The Compost Bin of History

Compost Bin of History is roaring back with a historical reading series! Workin' guys James and Jared prod the underbelly of the ruling class by reading about the shenanigans of Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg and his zany former employer, McKinsey & Company, in “An Army of Pete Buttigiegs”, by Nicole Aschoff.   Mayor Pete is the current Secretary of Transportation and noteworthy loser/winner of the 2020 Iowa Caucus. His management expertise and ambition for public service have made him a valued “asset” to many a “company” over his short career. Foremost among them, McKinsey & Co have pioneered the use of data translation and analytic technology to streamline shareholder revenue for the most trusted names in the Corporate World, from Enron to Best Buy, and have advised political actors from Eisenhower to MBS. Learn why this network of powerful business elites, this shadowy political faction – a cabal, if you will – is actually just really good at doing business stuff and worthy of your undying support.   But you're probably too dumb to understand anyway, because you didn't go to Harvard.   Sources:   Aschoff, Nicole. “An Army of Pete Buttigiegs”. Jacobin Magazine. No 41, pp 41-48. 27 April 2021. https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/an-army-of-pete-buttigiegs   Gaviola, Anne. “Canadians Are Convinced Mayor Pete Helped Fix Bread Prices” Vice News Online. 10 December 2019. https://www.vice.com/en/article/epgggz/canadians-are-convinced-mayor-pete-buttigieg-helped-fix-bread-prices   Unknown author. “New York Times Reporter Accuses Pete Buttigieg of Fixing Bread Prices. Air.TV. 19 January 2020. https://www.air.tv/watch?v=5QCE84TiRmCVm0irKxswug     Wikipedia contributors. "Pete Buttigieg." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Jun. 2021. Web. 22 Jun. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Buttigieg  

In this much anticipated episode we begin our examination of Jim Bowie – son of three countries and leading figure in the conflict at the Alamo.   From their roots in the Royal Court of Scotland to the revolutionary United States, the Bowies stood out from their contemporaries as iconoclasts and opportunists. We dig deeper into the time-honored American tradition of squatting, and its evolution into the equally relevant tradition of land speculation. Learn how generations of Bowie's “improved” said land, earning massive grants of capital for the sweat off their brows, and considerably less for the sweat off those 4-8 people who were forced into working for them. Finally, when the U.S. Congress prohibits the import of slaves, we see what roguish schemes a couple of good ol' boys who are looking to make some easy money come up with.   OUTLAW COUNTRY!!!   Sources:   Davis, William C. [Jeff to his friends]. (1998) Three Roads to the Alamo. [Book]. Harper Collins.   St. Jean, Keith. [Canadian Permaculture Legacy]. (26 April 2021). Grass to Food Forest - Part 2: Lets jump into dumpsters, shall we? Dumpster diving for trees, [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/mlBUsYzZzbc  

Wherein we continue our Alamo series, first by introducing a new resource, and then by examining one Davey Crockett, a celebrity and otherwise totally normal person. We then synthesize a broader view on the violent pathologies of America by holding the events of the past up to those of the present in a very compost-y way. This is a good episode, but you probably shouldn't tell the people back home about the potatoes.   Sources:   Davis, Willam C. (Jeff to his friends). “Three Roads to the Alamo”. Harper Collins. 1998   Davis, William C. (Jeff to his friends). Interviewed by Frank Williams: “Lately at the Library”. Mississippi State University Libraries. 30 June 2020. https://youtu.be/FB1X1ueFoak?t=1698   Sanchez, R., Murphy, P., Ellis, B., Vera, A. “Here's what we know about the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting suspect”. CNN. 24 March 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/23/us/boulder-colorado-shooting-suspect/index.html    

Join Garden Variety Perverts as we tour the anarchist's garden and learn about common plants with defensive and deadly properties!   Notoriously pious hosts James and Jared introduce you to the natural history and chemical properties of: stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea [L.] Roth), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea L.), death camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum [S.Watson] Rydb.), poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.), water hemlock (Cicuta maculata L.), lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis L.), castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), and the Big Bad itself – motherflippin' poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans [L.] Kuntze).   Enjoy the fine aromas of compost as we mix botany's heritage of Enlightenment-era racism and ancient Greek pederasty with modern medicine and organic chemistry. Has your boss been described as “effective, but harsh”? This is the podcast for you!   WARNING: Podcasts are an audial medium and plant identification depends on visual stimulus. Do not rely on this or any other podcast to identify plants, especially those which may be toxic. Neither Compost Bin of History nor Garden Variety Perverts condone plant-based violence. CTFO.   Links to sources:   Ioannidis JPA (2005) Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. PLoS Med 2(8): e124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124   Editors of Erowid (????) Everything on Erowid cause it's great. https://erowid.org/splash.php   Caselli, Irene (2010) Ecuador's indigenous justice system on trial. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-10683003   Garms, Gabe (2015) How to Tell the Difference Between Poison Hemlock and Queen Anne's Lace. Raven's Roots Naturalist School. http://ravensroots.org/blog/2015/6/26/poison-hemlock-id   Lindquist, Karen (2020) How to Identify Water Hemlock. WikiHow. https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Water-Hemlock  

We begin our examination of the Bloody Battles that led up to the eponymous conflict, starting with the Battle of Medina (1813). This clash between the Gutierrez-Magee filibustering expedition and the Spanish loyalist army would prove to be the bloodiest battle fought on Texas soil (so far) with over 1300 dead. Also in this episode, both the American "War of 1812" and the Mexican War of Independence are contextualized within the broader events of the Napoleonic Wars, laying the groundwork for future conflict in southwestern North America. We likewise review the time-honored practice of fillibustering, and indulge ourselves in some conspiracy-theory history. Then, we touch-base with young Santa Anna, and see how school is going for our favorite up-and-comer. Thanks for listening to this "capital-H" History-packed episode, with a dressing of chilled vibes.   

Special guest TickMan joins the composters as they sink their mouth-parts into the global phenomenon that is Lime Disease. Also known as "The Great Imitator", Lime Disease comprises a host of different symptoms which affect millions of people and lead to billions of dollars in lost economic productivity. Join us as we uncover the murky origins of this disease with a real professional expert. You'll also get practical tips for Lime Disease prevention, treatment, and mitigation in this episode. Then, it's 'Compost Bin of History; After Dark', as the lads shoot-through some general interest topics with their guest, including: - the Covid19 NFL/NCAA football seasons; - the cultural heritage of New Spain, de un autentico Neomexicano; and - the many reasons James and Jared are prone to diabetes.   Thanks for listening!

In the second part of our series on the Battle of the Alamo, we look at some of the plants and peoples of New Spain. Colonization brought both the cultures and species of the Old World crashing into the New, with many surprising consequences. In this episode we examine the role of African slavery in the development New Spain, and how it differed from their neighbors in the Thirteen Colonies. Also; how did the subtleties of European religious warfare influence the development of North America? And; why the hell was the Mission of San Antonio called "the Alamo Mission"? For that matter; what kind of church requires artillery and basic fortifications? Find out here!

In our first ever Historical Reading Series, hosts James and Jared perform séance to summon the spirit of communist leader Leon Trotsky, and offer him their precious virginal souls in exchange for his takes on the phenomenon of National Socialism. Trotsky artfully breaks down the dynamics of racism, capitalism, and demagoguery that combined behind Hitler's movement, and offers some cutting insights which remain relevant today.   Links to sources:   Trotsky, Leon. 1933. "What Is National Socialism?" Originally published in The Modern Thinker. https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/germany/1933/330610.htm   In the interest of fairness in media, we were asked to also post this rebuttal by the Honorable Reich Chancellor of South Dakota: Noem, Kristi. 2021. "The Republican Party Has Failed America, And Here's How It Needs To Change Now". The Federalist.  https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/08/the-republican-party-has-failed-america/  

They didn't name it after Carl.  

Compost Special Report! Jared and James pick-up the Iron Pitchfork of Class Analysis and turn-over the recent events in Washington D. C., comparing them to those of the Beer Hall Putsch in Weimar Germany (1923). Enjoy some Carlin-esque immersive history as we take you to Munich's Burgerbraukeller that eventful night. What lessons do these events hold for those who would hope to build a brighter future? Who the f_ck knows.   Sources: Ullrich, Volker. Hitler - Ascent: 1889-1939. Translated by Jefferson Chase. Alfred K. Knopf, New York. 2016. Dobbs, Michael. "Trump's spell seems to have broken". Opinion for Washington Post. 8 January 2021.      

To begin our series on the Battle of the Alamo, Jared and James uncover the rotten economics of colonialism in New Spain, exploring its incestuous roots in European aristocracy, racial hierarchies, and systems of trade and exploitation. We are also introduced to our first major player in the Alamo conflict itself, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The son of a merchant and an ever-rising political star, he bears some comparison to other well-known American political figures.    

It's field trip day at Compost Bin of History University! Grab your signed parental permission slip and throw your meth pipe in the lunchbox, because we're heading to the Scrap Yard of Economics!  How about that current financial situation!? You know, that one that is alternately wonderful/terrible, depending which side of the gilded fence you are standing on? Sure is funny how it has to be exactly that way! In this episode, learn how the Modern Science of Economics continues to unlock the True Potential of Mankind! The philosophical discoveries of luminaries like Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill have paved the way for a world of Unlimited Market Potential! ONLY COMPOST BIN OF HISTORY UNIVERSITY can tell YOU how to get The Invisible Hand of the Market to fondle your profit-motive! Also Included in this LIMITED ONE-TIME OFFER: Compost Investment Secrets of the Habsburgs, and our revolutionary, patented stock-predicting technology: Dio-nomics!   {Big Thanks to Kadoodles from the Purple Palette Podcast for their question which inspired this episode. The Purple Palette is a space for reflection, advice, and mental wellness for artists, Twitch streamers, and content creators. Check out their work here: https://thepurplepalette.podbean.com/ - James}

The prologue to our next series - by special request - on the Battle of the Alamo. We cover the rising star of Ozzy Osbourne, Prince of Darkness, from his troubled youth, time with Black Sabbath, and zenith in "Blizzard of Ozz"; building to the conflagration of a liquid byproduct of metabolism with a certain monument in San Antonio, Texas, which led to his arrest and being banned from the city. Yes, this is relevant to the Battle of the Alamo - listen to find out why! Someday Ozzy Osbourne and Rudy Giuliani will fistfight in hell, so let's cherish them while we can.   Links to sources: Wiederhorn, John. "38 Years Ago: Ozzy Osbourne Arrested for Urinating on Alamo Cenotaph". Loudwire. 19 Feb 2020. https://loudwire.com/ozzy-osbourne-arrested-urinating-alamo-cenotaph-anniversary/

Welcome to our new meta-pod, Garden Variety Perverts - an attempt to sublimate our perverse love of plants into an otherwise normal podcast! Have you heard? That Winter Is Coming? Is your garden barren and wanting of erosion and foul mis'ry!? Learn the tips to guard your fertile bed, and avoid the worst effects of climate change and ol' man winter double-teaming your veggie patch. In this episode: Prepping your garden for winter; Freeze-thaw cycles; Rooting techniques for shrub cuttings; The inverse relationship of Home Owner's Associations and ecological value; and how Plants Love Slime. Send your gardeny-type questions to CompostBinOfHistory@gmail.com  Links to referenced material: Darrell, Bruce / RED Gardens. "Dealing With Fertility Bombs in the Garden". YouTube. 16 March 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjo4BnhsPYg Related and on the topic of citrus peels: Dockrill, Peter. "How 12,000 Tonnes of Dumped Orange Peel Grew Into a Landscape Nobody Expected to Find". Science Alert. 30 Aug 2017. https://www.sciencealert.com/how-12-000-tonnes-of-dumped-orange-peel-produced-something-nobody-imagined

After flaking and hesitating Jared and James decide it's time to poke ol' reality with a pitchfork and express themselves - pouring over the fresh trauma of northern Colorado's 2020 fire season. These recent disasters provide a case study for what has happened over much of the western U.S. this year, and serve as an omen of future fire in the region. All the Big Ones are here in this scorcher of an episode: Pine Gulch, Lefthand Canyon, Mullen, Middle Fork, East Troublesome, and the Truckasaurus of Larimer County itself; the Cameron Peak Fire! Who will win the race to be the biggest, most destructive inferno of the Rocky Mountain State? How can we profit from unparalleled environmental collapse and compounding human misery!? Does it have to be cope or rope? Some of those questions are answered here!   {---With regards  to sources - I pulled from gads of articles and personal experiences in relation to this episode, but much of my technical information came directly from incident command (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6964/) and accounts/experiences from the excellent local reporters at The Loveland Reporter-Herald (https://www.reporterherald.com/) and Fort Collins Coloradoan (https://www.coloradoan.com/) who did so much to keep their communities informed through these crazy times - thank you!  - james---}

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 constitutional mandate for almost fifteen years, until they are shot down by a growing conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Poop people from Chicago and an asshole named Rapanos are able to convince Justice Any of the Sexual Harassment Ones that, actually, it is NOT wetLand, but rather LANDwet. Don't drink the water in Aberdeen, South Dakota, or lots of other places, honestly. The rest, as they say, is for the compost bin. Sharpen a f_ckin' pitchfork to this one whydontcha*^.   *Jared and James are extremely professional experts with lots of credentials  ^You should therefore accept everything they say as God's Honest Truth About the Environment   Links to sources: Ackerman, Seth. "Failure Is an Option." Jacobin, N239. Fall 2020. Eller, Donelle. "East Iowa restaurant's 'thick, juicy' breaded pork tenderloin named states best." Des Moines Register. 16 Oct 2020. 

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 among industry and their allies. Jared and James look at how the Clean Water Act established a limited vision of government oversight, raised unforeseen issues of jurisdiction, and spawned new legions of "content creators". Also, how Nixon and the CWA planted the seeds of destructive neoliberalism - made manifest in wetland mitigation banking, a perfectly reasonable practice that makes lots of sense. BIO-ETHICS DISCLAIMER: Several pigeons were harmed in the making of this episode.

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. Also; the health effects of water pollution; and the lads dust-off their Oedipal complexes to examine the role their own families played in destroying America's waterways. This is a heavy one, dude. Links to sources: Cone, Marla. "Rural Well Water Linked to Parkinson's Disease." Scientific American. 5 Aug 2009.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rural-well-water-insecticides-parkinsons-disease-california/   Schwartz, J., Levin, R., and Goldstein, R. "Drinking water turbidity and gastrointestinal illness in the elderly of Philadelphia." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 54(1): 45-51. January 2000. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1731533/   University of Exeter. "Declining Male Fertility Linked To Water Pollution." ScienceDaily. 20 January 2009. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090118200636.htm

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 our story: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Did you know that shit rolls downhill? This and other amazing revelations in this episode! Links to sources: Eller, Donelle. "Environmental group says two companies in Iowa have escaped enforcement action despite dozens of clean water violations". Des Moines Register. 8 Oct 2020. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2020/10/07/water-pollution-laws-unenforced-iowa-environmental-group-clinton-sergeant-bluff-clean-water-act/3636534001/

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: idealism vs materialism, tree propagation, permaculture, and exploitation in the trucking industry. Kick-back and spark-up (allegedly) for an episode that goes in some surprising directions!

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 punch-drunk composters then spin-out into their various land-dealings, recent experiences at high elevation, and dire predictions of the near future - all befitting of an episode that just wouldn't hunt.   Email us at: CompostBinOfHistory@gmail.com , and remember that a safe pitchfork is a sharp pitchfork!

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 Olives? Will the Radical Green New Deal produce 100 Gazillion Tesla-Bucks in hard, hard jobs?  This one's for the sports fans.   Links to sources: Kelley, Alexandra. "Is Trump Really Planting a Billion Trees?" The Hill. 30 Sept 2020. https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/518994-is-trump-really-planting-a-billion-trees

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 Moratto, M.J. "Native American Land Use Practices and Ecological Impacts." Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project: Final report to Congress, vol. II, Assessments and scientific basis for management options. Davis: University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources, 1996. http://www.cafiresci.org/research-publications-source/category/native-american-land-use-practices-and-ecological-impacts   - Rogers, P. "Disturbance Ecology and Forest Management: A review of the literature." United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, General Technical Report INT - GTR - 336 May 1996 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=xseJ-PxDofEC&pg=GBS.PP1

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. 21 Sept 2020. https://thecounter.org/south-dakota-meatpacking-plant-design-covid-19-cases-cdc/ - Goodman, Peter. "Stakeholder Capitalism Gets a Report Card. It's Not Good." The New York Times. 22 Sept 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/business/business-roudtable-stakeholder-capitalism.html#:~:text=Marc%20Benioff%2C%20chief%20executive%20of,and%20local%20communities%20alongside%20shareholders. - Guebert, Alan. "Farm and Food: The Big Meat Gang is getting awfully smelly". The Hawk Eye. 20 Sept 2020. https://www.thehawkeye.com/story/business/2020/09/20/farm-and-food-alan-guebert/5831017002/ - Pitt, David. "USDA plans additional $14B for farmers reeling from virus". Associated Press. 18 Sept 2020. https://www.cbs42.com/news/business/usda-plans-additional-14b-for-farmers-reeling-from-virus/