Pigweed and Crowhill drink beer and talk about cool stuff
P&C drink and review St. Michael’s Amber Ale, then discuss monarchies.
They ask the obligatory question — is Meghan Markle oppressed? — then discuss Piers Morgan, and the royal clown show in general. They move on to an overview of the idea of monarchy, and whether such a thing is a good idea in the modern world.
It turns out that countries with constitutional monarchies do pretty well. P&C offer some ideas why that might be.
P&C drink and review Pigweed’s Cocoa / Peanut Butter Porter, then, with special guest Longinus, review the movie Conspiracy.
The movie covers the Wannsee Conference of 1942, where Reinhart Heydrich gathers German leaders to discuss the “evacuation” of Jews from German-occupied territory. Heydrich (played by Kenneth Branagh) puts an exclamation point on “German efficiency.”
At first there is a lot of squabbling about the right approach from a legal / procedural point of view, but Heydrich leads them inexorably to a predetermined solution.
The horrifying story calls to mind a quote from C.S. Lewis: “The greatest evil is … now done … in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.”
P&C review Glutenberg, a gluten-free IPA, then, along with special guest Longinus, discuss Elie Wiesel’s Night.
The boys have covered some hard topics, but this was the most difficult. The book chronicles Wiesel’s experiences leading up to and then during his confinement in Auschwitz. The story takes you through all the small steps on his journey from being a boy who wants nothing more than to study Kabbalah to an innocent who is sentenced to a living Hell.
P&C Review Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ from Lagunitas, then do five topics in five minutes each.
P&C drink and review Crowhill’s anise-flavored porter, then discuss the differences between equality and equity.
The words are often confused and misused. Generally speaking, equality focuses on equal treatment while equity focuses on equal outcomes.
Equity is the right choice in some situations, but not in others. But “equity” has become the modern rallying cry, as if it’s a cure-all. Equity is particularly misplaced when it’s applied to groups rather than to individuals, so the combination of equity and identity politics creates a particularly bad outcome.
P&C drink and review O’Hara’s Irish stout, then talk about unidentified flying objects.
Is there some great conspiracy to hide evidence that aliens have come to earth, or is it just a big nothing-burger?
P&C discuss the Fermi paradox and the Drake equation, and review some of the arguments that aliens have visited earth — and find them wanting.
P&C drink and review a double IPA from Bell’s, then discuss the 3-headed hydra of cancel culture: canceling the present, erasing the past, and banning people for the future.
We’re starting to see examples of the media editing old stories to change the past to fit the modern “narrative.” It’s literally Orwellian.
There are new initiatives to erase literal crimes to give someone a fresh start, but at the same time, thought crimes from decades ago still ruin lives.
It’s a bizarre world.
P&C drink and review 51 Rye by Monument City Brewing, then discuss plastic bans, and the pros and cons of plastic.
Plastics reduce food waste. They make cars lighter, and therefore more fuel efficient. Plastics reduce the costs of many products.
But there’s a negative side, some of which is real, and some has been exaggerated out of context.
P&C try to sort it all.
P&C drink and review Madura Brown Ale from Cigar City Brewing, then discuss indications that a company might not be a good fit.
P&C drink and review some hot and cold sake, then discuss gaslighting.
They start with a review of the 1940 film with Ingrid Bergman to get the original meaning of the term, then, along with special guest Longinus, go through a list of modern issues that might or might not be gaslighting.
The goal of gaslighting is to get the person being gaslighted (gaslit?) to accept as true something the gaslighter knows is false, to the benefit of the gaslighter. But as you go through things that have been held up as examples, it can get complicated.
By the end of this show you might not have a perfect answer, but you’ll have a better sense of the concept.
P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada’s bottle-conditioned porter, then discuss Ayn Rand and objectivism with special guest Longinus.
They quickly review the basic tenets of objectivism, then discuss how those ideas play out in three works: Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead, and Anthem.
The boys discuss what Rand’s ideas mean, and whether they’re useful and applicable in the real world.
P&C drink and review Pigweed’s homebrewed winter warmer, then discuss executive orders.
What is the function and purpose of an executive order? Is it a way to get around Congress? What are the limits? Is this one of the ways the imperial presidency has usurped the legislative function, or is it a valid power of the executive?
The boys look at the history of this strange executive power and comment on its use.
P&C drink and review a hazy IPA from Sam Adams, then do five topics in five minutes each.
P&C drink and review Dirty Little Freak, a flavorful brown ale from DuClaw Brewery, then discuss the Enlightenment.
What was the Enlightenment, when did it happen, and what ideas did it produce? Why has it come under fire from some quarters today? Should we value the Enlightenment, or is it just another example of racism and white privilege?
P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Fresh Hop IPA, then talk about totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and fascism. Following up, they evaluate Rod Dreher’s “soft totalitarianism” from “Live Not by Lies.” P&C think Dreher has the label wrong.
We’re at a cross-roads. Is there time (or the will) to stop the growing tech-inspired soft authoritarianism?
