You Can't Win

As Washington prepares to refill the swamp, our friend Alex joins us to talk about the election and our expectations for the future. Then we get into a conversation about climate change and the future of environmentalism.

Mentioned: Cyclonopedia by Reza Negarestani, Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care by Giorgos Kallis.

Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

We often come across as pretty negative on our pod, so in this episode we talk about what an ideal society might look like. If society does make progress over the next 500 years, what might things look like? Then we get into some questions about Star Trek and zoos.

Mentioned: Milestones by Sayyid Qutb.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro music by reiyashi.

Our friend Harvey returns to share some process serving stories and how his job has changed under corona. Then we get into a chat about religion and trying to find ways to meet people where they are at rather than always picking fights.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom takes a #whocare approach to voting in the Most Important Election of All Time. Then your two hosts discuss the exaggerated self-importance of designer ideologies. We work through the difference between Wikipedia-driven politics and a genuine deep tradition.

Mentioned: "The Dark Side of the Dialectic" by Alvin Gouldner.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Andy makes a long overdue return to the show to talk about overcoming a recent rough patch in his life and maintaining newfound sobriety through his faith and change in mindset. We also talk about the COVID situation in Sweden, his plans for the future, and answer questions about UFOs, the shari'a status of eating owls, and a movie premise about Don and Tom's rival trolling dojos. Andy's podcast: https://firingline2.libsyn.com/

Our friend Goatstein returns to discuss the hot topics of the day. We talk about Trump's illness, COVID-19 as an indictment of our whole society, David Graeber, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and (of course) hating the Troops.

Mentioned: Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, Debt by David Graeber.

Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friends Mike and Akh join us for a discussion about evolution as both a misunderstood science and culture war flashpoint. Contemporary Muslim perspectives on evolution are often conflated with American evangelical Christian narratives, but the two can be quite different. At the same time, the science is much more complex than the simple model taught in high schools.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

References:

Malik & Kulieva - Does belief in evolution entail kufr https://sci-hub.se/downloads/2020-08-01/43/[email protected] Salzburger - Understanding explosive diversification through cichlid fish genomics https://sci-hub.se/downloads/2020-09-02/86/salzburger2018.pdf Nei - Mutation driven evolution https://b-ok.cc/book/2372490/c25f72 Barbieri - Code Biology https://b-ok.cc/book/2486989/d39c4c

Alana returns to join Tom, Don and beloved third mic AgileTablet for a fun chat about the true crime genre. We talk crime podcasts, Netflix documentaries, interrogation videos and murderabilia. Why does there seemed to be a gendered split in true crime fandom? Or are guys just interested in different kinds of murders?

Mentioned: Sword and Scale podcast, A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer, Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives by Ann Burgess, John E. Douglas, and Robert Ressler, You Can't Win Episode 018 - Making Friends Online ft. AgileTablet.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Big Dave drops by and we relax the best way we know how: Just some dudes chatting about the best stand-up comedians. We discuss some of our faves and our motivations for picking them.

We also mentioned: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin; Larry Wilde's books and albums about comedy; Comedian with Jerry Seinfeld and Orny Adams; and Omit the Logic about Richard Pryor.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Tiago drops by to discuss his personal experiences with cryptocurrency. While many of us laughed at crypto in its infancy, developments within the sector have spurred a significant subculture of investors and enthusiasts. It can be tempting to want to join the crowd for quick gains, even if the fundamental problems seem to remain.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro music by reiyashi.