Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

P&C drink and review Pigweed's Cocoa / Peanut Butter Porter, then, with special guest Longinus, review the movie Conspiracy. The movie covers the Wannsee Conference of 1942, where Reinhart Heydrich gathers German leaders to discuss the "evacuation" of Jews from German-occupied territory. Heydrich (played by Kenneth Branagh) puts an exclamation point on "German efficiency." At first there is a lot of squabbling about the right approach from a legal / procedural point of view, but Heydrich leads them inexorably to a predetermined solution. The horrifying story calls to mind a quote from C.S. Lewis: "The greatest evil is ... now done ... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices."

P&C review Glutenberg, a gluten-free IPA, then, along with special guest Longinus, discuss Elie Wiesel's Night. We've covered some hard topics, but this was the most difficult. The book chronicles Wiesel's experiences leading to and then during his confinement in Auschwitz. The story takes you through all the small steps on his journey from being a boy who wants nothing more than to study Kabbalah to an innocent who is sentenced to a living Hell.

P&C Review Little Sumpin' Sumpin' from Lagunitas, then do five topics in five minutes each. * What are the actual numbers on police murders, vs. what people believe. * Thoughts on fat shaming. * LSD therapy for depression and death anxiety? * Meta humans, created by AI. What are the consequences? * Is there a health benefit to looking at breasts?

P&C drink and review Crowhill's anise-flavored porter, then discuss the differences between equality and equity. Equality focuses on equal treatment. Equity focuses on equal outcomes. Equity is the right choice in some situations, but not in others. But "equity" has become the modern rallying cry, as if it's a cure-all. Equity is particularly misplaced when it's applied to groups rather than to individuals, so the combination of equity and identity politics creates a particularly bad outcome.

P&C drink and review O'Hara's Irish stout, then talk about UFOs. Is there some great conspiracy to hide evidence that aliens have come to earth, or is it just a big nothing-burger? P&C discuss the Fermi paradox and the Drake equation, and review some of the arguments that aliens have visited earth -- and find them wanting.

P&C drink and review a double IPA, then discuss the 3-headed hydra of cancel culture: canceling the present, erasing the past, and banning people for the future. We're starting to see examples of the media editing old stories to change the past. It's literally Orwellian. We see new initiatives to erase literal crimes to give someone a fresh start, but thought crimes from decades ago ruin lives. And then there's the move to erase Donald Trump from Home Alone 2.

P&C drink and review 51 Rye by Monument City Brewing, then discuss plastic bans, and the pros and cons of plastic in general. Plastics reduce food waste. They make cars lighter, and therefore more fuel efficient. They reduce the costs of many products. But there's a negative side, some of which has been exaggerated out of context. P&C try to sort it all.

P&C drink and review Madura Brown Ale from Cigar City Brewing, then discuss indications that a company might not be a good fit. + They have an equity, diversion and inclusion office, or require such classes. + They want to review your social media. + The boss can't remember the last time he praised an employee. + They speak badly of former employees. + They expect you to work long hours. + They've canceled people, or gone along with it. + Plus lots more.

P&C drink and review some hot and cold sake, then discuss gaslighting. They start with a review of the 1940 film with Ingrid Bergman to get the original meaning of the term, then, along with special guest Longinus, go through a list of modern issues that might or might not be gaslighting. The goal of gaslighting is to get the person being gaslighted (gaslit?) to accept as true something the gaslighter knows is false, to the benefit of the gaslighter. But as you go through things that have been held up as examples, it can get complicated. * Does it have to be a single deceiver on a single victim? * Does there have to be an intent to deceive? * Does it have to be sustained -- not a one-off? * Does there need to be malice involved? * Is a sign of gaslighting that "the argument is over"? * Can there be unintentional gaslighting? * What if you're lying in service of a greater good? By the end of this show you might not have a perfect answer, but you'll have a better sense of the concept.

P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada's bottle-conditioned porter, then discuss Ayn Rand and objectivism with special guest Longinus. They quickly review the basic tenets of objectivism, then discuss how those ideas play out in three works: Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead, and Anthem. The boys discuss what Rand's ideas mean, and whether they're useful and applicable in the real world.

P&C drink and review a hazy IPA from Sam Adams, then do five topics in five minutes each. #1 - What's up with the Game Stop / WallStreetBets / Robinhood deal? #2 - Has the pill changed what women like in men? #3 - Will the Biden administration forgive student loans? #4 - Awards shows have become pointless #5 - What is right-wing?

P&C drink and review Pigweed's homebrewed winter warmer, then discuss executive orders. What is the function and purpose of an executive order? Is it a way to get around Congress? What are the limits? Is this one of the ways the imperial presidency has usurped the legislative function, or is it a valid power of the executive? The boys look at the history of this strange executive power and comment on its use.

P&C drink and review Dirty Little Freak, a flavorful brown ale from DuClaw Brewery, then discuss the Enlightenment.  What was the Enlightenment, when did it happen, and what ideas did it produce? Why has it come under fire from some quarters today? Should we value the Enlightenment, or is it just another example of racism and white privilege? 

P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada's Celebration Fresh Hop IPA, then talk about totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and fascism. Following up, they evaluate Rod Dreher's "soft totalitarianism" from "Live Not by Lies." P&C think Dreher has the label wrong. We're at a cross-roads. Is there time (or the will) to stop the growing tech-inspired soft authoritarianism?

P&C drink and review Old Speckled Hen, then talk about ACAB.  Is the central intent of policing to surveil, terrorize, capture and kill marginalized populations, specifically black folk? There are people in our society who are promoting that view. The media, politicians and similar cretins keep feeding us a narrative that we have an epidemic of white cops killing unarmed black people. Is it true?

P&C drink Southern Belle, an imperial brown ale, then discuss problems in science. It would be nice to believe that we can rely on science. Scientists are supposed to be dispassionate, purely rational people who follow the evidence where it leaves. P&C call BS. Science is as influenced by politics, ideology, ambition, egos, trends and fads as anything else. So how are we supposed to "trust the science"? And what is "the science" anyway?

P&C drink and review a Mexican stout, then discuss Mao's cultural revolution. They review some of the basic history, and then explore whether there are similarities between the cultural revolution and modern wokeness. And in fact ... there are. Weaponizing students. Standards that are so vague and ever-changing that you can never know if you're in or out. Overthrowing everything that seems outdated with no idea what you're going to replace it with. Cancel culture. Rejecting everything old or traditional. Struggle sessions = diversity classes. Art exists to advance social justice messages. It's a scary comparison.

P&C discuss the Georgia elections and the prospect of Democrats controlling the Senate, then address the big story -- the attack on the Capitol. There are a few important points to be made. First, this kind of violence needs to be condemned in no uncertain terms. Second, Trump's behavior and language was completely unacceptable. Third, the long-term implications of this event are hard to predict, but will be very negative for Trump.