Constructive Interference

Did you know that women commit 100% of space crime? It’s true! True, and highly misleading, much like statistics used to justify social policies like gun control.We talk about why guns are actually good for society, why arguments for gun control fail, and why we aren’t excited for another “Matrix” movie.Links:Anne McClain, the first and (and currently only) space criminal.Mass media’s wildly exaggerated claims about the number of mass shootings.Violent crime has been steadily decreasing for the last 25+ years.Australia’s infamous gun ban did not reduce violence.Crime in LondonThe American Assault Weapons Ban (expired in 2004)Public opinion on guns and gun bans

"Bully language" has become ubiquitous in American public discourse. What does that mean for our society?We discuss round 2 of the Democratic “battle royale” debates, TrumpTweets™, what “bullying” really means, and what all of this means for the future.

We have a guest with us this time, and if you follow the gaming community on YouTube at all, you probably know him. Kelly Van Achte, AKA The Act Man, joins us to discuss the future of gaming, what makes a great game, and what the huge and growing gaming community can do to shield itself against the PC nonsense that’s been infiltrating it.The Act Man on YouTube

With 20+ candidates, the Democratic primaries are looking like a battle royale game.We discuss the recent debate, the proper role of government, and whether Apex Legends will ever be able to compete with Fortnite.

For years, the “mainstream media” has been slowly losing its audience while internet-based “new media” has ascended. Recently we’ve seen several incidents of “mainstream” corporations attempting to use their clout to de-platform small, independent competitors. Is this a new normal? Will such attacks work, or will this tactic backfire on the “mainstream” giants?Also, E3 2019.

10 out of 10 pop songs tell us that “love” is the most important thing in life. But what does that mean? Is “falling in love” really that important? Should it be?We discuss pop culture’s conception of love, how the conception impacts our thinking, how it evolved, and why it’s probably a bad thing.

We hop from revolution in Venezuela, to The Avengers, to a discussion of some our favorite artworks, and why they are meaningful to us. We each picked three game or movies. We tell you why we think they are excellent, and why they are meaningful to us.Joel’s picks:Assassin’s Creed 2Halo 2BraveheartJosh’s picks:DishonoredThe WitnessWhat Remains of Edith Finch

The mainstream pro-life movement (by which I mean the Republican Party) is extremely frustrating. It’s frustrating because it has no consistency; even to people who oppose abortion, pro-life actions and arguments often don’t make a lot of sense.Links:Jeff Leach’s statement on blocking HB896.Text of HB896.From the Washington Post: "Heartbeat bills are illegal. Why do Republicans keep passing them?"From the Federalist: "We Hide The Truth About Abortion Because It Condemns Us All"Liz Harman of Princeton University talks to James Franco about the ethics of abortion

For more than two years, Democrats in the media and in Washington have been counting on the “Russiagate” scandal to destroy Trump. With the completion of the Mueller report, it seems that that isn’t going to happen.So what do they do now?From CNN: "About 4 in 10 voters in the Fox News poll out Sunday said there's no chance at all that something in the report could make them change their minds and 29% said there's only a small chance."From NPR: 2020 candidates consider “reparations.” From Fox News: 15 "far out" ideas from 2020 candidates.

Facebook jails, twitter bans, Youtube demonetizes, and Google buries. Do the tech giants have “monopolies?” Are they too powerful? Too biased? Do we need government to step in and regulate them?Tim Pool on Facebook dying Tim Pool on Twitter dying New Zealand mosque attack shows need for Congress to regulate Facebook by Michael BugejaEpisode 21 (Social Capital) was a record-setter for most listens in the first week. Thanks to all of you who listened, and extra thanks to anyone who shared or told a friend!

A recent poll of Iowa Democrats showed 56% of likely caucusgoers are okay with a candidate who wants to the US to be more socialist. This is a shocking change from a generation ago.Socialism is bad (spoilers!), but why is it bad, and how can we discuss it productively?

“Judge not,” they say. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” they say. But is it really wrong to judge? And what does it even mean to judge someone?Joel and Josh are together again after two solo shows.Links:“My Faith Does Not Discriminate”The Bible (all of it!)

History is complicated, but complex history is a nuisance when you have an agenda to promote. In this episode, Josh tackles 5 common historical narratives and explains why none of them really explain history.Links:Philippine-American WarThe “1400-year war"The “wage gap” mythThe Moors in Europe

Can people really get by without some concept of God?Many people in the modern world believe that “religion” is outmoded and that ideas like “sin” are obsolete, if not outright harmful. But can people really operate without any such ideas? What happens when they try?Links:Trump tweets support for Bible literacy classesJefferson’s “separation of church and state” letter"Raising Children Without the Concept of Sin" by Julia Scheeres“The Story of the Madman” by Friedrich NietzscheThis episode features music by Caleb Hugo.

Two huge incidents of “fake news” have further tarnished the reputation of the press this past week. First there was “Trump told Cohen to lie to Congress.” Then there was “MAGA teens harass Native American.” Both were top headlines for one day before being revealed as fiction.Why does this happen? What can we do about it?Links:Trust in news media is up vs 2016BBC, Fox News, and PBS are most trustedCNN and MSNBC go impeachment-crazy over Buzzfeed storyDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter:Facebook.com/thecishowTwitter: @TheCIshow

Corresponding with the rise of the “alt-right” in recent years has been the rise in popularity of what its proponents call “race realism.” This new iteration of racism is supposed to be more “scientific” than ones from the past, but is it really? Does the idea of judging people by race even make sense at all?Links:Stefan Molyneux TweetThe Steve King boil-over, from the New York TimesRe: Race Realism, by Josh HugoNotes from The Guardian on Nazi ScienceInformation on the link between fatherlessness and poverty, from Focus on the Family

Why can’t the Republican Party sell? Border security should be a winning issue, so why do Republicans keep losing?Why can’t Christian movies sell? Religious themes have and should appeal to a wide audience, but so why does Christian art seem limited to “for us, by us?"National attitudes on immigration reformNumbers of unaccompanied minors cross the Southern borderHas Hollywood Finally Found God? by Tim StanleyWhy Christians Movies Are So Terrible by Jared WilsonThe Prince of Egypt, rentable on YouTube

Many people perceive 2018 to have been a bad year, but was it really? By many metrics, it was actually really good. We can’t always fix the world’s problems, but many of the problems we perceive are actually the product of broken interpersonal dialog, but that’s something we can definitely change.Links:More than 50% of humanity is now middle classTerrorism is decliningThe Koreas on a road toward peaceJoel’s latest in the Des Moines RegisterThe Gamestop Video (has naughty words)

President Trump gave a big Christmas present to his libertarian-minded subjects last week when he announced plans to withdraw American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. We discuss this unexpected move and the broader “war on terror."Links:The Establishment Will Never Say No To a WarHoward Dean on TwitterThe cost of the war in lives, and in dollarsMany Afghans Shrug at 'This Event Foreigners Call 9/11'Among many Afghans, 9/11 remains unfamiliar or poorly understoodUS Defense Spending Compared to Other CountriesThe Infographics Show does “USA vs. the World"Robert Lorenzo Hester, one of hundreds of examples of “terrorists” entrapped by American agencies