#77- MacIntyre's After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory Why are modern debates on morality so shrill? This week, Scott and Karl read After Virtue, a book on moral philosophy by Alasdair MacIntyre. Published in 1981, MacIntyre examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue and diagnoses the reasons for its absence in [...]

#76- A British Humor Classic: Wodehouse's The Inimitable Jeeves This week, Scott and Karl read The Inimitable Jeeves, the second collection of Jeeves stories written by P. G. Wodehouse, published in 1923. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, a span of 60 [...]

#75- General Smedley D. Butler's War is a Racket This week, Scott and Karl read War is a Racket, the antiwar classic, written by one of America's most decorated soldiers— General Smedley D. Butler.  When he published this essay in 1935, General Bulter was already a retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal [...]

#74- Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals Part 2 Scott, Karl, and Brett Veinotte of the School Sucks Project continue their discussion of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals.  Picking up where they left off from last week, the trio polishes off the remaining rules on Alinsky's list. Scott says, “What he outlines here is [...]

#73- Alinsky's Rules for Radicals Part 1 Scott and Karl are joined by Brett Veinotte, creator of the School Sucks Project, for a special two-part discussion on Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals.  Divided into ten chapters, Rules for Radicals provides 10 lessons on how a community organizer can accomplish the goal of successfully [...]

#6- Jimmie Rodgers: America's Blue Yodeler In this week's episode, the trio discusses the themes and song stylings of the original blue yodels, a series of thirteen songs written and recorded by Jimmie Rodgers during the period from 1927 to his death in May 1933. Known during his career as “The Singing Brakeman" and later "The [...]

#72- G. K. Chesterton's What I Saw In America This week, Scott and Karl read and heartily discuss G.K. Chesterson's What I Saw In America. Chesterson was a prolific English journalist and author who traveled to America on a lecture tour of the US in 1921.  What I Saw In America begins as a travelogue of his [...]

#71- Citizenship In Heinlein’s Starship Troopers What’s the proper cost of being a citizen? This week, Scott and Karl read and discuss Starship Troopers, written by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959. Labeled both a seminal and controversial military Sci-Fi read, this book is a provocative challenge that makes you think about citizenship, leadership, and moral philosophy. [...]

#5- The Legacy of Toto Did Toto create the most perfect pop song ever? According to Karl, "You can uncover a lot more beauty in just regular old pop music if you shift your focus from that first hit that it gives you— listen a little deeper and you’ll find neat stuff.” Although the three [...]

#70- Are We Living in Orwell’s 1984? This week, Scott and Karl put on their tin foil hats for a reading of George Orwell's 1984.  Published in 1949, the enduring relevance in 1984 is hard to overlook. Of its message, Karl says, “There are definitely right stories to tell and wrong stories to tell. The wrong stories get [...]