Podcast Episodes

Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives (Mark Miodownik)

Episode 47

Read Mark Miodownik's's very good Liquid Rules.  Mostly what I have to say is about flight attendants and Islam, which are both obviously connected to the subject matter of this book. (The written ve…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

Bronze Age Mindset (Bronze Age Pervert)

Episode 46

Thoughts on “Bronze Age Mindset” by the pseudonymous Bronze Age Pervert. Clever and subversive; more than meets the eye.  (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be f…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition (Jonathan Tepper)

Episode 45

Reviewed Jonathan Tepper's nicely done entry in the pro-competition genre, (The written version of this review was first published February 27, 2019. Written versions, in web and PDF formats, are ava…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

The Samurai (Shūsaku Endō)

Episode 44

A change of pace, from modern politics to seventeenth-century Japan, and to eternal, rather than transitory, things. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found …

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

A World Split Apart: Commencement Address Delivered at Harvard University, June 8, 1978 (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

Episode 43

We talk about the eerie prescience of, and current application of, this classic jeremiad from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, prophet of his age. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook f…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon (Crystal Zevon)

Season 1 Episode 42

An oral history of the ultra-talented Warren Zevon, warts and all.

The written version of this review can be found here.

We strongly encourage, in these days of censorship and deplatforming, all read…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (Alasdair MacIntyre)

Episode 41

Thoughts on a dense classic. (The written version of this review was first published February 23, 2019. Written versions, in web and PDF formats, are available here.)

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

The Memoirs of St. Peter: A New Translation of the Gospel According to Mark (Michael Pakaluk)

Episode 40

A turn away from current events, to long-ago events, still relevant today. (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s (William I. Hitchcock)

Episode 39

Reviewed William I. Hitchcock's "The Age of Eisenhower." Short version of the review: Eisenhower OK but defective; 1950s good; Baby Boomers bad. (The written version of this review was first publishe…

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago

Singapore: Unlikely Power (John Curtis Perry)

Episode 38

I wanted to learn about Singapore, where limited democracy works. But I didn't learn much from this book. (The written version of this review was first published February 13, 2019. Written versions, …

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago