Episodes
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
Season Three, Episode One: I Need A Hero!
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
We're back for another season! Gatsby is back barking at random things off-mic, and we've added even more dogs to add to the background noise.
- Head here for a thing Noel wrote recently.
- Check out all things Pan Astral.
- Enjoy Pan Astral performing Gulf of Mexico.
Take care of yourselves and each other. And please send positive my Mom's way.
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Please don't call it *The* Ukraine
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
- We highly recommend finding out more about what Ukrainians think or what some of their pro-democracy resources have to say. Please visit Hromadske and KyivPost. If you’re Ukrainian is a little rusty, they have English webpages.
- Ukraine has received several loans from the IMF over the years. If you’re curious about this topic, here’s Wiki’s take on it, and also the IMF’s official site.
- The peace talk between Ukraine and Russia has many interpretations, literally. It remains to be seen if the ceasefire will be fully implemented by the end of 2019.
- Michelle can’t say Kievan Rus’ correctly.
- Check out how large the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was.
- The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 is considered the first European war of the 21st century and has some similarities to Russian tactics in Crimea and the Donbas region.
- The estimated nuclear weapon stockpile of Russia is a cool 6,490, a few hundred more than the US. Each country is believed to have around 1,400 “strategically deployed” warheads.
- Here is the Foreign Affairs article Noel discusses.
- So Russia understands the importance of Ukraine, but does the West? Only if it’s all about us.
If you have the time, please listen to Timothy Snyder’s points about language and its power.
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
This Spoon is Making Me Nervous
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Show Notes for Episode 34, 10/2/19
- Brenda Wineapple’s The Impeachers was published just in time for the current impeachment. How timely.
- Basically, it’s difficult to enforce congressional subpoenas because it requires fast cooperation from many sections of the federal government and that seems to never happen these days….
- Just for funsies, check out the Wikipedia lists of Obama Administration Controversies (including the tan suit!) and Trump Administration Controversies.
- Michelle seriously cannot recommend Hasan Minaj’s Patriot Act on Netflix enough. Here’s the YouTube link for the episode that features the other Koch bros.
- As of Oct. 19, 2019, a judge blocked part of Florida's poll tax on former felons.
- The informal verb, “to bork” has two definitions, both in “honor” of Judge Robert Heron Bork (1927-2012). The first is found in the Cardozo Law Review in 1987 and described as common slang among attorneys who argued in Bork’s courtroom. A lawyer got “borked” when they “receive[d] a conservative judicial decision with no justification in the law” because of “Bork's tendency to decide cases solely according to his ideology.” The second and much more common definition (which Noel and Michelle discuss) comes from Bork’s failed nomination to the Supreme Court, also in 1987, and the very negative press received in reaction to his aforementioned judicial record of ruling ideologically and, more specifically, racistly. The storm of bad press was deemed “borking,” meaning to “defame or vilify” someone and prevent them from being appointed to public office. This definition was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002.
- In 2018, California’s economy was ranked 5th in the world, behind 1 - the US as a whole, 2 - China, 3 - Japan, and 4 - Germany.
- Catch Timothy Snyder’s visit to Rachel Maddow’s show here.
The protests in Kyiv mentioned were in response to the so-called “Steinmeier Formula” which is an attempt to end aggression in eastern Ukraine. Protestors dislike the agreement, because it would end fighting with the withdrawal of Ukraine troops from Donbas, essentially surrendering more territory to Russia (who invaded and started the conflict in 2014 following the illegal annexation of Crimea). All of this has been put on the backburner with the impeachment inquiry unfolding when the US and Ukraine are deeply intertwined. Noel and Michelle hope to discuss this further in future episodes. In the meantime, for Ukraine-focused resources check out KyivPost or Hromadske. (Thank you, John, for the recommendations.)
Monday Sep 30, 2019
This one's gonna hurt...
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
- This one is gonna hurt
- It’s a doozie: The Mueller Report
- Fact Check: In 2017, it was thought that 21 states were targeted by Russia during the 2016 election. It is now known that all 50 were targeted.
- Watch Robert Mueller perk up during Rep. Will Hurd’s (R-TX) questioning.
- Fact Check: The Biden rule concerning federal executions is colloquially known as the “Crime Bill” of 1994. “It added dozens of crimes to the list of federal offenses for which the death penalty could be applied” and Biden was the lead senator that got the bill passed. In 2019 Biden stated a turn around from his voting record and suggested the death penalty be eliminated entirely. Federal executions had been on moratorium “because of problems obtaining the previous three-drug protocol.”
- Who were/are the Reformicons?
- George Wallace was not a nice person….Check out the book The Lynching for some really good examples.
Be sure to check out Jane Coasten’s sharp observations on “instrumentalized racism.”
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Political...Centrism???
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
- Political Centrism
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- Vox’s article highlights the results of More In Common’s “Hidden Tribes” report
- The center doesn’t exist, according to the New York Magazine
- Trump does not like Bette Midler
- Tucker Carlson’s gross comments don’t need to be heard. So here’s an article about them.
- Network Propaganda by Yochai Benkler et al may no longer be free to read, but it’s still definitely worth checking out.
If you’d like to learn much more about the tragic death and immoral politicization of Seth Rich, Michelle recommends Michael Isikoff’s “Conspiracyland” podcast.
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Welcome Back Tad!
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
- We mention Ben Shapiro (Shuh-peer-o) on the regular….
- “All the Color” by Pan Astral is now available!
- Check out Tad’s other project, Blue Gospel Scripts
- This video breaks down the movements in Rush’s “La Villa Strangiato”
- “Steady Study on the Boogie” seems hella hard to play
Check out John Petrucci’s solo from “Constant Motion”
Sunday Aug 04, 2019
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
How Does Fox News Help Our Democracy?
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Sunday Jun 02, 2019
Check back soon for the show notes!
Monday May 27, 2019
Michael Shannon, Improv Comedy, Flat Earthers, & More!
Monday May 27, 2019
Monday May 27, 2019
Click here for the show notes!
Monday Mar 18, 2019
The Strange Tonic Podcast: The Not Fascism One (Featuring Tad Lusk)
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Monday Mar 18, 2019
Greetings from the new podcast HQ, folks! Tad and I recorded this a few weeks ago at the old place and had a great conversation. We'll have to do it again soon because, even with it being a longer pod, there was a lot more I was hoping to cover with my friend.
Check back soon for a link to the show notes!