Dial It Back Or Die
Even before the pandemic, I think that most of us would agree—whatever our political persuasions—that a rather large portion of our surrounding culture has become dysfunctional. The problem is that we tend to blame this dysfunction on those people who are not of our particular political persuasion.
I’ve taken a different approach. Instead I’ve looked at our culture’s underlying foundational assumptions. Specifically, I’ve determined that it is the assumptions which arose, implicitly and explicitly, during that period in the late 1700’s commonly known as the Age of Enlightenment which are responsible for how the West went wrong. Which, of course, is the direct opposite of today’s commonly held wisdom.
Now it is not quite as simplistic as that. Also, strong claims require strong evidence. Which is why my podcast is up to 55 episodes by now, and still has a ways to go. But I’ve tried to fashion it as an interesting and entertaining—while jargon free—college course. And so far the feedback from listeners has been pretty positive.
Anyway, and especially since there’s not much else to do these days, I thought to alert classmates to it. Called ‘Dial It Back Or Die’, it should be on whatever streaming service which you already listen to podcasts on. For instance, on iTunes it is at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dial-it-back-or-die/id1386282281 . Or, if you are not a current podcast consumer, you can also access it at its website: www.dialitbackordie.com . Also, if you prefer reading to listening, the website has a PDF for each episode.
Remember: As with a college course, it’s best if you start at Episode 1 and then continue. If you do that, then Episodes 1-11 are basically an introduction to the thesis. Episodes 12-32 are some hardcore history, tracking the West from around the year zero up to 1900, with special emphasis on the 18th Century. Episodes 33-50 then endeavor to show how modern science has completely refuted those 18th Century assumptions, were we only paying attention. I then take up the history of the 20th Century, which I am in the middle of doing right now. Finally, considering all that we have learned, I will be outlining a plausible solution to the cultural dead end which we are currently facing.
With that being said, though, if you don’t have time for the entire ‘course’, then dropping in on any particular lecture should still be informative and complete in and of itself. And if you really want the short, short version, then I would suggest Episodes 2, 5, and 39.
Finally, my main motivation in doing this is to get it right. Therefore, I would actually appreciate it if anyone can find holes in my evidence or conclusions. To that end, should you notice any flaws, then feel free to email me with any comments or arguments: mfolz@q.com
And thanks for at least having read this far.