Crains' Cast: Recent Episodes
Crain
Delving into current events and the history that brought them into being with siblings Jon and Liz Crain. We're passionate American Citizens with active imaginations and fertile creative souls delving into our shared love of history, geopolitical intrigue, and general human evolution in this "Age of Insanity". Music in our podcast: "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Composer- Ernest Gold
What happens when a single political party is divided? McCarthy is learning this lesson the hard way in his bid for the gavel. Happy New Year America, this democracy is still teetering. Lobbying, insider trading, the dredging up might be stinky, but it reveals important abuses that are threatening this great experiment. Here, have some climate destruction and be afraid!
Well, the classified documents keep turning up, and mass shootings fill the headlines. Then there's the debt ceiling, climate catastrophes, and a divided congress. What can we do? Gun safety training for all? Outlaw live guns on movie sets? Jon and Liz Crain will discuss all this and more in another episode of Crains' Cast.
In case you missed it- https://youtu.be/vUxURsruSO8
Watch Putin throw himself a beautiful most excellent annexation party with his lackeys in Moscow. Then, Jon and I will walk through the hypocrisy and realities facing Russia as a multi-cultural, vast landmass of all kinds of people, most of which are not white, and find themselves being marched to the front lines of a war they have nothing to do with- besides the fact they are under the reign of Putin. He's living in the 1940s, and fantasizing about a cold war bunker at the same time. His unhinged speech in the 1980s room with no windows was compelling. Join us in talking about this unprecedented- or not, Russian action to relive an outdated empire.
Jon and Liz take a look at what's happening in eastern Europe as Putin continues his madness in Ukraine. Will there be nuclear war? Where's NATO headed? Will the US stay the course? Find out this and more in another episode of Crains' Cast
We're spending this episode talking about where American politics are headed, what's Liz Cheney's plan now? How will our country survive so much misinformation? Where are we headed? Is this the road to nowhere? Perhaps, but as long as there's a two party system in our democracy, we're stuck in an us versus them attitude. Let's take a dive into recent elections and what the field of politics is sewing. Winter is coming, so get those cover crops sewn!
Liz and Jon delve into Disney, how the genera of idealism shaped our young minds, and what we know now about the trouble with gentrifying fairy tales. What does it mean to be an adult Disney fan and how do we reconcile the history of this company?
Then, the struggle of keeping Bees, how to relate to insect wars in a different kind of anthropomorphism. It's a first hand look at thinning resources and what could happen if instincts take over. Spoiler- Liz is sad by the end of this tale.
Help us find the silver lining or at least some tinsel to guild a little brightness in these dark times.
Though we live in a two party system build on Republicans and Democrats, it's not fair and balanced- there are far more liberal people in The USA than conservative, yet because of only two sides, we act like they are equal. It's corrupt and costing us our democracy. The Supreme Court's recent rulings have struck down precedent, which is what all law is based on. The interpretation of The Constitution as a stagnate document without evolution is as logical as saying only Christian, land owning, white men should be dictating our Country's government. Oh wait, that's the agenda on the far right side of the aisle folks. Trumpisme is only the newest movement in the slow slip into fascism The USA is heading towards. The Tea Party came before, and The Moral Majority before that. Yet today, we're being subjected to conservative, I'll say radical conservative political action, and it's not reflective of the majority of American Citizens. This is a clear move away from democratic governing, and such abuse of our political system continues with frightening success. What do we do to protect Democracy in our country? Find out this and more in Crains' Cast.
A lot of financial fear is brewing-is this just another product of the generation gap or mass system failure? Economic instability could be a product of exponential growth struggling within finite resources. In the 70s, the fuel crisis (finite resources) encored with Reaganomics (trickle down nonsense), which brought about wage stagnation, while feeding golden parachutes. WWII White European narrative of The Golden Generation led to mainstreaming college education, self made men, and the rise of the middle class. The American middle class of white men was propped up by economic exploitation in Central and South America for decades, and continues today in direct cause of much of the immigration and refugee crisis on the U.S. Southern Boarder. Could Doughnut Economics be the answer? What is that- a baked good? How do we transcend thermodynamic? Find out this and more in Crains' Cast "Wealth Gap".
Jon and Liz Crain are talking SCOTUS (Supreme Court of The United States). Reflecting on the binary failure of a two party system and it's effect on democracy and our judiciary branch. While past confirmations of supreme court justices was unanimous and bipartisan, today the appointments are deeply divided and unable to see beyond partisan lines. The court is slipping into partisan manipulation as well, turning from a nine person bench reflecting the diversity of our country, to a conservative religiously influenced bias that's blatant in recent rulings. We'll take time to look at the recent hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her appointment to SCOTUS and how pathetic the right wing obsession with issues having little bearing on her appointment. We'll also take time to reflect on Judge Clarence Thomas's wife, Virginia Thomas, and her disturbing involvement in the January 6th insurrection. There's a lot of rancor around The Supreme Court these days, and it's having a detrimental affect on our judiciary system. Human nature quests for black and white answers in a world of gray. What can we do to shift away from such divide in our democracy? What does it mean when democracy is hijacked by political parties? Join us in this rich topic and register to vote.
Are we witnessing the start of WWIII? With The United Nations and The European Union weighing in on Putin's invasion of a peaceful nation, we're taking a look at what this violence means for Eastern Europe, and the rest of The World. This is the largest military act of aggression in Europe since WWII. Now Putin is threatening nuclear action as his troops stall against unexpected Ukraine resistance forces. We continue to witness this unpresidented action against a peaceful nation, a democratic nation which straddles east and west in a fight for democracy's future.
Special musical guest Ukrainian metal band Pušča with their early release album 'ça brûle' "War is Hell".
This episode, Jon and Liz delve into experiences living around The US and how that has shaped our wold view and personal lives. We're not army brats, but moved, sometimes annually, from place to place in the adventure that was our childhood. Was this constant change good or bad? Well, black and white is a little too easy in a world of gray. Let's reflect on why and how our diverse (and sometimes not so diverse) upbringing prepared us for an ever changing world. We'll delve into locations, family dynamics, education, politics, and more in this episode of Crains' Cast. Thanks for joining us!
Jon starts us off with some good geopolitical context, then we discuss playing Civilization and the lack of consequences for being a nuclear terror vs. the real world understanding of nuking carte blanche. We'll reflect on diplomacy, and today's tactless online vomit of hate and anger with no accountability. Social media seems to be deconstructing crucial conflict resolution dialogue that could be bringing us closer together. Liz shares a recent neighbor drama related to hiding behind a screen instead of talking out misunderstandings and why she's not involved in social media. What's left of humanity might not be pretty, but we're here to talk through the tough realities facing people today and what we might do to transcend colonial residue- let's just say it's going to take a few hundred years.
Jon shares rich Historical perspective on The Eastern Front, the development of modern Russia, and why cat littler is a real ecological problem. We relate living in a world of plastics with socioeconomic limitations, yet blind to our own consumption. Casual consumerism kills, but convenience is king. What's wrong with modern science? We're way ahead of ourselves now with outdated technology still hindering modern advancement. Can we give Russian citizens the same consumer choices of Western Europe? Will 5g bring down the airline industry? These questions and much more will be tackled by the intrepid Crain siblings in their quest to unravel The Age of Insanity.
Guest composer this week- Otava Yo
Another school shooting sparks remarks from Liz and Jon Crain and gun regulation in The US. Both siblings are gun owners and also understand the immense responsibility of owning firearms and what the context of The Second Amendments means in today's political climate. We delve into the realities of modern gun culture vs. the historical roots of The Second Amendment, which we have run away with far from original context (single shot powder guns in the late 1700s to 100 round magazine assault rifles and mass shootings of today). We are NOT advocating the removal of guns from private citizens, but we are asking for oversight, responsibility, and proper training. You have to get a driver's license before you drive, why not a similar safety education to own firearms? The Crains also back track to Columbine and what it's been like growing up with school shootings being common place, yet seeing nothing done to tighten up regulation for the protection of the public. When did guns become exclusively human killing tools? What does "self defense" really mean? Who is held accountable in a ma shooting? Is gun ownership a privilege or a right? Hunting is a privilege- not a right, why can't gun ownership follow similar guidelines? All this and more in this episode of Crains' Cast!
Jon and Liz spend a little time on some quality childhood films they watched which left an impression, influenced their perception of the world, or were jut plain funny. Some of these "classics" were more adult than the Crain children realized and as adults, re-watching some of these films made them both realize the unique upbringing and exposure to film that has made a lasting impression.
List of films include-
Fortress (1985)
Disney Full length animated classics (all films)
Patriot Games (1992)
Clue (1985)
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Treasure of Madacumbe (1976)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Women (1939)