You Can't Win

We had a slew of technical and health problems this weekend so we are uploading a bonus to keep the content flowing. Apologies.

We open with Tom's (limited) experience in Palestine and his personal impressions of the people there, from how the occupation works to the uniqueness of Jerusalem. Then we move into a broader discussion of current events and Israeli politics - using the somewhat silly example of Gal Gadot to describe contemporary liberal Zionism.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Mike returns to the show to sort through the rumors around vaccines and why he is being cautious about the whole thing. How does big pharma try to shape public messaging to avoid regulatory control? And does the focus on wilder theories mislead away from more reasonable criticisms?

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Khalid and Dimitri of Subliminal Jihad join us to discuss the book The Yankee and Cowboy War. The book suggests that shocking events like the JFK assassination and resignation of Nixon can only be understood as the product of deep rivalries at the top of American power. We discuss those rivalries and how they might be relevant to thinking about things today.

Mentioned: The Yankee and Cowboy War by Carl Oglesby.

How the West was Won: Last Shootout for the Yankee-Cowboy Theory by Stephen Johnson (https://zero.sci-hub.se/5309/6663b80df93d0dfed05cf50acc05ba17/johnson1976.pdf)

Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Roy - Twitter's @chiweethegod - stops by to talk about the damage done to us all by the slow grind of violence and poverty and how to stay positive through it. Our discussion ranges from the repressive chaos of conspiracies to cultivating an artistic mindset. Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

AgileTablet joins us once again to discuss what the heck rich people are up to these days. There are 2,600 or more billionaires around the world and a lot of them have wild ideas about how to fix everything. We discuss what this means for things like climate change and the paralysis of politics, and how the wealthy cultivate an image as building the future.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Beloved third mic AgileTablet returns to catch us up and chat about vaccines, moving and the Mayans.

Mentioned: Shabir Ally's YouTube channel: Let the Quran Speak. National Geographic's Lost World of the Maya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MFKy7DJsCY

Our old friend Goatstein returns to riff on recent events such as the reaction to the Derek Chauvin verdict, the sickos who populate military forums, the cruelty of Trump, being appropriately cynical about politics, and more.

Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend White Sox Lex returns to talk the new baseball season, starting with pandemic craziness and conservative outrage. Then we get into doping scandals and superhuman baseball mutants and a roundup of Awful Pundits.

You can check out Lex's Awful Pundits tournament at https://www.patreon.com/awfulpundits or on Twitter at @AwfulPundits

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Our friend Harvey returns to talk about ending up in the hospital, leaving his job and beginning a new life as a lockdown NEET. We talk about getting healthier, confession and our experiences with Lent and Ramadan.

Intro by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.

Tom and Don catch up about the holidays. Then we get into our changing relationship with posting, as silly as it is, and what we're looking forward to in the near future.

Intro music by auntie004. Outro by reiyashi.