Winning Slowly

Stephen gave his students a change of pace by having Chris deliver a guest lecture on podcasting. This lecture was recorded immediately before delivering 5.05: "Faint Not" (Live at N.C. State).

Negative / Visible / Legal: regulations and the open internet Show Notes We look at internet policy and regulations as a view into the broader question of the relationship between government regulations and markets. Are all regulations harmful to the free market? Is a free market always the best? How do ideas like net neutrality and local loop unbundling play into it? Correction Chris said, wrongly, that the North Carolina state government prevented Charlotte from building its own municipal fiber. What actually happened was the state passed a law preventing cities (like Wilson, North Carolina, which with the FCC sued the state but ultimately lost in a federal appeals court) from building out infrastructure to other communities (including rural areas outside the incorporated area of the city). The laws claimed to be in defense of competition; but there is notably no rush to build higher-speed internet to those rural areas. The Winning Slowly Internet Platform What do we think is necessary for a well-functionin

At the end of 5.08 we made an offhand joke about Andrew Jackson. On further consideration, that joke wasn't funny: it missed some incredibly important realities. We got this wrong.

Reflections on the necessity, and the limitations, of empathy in light of the 2016 American election cycle Show Notes In the wake of the surprising outcome of the 2016 American presidential election, we talk about how we do politics going forward. In particular, we look at how empathy and treating each other (no matter how sharp our differences) as people made in the image of God must inform our politics, even as we acknowledge that no amount of empathy will overcome all disagreements. Links “What A Difference 2 Percentage Points Makes” – Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight Previously on the show 4.11: How People Read C. S. Lewis 4.10: The Ancient Wisdom of Usenet 4.09: We’re Idealist Realists 4.05: The Price of Democracy 1.12: Political Appinations 1.06: Rebuke Me Some People Music “Kid” by Arwen and the Mega Reset. Used by permission. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Who, as it turns out, has been close friends with one of the Sponsors Many thanks to the people who help us make this show possible by

Positive / Invisible / Legal (Organized):public libraries and the common good Show Notes We talk libraries. Why? Because public libraries are awesome. They’re on of the few unalloyed successes in social experiments. They do good in a wide array of areas, and they’re free to use (because we support them as taxpayers). If you want to hear Chris giddy, this is the episode. The second of two episodes recorded live at NC State University on September 22, 2016. (Yep, our schedule is way different this year. You can thank Stephen’s Ph.D. thesis and the combination of Chris’ M. Div., work, and travel for that!) Links Dewey Decimal System Library of Congress Classification system Samsung Galaxy Note 7: exploding phone, do not buy, return if you bought one TESOL (“Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages”) Music “Widows and Revolutionaries” by Darling Valley. Used by permission. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. After this episode, he should write something about libraries. Sponsors Many thanks to the

Art, faith, how culture shapes and is shaped by us, and more in The Gray Havens’ latest album Show Notes Chris and Stephen have a wide-ranging conversation with Dave Radford of husband-and-wife folk-pop duo The Gray Havens about the value and purpose of art, the business side of the music industry, and the process of putting together their latest album, Ghost of a King. Musical influences: Simon and Garfunkel James Taylor Cat Stevens Frank Sinatra Dean Martin Queen Coldplay Mumford and Sons Florence and the Machine Fleet Foxes Bon Iver Lyrical influences: The Lord of the Rings the Gray Havens in _The Lord of the Rings The Chronicles of Narnia The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss Other people mentioned on the show Jon Foreman Ben Shive Stephen’s rant on iPods: 1.10: Because Capitalism Yay Temple board John Piper 0.01: We Need Some Context—in which, in our very first episode, we discussed John Piper and Pope Francis as representing very different styles of using social media. (A

Negative / Invisible / Legal (Organized): civil forfeiture and entrenched legal evil Show NotesWe take on civil forfeiture. The short version: we hate it. It’s a wicked injustice and we think it ought to be fought, and fought hard. (If you want to hear Chris and Stephen get actually angry about something, this is the episode.) Links “Civil forfeiture in the United States” – Wikipedia “NYPD admits accounting for its civil-forfeiture seizures is hopeless” – RT “Asset Forfeiture Abuse” – ACLU “Civil Forfeiture” – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) “Police Can Use a Legal Gray Area to Rob Anyone of Their Belongings” – Kaveh Waddell, The Atlantic Music “Faint Not” by Jenny & Tyler – used by permission, and with the deepest gratitude. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Not quite as awesome as Jenny & Tyler, but that’s okay. Sponsors Many thanks to the people who help us make this show possible by their financial support! This month’s sponsors: Andrew Fallows Kurt Klassen Jeremy Cherfas Je

Positive / Visible / Social (Organized): orchestras and the question of “public goods” Show NotesWe talk about orchestras, ask whether financial viability is a guide to the health or importance of particular institutions (hint: Betteridge’s Law), and look at how orchestras and other such institutions can be real markers of cultural health even for the people they don’t directly affect. Links An article in The New York Times, in 1903, referenced in The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras, by Robert J. Flanagan: The permanent orchestra season has, as usual, been financially a bad one all over the country. With the end of April… come the bills for those who pay the piper…. There is always a deficit, which public-spirited guarantors are called upon to pay year after year. A permanent orchestra, it seems pretty welle stablished by American experience, is not at present a paying institution, and is not likely immediately to become so…. [Neverthless,] the prevailing note of the guarantors of the America Orches

Show Notes In which we look at Facebook... but not like we ever have before. Why are people starting to turn off Facebook, and what social pressures are arising from that? How do social pressures of this sort work, and what kinds of changes do they affect? Links Virtue signaling “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains”, Nicolas Carr, The Atlantic, July/August 2008 “The road out of Denton” – Jim Bradbury for TribTalk/The Texas Tribune, July 8, 2015, on Texas and municipal attempts to block oil drilling. Chris’ conversation with his friend about social media: spawned from this tweetstorm the conversation started with this response Before you go: “The cease-fire in Colombia’s long civil war starts today. Here’s what you need to know.”, The Washington Post Previous discussions of social media or episodes referenced directly on the show: 0.13: Ten Thousandth Lightbulb – What Happened to ADN, Paying to Socialize, Free or Not Free 1.01: Massive Emotional Contagion – Facebook’s Socia

Negative → Positive / Visible / Legal → Social: marijuana legalization and how systems change. Show Notes Marijuana legalization is happening in various states in the United States. How does that kind of change fit into the system we’ve devised for talking about structure and agency/systems and individuals? Because norms do change: all the time. How? Links Reefer Madness “What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast” “Four of the Major Fear Campaigns That Helped Create America’s Insane War on Drugs” – we don’t necessarily endorse all the ideas here, but it does a nice job summarizing a lot of the issues around the drug war “Stop Treating Marijuana Like Heroin” – the New York Times editorial board, on the DEA’s recent decision to continue categorizing marijuana the same way it does heroin (as a Category 1 drug) “Donald Trump’s economic speech is basically about getting a do-over” – in which the journalists employed the Internet Archive as part of their reporting on Trump Previ

In which we laugh at ourselves and explain why you didn't get a new episode this week, but will get one next week, but not the week after that. Systems are hard, people. P.S. We might just have more bonus episodes at some point. Like this one, they'll be in the feed, and in the Bonus category on the site, but not highlighted in the "Current Season" on the front page. Because they're, well... bonus episodes. Explanation: New Rustacean is Chris' podcast about the Rust programming language.

Structures and systems, agency and individuals: three axes (and a sub-axis) for thinking about the world we live in. Show Notes We introduce our system for thinking about the "structure/agency" or "systems and individuals" problem: how do the systems and structures of our lives shape us? How do we shape them? How free are we, and where are the places where more freedom is good, and the places where it might actually be bad? How do we confront the structural issues we face, or strengthen and preserve the good systems we do have in place? Questions we'll be asking How much can a system penalize an individual for not being part of it? How much can a system hurt an individual who is part of it? How much can a system benefit an individual that is part of it? How much can a system benefit an individual who is not part of it? Our analytical axes Positive vs. Negative: is the relationship between systems and individuals good or bad---and if so, for society as a whole, for individuals, or both? Visible vs. Invis

Show Notes We use the Panama Papers as a jumping-off point to sum up the season and talk about: the alleged flatness of the world the possibilities of both globalization and localization the twin dangers of imperialism and parochialism the ways that growing income inequality intersect with globalization the things different cultures can learn from each other the distinction between “reasonable” and “justifiable” responses the importance of humility, whether in art or in charitable action the value of choosing not to do something at times In other words: how can you be a good actor in a global space? As an aside, on the rough size of a Word file (referenced with regard to the size of the Panama Papers data release): a 20-page paper from Chris’ seminary degree is about 52 kilobytes. 2 gigabytes would be 20,000 such papers. Links The Panama Papers: “400 reporters kept the Panama Papers secret for a year. Here’s how they pulled it off.” (Mashable) “David Cameron Answers for the Panama Papers” (The Atlantic) –

The global nature of Christianity and the beauty of many cultures practicing the same faith Show Notes We look at how Christianity is changing as it shifts from being heavily Western to being far more global (as it was in its birth). What new things might we see and learn as other eyes come to the same text? What do the various cultures of the world have to offer each other as we practice the same, ancient faith? Links Reading we’ve found helpful on today’s topic: Misreading the Bible Through Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien) Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology​ (Timothy Tennent) The Next Evangelicalism: Releasing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (Soong-Chan Rah) (Note that we don’t endorse everything in these books, as we don’t with most things we link—but that particularly bears repeating when looking at theology.) Zencas

The EU and internet law—monopolies, copyright, taxing, freedom of speech, and learning from each other. Show Notes In this second of two episodes recorded live at NC State (with a different class of students), we tackle the European Union’s approach to internet legislation—including everything from copyright law to dealing with monopolies—as a way to look at how differently things work around the world. What might we learn from other countries here in the U.S.? What might they learn from us? Links Internet history ARPANET (Wikipedia) MILNET (Wikipedia) (actually a subsection of ARPANET used specifically for military purposes) World Wide Web & Tim Berners Lee (Pew) Minitel (Wikipedia) “Minitel, France’s precursor to the Web, to go dark on June 30 [2012]” (Ars Technica) Monopsony (Economics Online) Applied to the tech industry: “Publishers’ Deal with the Devil” (Stratechery) United States v. Microsoft Corp. “Justice Department Files Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft for Unlawfully Monopolizing Comput

Show Notes In the first of two episodes recorded live at NC State, we tackle the challenges posed by protest art. When does art cross a line and become morally reprehensible? When is it a viable alternative to other, far worse ways of dealing with the esame problems? Links “Stab Stab” (Palestinian Anger in Jerusalem and West Bank Gets a Violent Soundtrack" (New York Times) “NYT Front Page Indulges ‘Blunt’ Palestinian ‘Protest Songs’ Encouraging the Stabbing Murder of Jews” (NewsBusters) C. S. Lewis The Great Divorce Mere Christianity The Chronicles of Narnia “Free Speech” Shades of Blue Black-ish Season 2, Episode 16: “Hope” Previously on the Show 0.01: We Need Some Context! 4.02: Helpiness 4.10: The Ancient Wisdom of Usenet Disagreeing well 1.06: Rebuke Me Some Peopl 4.05: The Price of Democracy Music “Half a Second” by Hemmingbirds. Used by permission. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Big horns underneath and some piping woodwinds carrying the top line? Interesting thought. Sponsor

Populism, social media, and wisdom in when, how, and where to (dis)engage with people you disagree with. Show Notes There’s a wave of populism sweeping the world. Twitter and Facebook are some of the epicenters of the new populism. How should we think about interacting with radical populists in general? And what about specifically on social media? Links “Is Google Making Us Stupid (Nick Carr at The Atlantic)” Bernie Sanders runs to man who fainted during speech (CNN) Previously on the Show 4.05: The Price of Democracy – the necessity and the limitations of gradualism, incrementalism, and compromise in politics. 3.11: Augustine’s Podcast – Social circles on- and offline and differences between our embodied and virtual selves. 3.04: Mom Memes – Generational shifts in social media and the diversifying web 0.01: We Need Some Context – Religious twittering, Google nesting, and hobbyists careering. Music “Optimist” by Wanderwild. Used by permission. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. If you’re wondering w

Show Notes We discuss the problems that face major nation-states trying to respond to the massive refugee crisis in Europe. We also look at the complex relationship between nations on topics like this in a “global world” (nice, Chris) and suggest that Americans both invest actively in making things better and chill out a bit insofar as we don’t live in Europe. Links “One in, one out”: Turkey and EU agree outline of ‘one in, one out’ deal over Syria refugee crisis (The Guardian) “Central American Families Fear Deportation As Raids Begin” (NPR) “The Shame of America’s Family Detention Camps” (The New York Times Magazine) Safe cities in Syria: Why Syrian ‘Safe Zones’ Could Be Dangerous for Civilians and U.S. Policy (TIME) Stephen’s Biblical metaphors: “Take the beam out of your own eye…” Casting stones Previously on the Show 1.12: Political Appinations – in which we talked (among other things) about the value of more local politics 4.06: Kickstarting a Hyperlocal Super-Farm – in which we talked about local

John O'Nolan on Ghost, Singapore, international commerce, and giving the benefit of the doubt Show Notes We invite Ghost cofounder John O’Nolan on the show to talk about Ghost’s reincorporation in Singapore, what that means for them as a non-profit, and how we should think about these kinds of moves. We talk about everything from the specific details of Ghost’s move to the ethics of business tourism, and John basically hammers on themes we’ve been talking about all season. It’s fantastic. Links “Ghost is moving to Singapore—and saying goodbye to the UK” (John O’Nolan at the Ghost blog) Stripe Stripe Atlas VAT VAT-MOSS Net neutrality in the US FBI demanding iPhone unlocking under a law from the 1700s “Singapore” – Freedom House Report “Censorship in Singapore” (Wikipedia) “Internet Censorship in Singapore” “Media Censorship in Singapore” “Human Rights in Singapore” “Singapore Professor Denied Tenure, Sparks Academic Freedom Debate” (Wall Street Journal) Music “A Better Life” from Silent Moon by Supers

Show Notes We talk about nation-states, war, hopes of permanent peace and how “the end of history” and the notion of fewer major wars is likely a pipe dream. But also, how to think about foreign policy issues as citizens of nations we love, and the value of nation-states even in a “global village.” Links Fall of the Berlin Wall Russo-Japanese War World War I “War to end all wars” World War II Proxy wars Cold War Korean War Vietnam War Arab-Israel conflict Exclave Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian exclave on Atlantic ocean) Gulf Wars Gulf War Iraq War “War on Terror” “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” (All of Vox’s coverage) “Russian military intervention in Ukraine” “Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation” “The Link Between Putin’s Military Campaigns in Syria and Ukraine” (The Atlantic) China’s building islands in the South China Sea “What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea” “China’s President Pledges No Militarization in Disputed Islands” “With China in Mind on a Visit to Manila, Obam