#84- Marcuse's "Repressive Tolerance" Part 1 Is tolerance a good thing and who deserves it? In the first episode of this two-part series, Scott and Karl begin discussing Herbert Marcuse's 1965 essay "Repressive Tolerance." Marcuse argues that the whole of society shapes what is politically possible for each of us, so any discussion of politics [...]

#83- Belloc's "An Essay on the Restoration of Property" This week, Scott and Karl read Hilaire Belloc's "An Essay on the Restoration of Property." Written in 1936, Belloc attempts to rectify the wrongs in both major economic theories by approaching the problem from an entirely new angle, offering his own program for property distribution.  As Scott [...]

#9- The Complete Works of Led Zeppelin This week, the trio discusses the work and legacy of a band you may have heard of, Led Zeppelin— one of the most popular and innovative rock bands ever. Initially called the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968 by English guitarist Jimmy Page before taking the [...]

#82- A Landmark of Post-Apocalyptic Fiction: Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz This week, Scott and Karl discuss A Canticle for Leibowitz, the post-apocalyptic science fiction classic by Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Scott says, “It's a story about how fragile civilization is, how fragile knowledge is, and what people’s responsibility to that may or may not [...]

#8- The Best of Hard Bop: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers This week, Scott, Karl, and Trent listen to Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers' most archetypal and popular album release, Moanin’. Recorded in 1958 for the Blue Note label and released the following year, the LP was originally self-titled, but the instant popularity of the opening track "Moanin'" (by [...]

#81- The Case for Digital Currency: Nakamoto on Bitcoin 12 years ago, an anonymous person using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This week, Scott and Karl discuss this revolutionary concept of how Bitcoin set out to change the way the world views currencies. At just ten pages long, Nakamoto’s original paper [...]

#80- J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy-stories" What are fairy-stories? What is their origin? What is the use of them? This week, Scott and Karl read “On Fairy-Stories” and “Leaf by Niggle” by J. R. R. Tolkien. Both works offer answers to these questions while providing the underlying philosophy of Tolkien's own fantastical writing, such as The Lord [...]

#79- Rooted in Community: Berry's Jayber Crow This week, Scott and Karl read Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. The role of community in the shaping of character is a recurring theme for Berry, who is the author of more than forty books that largely serve as an extended conversation about the life he values. Berry is a [...]

#78- Jünger's Storm of Steel This week Scott and Karl read Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger, the memoir widely viewed as the best account ever written of fighting in WW1. Printed in 1920, this book illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of a German soldier. [...]

Jazz Icon Miles Davis: Kind of Blue This week, Scott and Karl are joined by Producer Trent Jones to discuss the best-selling jazz record of all time, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Recorded in 1959 at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, this album brings together six other now-legendary musicians in the prime of their careers: tenor [...]