Beer and Conversation Podcast

The boys take a break from beer and do The Vodka Challenge, in which they do a blind taste test between Titos, Skol, Smirnoff, and a mystery vodka.

They start off with a general discussion of vodka — what it is, what it’s made from, how it’s made, etc.

If vodka is a neutral spirit, why should you spend more on expensive vodka? Does it matter? What are the characteristics of a good vodka?

The mystery vodka was simply grain alcohol, diluted down to 80 proof, with a little glycerin and sugar to round it out.

After doing their 4-panel test, they tried another common vodka story, which is that you can transform cheap vodka into top-shelf vodka by running it through a Brita filter.

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review Warsteiner Dunkel, then discuss the philosophy of Nietzsche.

He’s famous for his declaration of the death of God — which is not the smirky, triumphalist statement of a modern atheist, but a lament at the loss of traditional foundations of meaning, morality, and purpose. Once you’ve pulled out the foundations that come along with belief in God, what do you have left?

Nietzsche is considered one of the early existentialists. He says that since our lives have no inherent meaning, or any meaning imposed from outside, we need to create our own meaning.

He tries to avoid the nihilism and pessimism of Schopenhauer by building his own ideas about how to find meaning in a meaningless world. He criticizes Christianity as slave morality, and urges a more aggressive form of self assertion.

Nietzsche sees “will to power” as the essential element of who we are, and rather than suppress that, we should recognize and rejoice in it.

In this latest edition of “shortcut to the classics,” the boys drink and review Czechvar Lager, then discuss The Metamorphosis.

Special guest Longinus joins the show to contribute his literary expertise.

After a very brief biography of Kafka, the boys review the characters, the basic plot, and the structure of the book, then delve into its possible meanings.

Gregor, the main character, wakes up one morning as a bug, with predictable but rather amusing consequences for his job and his family.

In some ways, the story sounds like something a 5th grader would dream up. But there are interesting layers of meaning in the text, and plenty to think about. Pigweed, Crowhill, and Longinus discuss a few possible interpretations of the story.

The boys drink and review Yeungling’s Porter, then discuss disaster preparation. What’s responsible and what’s over the top?

What would it take to be ready for a big snowstorm, or a 3-day power outage? What if it’s 2 weeks? Or 2 months?

What would happen to the utilities? Would you still get gas, electricity, and water?

Then they go into the disaster scenarios. Beyond prudent, reasonable precautions, what happens when society breaks down? When money isn’t worth anything. When there’s hyperinflation.

How hungry do people need to get before they start breaking into their neighbor’s house?

And even if you are prepared for a long-term disaster, are you going to shoot your hungry neighbors who come begging for food?

Or what if you get a bug-out location in the boonies? Will you be safe?

When you think it all the way through, this prepper stuff doesn’t make much sense.

In this mini-episode, the boys discuss the case of the Canadian shop teacher who decides to dress in an outrageous costume that parodies women.

You may have seen the photos of the male school teacher wearing enormous prosthetic boobs.

Is this guy acting out some weird fetish, or is he trolling the woke?

In either case, why do we need to tolerate such nonsense? Why should parents be obligated to put up with this?

We’ve created an environment where “gender identity” is some sort of magic word that trumps all other considerations. If some absurd behavior can be explained as an expression of gender identity, the rest of us are expected to applaud.

Sorry. Not doing it.

The boys drink and review Copper Legend from Jack’s Abby, then discuss ESG.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It’s a way to rank companies by their compliance with left-wing social goals.

People have every right to invest in companies that uphold their social values if they want to. The problem with ESG is that big corporations are forcing these partisan standards on companies — using other people’s money, and without their permission! It’s a classic shakedown.

When big investment companies like Blackrock do this sort of thing, they’re violating their fiduciary duty to their shareholders by applying standards other than profit. When I put money in a fun, I want a return. I don’t want them to impose their social agenda on my investments.

ESG threatens to withhold investing money from companies that aren’t willing to follow a partisan agenda.

This is a new form of totalitarianism. It’s not Marxism or fascism or socialism. It’s an ideologically driven capitalist totalitarianism. And it has to be stopped.

The boys drink and review Troegenator by Troegs brewing, and then discuss our non-sensical energy policies.

In the same week California announced that all new cars in California could not be powered by gasoline after 2035, they announced the grid was having trouble and would people please refrain from charging their electric vehicles. Did they have the sense to recognize the humor in that?

To power all these lovely new electric cars, California would have to triple its generating capacity and vastly expand and enhance its power grid. Are they willing to spend that money and risk the wrath of the environmentalists?

The only possible way to achieve this goal is to use nukes. But the left hasn’t been willing to do that.

It’s as if energy policies are being written by ideologues rather than engineers. We’re planning to get rid of the energy that works to replace it with energy that doesn’t work.

Even if we make this transition from fossil fuels to other sources, what are we going to do with all the old batteries and solar cells? Do we have any idea or plan for that?

And since we clearly need to move to nuclear if we want to move to an electric-based energy economy, are we planning new nuclear plants?

We are not governed by serious people.

P&C drink and review Sunny Little Thing from Sierra Nevada, then discuss Howard Zinn and his partisan “history” books.

Zinn was a 60s leftist and one-time communist who wrote a “people’s history” of the United States, which has become way too influential, especially in the educational system. This anti-American propaganda has been used to poison young minds against the U.S.A.

One big problem with Zinn’s focus on American sins is that there’s no sense of proportion. E.g., “as compared to what?” When we evaluate the past, we have to measure people against their contemporaries, not against our 2022 view of what a perfect country should be.

Also, he is clearly re-interpreting American history from a Marxist perspective, but then pretends he is simply telling the truth and setting the record straight.

Zinn can write any book he wants, and, in fact, it’s useful to have a Marxist perspective on history. But it’s going too far for this narrow, partisan, anti-American view to be taught to our children, and it’s a crime that it’s used in schools.

Zinn doesn’t want to promote reform. He wants revolution. He can say what he wants, but he has no place in our education system.

P&C drink and review Coffee Among Friends Vanilla Latte Milk Stout by Monument Brewing, then discuss cat pictures and other silly things that are meant to inspire us.

Some popular motivational sayings are 100% stupid, while others are right some of the time, or at least you can put a good spin on them. P&C review some common ones they’ve seen and render judgment.

This is a fun and silly show, not meant to be taken too seriously.

The boys drink and review Crowhill’s 2022 Christmas Ale, then discuss censorship.

Is it okay for search engines to “curate” our search results, based on what they think we should know and be exposed to?

Should medical associations or journals crack down on doctors who propose alternative theories or treatments?

What about when the government gets involved and asks Big Tech to ban certain people or certain messages? Is it right for the FBI to tell Facebook what to suppress?

Is it different in times of war?

The boys think through the issues and come to the conclusion that there’s too much censorship in the world today.

In this special edition of Nooze and Booze, Pigweed and Crowhill do a spontaneous, off-the-cuff tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Sept. 8, 2022.

As Americans, P&C aren’t as familiar with the details of the transition of power, rules of succession, and so on, and spend some time asking questions and wondering what happens next.

The boys also reflect on monarchy in general, and discuss some of its positive aspects, such as having a source of stability that exists outside the political cycle.

God save the King!

Pigweed and Crowhill review an imperial stout and discuss humor.

What makes a joke funny? Can we classify different types of jokes? Why do we tell jokes? What social purpose do they serve?

Can humor serve as a corrective, to show us how things are supposed to be? Do jokes train people in what’s appropriate and inappropriate? The boys dig into these questions as they reflect on a recent Ricky Gervais performance.

The left used to defend offensive and irreverent humor. Now there are elements on the left that are trying to restrict humor.

Examining the nature and function of humor helps to explain why there’s an assault on humor now. People are trying to change sensibilities.

Woodstock is said to have defined a generation. The original plan was for about 50,000 people, but close to half a million people arrived on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York. The operations were a mess. The roads weren’t adequate. There weren’t enough porta-potties, security, or food. And there was a nasty storm. Despite the mess and the miserable circumstances, it was mostly peaceful, and the police said the attendees were courteous, considerate and well-behaved.

The original Woodstock was not the lovely peace and love fest that people seem to imagine. It was a mixed bag of poor planning, horrible execution, and a somewhat miserable experience — that changed people’s lives!

The main organizer — Michael Lang — apparently didn’t learn anything from the first event. The operations for Woodstock 1999 were even worse.

The event was held at an old military base. People were in the blazing sun on a concrete tarmac. There wasn’t enough water, and there was almost no shade.

There was very little “peace and love can change the world.” The bands were encouraging mayhem and violence. There were sexual assaults. Eventually, the whole place was set on fire. It was a catastrophe.

With special guest Longinus, the boys review Belhaven Scottish Ale, then discuss conspiracy theories, and why people believe them.

Conspiracies are real things, but “conspiracy theory” has taken on the tinge of the tin-foil hat crazies. That’s the sort of theory the boys discuss.

• What are the components of a conspiracy theory?
• What benefit does it give to the believer?
• How is the internet involved?

It’s usually a shared delusion, not an individual idea. And it usually fits with some legit zeitgeist in the culture. It resonates with some subpopulations.

Conspiracy theories are often irrefutable because any objection becomes evidence of the conspiracy theory. They also become part of a person’s self-identity.

People find a strange sense of safety and control when they believe in conspiracy theories because they have secret knowledge. They’ve peered behind the veil of deception.

There’s a feeling these days that conspiracy theories are more prominent on the political right. That is not true. Conspiracy theories are common on both ends of the political spectrum.

People who believe they are out of power are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, and that changes over the years.

Along with special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review a homebrewed brown ale, then discuss the Book of Acts, as part of their “shortcut to the classics” series.

What book is more classic than the Bible? The boys choose Acts as the most representative “shortcut” because it includes elements of law, history, prophets, the gospel, and the epistles.

A simple outline of Acts would be that the message of Jesus spreads from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But it’s more complicated than that. There are questions about the role of Jew and Gentile, whether converts need to be circumcized, and how the church will view the on-going role of the law of Moses.

The book highlights the two main apostles of Christianity, starting with Peter’s ministry to the Jews in Jerusalem, and ending with Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles — not only in his missionary journeys, but in his witness to the center of power in the first century — Rome.

Acts is a historical narrative, which is fitting for a faith that is based in historical claims about particular acts and people who did real things in the real world.