America at 250

America at 250

This week: America turns 250! 🎉 …or was that too enthusiastic? We dig into the numbers on where patriotism actually stands from a recent Gallop poll: who’s waving the flag, who’s proud, and who thinks the whole thing is deeply sus. Are we all just performing anti-American subversion for our social media followings? Is true blue pride possible in such a cynical environment? Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of cringe.

Dead Presidents Society

This week, we dig into history-literally. Author Kurt Deion joins us to talk about his quest to visit every presidential gravesite, the book it inspired, and why cemeteries might be America’s most underrated history museums. For more on Kurt’s work, visit his YouTube channel:

A Very Bloomsday Episode!

It’s June 16th — Bloomsday — and Johnny just finished one of the most legendary challenges in all of literature. In this episode, the crew celebrates his completion of James Joyce’s Ulysses, unpacking who Leopold Bloom really is, what it’s like to surrender to Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness prose, and how emerging from the other side of this 265,000-word masterpiece quietly changes you. A perfect listen for anyone who’s read it, abandoned it, or is still summoning the courage.

I Survived A Congressional Campaign

This week, Jess emerges from the strange and exhausting world of California politics after helping run a campaign for Nancy Pelosi’s open congressional seat. We unpack the consultants, cash, dirty tricks, viral moments, manufactured narratives, and genuine human connections that define modern campaigns. What happens when months of effort, hope, and adrenaline all culminate in a single election night and what’s left behind when the signs come down and everyone goes home?

Jurassic Farce

This week, friend of the show Ilya joins us as we explore the strange world of dinosaur denialism and the history of early paleontology. Rather than dismissing skeptics out of hand, we try to steelman some of their arguments and ask a deeper question: why should anyone accept the scientific method in the first place? From the fierce competition surrounding early fossil discoveries to the birth of a new scientific discipline, we examine how evidence earns trust, why some people are drawn to grand narratives over careful analysis, and how to pursue truth in an age where shock often wins out over truth.