Totally Classic

"Are We Throwing Out the Dictionary?" (pt 1 of 2)

This week on Totally Classic, Andy & Brendan wrangle with the novel semantic system progressives may have somewhat silently proposed. From topsy-turydom of classic semantics (first is typically primary) to embracing novel definitions of "racism" and "gender" and "person," much of the modern progressive philosophical set is based on these proposals. Is new always better? Is ancient wisdom always the best? Is language always evolving or can it devolve? Are these polar opposite approaches a key part of the communication difficulties between the left and right? 
Andy & Brendan try to define terms, define how they define terms and define how they make their way through the modern miasma of "one tongue, two languages!" 

Is Google/AI Racist?

This week, Andy & Brendan inquire as to the conclusions about Google's all time boondoggle of a launch of their AI platform, Gemini. Gemini was swiftly revealed to be racist, intensely politically biased and, perhaps strangest of all, heavily subjective in its output. Many germane questions resound: does AI, like children, require someone to teach them to be racist? Is this a failure of technology or ideology? Is this the summit of DEI failures or the failure to properly understand DEI? Or is this all just a mirror back to humanity itself? As always, one of the most important lessons here is that talking to people who you disagree with remains one of the most relevant tools at our - and AIs - cognitive disposal! 

"Is TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) Real?"

This week, Andy & Brendan play cultural critics (with a side of armchair psychoanalysts), attempting to ascertain whether the popular online diagnosis of TDS is a genuine phenomenon... and maybe a genuine mental illness, to boot?
We consider it highly likely you've encountered someone with TDS in your life. And maybe didn't even know it!
TDS was popularly coined as a term to describe folks who cannot seem to have a rational conversation about Donald Trump, who seem to find just about everything our former president does to be repugnant (even if its something someone they like also does). And while not being a fan of Trump or even in opposition to him much of theme has roots in reason, those with TDS go quite bit further.Our question is... do they go so far they leave the reservation of reality itself? 

"Was Dr. Claudine Gay Taken Down by Racism?"

This week, with the removal of Dr. Gay as President having finally transpired (after a month plus of extensive pressure), Andy & Brendan ask whether the theory offered by many that racism was vital in her loss of position. Specifically, they skip through the presentation of such a thesis by DEI advocate & Northwestern University (where Andy & Brendan met) Professor Alvin B. Tillery to guide their examination of how to answer this weeks' question. 

”Was January 6 an Insurrection?”

In recent weeks, both Colorado & Maine have struck likely Republican Nominee for President, Donald Trump, from their state ballots, on the basis of having been involved in "insurrection."This centers on the activities of the afternoon of January 6 at the Capitol in D.C. in 2021. Which Brendan would classify as a "nothingburger" & Andy is comfortable with "insurrection." Today, they'll question the premise under the premise that is either Constitutional justice or stabbing democracy in the back!Without rancor for one another, ya'll. It's, honestly... not hard. 

”Is ’Restorative Justice’ Justice?”

Andy & Brendan explore what "restorative justice" is, how it's being implemented & how it may or may not have become a straw man for noted recent imbroglios in legal policy.Does it center the perpetrator & abandon the victim OR does it aim to do what justice has always classically been intended to do?Does it reward misbehavior or seek to understand & remedy misbehavior?Is "Restorative Justice" anything truly innovative or a return to form? Andy & Brendan interrogate that question! What do you think?
 

Season 2, Episode 1: ”Can Palestine Be Free?”

We're back to wax philosophical & engage in dialogue on the subjects many will pretend are impossibly impassable. This week, Andy bring his experience in the West Bank last year to bear on an interrogation of the Gaza War. He & Brendan ask whether the frequent chant of protestors is even a tenable goal. Less than 2 hours on a conflict that goes back thousands of years... We hope, in some small way, it helps. 

Episode Thirty-Two: ”Is White Supremacy Real?”

In an era where headlines call Latinos, Muslims, Asian-Americans agents of "white supremacy?" it is naturally incumbent upon us to ascertain A) whether such accusations are true, in specific and B) whether such accusations are true, in the broadest sense. That is, does White Supremacy exist? Is it real? Does it permeate every thread in the fabric of our culture? Or is it a boogieman based in a blend of fact & fiction? 
This week, Andy & Brendan wrangle over traditional & novel semantic propositions of the phrase and do their best to parse out whether it exists, where it appears and where it is in obvious absentia. From White Supremacy to Black Supremacy to Burrito Supremes, it's all here on this weeks' episode  - the season finale of season 1 of Totally Classic!

Episode Thirty-One: ”Are Republicans the New Liberals?”

Have we reached the next "big switch" re: our two big, cola wars political parties in the United States?The US is a culture built upon the framework of liberalism, generally, but has it reached such a point where our popular moniker for The Left/The Democratic Party is more akin to using "literally" as "figuratively?" Would the term "liberal" now better describe The Right/The Republican Party? Is it possible the secular religious fundamentalism in one party has overtaken the traditional religious fundamentalism in the other?This week, Andy & Brendan, both with associations with the Democrat party on their ledger, ask that question!
How would YOU answer that question and why?

Episode Thirty - ” Is Binary Natural?”

A black and white thinker & a moral relativist walk into a Zoom &... talk about binaries. As popular as the swap-out of "binary" for "spectrum" has become, does the binary still have a use in our culture? The question below that question is Andy & Brendan's question today - a version of "Do binaries exist?" Is binary thought or binary construct fundamental to the very fabric of things or only (IF that) our perception of the universe, as we can perceive it?What do you think? Yes? No? (There we go, tempting you towards a binary response!:)