. The book suggests that shocking events like the JFK assassination and resignation of Nixon can only be understood as the product of deep rivalries at the top of American power. We discuss those rivalries and how they might be relevant to thinking about things today. Mentioned: The Yankee and Cowboy War by...

Our friend Roy - Twitter's @chiweethegod - stops by to talk about the damage done to us all by the slow grind of violence and poverty and how to stay positive through it. Our discussion ranges from the repressive chaos of conspiracies to cultivating an artistic mindset.   Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

AgileTablet joins us once again to discuss what the heck rich people are up to these days. There are 2,600 or more billionaires around the world and a lot of them have wild ideas about how to fix everything. We discuss what this means for things like climate change and the paralysis of politics, and how the wealthy cultivate an image as building the future. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiya...

Beloved third mic AgileTablet returns to catch us up and chat about vaccines, moving and the Mayans. Mentioned: Shabir Ally's YouTube channel: Let the Quran Speak. National Geographic's Lost World of the Maya. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MFKy7DJsCY