Two episodes packed into one as I finish up looking at THE NEW INDUSTRIAL STATE by John Kenneth Galbraith. Next up James Agee's journalism and film reviews.

"The Rats in the Wall" is a story by H. P. Lovecraft about a trans-Atlantic family and its history (kind of like "The Lurking Fear" in a way). It also follows the method of archeology going deep into British history.

One of my favorite Lovecraft stories, "The Lurking Fear" explores heredity, immigration, American history, and race all in the form of an interesting mystery tale.

Part two of my review of THE NEW INDUSTRIAL STATE by John Kenneth Galbraith. Here he digs deep into the workings of the "technostructure" and makes an interesting contrast with planning in the socialist states of the time.

Another interesting story by H. P. Lovecraft, "The Hound" is about art and its impact on searchers who become grave-robbers to satisfy their curiosity.

The U.S. economy is planned. But don't take my word for it. John Kenneth Galbraith laid it all out in THE NEW INDUSTRIAL STATE. Here are my thoughts on the first 100 pages of that book.

The "Unnamable" is a great little horror story that includes a philosophical discussion about the nature of terror. A bit on the known unknowns of common knowledge and the limits of official narratives.

Part two of my review of THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY by John Kenneth Galbraith. This part of the book explores the consequences of affluence and present Galbraith's policy recommendations about how to restore a public sphere.

In this episode, I look at a story fragment ("Azathoth") and very short complete story ("What the Moon Brings"). Both are experiments in cosmic horror and the stories share similar themes.

Part one of my review of THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY by John Kenneth Galbraith. This book remains relevant in our conversations about post-scarcity and the lack of balance between public and private spending.