Dr. Sam dissects the merits and severe shortcomings of the notable new books The Dawn of Everything and The Strange Death of Europe, along with deep dives into the historical context of the on-screen dramas of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “The Green Knight”, “Game of Thrones”, and “Outlander”, plus he explores the nostalgia and lingering dread that permeates shows like “The Americans” and “Stranger Things” with Sonia Saraiya of Vanity Fair, and much more…
Featured Playlist Episode:
Through a Glass Darkly:
The 1980s in Current Television —
A Conversation with Sonia Saraiya
of Vanity Fair
What’s with the spate of 1980s themes on current “prestige” television? Is it Gen. X. nostalgia for their youthful days in suburban malls? Or something more? Television critic Sonia Saraiya discusses how our unresolved identity crises seem to have led us into a fascination with the last years of the Cold War, and with the secret mistakes and machinations that took place on both sides of the old Iron Curtain. More…
Dissecting the "Dawn of Everything" - A Conversation with Geoff Shullenberger
I join with Geoff Shullenberger of "Outsider Theory" to discuss the sweeping and challenging new book, "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow. We consider the book's marshalling of new archaeological evidence to debunk mechanistic and deterministic assumptions about the rise of civilization, its deep rejection of Marxism, and its insistence on the human ability to imagine and create an infinite range of social and political futures. We examine the weaknesses and limitations of the book, including its over-emphasis on personal freedom, its gross inaccuracy with regard to the eighteenth century, and its blindspot regarding the profound powers of myth, ritual, and the natural environment, all of which deeply guide and shape societies in ways that Graeber & Wengrow ignore or casually discount.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
2021 in Historical Context -- Global Crisis, Labor Unrest, and "It's A Wonderful Life"
We consider the strange ambiguous developments of this year, including the political paralysis in the US, the furors over mask and vaccine mandates, and most importantly, the labor reshuffle or "great resignation," in light of crises past, including the bubonic plague and World War I and World War II, which have tended to bring class conflict and upheavals of the labor regime in their wakes. We examine the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie "It's A Wonderful Life," made 75 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, as an illustration of the post-war settlement that has shaped the conditions of work and home life since that time, and finally thank the 116 patrons that currently support this podcast.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Film: The Green Knight - History, Myth, and Modern Shame - A Historian's View
We consider the narrative structure, symbols, and meanings of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the context of the Middle Ages and the Arthurian cycle, and how the 2021 movie staring Dev Patel has been adjusted to speak to modern sensibilities. I argue that the Green Knight myth has relevance today as a parable about shame.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode DetailsAlso see The Arthur Cycle - Three Episodes
Through a Glass Darkly: The 1980s in Current Television -- A Conversation with Sonia Saraiya
What's with the spate of 1980s themes on current "prestige" television? Is it Gen. X. nostalgia for their youthful days in suburban malls? Or something more? Television critic Sonia Saraiya discusses how our unresolved identity crises seem to have led us into a fascination with the last years of the Cold War, and with the secret mistakes and machinations that took place on both sides of the old Iron Curtain. (Also listen for contributions from Kali the cat.)
The pledges for this instalment will be split evenly between the two collaborators.
Television series discussed: "The Americans," "Stranger Things," "When They See Us," "Chernobyl," "Leaving Neverland"Correction: The famous quote that nuclear power is "a hell of a way to boil water" comes from journalist Karl Grossman's 1980 book, "Cover Up."
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Special Comment: Monarchy, Magic, and the Modern Romance of "Game of Thrones"
Two secret informants and I continue our conversation stemming from Game of Thrones, wherein we consider the relationship of monarchy and magic to the malaise of modern life. Why did British rulers claim the power to heal the sick by the touch of a hand, and why did a group of Scottish students in the 1950s break into Westminster Abbey to steal a 300-pound slab of sandstone called the "Stone of Destiny"? More broadly, why are modern people still obsessed with stories of kings and queens, and why do we tune in by the millions to see a royal wedding? The furor over Game of Thrones is just the latest demonstration that monarchy serves as a symbolic anchor in a chaotic world, and the desire for such an anchor is just as strong today as it was in the depth of the Dark Age.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Myth of The Month 7: Game of Thrones
We examine George R. R. Martin's new mythology for the middle class: the TV series Game of Thrones and the series of books upon which it is based. Martin and his collaborators draw on the 15th-century Wars of the Roses and later dynastic struggles in Britain to present an amoral world, lacking in honor, bereft of cosmic justice, and eerily reminiscent of the contemporary West. We examine historical precedents for the "Red Wedding," and the symbolic resonance of characters such as the Starks and Littlefinger. Finally we consider the possible historical meaning of the show's final-season premier date of April 14th.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
I discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of Patrick Deneen's critique of liberalism, and put forward my own slightly different argument that liberalism is like a cargo cult - taking ordinary human creations and elevating them to products of divine intervention. George Carlin helps out along the way, and we close with a consideration of the recent "market capitalism" controversy stirred up by Tucker Carlson.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
In the first half of my discussion of Patrick Deneen's "Why Liberalism Failed," I examine the structure of Deneen's argument, tracing his effort to connect present-day crises in education, science, culture, and morality to the fundamental flaws in "liberalism," which he calls the "operating system" of modern Western society, and which he claims has left us isolated, lonely, and afraid, with our social system possibly on the brink of collapse into a totalitarian nightmare. Cheers! I will not charge patrons for this commentary until I post the second part.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
The History of Scotland, the Romance of Scotland, and "Outlander"
What is behind the popularity of Outlander? Why have crazed fans of the show from around the world begun to overrun Scottish castles? – and why did the UK Prime Minister secretly meet with TV executives to stop its premier in 2014? We examine the show’s success in light of Scottish history and politics, and in the context of the ongoing romance of Scotland, by which modern people project their longings for tradition, attachment, and honor onto a small, craggy country in the north of Britain.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
In the second part of our discussion of Douglas Murray's "The Strange Death of Europe," we examine the history of social cohesion and identity in Europe. We point out Murray's failure to mention Brexit as a sign of the inherent weakness in European identity, and consider the complicated and challenging roots of modern-day terrorism in Europe.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
The first part of an examination and discussion of Douglas Murray's controversial book, "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam" (Bloomsbury, 2017), and its dire warning that a wave of migrants with beliefs and customs inimical to the West are on the verge of changing Europe forever. We weigh his careful debunking of elite mythology about immigration against his own falsehoods and manipulations of the facts. Finally, we consider his harrowing portrayal of a continent adrift without a sense of purpose, history, or belonging, and the truly difficult questions that it raises.(I will not charge patrons for this review until I post the second part).
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
Dissecting the "Dawn of Everything" - A Conversation with Geoff Shullenberger
I join with Geoff Shullenberger of "Outsider Theory" to discuss the sweeping and challenging new book, "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow. We consider the book's marshalling of new archaeological evidence to debunk mechanistic and deterministic assumptions about the rise of civilization, its deep rejection of Marxism, and its insistence on the human ability to imagine and create an infinite range of social and political futures. We examine the weaknesses and limitations of the book, including its over-emphasis on personal freedom, its gross inaccuracy with regard to the eighteenth century, and its blindspot regarding the profound powers of myth, ritual, and the natural environment, all of which deeply guide and shape societies in ways that Graeber & Wengrow ignore or casually discount.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
2021 in Historical Context -- Global Crisis, Labor Unrest, and "It's A Wonderful Life"
We consider the strange ambiguous developments of this year, including the political paralysis in the US, the furors over mask and vaccine mandates, and most importantly, the labor reshuffle or "great resignation," in light of crises past, including the bubonic plague and World War I and World War II, which have tended to bring class conflict and upheavals of the labor regime in their wakes. We examine the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie "It's A Wonderful Life," made 75 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, as an illustration of the post-war settlement that has shaped the conditions of work and home life since that time, and finally thank the 116 patrons that currently support this podcast.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Film: The Green Knight - History, Myth, and Modern Shame - A Historian's View
We consider the narrative structure, symbols, and meanings of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the context of the Middle Ages and the Arthurian cycle, and how the 2021 movie staring Dev Patel has been adjusted to speak to modern sensibilities. I argue that the Green Knight myth has relevance today as a parable about shame.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode DetailsAlso see The Arthur Cycle - Three Episodes
Through a Glass Darkly: The 1980s in Current Television -- A Conversation with Sonia Saraiya
What's with the spate of 1980s themes on current "prestige" television? Is it Gen. X. nostalgia for their youthful days in suburban malls? Or something more? Television critic Sonia Saraiya discusses how our unresolved identity crises seem to have led us into a fascination with the last years of the Cold War, and with the secret mistakes and machinations that took place on both sides of the old Iron Curtain. (Also listen for contributions from Kali the cat.)
The pledges for this instalment will be split evenly between the two collaborators.
Television series discussed: "The Americans," "Stranger Things," "When They See Us," "Chernobyl," "Leaving Neverland"Correction: The famous quote that nuclear power is "a hell of a way to boil water" comes from journalist Karl Grossman's 1980 book, "Cover Up."
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Special Comment: Monarchy, Magic, and the Modern Romance of "Game of Thrones"
Two secret informants and I continue our conversation stemming from Game of Thrones, wherein we consider the relationship of monarchy and magic to the malaise of modern life. Why did British rulers claim the power to heal the sick by the touch of a hand, and why did a group of Scottish students in the 1950s break into Westminster Abbey to steal a 300-pound slab of sandstone called the "Stone of Destiny"? More broadly, why are modern people still obsessed with stories of kings and queens, and why do we tune in by the millions to see a royal wedding? The furor over Game of Thrones is just the latest demonstration that monarchy serves as a symbolic anchor in a chaotic world, and the desire for such an anchor is just as strong today as it was in the depth of the Dark Age.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Myth of The Month 7: Game of Thrones
We examine George R. R. Martin's new mythology for the middle class: the TV series Game of Thrones and the series of books upon which it is based. Martin and his collaborators draw on the 15th-century Wars of the Roses and later dynastic struggles in Britain to present an amoral world, lacking in honor, bereft of cosmic justice, and eerily reminiscent of the contemporary West. We examine historical precedents for the "Red Wedding," and the symbolic resonance of characters such as the Starks and Littlefinger. Finally we consider the possible historical meaning of the show's final-season premier date of April 14th.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
I discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of Patrick Deneen's critique of liberalism, and put forward my own slightly different argument that liberalism is like a cargo cult - taking ordinary human creations and elevating them to products of divine intervention. George Carlin helps out along the way, and we close with a consideration of the recent "market capitalism" controversy stirred up by Tucker Carlson.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
In the first half of my discussion of Patrick Deneen's "Why Liberalism Failed," I examine the structure of Deneen's argument, tracing his effort to connect present-day crises in education, science, culture, and morality to the fundamental flaws in "liberalism," which he calls the "operating system" of modern Western society, and which he claims has left us isolated, lonely, and afraid, with our social system possibly on the brink of collapse into a totalitarian nightmare. Cheers! I will not charge patrons for this commentary until I post the second part.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
The History of Scotland, the Romance of Scotland, and "Outlander"
What is behind the popularity of Outlander? Why have crazed fans of the show from around the world begun to overrun Scottish castles? – and why did the UK Prime Minister secretly meet with TV executives to stop its premier in 2014? We examine the show’s success in light of Scottish history and politics, and in the context of the ongoing romance of Scotland, by which modern people project their longings for tradition, attachment, and honor onto a small, craggy country in the north of Britain.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
In the second part of our discussion of Douglas Murray's "The Strange Death of Europe," we examine the history of social cohesion and identity in Europe. We point out Murray's failure to mention Brexit as a sign of the inherent weakness in European identity, and consider the complicated and challenging roots of modern-day terrorism in Europe.
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
The first part of an examination and discussion of Douglas Murray's controversial book, "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam" (Bloomsbury, 2017), and its dire warning that a wave of migrants with beliefs and customs inimical to the West are on the verge of changing Europe forever. We weigh his careful debunking of elite mythology about immigration against his own falsehoods and manipulations of the facts. Finally, we consider his harrowing portrayal of a continent adrift without a sense of purpose, history, or belonging, and the truly difficult questions that it raises.(I will not charge patrons for this review until I post the second part).
Listen on SoundCloud
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
Dissecting the "Dawn of Everything" - A Conversation with Geoff Shullenberger
I join with Geoff Shullenberger of "Outsider Theory" to discuss the sweeping and challenging new book, "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow. We consider the book's marshalling of new archaeological evidence to debunk mechanistic and deterministic assumptions about the rise of civilization, its deep rejection of Marxism, and its insistence on the human ability to imagine and create an infinite range of social and political futures. We examine the weaknesses and limitations of the book, including its over-emphasis on personal freedom, its gross inaccuracy with regard to the eighteenth century, and its blindspot regarding the profound powers of myth, ritual, and the natural environment, all of which deeply guide and shape societies in ways that Graeber & Wengrow ignore or casually discount.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
2021 in Historical Context -- Global Crisis, Labor Unrest, and "It's A Wonderful Life"
We consider the strange ambiguous developments of this year, including the political paralysis in the US, the furors over mask and vaccine mandates, and most importantly, the labor reshuffle or "great resignation," in light of crises past, including the bubonic plague and World War I and World War II, which have tended to bring class conflict and upheavals of the labor regime in their wakes. We examine the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie "It's A Wonderful Life," made 75 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, as an illustration of the post-war settlement that has shaped the conditions of work and home life since that time, and finally thank the 116 patrons that currently support this podcast.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Film: The Green Knight - History, Myth, and Modern Shame - A Historian's View
We consider the narrative structure, symbols, and meanings of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the context of the Middle Ages and the Arthurian cycle, and how the 2021 movie staring Dev Patel has been adjusted to speak to modern sensibilities. I argue that the Green Knight myth has relevance today as a parable about shame.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode DetailsAlso see The Arthur Cycle - Three Episodes
Through a Glass Darkly: The 1980s in Current Television -- A Conversation with Sonia Saraiya
What's with the spate of 1980s themes on current "prestige" television? Is it Gen. X. nostalgia for their youthful days in suburban malls? Or something more? Television critic Sonia Saraiya discusses how our unresolved identity crises seem to have led us into a fascination with the last years of the Cold War, and with the secret mistakes and machinations that took place on both sides of the old Iron Curtain. (Also listen for contributions from Kali the cat.)
The pledges for this instalment will be split evenly between the two collaborators.
Television series discussed: "The Americans," "Stranger Things," "When They See Us," "Chernobyl," "Leaving Neverland"Correction: The famous quote that nuclear power is "a hell of a way to boil water" comes from journalist Karl Grossman's 1980 book, "Cover Up."
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Special Comment: Monarchy, Magic, and the Modern Romance of "Game of Thrones"
Two secret informants and I continue our conversation stemming from Game of Thrones, wherein we consider the relationship of monarchy and magic to the malaise of modern life. Why did British rulers claim the power to heal the sick by the touch of a hand, and why did a group of Scottish students in the 1950s break into Westminster Abbey to steal a 300-pound slab of sandstone called the "Stone of Destiny"? More broadly, why are modern people still obsessed with stories of kings and queens, and why do we tune in by the millions to see a royal wedding? The furor over Game of Thrones is just the latest demonstration that monarchy serves as a symbolic anchor in a chaotic world, and the desire for such an anchor is just as strong today as it was in the depth of the Dark Age.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Myth of The Month 7: Game of Thrones
We examine George R. R. Martin's new mythology for the middle class: the TV series Game of Thrones and the series of books upon which it is based. Martin and his collaborators draw on the 15th-century Wars of the Roses and later dynastic struggles in Britain to present an amoral world, lacking in honor, bereft of cosmic justice, and eerily reminiscent of the contemporary West. We examine historical precedents for the "Red Wedding," and the symbolic resonance of characters such as the Starks and Littlefinger. Finally we consider the possible historical meaning of the show's final-season premier date of April 14th.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
I discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of Patrick Deneen's critique of liberalism, and put forward my own slightly different argument that liberalism is like a cargo cult - taking ordinary human creations and elevating them to products of divine intervention. George Carlin helps out along the way, and we close with a consideration of the recent "market capitalism" controversy stirred up by Tucker Carlson.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 1
In the first half of my discussion of Patrick Deneen's "Why Liberalism Failed," I examine the structure of Deneen's argument, tracing his effort to connect present-day crises in education, science, culture, and morality to the fundamental flaws in "liberalism," which he calls the "operating system" of modern Western society, and which he claims has left us isolated, lonely, and afraid, with our social system possibly on the brink of collapse into a totalitarian nightmare. Cheers! I will not charge patrons for this commentary until I post the second part.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "Why Liberalism Failed" -- Part 2
The History of Scotland, the Romance of Scotland, and "Outlander"
What is behind the popularity of Outlander? Why have crazed fans of the show from around the world begun to overrun Scottish castles? – and why did the UK Prime Minister secretly meet with TV executives to stop its premier in 2014? We examine the show’s success in light of Scottish history and politics, and in the context of the ongoing romance of Scotland, by which modern people project their longings for tradition, attachment, and honor onto a small, craggy country in the north of Britain.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
In the second part of our discussion of Douglas Murray's "The Strange Death of Europe," we examine the history of social cohesion and identity in Europe. We point out Murray's failure to mention Brexit as a sign of the inherent weakness in European identity, and consider the complicated and challenging roots of modern-day terrorism in Europe.
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 1
The first part of an examination and discussion of Douglas Murray's controversial book, "The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam" (Bloomsbury, 2017), and its dire warning that a wave of migrants with beliefs and customs inimical to the West are on the verge of changing Europe forever. We weigh his careful debunking of elite mythology about immigration against his own falsehoods and manipulations of the facts. Finally, we consider his harrowing portrayal of a continent adrift without a sense of purpose, history, or belonging, and the truly difficult questions that it raises.(I will not charge patrons for this review until I post the second part).
Listen on YouTube
Full Episode Details
Also see Book Review: "The Strange Death of Europe" -- Part 2
Additional Book Commentary to Explore:
Don Quixote by Cervantes
In the last 20 mins of the episode on “The Print and Gunpowder Revolutions” Dr. Sam examines the first great psychological novel, reflecting how society became ever more centered on royal power and patronage by a singular monarch, leaving behind a vestigial nobility to seek out a new role in the world or give way to nostalgia and fantasy – serving as a touchstone of the shift from the medieval world, where reality is defined by social relationships, to the modern, where reality is defined by the senses. More
Additional Book Commentary to Explore:
The Voynich Manuscript, the World’s Most Mysterious Book
The Voynich Manuscript – often called the “world’s most mysterious book” – consists in 116 leaves of parchment covered in outlandish botanical and astrological drawings and thousands of lines of undeciphered text in an unknown language. A century after images of the codex were first published, still not one line has been decoded. What could it say? And more importantly from the historical perspective, who created it and why? More
Things You Don’t Know
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