Radically Human

The War on Women and Children, with special guest Kevin Bolling

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro

(02:20) Roe v. Wade, a democratic post-mortem. How we lost the Supreme Court and endangered every human right we hold dear. Creating second-class citizens.

(14:55) Coming to terms with not only climate, but our burgeoning energy crisis.

(20:09) The absurdity and hypocrisy of Florida's war on secular education. What's the GOP beef with "social emotional learning?" "Free-speech" defenders shutting down the microphone on graduating seniors. "Victims of communism."

(34:53) Guest segment with Kevin Bolling, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. With over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience, Kevin's career has included 15 years of student association management and on-campus program development from Los Angeles to Boston. T-shirts. What does the Secular Student Alliance do? Covid, and the loss of secular support and services for kids. Handling the GOP onslaught against education. 50% of young people identify as non-religious. Higher education has an extremely strong tradition of secularism. Atheism vs. secularism. Is there room for conservatives in secularism? How do we reconcile that? What is the SSA response to the loss of Roe v. Wade? How is the conservative agenda and rhetoric impacting kids' health? Discussion of second-class citizenship. What are the most important things you can do as a secular humanist, to help people? The role of art.

(01:11:55) Joe and Sean react to Kevin's interview. How the Constitution has rigged the US for minority rule. Rebuilding institutions. Energizing civic life. Wrapup and Outro.

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Show notes:

Secular Student Alliance

What Is the Conservative Beef With ‘Social -Emotional Learning’?

Gay high schooler says he's 'being silenced' by Florida's LGBTQ law

DeSantis signs bill for Florida students to learn about ‘victims of communism’

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Radically Rethinking Drug Use

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(08:12) Earth Day, the climate crisis, Elon Musk buys Twitter. The demagoguery of the "free speech" canard.

(21:20) Christophe interviews Meg Fazzi about drug policy. His own struggle with drugs. Meg's family issues related to drug use. Treatment and access for addicts. The destructiveness of shame-based systems and punishment. The terrible impact of the carceral system on families, especially families of color. The disparity in response between the (mostly black) crack-cocaine epidemic and (mostly white) opioid epidemic. The transition to legal marijuana, and the unequal impact of this policy change by race. What does a healthy relationship with drugs and alcohol look like?

(01:28:09) Christophe, Joe and Sean discuss the topics from Meg's interview. Drug use from the perspective of what it means to be human. The presupposition that drug use is wrong. We're still stuck with early-20th-century moralizing. Debunking Alcoholics Anonymous, and other 12-step programs. Most people who use drugs don't get into trouble. Zero-tolerance, one-size-fits-all, abstinence-only models like AA have worse outcomes. While AA doesn't fit the strict definition of a "cult," there are cultic aspects of AA. The difficulty of maintaining friendships with people in the "program." Drug use as a symptom, often used to mask the need for therapy about deeper issues. Fentanyl changes the risk equation, making death much more likely. This leads us to an imperative of legalization / access to safe dosages.

(02:12:24) Wrapup and Outro

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Show Notes:

Twitter Bans Climate Change Denial Ads

Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear

The Crime of the Century

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Bodyscapes of Power

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(05:34) Why have we accepted intersex surgeries that mutilate children? Modernism recognized that traditions often brutalized the body. Post-modernism as a reaction against the failures of modernism to prevent the atrocities of the 20th century. Teasing apart the contradictions between the emancipatory and reactionary aspects of both modernism and postmodernism.

(12:53) Architecture and design and the tension between traditional, modern and postmodern styles. Sameness vs. minimalism and simplicity.

(24:19) Michel Foucault. The modern state and its controls on the body, along with its capacity for liberation. The shadow side of modernism. Balancing majority rule with minority rights. De facto vs. de jure oppression. Why do we still tolerate male circumcision? Right wing attacks on the body, generally. Karl Marx as an enlightenment thinker. The increase in the subtlety of bodily oppression.

(43:02) Focus on property and individual rights was a reaction against totalitarian feudalism. But now, property rights under neoliberalism are pushing us back toward feudalism--the marriage of corporate and state power. Rejection of modernity as a misdirected reaction against the excesses of capitalism. The contradictions of Ayn Rand.

(54:32) The US was founded in resistance against tyranny, but the modern right has now changed their definition of tyranny to include any broad-based protections against oppression. The power of markets to support the public good vs. the oppression of unfettered capitalism. Post-liberalism as a systemic approach focused on outcomes.

(01:04:44) Biopolitics. The point of the spear is the freedom of the body. Foucault's panopticon and surveillance. Non-violent control. The illusion of choice. How legal and human rights frameworks can blunt surveillance, and David Brin's "sousveillance." The downsides of privacy.

(01:14:51) The institutionalization of backward and traditional ideas about the body. The compounding problems of encoding of prejudices and hierarchies in AI. The standardization of the white male body type, to the exclusion of the unique bodily concerns of women and POC, everything from temperature norms, to the minimization of the pain of menstruation. Challenging oppressive truths, without falling into relativism. The reactionary co-opting of the narratives of liberation, and the use of state power. A return to science, the downranking of personal opinion. Edward Bernays 1928 seminal work on "Propaganda."

(01:33:56) Post-truth regimes break down the connection to rationality, but enthusiastically use all the modern apparatus of state power to enforce their manufactured "truths." Parallels between Soviet methods of oppression / indoctrination using citizens to inform on each other, and the modern GOP with their bounty laws and kids ratting out teachers. Policy differences pale into insignificance, compared to protecting democracy itself.

(01:45:57) A postliberal mission statement. Labor unions. Wrapup and outro.

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Show notes:

“I Want to Be Like Nature Made Me” Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex Children in the US

Michel Foucault. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

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I'm Out - with Sirena Prophet

(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(03:23) Barriers to justice and reasons people refuse to confront human evil. Whataboutism, bothsidesism, and conspiracy theories. Holding people accountable. Moral deflection to provocations, victim blaming. Post-truth.

(09:10) The war, and the slap.

(32:56) Joe Occhipinti opens the conversation about the contradictions and pitfalls of intersectionality, and how it should be applied for positive effect.

(35:27) The GOP sliming of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

(44:20) Sean Prophet reads a long blog post on intersectionality, in the context of false accusations of "body shaming" of Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Mission-creep of intersectionality to fragment the left and shut down dialog.

(57:26) Guest Segment with Sirena Prophet. Her coming out story. The journey from growing up as a cis man who was raised in the San Fernando Valley, to her current life as an openly trans woman. The struggle with homophobia, transphobia, and betrayal. The low life-expectancy of trans people. The difficulty of physical self-defense for trans women. Finding acceptance in unlikely places. Gender ambiguity and dating as a trans woman.

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Show notes:

Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s take on the Will Smith/Chris Rock situation is an outdated view of progress

Mitch McConnell said there is "no question" Ketanji Brown Jackson is qualified to be a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, then said he will not support her appointment

Mississippi Republican calls for execution of transgender people… by firing squad

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Putin's Christian War

(00:00) Intro and t-shirts.

(5:59) Current news highlighting the issues around the pandemic, climate change and inflation and the need to stay informed.

(14:49) The situation on the ground in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. What’s at stake.

(25:17) The principles of secularism and the need to challenge religious authoritarianism. Defining the links between fundamentalism, war and social justice.

(47:38) Deep politics, intimate forms of social relations and control and how they have shaped the political landscape, the Ukrainian invasion and the assault on LGTBQ+ rights.

(01:00:07) A response to the notion that fundamentalists are not “real Christians."

(01:12:31) Does the arc of the moral universe bend toward justice?

(01:20:27) Outro.

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Show notes:

Pat Buchanan. “Whose Side Is God on Now?” Townhall.

“Putin believes he is defending Orthodox Christianity from the godless West.” By Rowan Williams. The New Statesman.

“The bond that explains why some on the Christian right support Putin’s war” by Bethany Moreton. The Washington Post.

Casey Michel. “How Russia Became the Leader of the Global Christian Right"

While the U.S. passed gay-rights laws, Moscow moved hard the other way.” Politico.

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Women's Work with Liz Wilson

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(05:36) Ukraine: Joe and Sean join Christophe in reacting to the first week of the Putin war in Ukraine.

(26:48) Ukraine: Christophe, Joe and Sean identify the silver linings associated with the Putin war in Ukraine.

(38:30) Women’s Invisible Labor: Artist and mother, Liz Wilson joins Christophe for a discussion about the Putin war in Ukraine, the experience of making art and the role of art in Human culture, and the unpaid, invisible labor performed by women in our patriarchal culture.

(01:38:36) Wrapup and Outro.

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Show notes:

Liz Wilson’s Artist Website

Women’s wellbeing and the burden of unpaid work

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Resilience and Hope in an Age of Crisis

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(9:39) How should you feel? What has kept you up at night? What has really challenged your strength and courage?

(20:52) Whataboutism. Complexity. Avoiding lazy black and white thinking.

(26:45) Lack of understanding of world systems leads to feelings of hopelessness. Taking stock of progress and triumphs, to gain a sense of perspective. The chaotic nature of exponential change--expect disruption--we don't know how this ends.

(44:43) Breaking down the documentary film "For Sama" an insider's view, and a female perspective on the Russian siege of Aleppo, Syria.

(01:12:14) Standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who also may soon face the full wrath of the Russian military, just like Aleppo. The left's reflexive rejection of the use of force, even to protect human life and human rights.

(01:21:47) Wrapup and Outro

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Show notes:

FOR SAMA - PRODUCED BY CHANNEL 4 NEWS/ITN PRODUCTIONS FOR CHANNEL 4 AND FRONTLINE PBS

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Embracing the EV Future

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co.

(00:00) Intro and T-Shirts

(07:05) The importance and complexity of energy. Why it's so fraught with controversy. The breakdown of global carbon emissions by sector.

(20:11) Why are there such strong feelings against electric vehicles?

(24:30) The ten biggest EV lies, listed. Christophe, Joe and Sean break down their own personal feelings and experiences with EVs.

(37:15) Range anxiety. Life cycle emissions. Reducing car dependency through redesigned cities, public transport, and robotaxis. Land use reform. Drastically reducing traffic deaths. How to avoid battery longevity issues. Charging station availability. Moral implications of EV vs. gasoline cars. The rarity of battery fires. Difficulty of charging for urban apartment dwellers. Easy setup for home charging if you have a garage.

(01:24:25) Social justice implications of EVs. Impact of pollution and heat on poor urban areas. Lack of affordability of new technology for working poor. The decline of the American middle class makes the EV transition much more difficult.

(01:33:00) The decline in battery prices. The steady increase of EV sales over time. Purchase price parity. EV total cost of ownership drop. Mass market adoption timetables. The Osborne effect. Public transport works together with robotaxis to cover the last mile. Norway's EV transition is nearly complete. EU and California will end sales of combustion cars by 2035. Expect further sabotage efforts from the oil industry.

(01:43:19) Wrapup and Outro

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Show notes:

Example life-cycle emissions of EVs vs. gasoline cars

Wisconsin high-speed rail trains head to Nigeria

Hybrid battery longevity

Tesla battery capacity loss over time

EV Charging Stations in the US

Plans for major expansion of US charging network

"Why driving an EV might not be morally praiseworthy"

EV vs. Gas cost of ownership comparison

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A Radical Workplace - with Nilou Khonsari

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co., Jersey City, NJ

(00:00) Open and introduce guest.

(03:06) Guest segment. Nilou Khonsari is the founder of Pangea Legal Services, focusing on immigration law. She is a first-generation immigrant from Iran. The legal structure of the US immigration system. The extreme difficulty of any kind of legal immigration to the US without wealth or connections, and the widespread risk of family separation. 10-year bans.

(22:23) Flat organizations: the collective governance model at Pangea. Flat salary structure. 100% retention.

(37:40) Nilou expounds on how she developed her anti-hierarchy philosophy, that could be viewed by some as being "communist." Interior colonization.

(48:30) Movement lawyering. Using the power of the collective to wage legal fights against those with wealth and power. A case history of how community activism led to a successful defense of an immigrant from deportation.

(01:04:50) Wrapup and Outro

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Show notes:

Pangea Legal Services

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Attack from Within

The Radical Secular is sponsored in part by Kanibal & Co., Jersey City, NJ

(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(09:10) Joe, Christophe and Sean answer viewer/listener questions from Episode 76 on the topic of the film "Don't Look Up."

(24:42) Lessons from January sixth. Viewing the January 6, 2021 insurrection in the context of the long history of American anti-democracy movements. The actors and actions leading up to the Capitol riot. The message discipline in the modern GOP, that slaps down any truthful statements, even from top party leaders like Ted Cruz. The hearsay rule--taking statements made in the heat of a crisis seriously. GOP denial about the 2020 election and the January 6 atrocity itself.

(54:46) Prosecuting the capitol attack. It wasn't just a coup attempt, but also a criminal conspiracy that resulted in at least 9 deaths. Right wing false equivalency with BLM protests. Merrick Garland's tepid response. The degeneracy of the GOP, ostracizing the few party members who are still willing to stand for small-d democracy. The GOP plot to nullify the popular vote in states.

(01:04:20) Exploring the demographic profile of the insurrectionists. The herd mentality. State legislative attempts to overrule the popular vote.

(01:14:58) Can we reverse course and save democracy? What would need to happen? And what are the odds of it happening?

(01:23:41) Wrap-up and Outro

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Show notes:

Estimates vary from 6 to 12 percent of the American population (approximately 11-24 million people) who hold white supremacist views, and support varying levels of violence to achieve their aims.

A look back at Americans’ reactions to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Pew Research Center.

Declining Share of Republicans Say It Is Important To Prosecute Jan. 6 Rioters. Pew Research Center.

Corporations Donated Millions to Lawmakers Who Voted to Overturn Election Results

We Know Exactly Who the Capitol Rioters Were. Slate.

Turns out that frogs in the pot will jump out before it boils, after all

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