Month: April 2025

The boys drink and review Delicious IPA from Stone, then discuss prisons, and whether we’re in a digital version of one.

The “panopticon” is a prison design invented by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The idea is that if you make prisoners feel as if they’re constantly under surveillance, the prisoners will regulate themselves and the guards won’t have to bang them about so much.

Modern prisons have adopted some of Bentham’s ideas, but so have many other institutions.

Foucault said this idea was the blueprint for all modern institutions. Schools, hospitals, and other organizations enforce conformity by defining what is “normal” and by constant surveillance.

Stephen Cave added the concept of a “freedom quotient” by which we can determine how much freedom a person can exercise in any given situation.

The boys tie it all together and ask whether the modern world is a digital prison. We know we’re being surveilled. We know we’re supposed to follow what the powerful have defined as “normal.”

P&C drink and review a blonde ale from the Brookeville Beer Farm, then discuss the process of de-extinction — bringing animals back from the graves of history.

Using DNA from dire wolf fossils from 13,000 and 72,000 years ago, Colossal Biosciences claims to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction.

What they really did was edit the genes of a gray wolf to look a little more like a dire wolf. The pups — Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi — are white and a little large, but they’re not dire wolves. They’re just gray wolves that have had some work done.

The project raises larger questions. Is de-extinction a good idea? Should we bring back extinct species?

The boys discuss.

P&C drink and review an excellent Scottish ale from Bellhaven, then discuss judicial tyranny.

Judges have a legitimate role in checking the power of Congress and the president. But can that power be taken too far?

Recently we’ve had a rash of “universal injunctions” against the Trump administration. Is that a proper use of judicial power, or have they taken it too far?

It seems that Congress has become irrelevant. The president and the courts legislate while Congress has hearings on things.

What are the limits on judicial power?

P&C drink and review a special Stout from Guinness then discuss the controversy over Snow White.

No, not that one. The boys start off with a comparison of the Disney version of the story with the version from the brothers Grimm. Disney filed off some of the rough edges.

They also discuss Tolkien’s dislike of Disney, and why. They examine the role of fairy tales, and whether it’s right to dial things back for the kids.

Late in the show they also discuss “Snow Woke” with Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.

Are children better off with our watered down, saccharine stories, or did they grow up better when the heard about the dangers of life.

In this provocative episode, Pigweed and Crowhill explore a troubling question: Why does the modern political left seem so comfortable with violence? From vandalism and verbal threats to outright attacks on political opponents, the boys examine real-world examples — from keyed Teslas and firebombed dealerships to violent rhetoric at rallies and social media.

They also take a philosophical turn, asking what might be going on psychologically and morally. Is victimhood being used as a moral loophole to justify aggressive behavior? Why do some on the left excuse or applaud violent actors, from radical activists to international terror groups?

Expect sharp commentary, cultural analysis, and a discussion of figures like Slavoj Žižek.

The boys drink and review Bitburger, a German Pilsner, then discuss Crowhill’s book about Jordan Peterson’s religious views, and what we can piece together of his religious journey.

Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist who broke onto the public scene after Canada decided to tell people how they can and can’t speak. He wasn’t having any part of it.

Part of Peterson’s mystique is his very public struggle with religious questions.

His recent book, “We Who Wrestle With God” is his latest foray into the topic, mixing evolutionary biology, Jungian archetypes, the Bible, and timeless religious and moral questions.

It’s full of interesting insights, but it’s a bit of a jumbled mess.

Crowhill makes an attempt to systematize and organize Peterson’s thoughts into a coherent system. In today’s episode, Pigweed, Crowhill, and special guest Longinus, discuss the book and draw out some of its key points.

With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review a mexican lager, then dive into one of the most obscure and incomprehensible poems on the planet.

Eliot’s The Waste Land is one of the most important — and most confusing — poems of the 20th century. The poem includes fragmented voices, obscure references, and a bleak vision of modern life. What exactly was Eliot trying to say, and why has this chaotic mess of a poem endured for over a hundred years?

In this episode, we dig into the madness:

Why the poem reads like a literary fever dream

How World War I, ancient myths, and personal breakdowns all bleed into the text

The role of religion, sex, and disillusionment in shaping the poem’s core message

And why lines like “April is the cruellest month” still hit hard today

Whether you’re a student drowning in footnotes or a lit lover trying to make sense of Eliot’s masterpiece, this is your no-BS guide to The Waste Land. Bring your sense of curiosity — and maybe a glass of something strong.

The boys drink and review Sun Camp by Dewey Beer Company, then discuss the potential strategic reasoning behind Trump’s threatening statements towards Canada and Greenland.

The boys react to a LinkedIn post that flips your mental map of the world — literally. What if you looked at the globe from the top down? Suddenly, the Arctic isn’t a frozen afterthought, it’s the new front line.

❄️ Is climate change turning ice into opportunity?

As the Arctic melts, it opens up shipping lanes and exposes a treasure trove of natural resources: oil, gas, rare earths, and more. Russia’s already militarizing. China’s nosing in. And the U.S.? Scrambling to catch up.

What’s at stake for the U.S.?

* Security: Russian nukes and Chinese icebreakers are already in the game.
* Resources: Greenland’s rare earths could break China’s monopoly.
* Influence: Whoever controls the Arctic will shape global trade, energy, and power.

Greenland matters more than you think, and so does Canada. The North is becoming a high-stakes geopolitical chessboard, and the U.S. can’t afford to ignore it.

The boys drink and review “Pub Ale” from Black Abbey Brewery, then discuss nonprofits and non-governmental organizations.

What does “nonprofit” really mean? Does that mean nobody’s making any money? Hardly.

Governments love to outsource shady operations, and nonprofits are often the cover. In this video, we expose how the nonprofit and NGO world isn’t always the virtuous, do-gooder space it pretends to be. From political manipulation to financial shell games, we dig into how “nonprofit” doesn’t always mean “non-corrupt.”

You’ll learn:

How governments use NGOs to bypass legal and political accountability

Why the nonprofit label is often more about image than ethics

Real-world examples of abuse and power games hiding behind charity work

This isn’t about attacking the entire sector. There are plenty of honest orgs doing great work. But if you work with, donate to, or depend on nonprofits, you need to see how the system can be gamed.