40 Acres & A Fool

Miss E's back with Cam this week as the pair break down the highs and lows of her cancer treatment, garden successes and failures, the disappointing beehive, and a fellow "fool" who's hoping to leave the her Garden State farm and find a new homestead in greener (and freer) pastures. 

Sadly, this hasn't been a great week for Cam and Miss E.  From struggles and side effects with Miss E's new cancer treatment, to relatively minor developments like the pair's bees disappearing, it's been a bit of a challenge staying positive.  Cam's doing his best, however, and finding comfort and strength in the kindness of friends and the 40 Acres and a Fool community.  

Cam's got a tough question this week:  are most rural counties doomed to decline?  One Iowa State University professor thinks so, but Cam's got a couple of ideas to save the near frontier.  Plus, updates on Miss E, a goat says goodbye to the 40 Acres, and more!

Cam and Miss E are together again in this episode, with good news on their garden, even better news on her fight with cancer, and some great advice from a listener about making every day count.

While Miss E is waiting for another round of test results to come back, Cam's behind the microphone with updates on her cancer fight and the well-wishes and kindness shown by hundreds of folks from around the country, as well as a look at Farmville's Heart of Virginia Festival and an update on the baby goats bouncing around the 40 acres.  

Miss E's back in this week's episode, joining Cam to talk about the latest in her fight against lung cancer, the growing baby goats and the surprisingly good start to this year's garden.  Plus, the couple deal with some unexpected damage to the farmhouse, and get warm wishes from fellow fools across the country. 

Miss E's received some not great news regarding her cancer, and Cam has an update on the next steps in her fight, as well as some sincere words of gratitude for those who've reached out to offer support. Plus, life on the farm continues to offer new challenges as well as moments of joy, and Cam wades into the fake meat debate. 

Cam's back with tales of a road trip gone wrong, Miss E's latest kitchen adventures, and the very first long-distance interview in 40 Acres and a Fool history. Cam talks with Hope Floeck, an ag-vocate who's committed to doing good with food, connecting farmers together, and building real communities with the help of digital media.

Miss E's feeling close to her old self again after her latest round of chemotherapy, and just in time, because it's spring and there's a lot to do on the farm.  She and Cam have been getting their beehive in shape for the warm months ahead, and the first seeds for the garden are now in the ground.  Plus, Cam takes a look at Elizabeth Warren's pure populist ideas for rural America and urges Donald Trump to borrow or improve upon some of her proposals.  

The first flowers of spring are starting to poke their heads above ground on the 40 Acres, and while seeds have arrived, there's still a lot of work to do for this year's garden.  Cam and Miss E also tackle the growing problem of online crackdowns of speech, the barnyard bullying of Mr. Crow the rooster, and more!  

In 1971, attorney Robert Kukla authored "Gun Control", a look back at the founding of the modern gun control movement in the 1960's and its push for sweeping anti-gun legislation that resulted in the Gun Control Act of 1968.  From the anti-NRA media campaigns to anti-gun politicians hoping to capitalize on tragedy and more, Cam documents the many ways in which the gun control debate today resembles the fight of 50 years ago, and what 2nd Amendment supporters can learn from the legislative battles back then.  

Miss E's a warrior when it comes to her fight with cancer, but there are some days when it's really tough to be tough. This week, you'll hear the tale of how she got her fighting spirit back with the help of a hot lather head shave, and she and Cam also have news about the latest additions to the farm, the barn cats' first trip to the vet, and more!  

As Democratic presidential candidates line up behind vague policies and alarmist rhetoric of the Green New Deal, Cam takes a look at the book that inspired the original New Deal back in the 1930's and finds not only a love of central planning, but a desire to end capitalism, small businesses, and "rugged individualism" itself.

It's an unplanned food-themed episode as Cam and Miss E dig into some of the country's best BBQ, unpack a gift box from Japan full of all kinds of weird snacks, and get into their plans for this year's garden.  The pair also delve into the latest craziness in Virginia politics, and you'll learn why their rooster Clyde has a brand new name.  

Like many Virginia families, the big topic for the kitchen table conversation between Cam and Miss E this week is the state's governor Ralph Northam his dual scandals of wearing blackface in the 1980's and his seeming support for doctor-assisted infanticide today. Miss E's got updates on her own fight for life, and Cam's making his pitch for bacon seeds since it's the Year of the Pig.

As controversy over Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's history with blackface rages, Cam's digging into the story of segregation and civil rights in Virginia with the help of Sarah Patton Boyle's "The De-Segregated Heart", her 1962 autobiography which Martin Luther King, Jr.  called "one of the most eloquent and captivating documents that has emerged from the Southern situation", and yet it is largely (and sadly) forgotten today. 

In the final look at the 1955 classic "Reflections on the Failures of Socialism", Cam looks at what author Max Eastman suggested as an alternative future to increasing collectivism: The Distributive State.  

Cam's flying solo this week while Miss E recovers from her latest round of chemotherapy, and he's got good news about his lovely bride, some painful news about Chico the goat, and a chance for you to make some real money from fake farming! 

Cam is back with another deep dive into the 1955 book “Reflections on the Failures of Socialism”, this time focusing on author Max Eastman’s definition of true liberty, and how socialism stands in opposition to that ideal.

Cam & Miss E are back at the kitchen table with fresh tales from the farm; bartered turkeys, feral chickens, and the launch of the pro-omnivore movement OMNOMNOM.