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Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s (Frederick Lewis Allen)
Episode 77
Thoughts on a misleading and mendacious book that has been used to propagandize generations of schoolchildren. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy (Mariana Mazzucato)
Episode 76
This book explains a great deal this is otherwise opaque, and shows why the propaganda we are fed about value, GDP and the like, is propaganda, that blinds us to the reality of our economy. (The writ…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
The Power of the Powerless (Václav Havel)
Episode 75
Václav Havel's famous essay, born of a specific time and place, resonates decades later in our own proto-totalitarian society. What should be done? Havel tells us. (The written version of this review…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Karl Polanyi)
Episode 74
I thought this book was be good; I was wrong. Free market fundamentalism is bad, to be sure, but what Karl Polanyi offers isn't better, and his analysis is dated. (The written version of this review,…
Published on 6 years ago
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (John Carreyrou)
Episode 73
John Carreyrou's Bad Blood is unbelievably good. No recap of the book, though: rather thoughts on every on at Theranos behaving badly, including, especially, the lawyers. And my take on why Elizabeth…
Published on 6 years ago
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia (Christina Thompson)
Episode 72
An examination of a fascinating work on the settlement of Polynesia, with a focus on human accomplishment. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)
Published on 6 years ago
On Preemptive Apologies by Conservatives
Episode 71
On how conservatives hobble themselves with preemptive apologies that have been conditioned into them by the Left. (The written version of this review was first published September 19, 2018. Written …
Published on 6 years ago
How Democracies Die (Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt)
Episode 70
Just in time to explain the inevitable Left reaction to Boris Johnson's triumph, an analysis of the Left's hatred of actual democracy. (The written version of this review was first published Septembe…
Published on 6 years ago
A Time to Die: Monks on the Threshold of Eternal Life (Nicolas Diat)
Episode 69
A turn (mostly) away from current politics, to speak of eternal things. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)
Published on 6 years ago
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory (David Graeber)
Episode 68
The beginnings, through discussion tied to this mediocre book, of an attempt to understand the creation of value in society. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can b…
Published on 6 years ago