You Can't Win

We chat about the failing Dream Port, the peace plan, paying off our debts, soul corn, some books and elections. Mentioned: Harland's Half Acre by David Malouf. My Struggle Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Historical Capitalism by Immanuel Wallerstein. Language and Myth by Ernst Cassirer. Our Bloc by James Schneider.

Tom and Don chat about some books and shows, including Robert Musil, Orhan Pamuk's The White Castle, Karamustafa, J.M. Coetzee, Joan Robinson, Wolf Hall, Copenhagen Cowboy and The Last of Us.   Mentioned: The Confusions of Young Törless by Robert Musil The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk God's Unruly Friends by Ahmet T. Karamustafa The Childhood of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee Economic Philosophy by Joan Robinson

Tom tells the history of the Crusades, the Mongol invasions, and the rise of the Mamluks in part 3 of a series on Muslim history. The full series is available on Patreon.

An excerpt from a premium episode available through a Patreon subscription, in which Tom provides a history of the rise and fall of the original Islamic state, and a description of the Muslim world's social structure at the time, including the institution of slavery and transformations that came about as a result of the Islamic movement. (re-uploaded to fix some audio issues)

A quick and casual Q&A in which we field questions from the Discord about Russia/Ukraine, our military vehicles of choice, UFOs, the future of VR, and our astrological signs.

We chat about our reactions to Tom's series on the Franklin Scandal, from the plausibility of the crimes to the political implications. What sorts of evidence should we focus on? How do we account for average people's reactions to such crimes? We sum up our feelings on the case as we prepare for future episodes on related topics.

In the conclusion to our series on the Franklin Scandal, Tom tells the fate of the investigation and lead investigator Caradori, and the results of the grand jury trial. He then takes a look at the life of one of King's associates, Craig Spence, a CIA-connected blackmailer who paid visits to the White House. Source: The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant

A continuation of Tom's telling of the Franklin Scandal as part of our ongoing PTK (Programmed to Kill) series. In this episode, Tom describes the backlash the investigation suffers after producing videotaped statements of the victims.

We begin with a short chat about Don's burgeoning interest in bicycling before we dive into Tom's extended review of Olga Tokarczuk's The Books of Jacob.

In this episode, Tom introduces the Franklin Committee's replacement investigator Gary Caradori and the testimony of Alisha Owen. Source: The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant

In this episode, Tom continues covering the Franklin Scandal, focusing on the tensions between the investigatory committee and law enforcement.

Tom continues the tale of the Franklin Credit Union scandal, this time taking a look at the initial investigations into Larry King after reports begin to emerge about his alleged criminal activities. Source: The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant

A new episode in our PTK series where Tom sketches out some details of the Franklin Scandal, a case with many mysterious connections. Source: The Franklin Scandal by Nick Bryant.

We continue our PTK series by closely examining the Dutroux Affair, a notorious criminal case involving kidnapping, child abuse and sex trafficking that implicated the Belgian government and high society.

Our friend Matt from the Ghost Stories for the End of the World podcast joins us to discuss Belgium in this first part of a series on the Dutroux Affair and similar cases. We discuss the place of Belgium in great power struggles and the associated political culture that developed. Matt's Twitter account is @GhostStoriesEnd

Our friend Sean joins us to discuss the history and practices of Shinto and related Japanese beliefs. We work through some common misconceptions about Shinto and the difficulties of easy comparisons to Western ideas of religion. Also Sean wanted us to note that he misspoke and meant to say "Horii Mitsuoshi," not "Horii Mitsuo". Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

After a State of the Pod update of where we're at and where we hope to go, we work through your questions. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Four hour episode about the Eternals! All Eternals! All the time! Okay so in reality we chat about content for a bit and then settle some controversies for you. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom, Don and AgileTablet give you the Dune opinions you asked for, mostly focused on the new movie but also about the saga as a whole and the future of humanity. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

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. Outro by reiyashi.

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: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/inside-the-rash-of-unexplained-deaths-at-fort-hood Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

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. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

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 example of Gal Gadot to describe contemporary liberal Zionism. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

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 Carl Oglesby. How the West was Won: Last Shootout for the Yankee-Cowboy Theory by Stephen Johnson (https://zero.sci-hub.se/5309/6663b80df93d0dfed05cf50acc05ba17/johnson1976.pdf) Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

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 reiyashi.

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

Our old friend Goatstein returns to riff on recent events such as the reaction to the Derek Chauvin verdict, the sickos who populate military forums, the cruelty of Trump, being appropriately cynical about politics, and more. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend White Sox Lex returns to talk the new baseball season, starting with pandemic craziness and conservative outrage. Then we get into doping scandals and superhuman baseball mutants and a roundup of Awful Pundits. You can check out Lex's Awful Pundits tournament at https://www.patreon.com/awfulpundits or on Twitter at @AwfulPundits Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Harvey returns to talk about ending up in the hospital, leaving his job and beginning a new life as a lockdown NEET. We talk about getting healthier, confession and our experiences with Lent and Ramadan. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom and Don catch up about the holidays. Then we get into our changing relationship with posting, as silly as it is, and what we're looking forward to in the near future. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Laid back episode where we discuss Tom's apartment-hunting plans. We get into the negatives of cheap places we've lived and how wild prices can get these days. Then we dip into some Discord questions. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Freddy, a student in the philosophy of religion, opens the episode with the description of a man's long suffering in a Moroccan prison and the ways he managed to keep his sanity. This leads to a wide-ranging discussion about enduring pain, dreams and visions, the place of Jesus in the Islam and the purpose of religion. Mentioned: Understanding the Qur’anic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age by Isra Yazicioglu. Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Chapo's Felix Biederman joins Tom and Don to chat about making jokes that get us into trouble, growing out of that (or not) and how humor relates to faith.  Intro music by auntie004. Outro music by reiyashi. Also check out Felix's new project Time for My Stories on Stitcher.