Radically Human

Keep Your Rosaries off my Ovaries

(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(06:04) Grassroots Activism and “Cancel Culture”: Christophe describes his experience engaging in grassroots opposition to an ultra-conservative Board of County Commissioners in Sussex County, New Jersey. Christophe and Sean deconstruct the Conservative Political Action Committee’s (CPAC) 2021 theme: “Conservatism Uncancelled.” Christophe performs the short speech he delivered at the Board of County Commissioners meeting.

(33:08) Abortion and creeping theocracy: Christophe and Sean discuss the normalization of ultra-restrictive anti-abortion measures that South Carolina’s new “heart beat” law represents. Sean draws a direct causal line between the so-called “right to life” movement and the Right’s relentless drive to strip women of their agency. Christophe and Sean identify the near complete ban on abortion in Poland, and the fusion of church and state that precipitated it, as a cautionary tale - a preview - of the religious right’s aspirations.

(01:14:12) The Crisis in Myanmar: Christophe and Sean break down the events that led to the February 1 coup d’état that overthrew Myanmar's fragile, quasi-democratic government. Christophe and Sean identify and describe the complex character that is Ms. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi - the head of the National League for Democracy, the country’s leading civilian party, and the country’s de facto civilian leader since her election in 2015. The discussion serves as both a disturbing reminder of how fragile democracy can be and how difficult it can be to distinguish between heroes and villains.

(01:33:30) Outro

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Correction:

Abortion is not fully legal under Islam and is in fact banned in many Islamic countries. In the episode, we stated that Muslim women could get abortions. This is based on the Muslim teaching: "In Islam, the fetus is believed to become a living soul after 120 days gestation." Prior to 120 days, abortion is legal in some Islamic countries, with varying degrees of restriction.

Show notes:

Sussex commissioner cites false facts to push anti-hate resolution

Poland enforces controversial near-total abortion ban

As Poland's Church embraces politics, Catholics depart

Myanmar’s Coup, Explained

How a Human Rights Angel Lost Her Halo

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Radicalism, Technology, and Social Justice

(00:00) Intro & T-shirts. Frequent guest Joe Occhipinti joins The Radical Secular team in his debut as host, with a wide-ranging discussion of the linkage between ancient and modern technological development and its impacts on social justice.

(04:14) The news: Ted Cruz, The Great Texas Blackout, the Polar Vortex, Rush Limbaugh dies, Covid update and vaccinations, the Perseverance Mars landing,

(30:11) Joe Occhipinti on why he joined The Radical Secular team.

(36:07) Systems thinking and feedback.

(39:22) How the outsider perspective can help Americans. White supremacy as a white person's struggle. Opposition to social justice is really resistance to progress overall.

(51:00) Technology is really all about increasing collaboration. Update on "The Singularity is Near." Tool-use and brain growth. Homo habilis. Technology is what's changing the world, yet people are still blaming scapegoats. Politicians are monkey-wrenching systems. Resilience is everything.

(01:06:44) Disruptive change is by no means new or unique to our time. What's unique now is the blinding speed of the double exponential. Technology as an amplifier to existing power structures. Technology can sometimes plant the seeds that will undermine future developments.

(01:16:03) The fourth wave of Capitalism. Can be good as well as bad surprises. Using technology to manage technology. Neuralink and cybernetic systems. Hysteresis is a magnetic phenomenon involving delay or resistance to change, but applies to politics and technology as well. Crashing our system to stop progress won't stop progress. It just cedes the race to others, like China. If we're not careful, it will crash America, and relegate the US to developing nation status. Downward mobility.

(01:32:08) Wrap-up and outro.

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The Singularity is Near, by Ray Kurzweil

Neuromancer, by William Gibson

Thinking in Systems, by Donella Meadows

Homo Habilis

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Raped for God: The People of Praise with Coral Anika Theill

(00:00) Intro and announcements.

(03:08) The news: The Senate impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump.

(16:40) Guest Segment introduction with Coral Anika Theill. Quotes from Alexander Solzhenitsyn on human evil. Choosing the predator over the victim. Patriarchal cults as prisons and torture chambers for women.

(26:35) Coral Anika Theill discusses her childhood trauma.

(41:39) Meeting Martin Warner, and getting into the People of Praise cult. How childhood sexual abuse contributed to Coral's adult vulnerability to being approached by her future abusive husband. Trauma bonding.

(57:50) Discussion of the parallels between The Handmaid's Tale and patriarchal Catholic / Christian cults in America. Women as enforcers of the patriarchy.

(01:14:55) The process by which Coral's eight children were systematically alienated from her by their father, and indoctrinated into patriarchal dehumanization of their own mother. Kids becoming informants / hostages.

(01:21:35) Physical and emotional breakdown after 7th child. Hemorrhaging with no medical attention. Being "exorcised" of demons, labeled a Jezebel. Escape from the Bill Gothard Institute in Chicago. Marital rape. Appeals to Senator Jeff Merkley.

(01:30:20) Court battles for custody of children. Being on the run. Losing her eighth child who was still a breastfeeding infant.

(01:39:45) Poverty as punishment in Christianity. Not being allowed to visit dying father.

(01:45:15) Coral's testimony she planned to give at the 2020 Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings.

(01:54:35) Conclusion and Outro

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Show notes:

Coral Anika Theill website

Coral Anika Theill memoir

Recommended book list on patriarchy and the oppression of women

Shattered Scriptures

Women, Church, and State - By Matilda Joslyn Gage (1893)

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Diet of Racism: with Stephanie Roth-Goldberg

(00:00) Intro & T-shirts

(05:12) The Psychological Impact of the Trump Era: Stephanie Roth-Goldberg joins Christophe and Sean for the news segment during which they discuss the lasting psychological impact of the trump era on Americans in general, and on members of marginalized groups, in particular. Stephanie's clinical insights reveal that the relationship between Trump and the United States was, and remains, akin to the relationship between abuser and victim. Christophe, Sean, and Stephanie describe the challenges of navigating the Trump era through the lens of their personal experiences.

(34:48) Stephanie’s Background and Experience: Stephanie establishes her credentials as an expert in the area of diet culture and eating disorders, among others. She describes the events that inspired her to become a clinician, the steps she took to achieve her expertise, and the mission that drives her group practice.

(51:49) The Problem of Diet Culture: Stephanie defines the term “diet culture.” She describes its pervasiveness, and what makes it a dangerous force in society in general, and for women of color in particular. Stephanie identifies fat phobia as one the final forms of socially acceptable discrimination, and Sean connects fat phobia and body image with evolutionary psychology. Christophe, Sean, and Stephanie explore the relationship among diet culture, white supremacy, and patriarchy.

(01:25:04) “Atomic Habits”: Stephanie explains what constitutes a healthy relationship with exercise, diet, and body image. Christophe describes the challenge of goal setting, and using effective habits to reach those goals, while avoiding the sort of guilt-based enforcement system that’s characteristic of diet culture.

(01:31:59) Outro

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Show notes:

“People are not okay”: The mental health impact of the Trump era. His presidency is over, but the trauma isn’t

Generator: Race, Politics, Perspective, Introspection

Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia

Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

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(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(07:53) The News: Republicans are responding with predictable bluster, sedition, and lies to the first week of Joe Biden’s historic presidency. They’re doubling down on every aspect of Trumpism and seeking to punish and purge those who are insufficiently loyal. And there’s peak whining in the fever swamp, about Biden’s agenda, and conservatives being “cancelled” and “rounded up.” And of course, they all stepped right into the “unity” trap he set for them.

(24:33) This week in white supremacy, a whites-only church in Murdock, Minnesota is driving residents of color to leave town.

(29:12) The leader of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio has been outed as a major-league police informant.

(31:58) The Department of Homeland Security issued a rare, if not unprecedented terror alert asserting a heightened threat of domestic terrorism in the coming months.

(36:20) The upcoming impeachment trial, cabinet confirmations, and the drama that took place as control of the Senate passed from Republican to Democratic leadership.

(46:03) The Robinhood investment clusterfuck that happened this week. No, it’s not some shining example of the “little guy” fighting back against Wall Street. It’s just another failure of unregulated capitalism, and we’ll discuss why.

(01:00:30) The Roots of our Rage: A continuation of our series on "The Goodness Paradox" we began in part 2 of Episode 29. In Chapter 2, “The Two Types of Aggression,” we discuss reactive vs. proactive aggression a bit more deeply, and the intersection of these concepts with the law. Specifically in regard to how we punish premeditated murder vs. spontaneous manslaughter that often results from contests over character or status in honor cultures.

(01:15:40) Chapter 3, “Human Domestication,” we discuss theories and definitions of human domestication from Aristotle, to Rousseau, to Darwin, to the surprisingly accurate understanding provided by anthropologist Johann Blumenbach in the early 19th century. We talk about how competing erroneous claims about human domestication were used by Nazis to justify racial superiority, and also to argue that domestication has made humans soft and unfit. Leftists also tend to espouse terrible ideas about human domestication to support the “noble savage,” and other anti-civilization tropes.

(01:42:03) Chapter 4, “Breeding Peace,” we talk about experiments on selective fox breeding that were run in the 20th Century by Soviet geneticist Dmitri Belyaev. Belyaev discovered that selecting foxes for low aggression also triggered a range of other mutations, that have been observed across many species, including humans. These mutations seem to have to do with changes in the placement of neural-crest cells that are present in developing embryos.

(01:51:40) Outro

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Show notes:

Part 1 of our series on "The Goodness Paradox" by Richard Wrangham

"The Goodness Paradox" (book) by Richard Wrangham

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(00:00) Intro

(01:18) President Donald Trump’s final day in office: On January 20, 2021, former President Donald J. Trump delivered his final speech as the United States’ chief executive at a small event held on the windswept tarmac at Andrews Airforce Base. Christophe and Sean react, with more than a little bit of satisfaction, to this fitting end to Mr. Trump’s ignominious presidency.

(11:12) President Joe Biden’s first day in office: Christophe and Sean describe the range of emotions they experienced as they witnessed the commencement of the Biden-Harris administration and, importantly, the conclusion of the Trump-Pence administration. Sean explains his concerns regarding the ubiquitous Inauguration Day ‘Bernie’ memes. Christophe discusses his misgivings about the religious rituals in the Inauguration Day schedule.

(35:28) The Problem of White Christian Nationalism: Josh Hawley is the junior United States Senator from Missouri and an unabashed theocrat who believes that democracy and the rule of law are subordinate to Christianity. Christophe and Sean explain how theocratic authoritarianism is the inevitable end point of Hawley’s terrifying belief system, and they discuss conservatives and moderates’ acquiescence to theocrats’ steady infiltration of American politics.

(50:15) Hank Aaron has died: Christophe and Sean pay their respects to the life and legacy of baseball legend, and civil rights hero, Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron. They explain how America’s “white inferiority complex” leads to the sort of despicable racism Aaron faced during his record-setting career.

(55:23) [H]oorah!: Guests Chuck Sweet and Don Ramirez explain why they enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, what they did while they were there, and how the experience has shaped their lives and identities.

(01:07:25) Chuck and Don describe the internal culture of the Marine Corps, including what it is like to be a progressive in the military community, their oath to defend the Constitution as opposed to any one leader, and how they, and the veterans they know, responded to the Trump era. The relationship between America’s civilian population and America’s armed forces. Chuck explains his belief that, contrary to right-leaning political narratives, the military is better off under progressive civilian leadership. Christophe, Sean, Chuck, and Don describe how compulsory national service could lead to a shared sense of American identity and community that is sorely lacking the modern United States.

(01:47:33) Outro

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Show notes:

The Roots of Josh Hawley’s Rage. Why do so many Republicans appear to be at war with both truth and democracy?

Josh Hawley - Speech at American Renewal Project - December 7, 2017

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC

Valuing the Military in a Liberal Society, by Matthew Fay

But Really.... podcast

Models and Citizens, by Andrew Sweet

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The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution

(00:00) Intro and T-shirts

(06:11) The News: We have a new President! The Inauguration, white nationalist insurrection, impeachment hearings and Republican traitors, Social media bans.

(49:24) The Goodness Paradox. Discussion of the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Richard Wrangham's book. The incredible danger and violence of the human species, contrasted with our high capacity for cooperation. Why these two characteristics aren't opposites. Violence in Chimpanzees, cooperation in Bonobos. The different levels of aggression within groups, vs. outgroups. Peace at home, war abroad. What really happens under anarchy--weak governments or no governments. Domestic violence. The Congo wars and the genocide of 5 million.

(01:41:59) Summation and Outro: There’s simply no way to avoid a descent into both violence and madness, without understanding their causes and cures. Americans seem to have little interest in doing this.

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Show notes:

"The Goodness Paradox" by Richard Wrangham

Richard Wrangham interview on Big Think

"The Act of Killing"

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(00:00) Intro

(03:28) News Segment: Enemy inside the gates. On January 6, 2021, a mob of riotous insurrectionists breached and vandalized the United States Capitol after having been incited to violence by President Donald J. Trump and his surrogates. Christophe, Sean, and guest Drew Scott react.

(15:10) Christophe, Sean, and Drew react to an excerpt from an article Sean authored in response to the 1/6/2021 Trump riot on Capitol Hill. The article excerpt addresses the decades long political and social conditions that precipitated the Trump insurrection and why it cannot be separated from the GOP’s journey from Nixon to Reaganism to Trumpism.

(36:38) Reverend Raphael Warnock defeated Senator Kelly Loeffler in a high stakes election for one of Georgia’s two seats in the United States Senate. Senator-elect Warnock beat tough odds, and Loeffler’s racist campaign, to become the first African American Senator in Georgia’s fraught history. He joins Senator-elect John Ossoff in delivering control of the United States Senate to the Democratic party.

(40:43) “The Boys” and “Star Trek: Discovery”: Christophe, Sean, and Drew explain what superheroes, and shows like The Boys and Star Trek Discovery, teach us about ourselves and societies in which we live.

(01:05:01) Modern franchises and modern series, like the recent Wonder Woman films, and shows like Star Trek Discovery, are super important from a social justice perspective. Christophe, Sean, and Drew explain why.

(01:16:57) Homelander is the most powerful superhero and a central character in The Boys. To say that he is a narcissist is a gross understatement. Christophe, Sean, and Drew discuss what the Homelander character tells us about America in 2021. Christophe, Sean, and Drew discuss a recurrent theme on the Radical Secular, the problem of unaccountable power, through the lens of The Boys, specifically: the Vought and “The 7” and the characters of Homelander and Stormfront.

(01:47:45) Christophe, Sean, and Drew round out their discussion of superheroes, America in 2021, and unaccountable power by addressing toxic fandom.

(02:00:41) Drew Scott relates a chilling anecdote about his father's direct experience in the entertainment industry, with soon-to-be ex-president Donald Trump.

(02:12:53) Outro

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Show notes:

“The Boys”

Star Trek: Discovery

Insurrection Was Always the Plan (By Sean Prophet)

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Deep-Dive into Modern Monetary Theory

(00:00) Intro

(04:19) What is Money? How is it created? Why do we never seem to have enough of it? We all have a story we tell ourselves, and it’s mostly negative. Money is not the root of all evil, nor is the love of it going to destroy your soul, nor is being in debt sinful, despite what the Bible may have said about that. Star-Trek forecasts that money will be eliminated in the 24th century. But this is a pipe dream, even for the Federation. Fantasy think-tank The Venus Project cannot and will not ever eliminate money. "Resource Based Economy" is a re-branding of the failed idea of anarcho-communism.

(22:34) The fake story of money. You probably think money originated to help replace barter-economics, and is a valuable commodity such as gold or silver. That's false.

(29:36) The real story of money. Money is record keeping, not a commodity. It's a matter of law, not fixed value. It relies on a government promise to take back the currency it issues. Currency-creation is the most important function of a sovereign government.

(01:01:43) Debt is not sin. Repayment of debt is not redemption. The biblical concepts of sin and redemption most likely originated from the involvement of ancient temples in issuing currency. Government is not like a household. Issuers of currency can't go broke. Government debt serves a valuable function.

(01:12:45) How does the government spend? The grievous opportunity cost of spare economic capacity. Failure of any currency-issuing government to spend enough public funds to unlock all economic resources and labor is moral failure.

(01:27:48) There is no debt-free money, and therefore Bitcoin is not money, and can never be money. Risks and opportunities of Modern Monetary Theory. The true limit on government spending: available economic resources.

(01:42:07) The red-herring of hyperinflation. Cannot exist so long as currency issuers keep the money supply less than or equal to the available economic resources.

(01:47:09) The relationship between budget deficits and trade deficits. Nations with large trade surpluses can afford to have a balanced budget or budget surplus. While nations with trade deficits must also run budget deficits to remain at or near full employment. Capitalist economies simply need large government participation to operate at peak efficiency. Social security will always remain solvent. The biggest risk to future retirees is failing to keep the economy running at maximum productivity by failing to spend sufficiently.

(01:55:13) Deficits save the world. The incredible value and power of US Treasury bonds. The government's red ink is the economy's black ink, and vice versa. Running government budget surpluses leads to economic disaster.

(02:03:11) Can we afford to keep paying interest on the national debt? What if China stops lending us money? Can (or should) the US national debt ever be paid off? A thought experiment.

(02:13:36) Pony politics. Ending the "pay for" conversation, and shifting the discussion to how to allocate maximum economic resources for best outcomes.

(02:18:31) Outro

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Show notes:

The Venus Project

Everything you wanted to know about Modern Monetary Theory with L. Randall Wray

L. Randall Wray - Modern Money Theory for Beginners

MMT vs. Austrian School Debate: Warren Moseler vs. Dr. Robert Murphy

Stephanie Kelton: Rethinking fiscal policy

"Debt: The First 5,000 Years" by David Graeber

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(00:00) Intro

(01:04) News Segment:

Under the guise of standing up for everyday Americans, Trump upends the long-negotiated COVID-19 relief bill in a last ditch effort to remain relevant. Trump issues a series of Presidential pardons, including clemency for Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner, Roger Stone, in a breathtaking display of corruption. An RV explodes in downtown Nashville in an apparent suicide bombing.

(34:06) Hindsight is 2020:

Christophe and Sean tell the Radical Secular’s origin story. They reflect on the remarkable nature of 2020: the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the George Floyd uprising, and the COVID-19 pandemic. And they talk about what’s on the horizon for America and the Radical Secular in 2021.

(01:53:15) Outro

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