Circa 1945: Breaking the Machine

Welcome back to Circa 1945: Breaking the Machine. A podcast of stories about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society.

Parables are a valuable tool for making a quick, important point in a relatable way. Still, after just shy of fifty episodes, it's time for our last parable for a while...the story of the light switch, as a metaphor for interacting with complex machines.

Then, moving forward, I will introduce you to what I call my "Shoah Chorus."

In chapter 4 of Primo Levi's memoir, he is injured and admitted to what passes for a camp infirmary.

Image Source: ⁠https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-camp-hospital-block-at-auschwitz-i-concentration-camp-owicim-poland-27278143.html

In Chapter 3 of Primo Levi's memoir, he shows us the daily routines of the camp. When you are inside a machine designed to strip you of your humanity, holding onto it is of utmost importance.

Image Source: ⁠https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2015-01-27/remembering-the-holocaust-haunting-images-of-auschwitz

In Chapter 2 of Primo Levi's memoir, we travel with him past the gates of Auschwitz and into the hellish world of the camp.

(Image source: Wikipedia)

Welcome back to Circa 1945: Breaking the Machine. A podcast of stories about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society.

For our 50th episode I am honored to present Primo Levi's memoir about surviving Auschwitz. Narrated and briefly discussed, one chapter at a time.

Image source: ⁠https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/artifact/railcar-interior⁠

Welcome back to Circa 1945: Breaking the Machine. A podcast about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society. Studying the most evil times in history can help us understand them, and understanding is power and freedom.

This is Episode 49.

Almost fifty episodes.

And fifty is a number that makes you pause.

Not because the work is finished.

Not because the questions are answered.

But because rhythms need air.

Projects need seasons.

For almost fifty episodes, I’ve been trying to look at genocide structurally — not through heroes and villains, not through moral melodrama, but through systems and patterns.

All of that work matters.

But it rests on something deeper.

It rests on testimony.

Everything I have built in this podcast stands on the shoulders of people who were there.

People who did not study the machinery from a distance.

People who were processed through it.

And as we approach Episode 50, I want to shift the center of gravity.

Not away from the project.

But away from my own voice.

Image Source: ⁠https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190305-primo-levi-a-clear-eyed-view-of-evil-pain-and-humanity⁠

Welcome back to Circa 1945. A podcast of parables about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society.

Today’s story isn’t about 1945 directly.

It’s about something older and more personal:

how suffering becomes purpose —

without becoming destiny.

It’s also about Batman.

Yes… that Batman.

Stay with me.

Welcome back to Circa 1945. A podcast of parables about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society.

Most people, on average, never consider what it means to have a country versus being made stateless. We live under a flag and take it for granted.

But studying history brings us face to face with what a nation actually is…and what happens when citizenship is taken away.

Watch the documentary "Genocide"

On Tubi: ⁠https://link.tubi.tv/Jv6nrer42Zb⁠

Or YouTube: ⁠https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fvJqJVWcrXc⁠

For the firsthand accounts of what I am referencing here. It is one of many groundbreaking documentaries done by Simon Wiesenthal.

Welcome back to Circa 1945: Breaking the Machine.

This podcast asks one question: what would it take to genocide-proof a society?

I want to start this episode somewhere unexpected.

Not with history.

Not with politics.

Not even with the news.

I want to start with a little cartoon.

There’s a character online called Tubby Nugget. He’s round. He’s gentle. He’s deeply earnest. And in one short video, he says something like this:

“Oof. I feel awful.

My body feels like it’s working against me.

So… I’m going to get better.

Out of spite.”

It’s funny. It’s cute.

And it stopped me in my tracks.

Because beneath the humor, there’s something very old and very serious being said.

Check out Tubby Nugget here: ⁠https://www.tubbynugget.com/

Welcome back to Circa 1945. A podcast of parables about the Holocaust, and what it would take to build a genocide-proof society.

Today, I want to finally talk about ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a government department that did not exist until 2003 and has recently expanded its operations in major cities. Demanding the “papers” of ordinary working people and detaining them without trial, simply over their real or suspected immigration status…well, that invites comparisons to the Gestapo even among casual observers.

But people are fighting back. And that gives me hope.