Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck review Bell Hooks' The Will to Change. If men let go of their will to dominate, then the world would become a better place. Men want to let go, so says Bell Hooks. Do feminists want men to let go of the will to dominate, or is there more to it?

Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho deep dive The Ministry of Truth substack post by Curtis Yarvin. All organizations and governments must decide on a method for fact and truth finding, but most outsource it to centralized external authorities. The impact of this idea is explored in this episode. Our gallant hosts also debate whether TikTok is represen…

In this episode we discuss Chapter 10 of Lincoln the Man. Lincoln made major strides in his political career much later in life than most would expect. How exactly did he "awake from his slumber in a useless world when all seems dead"? Lincoln now saw his chance to finally make something of himself and take his long-time rival Douglas down a notch …

Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho review chapter 13 of Lincoln the Man by Edgar Lee Masters. This chapter shows how Lincoln viewed the Union and why he believed his presidential mandate was to maintain it at all costs. Masters provides context by retelling the history of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and state sovereignty. Idaho an…

Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho review chapter 12 of Lincoln the Man by Edgar Lee Masters. This chapter involves Master's commentary on a series of debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, who Lincoln called "Judge" Douglas. These debates help us understand the characters of both participants. Did they skirt around issues such as slavery, or di…

Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho review and analyze essay 3 of The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche. Who is this priestly ascetic class and have they psyoped us? Listen to find out how Nietzsche's concept of "the will to power" relates to the ascendence of the ascetic ideal, why morality is relative (in Nietzsche's view), and if the sick a…

In this episode, Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho discuss Essay II from the Geneology of Morals by Fredrich Nietzche. This essay troubled our hosts but ultimately provided a new and thought-provoking perspective on guilt, punishment, cruelty, and Christianity. Listen to this episode to learn about the origin of punishment, the power of guilt, and ho…

Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho set out to understand Old Terra's strange system of morality and how it originated. In this episode, we discuss the first essay of the Geneology of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche. Join us as we discuss how conceptions of good and evil arose in history and why their definitions have flipped. We also talk about the diff…

Listen to Gurnee Halleck and Duncan Idaho review Dune: Part Two!

One could argue that Frank Herbert's Dune is an attempt to wrestle with the ideas of Hobbes and Rousseau when it comes to governing. Can government successfully intertwine the consent of the governed with an absolute central authority? Dune may have some unexpected answers for us.

Join us as Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck react to Dune Part 2 Trailers! Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Way9Dexny3w&t=28s Trailer 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YUzQa_1RCE There's a surprising amount of information that can be gathered with just 5 minutes of footage. Our intreped heroes find some inconsistencies between both trail…

In this episode, Gurnee and Idaho wrap up their Carlyle homework with a discussion on Shooting Niagara: And After?. This essay remarks on England's Reform Act of 1867 which further extended voting right to male urban working men: "This delirious 'new Reform measure'...pushes us at once into the Niagara rapids: irresistibly propelled, with ever-incr…

In this episode, we discuss Occasional Discourse by Thomas Carlyle. In this essay, Carlyle explains the impact of abolitionism in the West Indies and what could be done to mend the situation. Gurney and Idaho also grapple with the real meaning of progress and try to apply the lessons of the essay to the modern world. Read our version: Essential Pol…

In this episode, we cover the last two chapters of Latter Day Pamphlets by Thomas Carlyle. In "Hudson Statue" we learn that whatever a person mumbles under their breath at their weekly worship is nothing compared to their practical hero worship. In this, they reveal their true faith and their highest values. We know it to be false when someone clai…

The Aristocrats discuss chapters 5-6 of Latter-Day Pamphlets by Thomas Carlyle. Latter Day Pamphlets were published in 1850 in the aftermath of the liberal revolutions of 1948. In this episode, we discuss each chapter's main themes and best quotes, such as why prominent organs of government and institutions have degraded into mere talking apparatus…

The Aristocrats discuss chapters 3-4 of Latter-Day Pamphlets by Thomas Carlyle. Latter Day Pamphlets were published in 1850 in the aftermath of the liberal revolutions of 1948. In this episode, we discuss each chapter's main themes and best quotes, such as the problems with the government, why talented men shy away from working in it, and why votin…

The Aristocrats discuss chapters 1-2 of Latter-Day Pamphlets by Thomas Carlyle. Latter Day Pamphlets were published in 1850 in the aftermath of the liberal Revolutions of 1948. In this episode, we discuss each chapter's main themes and best quotes, such as the weakness of democracy, the value of compulsory bonds, problems with philanthropy, and the…

Listen to part 2 of the Aristocrat's of Dune's discussion on Chartism, an essay by Thomas Carlyle. Chartism was an 1836 movement that emerged in London that sought to elevate the rights and privileges of the working class. Carlyle's critique of this movement and the "do-nothing" English government echoes beyond its time and place with its mix of re…

Gurney and Idaho discuss Chartism, an essay by Thomas Carlyle. Chartism was an 1836 movement that emerged in London that sought to elevate the rights and privileges of the working class. Carlyle's critique of this movement and the "do-nothing" English government echoes beyond its time and place with its mix of reactionary and progressive ideas.…