Totally Classic

”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!:)

Episode Twenty-Nine: ”Are Gun Control Laws Relevant?”

This week, Andy & Brendan question whether the populist response to incidents of gun violence are relevant or irrelevant... or somewhere in between!When a mass shooting tragedy unfolds AGAIN, the political and personal response seems to have been funneled into a univariate focus of "Gun Control NOW!" Is this a reasonable or unreasonable response, FUNDAMENTALLY (being that it's next to impossible to prove or disprove whether any individual actor proclaiming this as relevant is running their OS: Reason function:)? What does logic tell us? Intuition? The evidence? What does the mosaic of our operable humanity succeed to inform us in? Where does it fail?
 
What are YOUR thoughts -"Are Gun Control Laws Relevant?" In the top 5 list of mulivariates (that's perhaps an even better question - what are your top 5!?), where does "Gun Control" fall?Listen & respond!! Excelsior!

Episode Twenty-Eight - ”Does Safety Make Us Safe?”

Where do babies come from?Okay... when a Helicopter Dad meets a Tiger Mom and they love each other very very much and when they kiss and their bodies figure out from pheromones and saliva that their offspring would be more resistant to disease...
Blah blah blah they have a baby! A baby that's safer than they are. And we've been doing this for eons & getting even more serious about safety in the last few generations than ever before. Are we... getting better at it? Or have we long since crossed a cultural rubicon into weakening our progeny by keeping them away not only from the diseases we bred them to fight but all manner of "Dangers" real & imagined? This week, Andy & Brendan question whether the quest for safety is making, has made, will make us... more safe? What do you think? Go find someone who disagrees with you and start talking! That's where we're gonna try to do! Press play! 

Episode Twenty-Seven: ”Is this Pandemic a Time Machine?”

This week, Brendan brings his question to bear with Andy, positing a theory that this Pandemic offers us a glimpse into the multiverse and tells us with stunning accuracy how we would have behaved in, say, Germany in the 1930s... or in Northern California in 1942... or Mississippi in 1955OR... OR...
 
In what ways did we fail to live up to our own code of ethics these past three years and what ways did we succeed? And who would that have made us in the past? Did we just brush by the Other pleading for entry on our way to breakfast at the segregated diner? Did we loudly jeer anyone seeking to violate the impositions of the State against the freedom of select groups? Did we speak up, fight for those society turned on to indict, bully & eventually reject from public life, under threat of force? Is this a fair thesis? What can we learn from this? How can we grow? What did YOUR time travel look like?

Episode Twenty-Six: ”Is Technology Evil?” (part two of two)

Andy & Brendan continue their divigation flow through thoughts on technology (intimate & grand) concerns on AI and their own use of technology and how it enhances both the shadow and the light elements of their individual and collective selves. You are right now using some quite advanced technology to access this podcast. So... thank you?:)