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So we’re a day late getting this episode ready because we went on location, and recorded live in a real bar, located in an undisclosed location in the Free State of Texas. Here as we do show prep I’m having a glass of Oban 14, and Lucretia is having some Glenlivet, and for our recording segment I switched to one of her favorites, MacCallan 18, which, I had to admit, I liked a fair bit, even if it isn’t a peaty Islay malt. Score another win for Lucretia I suppose, though by now isn’t this getting monotonous?
Helen Andrews
But there’s a second departure from format in this episode, as we have a special guest: Helen Andrews, the editor of The American Conservative magazine (the magazine of “main street” conservatism”), and author of a terrific new book, Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster. You might well think, “Hey—I resemble that remark!” But in fact I’m a self-loathing Boomer who enjoys a thorough thrashing, so I love this book. So you should buy it!
The book is modeled loosely after the famous Lytton Strachey book of a century ago, Eminent Victorians, and like Strachey’s book, Helen looks a six prominent Boomers who represent the full range of Boomer bombast and blunderbuss, from Steve Jobs and Aaron Sorkin, to Al Sharpton and Sonia Sotomayor. (And as you might imagine, Lucretia has some sharp words for Sharpton.)
Because we taped at a real bar, with lots of real drinkers around (because Texas), the production values are, shall we say, rather. . . authentic. I’ll just leave it at that I think.
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Enjoyed the final song. Recently my wife and I were discussing our families’ backgrounds. Hers being yeoman farmers of Scotch Irish background in northeastern Mississippi, we were wondering why we never heard of any of them distilling products for the Memphis market. Glad to hear the Memphis market was being supplied.
I like Dewey.
There’s a nice series on him on my YouTube channel soon. (But the Leibniz series is probably scheduled first, and the current Nietzsche series has to finish before that.)
What a breath of fresh air it is listening to the seriously bright Helen Andrews. Thanks for having her on and spotlighting a very talented writer and thinker.
Who did the final song, and what is the title? Tried to find it but failed.
It is “Whiskey” (a requirement of any song title for this show), by New Riders of the Purple Sage.
Not only did I buy Helen’s book through your link (primarily curious about Camille Paglia and Steve Jobs, with whom my wife worked while executive producing Macintosh global product launches—and she has some stories to tell), but…
…I also decided to download the Nook app to my iPad and start a Barnes and Noble account. Every book I know my wife will have no interest in will be purchased on B&N.
That should transfer about $500 per year of revenue to B&N.
Screw you Amazon! (I always saw their logo as a big Screw You to the world.)
So fun to see that picture! (I thought Lucretia was under some kind of witness protection program.)
Where were you? Sorry I missed it.
I enjoy having my constitutional thoughts confirmed by Steven. I’d thought the maximum time a person could now be President is 10 years and he’s been saying that about Comma-la since November. Back when someone here at Ricochet was pinning his hopes on the 25th amendment, I read it and picked up on the title Acting President. Glad to hear Steven mention it in this episode. I also take from that title that the 25th amendment is not a permanent removal of the President and so probably not the solution some were hoping for.
Thanks for the song info.
Well kinda. She’s starting to take more risks. Which shouldn’t surprise any listener!
Pretty good steel guitar for a hippy band.
Delightful as usual. Sorry Steve I just have to agree with Lucretia most of the time. Must be a gal thing.
Kamala is ten pounds lighter than a straw hat and who is totally a creature of the woke crowd.
Mark, I always saw the same thing in the Amazon logo, but was told it was just because I had a perverted way of looking at things….
No way. Every guy in the world knows EXACTLY what that is. Not an accident. Bezos is not an idiot.
I’m 48 pages into Helen’s book, just finishing the Steve Jobs chapter. She is a smart cookie with a very pleasurable polemic style, and a master of little interesting details in making her case. Here’s an example: