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Latest Episodes

The Political Economy of Higher Education, pt 2

Mon, Feb 26 2024 10:30pm

Friends of the show Ryan Archibald and Brendan McElmeel are back to finish our discussion of the Byzantine structure of higher education institutions. We uncover the rot at that core of higher education and, guess what, it's the same rot that is hollowing out everything in America!

Updates!

Sat, Jan 27 2024 8:20pm

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Reading (For Nerds)

Remembering the Real Jimmy Carter

Now that Jimmy Carter has been placed in hospice care the countdown has begun. A countdown not only to his imminent demise, but also to the flood of hagiographic articles portraying the former president as the nation’s kindly grandfather. A modern saint who found his way through the corrupt world of American politics without losing his moral compass, only to go on after his one term in office to build homes for Habitat for Humanity rather than cash-in on expensive public speaking appearances or book deals like some other presidents – though Carter quietly did that as well.

ByBrian Platt

Ukraine for Dummies

If you are anything like me, a dummy who lives in America, you were alerted to the fact that something strange is going on in Ukraine by a flurry of twitter notifications like these:

ByA Dummy

Where Are Our Left-Wing Cranks in UFC?

In 2008, a photo was making the rounds from the Republican National Convention. The picture is shot from behind depicting a hulking man in a tank top, covered in tattoos. Alone, he is squaring off against a wall of a half dozen police officers in riot gear.

ByAlan "Chuy" Codd

Militia Madness

During President Joe Biden's inaugural address, just two weeks after Trump supporters rioted through the Capitol building, the newly elected Democrat vowed to "defeat… a rise of political extremism, white supremacy, and domestic terrorism." Almost immediately after the Capitol riot, stories poured out that the new Administration and Congressional Democrats were going to "focus on the domestic extremism threat." Robert Grenier, the CIA mission manager for the invasion and initial occupation of Iraq, even stated in an interview that the counterinsurgency tactics that were so successful for the US in Iraq and Afghanistan should be brought home to deal with this new specter of domestic terrorism.

ByBrian Platt

Thoughts on the Police Response in DC

On January 6th in Washington DC, several hundred Trump supporters rioted through the Capitol Building disrupting the Senate confirmation of the November election results. In the aftermath, many liberals and those on the left tried to make sense of the police response to this riot. Below are some of the questions that are being asked and my thoughts on them based on the damage that reading police journals and studying policing for years has done to my brain.

ByBrian Platt