This week, a story gathered fresh from the wild last week about how we unwittingly get caught in serfdom, and how we might walk away free. Some things that seem to be dead can haunt an unwitting culture or even possess it. A way of life as old and long-lived as feudalism, which persisted in diverse forms for centuries in Europe and Japan, and millennia in China, amongst other places, rears its head this week. Before you listen to this piece, first listen to Ursula K LeGuin’s masterful short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.

This podcast was first published here on Substack on 14th April 2025 with full transcript, footnotes and links.

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