The boys drink and review Pigweed’s holiday beer, then discuss a few odd stories from Hans Christian Anderson (starting at 4:33).
Although he wrote a lot of other works, it’s the fairy tales that made Anderson famous.
Some of them are very well known, like The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and others.
P&C aren’t interested in these, but in Anderson’s weirder stories, so they review and discuss “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” “The Traveling Companion,” and “The Tinder Box.”
But in the spirit of the holidays they also review some of his Christmas stories: The Little Match Girl and The Fir Tree.
The boys review Crowhill’s 2023 Christmas beer, then discuss a short story from James Joyce.
Pigweed starts off with some biographical information about Joyce, and how “The Dead” fits into his collected works. The story was finished in 1907.
Gabriel Conroy is the main character, and we see some of the action through his eyes.
The whole story takes places in one snowy evening. It might have been the feast of Epiphany. The hosts have an annual musical celebration.
Joyce sets up a lot of expectations for possible tension that never come to fruition. The actual tension doesn’t appear until fairly late in the story, and it’s completely unexpected.
Conroy is the responsible man at the party. He carves the goose. He sits at the head of the table. He gives a speech. He’s a kind, educated man who is sensitive to other people’s needs and does what’s expected.
Half way through the story you’re wondering when people are going to start dying. It is “The Dead” after all.
But there are no calamities. The role of death and dying only comes out at the very end. Gabriel’s wife hears a song that reminds her of a long lost lover, which we only learn at the end. We also learn that the man is dead.
The boys drink and review Anchor’s Christmas beer, then discuss diversity.
Note: this is an older show from the archives.
Is diversity our strength? That’s what the political elite tell us. But is that true?
Diversiity has a very American sound. It reminds us of the saying on the statue of liberty, and reminds us that we’re a nation of immigrants.
But the word has become a cudgel. When Trump decided he would address the number one concern of voters — the border — the left used “diversity” as a weapon against him.
The reality is that diversity isn’t a value. It’s just a description. Diversity in and of itself doesn’t make something better or worse.
We care about outcomes, not the diversity of the people who bring about that outcome.
Also, “diversity” is very narrow. It’s been limited to sex, race, and sexual orientation. There are hundreds of other ways to categorized people. Why aren’t they part of the “diversity” cult?
What it really means is “we think there are too many straight white people.”
The boys drink and review Jailbreak’s Hey Porter, then discuss the life and career of a famous decolonizer, Francisco Macias Nguema.
Equatorial Guinea was colonized by the Spanish. Nguema started his career as a mid-level civil servant with the Spanish government. He was corrupt from the beginning, but maintained a good relationship with the Spanish.
When the tides turned and anti-colonialist sentiment grew, he saw his opportunity and ran for president. The Spanish supported him because they thought he was on their side.
He started off with a very aggressive campaign to rid the country of anything from the Spaniards.
He renamed cities and streets, and he attacked anything that was deemed a consequence of the colonists. That included education, medicine, bread — even wearing glasses.
It was a disaster. Nguema went from bad to worse and became one of the chief bastards in African history.
P&C give some context and color to the famous “Flashman Incident,” which started out as a small event in a Maryland suburb, but became one of the clearest illustrations of the dangers of #CancelCulture
The boys drink and review Crowhill’s Tavern Ale, then discuss the international outcry over the Flashman Incident.
Some stories, like this one by Hunter Allen, seem like they should stay local, but every once in a while a story catches fire and spreads across the nation.
That’s what happened when Bob dropped off an old book in the local tiny library.
Day 1 — Bob drops off the book. Pedro picks up “Flashman,” by George McDonald Frazier, which is one of the books Bob dropped off.
Day 2 — Pedro takes the book to school, where Ms. Hughes sees it and discovers it’s not appropriate for someone of Pedro’s age. She asked where he got it, and he said “the library.” Ms. Hughes assumed he meant the school library and posts her complaint to Facebook.
Day 3 — Social media explodes and demands that the school librarian be fired.
Day 4 — Twitter can’t decide whether to blame Pedro for failing to report the book, but decided to blame his parents instead.
Day 5 — Both of Pedro’s parents are called to HR and enrolled in sensitivity classes. Someone finally discovers where the book really came from, which starts a police and FBI investigation to find out who put this horrible book in the tiny library.
Day 6 — The American Psychological Association donates a series of anti-racist, pro trans, pro gay children’s books to the school system.
Day 7 — Pedro’s parents hire an attorney who reveals the true origin of the book.
Day 8 — There are calls to legislate tiny libraries to prevent something like this from happening.
Day 9 — The author becomes the latest “evil person” on social media.
From this point it’s the typical insanity on social media and the fur really starts to fly.
The story is well worth your time. It shows what happens when the mob gets upset.
The boys drink and review Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Winter Solstice Ale, then discuss Freemasonry.
How do you learn about a secret society without becoming a member? It’s hard to know what to believe about them.
Still, P&C did their best to find the essential details.
Stone mason guilds started to have outsized political power and started to admit people who weren’t stone masons. The organization grew in numbers and power, and was very influential in the founding of the United States.
They became closely associated with Englightenment thinking and promoted the ideas of rationality and science. One of their mottos is to “make good men better.”
But what does it mean to be a mason? What about all their spooky rituals? And why is the Catholic Church against them?
The boys drink and review Brooklyn Brewery’s Winter IPA, then discuss the rich men (north of Richmond) who want to tell us how to live and control every aspect of our lives.
Seamus Bruner recently wrote a book called Controligarchs about how the super-rich want to tell all the rest of us how to live.
Bruner singles out five on his book cover: Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Klaus Schwab, and George Soros. Noticeably absent is Elon Musk, who seems to be supporting personal freedom rather than top-down dominance. (Which is why the media hates him.)
The controligarchs think they have the right and responsibility to tell us what to eat, what to drive, what to think, what to say, how to educate our children, how to spend our money ….
“You’ll eat bugs and you’ll like it.”
Unfortunately, the population doesn’t have the courage or integrity to tell them where to stuff it. As long as we have our cable TV and cheap food that can be delivered in less than 30 minutes, we’re good.
These controligarchs aren’t taking their lead from traditional, consitutional American ideals. They’re following Xi Jingping.
With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Witness Tree Nut Brown Ale from Antietam Brewery, then discuss Crowhill’s recent trip to the UAE.
While Saudi Arabia dominates the Arabian peninsula, a couple smaller nations squeeze their way in, including UAE.
After reviewing a bit of history and geography, the boys discuss Crowhill’s experiences in Abu Dhabi.
Crowhill had three goals for his trip. Swim in the Persian Gulf, visit the Grand Mosque, and eat some weird local food.
The boys discuss how the UAE maintains a national identity when only about 11 percent of the population is local. They’ve imported most of their citizens, but they still maintain a national culture and identity.
With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Saranac Caramel Porter, then discuss Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s as part of their “shortcut to the classics” series.
They start with a quick bio of Truman Capote, then dig in to the novella.
The story is set in WW2, and it’s important to get the movie out of your head before you read the book.
Holly Golightly is the star of the book. She’s a young woman who uses men for their money. It’s not clear if she’s more call girl or escort or just “woman about town.” But she’s an amoral little sprite who does what she needs to do to enjoy life and live in the style she has come to expect.
The boys disagree about how to evaluate her morals.
It’s a delightful story with a few interesting themes.
The boys drink and review Local 1605, a red ale from Antietam Brewery, then discuss McCarthyism.
Since “The Crucible,” we tend to associate the Salem witch trials with Joseph McCarthy and his work with the committee on anti-American activities. After doing a show on the Salem Witch trials (see episode 367), P&C wondered if it’s appropriate to link witch trials to Joseph McCarthy and his anti-communist crusade.
The analogy works in some respects and not in others.
* There were false accusations in both cases.
* In both cases, to be accused was bad enough.
* In both cases, you could get out by accusing other people.
* “Justice” was corrupted by mob hysteria in both cases.
* However, there were no witches or witchcraft in Salem, but there were communists in the United States.
The “red scare” was legit. There was a fight to the death between communism and the west. But that doesn’t justify McCarthy’s methods to root out that threat.
P&C provide a brief review of McCarthy’s life, then examine his methods and tactics and what we should learn about it today.
P&C drink and review “The Fear” — an imperial pumpkin ale from Flying Dog — then discuss surveillance.
How should we live in an environment where everything we say is being recorded?
Why shouldn’t the government be able to do “routine checks” on citizens? We don’t have anything to hide, do we? And if you’re breaking the law, or a risk to others, don’t we want to find out before you do something horrible?
Why do we have a presumption of innocence? What’s the point?
The boys discuss the basic principles, but also delve into the issues raised by Snowden and others who uncovered secret government surveillance.
The boys drink and review a hazy IPA from Sam Adams, then discuss the opioid crisis and big pharma.
Corporations are not necessarily evil. As a rule, they do important work that provides a service people are happy to pay for. But from time to time you get some bad eggs.
The Sackler family is an example. They took advantage of a new class of drug, and new thinking about how to manage pain, and lied and cheated their way to riches. They convinced the medical community that opioids weren’t addictive. (Based on one questionable study.)
Doctors began prescribing opioids more than they should have, and a lot of people got addicted.
It’s a sad tale with lots of villains and victims. The boys give it a fun and sometimes humorous review.
The boys drink and review Warlock, a pumpkin imperial stout, then discuss the Salem witch trials.
In this gripping podcast, Pigweed and Crowhill delve into the chilling history of the Salem witch trials. Join us as we unravel the mysteries, uncover the accused, and explore the dark trials that shook the heart of colonial America. Discover the truth behind the hysteria that still haunts Salem to this day.
The Salem witch trials were a series of events that occurred in 1692 in colonial Massachusetts. They involved mass hysteria and accusations of witchcraft, resulting in the execution of 20 people, mainly women. The trials were marked by religious fervor, paranoia, and false accusations, ultimately revealing the dangers of unchecked superstition and fear in society.
What role does Calvinism and predestination play in all of this? Did it provide a particularly fertile soil for hysteria about witches?
The Puritans came to America believing they could start a new life, and a better society as the chosen people. But it wasn’t working out. So maybe it was the devil.
P&C review the historical details and provide commentary about how we should view the story today.
