
Commentary on news, art, and ideas from a libertarian and rationalist perspective. Science, politics, education, sports, and culture from a teacher exiled from the classroom because of mask mandates. Plus quizzes!
Episodes

Oct 25, 2021
Oct 25, 2021
35 min
Dune is a spectacular movie. Sophisticated but accessible aesthetics and delicious space opera exploits. We've had some recent surprises (Cruella!) with movies being anti-woke. Where does Dune fit on the woke spectrum?

Oct 22, 2021
Oct 22, 2021
33 min
Who makes the cut this week? Montrezl Harrell and Drake, Candace Owens, Tony Fauci, Li Yundi, and more!

Oct 21, 2021
Oct 21, 2021
38 min
Harvard professor Joe Allen just published a piece in the Washington Post calling for school mask mandates to be lifted by January 1st at the latest. He's right, of course. Let's go through his argument and also check his sources for his claim that masks do work.

Oct 20, 2021
Oct 20, 2021
47 min
In honor of Halloween, we're hosting the first podcast Squid Game Costume Contest. Let's see how Squid Game's fantastic costumes stack up against other iconic costumes from the history of Hollywood. The first ten minutes of this episode is a news round-up; jump to 10:20 mark for the Costume Contest.

Oct 19, 2021
Oct 19, 2021
34 min
A banger of an episode. A friend asks me, "Why don't we see more intellectuals emphasize uncertainty in the face of a novel pandemic? Why aren't intellectuals questioning the costs of various mandates instead of only ever talking about the benefits?" That provoked me a bit. We need our intellectual class to be better! We need them to stand up and be aggressive, clear, and passionate in calling out pseudo-science and the pretenders in the ivory tower.

Oct 18, 2021
Oct 18, 2021
43 min
The Financial Times broke the story of China's successful and stunning hypersonic weapons system test in August. What is a fractional orbital bombardment system, and how should we change our thinking in light of China's success?

Oct 15, 2021
Oct 15, 2021
26 min
It's Friday and that means poetry! With everything that we've been hearing about "following the science," let's look at two science poems from John Updike. Both of these poems deserve greater recognition than they have been given, so give them a listen!

Oct 15, 2021
Oct 15, 2021
38 min
I was pounding on the table for this one! I love pop culture, but it is a constant source of WTF moments. This week we focus on Demi Lovato defending the honor of aliens and the new Matt Damon & Adam Driver movie The Last Duel.

Oct 14, 2021
Oct 14, 2021
37 min
The second in our series giving you detailed walk-throughs on how to teach liberty in your classroom! This episode covers days 2 and 3. Come on down, let's play the Price is Right liberty-style!

Oct 13, 2021
Oct 13, 2021
35 min
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show debuted in 1997 and quickly became the subject of academic studies. But not enough attention has been paid to how Buffy evolved from and grew beyond the Stan Lee revolution in the 20th century.
