Stupid Anthropology

Episode 13: How the Right Ruined Atheism

The gang talks atheism. Specifically, Aaron leads Robert and Rachel through some historical tidbits about atheism - did you know Diogenes ruled? - and then drags them down through the utter muck and sewage of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris. Everyone has a terrible time and wishes nothing but “the best” for those three dudes. Digressions include dog training tips, more chats about how the English ruined the world, and other fun stuff. 
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
Reading list:
The Nation - The New Atheists - 2007: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/new-atheists/
The Nation - Among the Disbelievers - 2007: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/among-disbelievers/
Salon - Godless grifters: How the New Atheists merged with the far right - 2021: https://www.salon.com/2021/06/05/how-the-new-atheists-merged-with-the-far-right-a-story-of-intellectual-grift-and-abject-surrender/
The Atlantic - Richard Dawkins Gets into a Comments War with Feminists (2011): https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/07/richard-dawkins-draws-feminist-wrath-over-sexual-harassment-comments/352530/
The Guardian - Richard Dawkins loses ‘humanist of the year’ award over trans comments: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/20/richard-dawkins-loses-humanist-of-the-year-trans-comments
20 Ways to Save Labour: https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2009/06/labour-government-public
Sam Harris’s Islamophobia bullshit: https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1112829995167215617
From the Enlightenment to the Dark Ages: How "new atheism" slid into the alt-right: https://www.salon.com/2017/07/29/from-the-enlightenment-to-the-dark-ages-how-new-atheism-slid-into-the-alt-right/
Harvard Political Review - Sam Harris, Maajid Nawaz, and the Illusion of Knowledge: https://harvardpolitics.com/sam-harris-maajid-nawaz-illusion-knowledge/
The Guardian - Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus
Stanford - Vasubandhu overview - disproof of a Creator God: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/vasubandhu/#DisCreGod
Atheism and Skepticism in Ancient Greece: https://www.learnreligions.com/atheism-and-skepticism-with-greek-philosophers-248345
Hindu atheism - Mimamsas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_atheism
Brief introduction to Purva Mimamsa Sutras: https://www.mimamsa.org/articles/brief_introduction.html
Was Spinoza Actually An Atheist?: https://philosophynow.org/issues/151/Was_Spinoza_Actually_An_Atheist
Tablet - The Tenth Man: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/the-tenth-man-2
Jewish Ideas Daily - The Trouble with Hitchens: https://www.jewishideasdaily.com/1026/features/the-trouble-with-hitchens/
Sam Harris (is not a Nazi): https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/episode-22-sam-harris-is-not-a-nazi
The controversy around hoax studies in critical theory, explained: https://www.vox.com/2018/10/15/17951492/grievance-studies-sokal-squared-hoax 
Bonus reading on Hitchens: https://old.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/xnt9gq/well_youre_not_that_great_yourself_mr_hitchens_a/

Episode 12: Shrek

Well, we talk about Shrek. Specifically, Shark spends two hours proselytizing the Word of Shrek to Aaron and Rachel. Digressions include, like, the first twenty minutes; we talk about Repo Man; we talk about Buckaroo Banzai; we talk about musicals; we talk - many times - about Smash Mouth. It’s a good time. Trust me. 

Episode 11:Vikings - Part Two

In this second of two episodes on Vikings, Aaron, Robert, and Daniel discuss the horrors of Wagner; debate which composer would be a beast on social media; and who, among philosophers, is most like a child who can’t wait to tell you dinosaur facts. The gang then chats about tabletop roleplaying and Stephen McNallen. 
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
Reading list:
Who Owns the Vikings? Pagans, Neo-Nazis and Advertisers Tussle Over Symbols,” New York Times, March 17, 2018: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/world/europe/vikings-sweden-paganism-neonazis.html 
"Articles of Faith": American Heathenry and Cultural Appropriation
“The Viking Age as a Model of Diversity”
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-shaman-maga-capitol-riot-rune-pagan-imagery-tattoo-1111344/ 
No Nazis in Valhalla: Understanding the Use (and Misuse) of Nordic Cultural Markers in Third Reich Era Germany: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=irj 
White Supremacists Have Weaponized an Imaginary Viking Past. It's Time to Reclaim the Real History: https://time.com/5569399/viking-history-white-nationalists/ 
Vikings were never the pure-bred master race white supremacists like to portray: https://theconversation.com/vikings-were-never-the-pure-bred-master-race-white-supremacists-like-to-portray-84455 
What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/11/asatru-heathenry-racism/543864/ 
White Supremacy’s Old Gods: https://politicalresearch.org/2018/02/01/white-supremacys-old-gods-the-far-right-and-neopaganism 
Who was in Harold Bluetooth’s army? Strontium isotope investigation of the cemetery at the Viking Age fortress at Trelleborg, Denmark: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/EC869F4BE5A4B8C6F5125A1071687549/S0003598X00067880a.pdf/who-was-in-harold-bluetooths-army-strontium-isotope-investigation-of-the-cemetery-at-the-viking-age-fortress-at-trelleborg-denmark.pdf
World's largest DNA sequencing of Viking skeletons reveals they weren't all Scandinavian: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/691197 
The Varangian Guard: Why Did Vikings Fight For The Byzantine Empire?: https://www.historyextra.com/period/viking/varangian-guard-byzantine-empire-kievan-rus-vikings-basil-ii-vladimir-great/ 
The Norse Mythology Blog | norsemyth.org: "Articles of Faith": American Heathenry and Cultural Appropriation: https://www.norsemyth.org/2021/09/articles-of-faith-american-heathenry.html 
The Viking Age as a Model of Diversity: https://wildhunt.org/2021/11/column-the-viking-age-as-a-model-of-diversity.html
Viking Private Military Contractors (In Space): Anti-Woman Mercenary Fighting Force Or One Man’s Paper Tiger?: https://www.antihate.ca/viking_private_military_contractors_space_anti_woman_mercenary_fighting_force_one_man_paper_tiger 
White Supremacy’s Old Gods: https://politicalresearch.org/2018/02/01/white-supremacys-old-gods-the-far-right-and-neopaganism 
The CPAC stage was shaped like the Othala rune…which is what?: https://forward.com/culture/465017/the-cpac-stage-was-shaped-like-the-othala-runewhich-is-what/ 
C. G. Jung – Essay on Wotan [w. Nietzsche]: http://www.philosopher.eu/others-writings/essay-on-wotan-w-nietzsche-c-g-jung/ 
Asatru’s Racist Missionary: Stephen McNallen, Defend Europe, and the Weaponization of Folkish Heathery: https://godsandradicals.org/2017/09/14/asatrus-racist-missionary-stephen-mcnallen-defend-europe-and-the-weaponization-of-folkish-heathery/

Episode 10: Vikings - Part 1

In this first of two episodes on Vikings, Aaron brings Robert and special guest Daniel Griggs on a journey talking about what we know of the Norse, what they believed, whether or not they schtupped, and where they wound up. The gang then chats about current practitioners of Astatru and Heathenry and how they tied in to what we know about the Vikings. Listen closely to the episode for a series of recommendations of quality interactive documentaries. 
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
Reading list:
Who Owns the Vikings? Pagans, Neo-Nazis and Advertisers Tussle Over Symbols,” New York Times, March 17, 2018: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/world/europe/vikings-sweden-paganism-neonazis.html 
"Articles of Faith": American Heathenry and Cultural Appropriation
“The Viking Age as a Model of Diversity”
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-shaman-maga-capitol-riot-rune-pagan-imagery-tattoo-1111344/ 
No Nazis in Valhalla: Understanding the Use (and Misuse) of Nordic Cultural Markers in Third Reich Era Germany: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=irj 
White Supremacists Have Weaponized an Imaginary Viking Past. It's Time to Reclaim the Real History: https://time.com/5569399/viking-history-white-nationalists/ 
Vikings were never the pure-bred master race white supremacists like to portray: https://theconversation.com/vikings-were-never-the-pure-bred-master-race-white-supremacists-like-to-portray-84455 
What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/11/asatru-heathenry-racism/543864/ 
White Supremacy’s Old Gods: https://politicalresearch.org/2018/02/01/white-supremacys-old-gods-the-far-right-and-neopaganism 
Who was in Harold Bluetooth’s army? Strontium isotope investigation of the cemetery at the Viking Age fortress at Trelleborg, Denmark: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/EC869F4BE5A4B8C6F5125A1071687549/S0003598X00067880a.pdf/who-was-in-harold-bluetooths-army-strontium-isotope-investigation-of-the-cemetery-at-the-viking-age-fortress-at-trelleborg-denmark.pdf
World's largest DNA sequencing of Viking skeletons reveals they weren't all Scandinavian: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/691197 
The Varangian Guard: Why Did Vikings Fight For The Byzantine Empire?: https://www.historyextra.com/period/viking/varangian-guard-byzantine-empire-kievan-rus-vikings-basil-ii-vladimir-great/ 
The Norse Mythology Blog | norsemyth.org: "Articles of Faith": American Heathenry and Cultural Appropriation: https://www.norsemyth.org/2021/09/articles-of-faith-american-heathenry.html 
The Viking Age as a Model of Diversity: https://wildhunt.org/2021/11/column-the-viking-age-as-a-model-of-diversity.html
Viking Private Military Contractors (In Space): Anti-Woman Mercenary Fighting Force Or One Man’s Paper Tiger?: https://www.antihate.ca/viking_private_military_contractors_space_anti_woman_mercenary_fighting_force_one_man_paper_tiger 
White Supremacy’s Old Gods: https://politicalresearch.org/2018/02/01/white-supremacys-old-gods-the-far-right-and-neopaganism 
The CPAC stage was shaped like the Othala rune…which is what?: https://forward.com/culture/465017/the-cpac-stage-was-shaped-like-the-othala-runewhich-is-what/ 
C. G. Jung – Essay on Wotan [w. Nietzsche]: http://www.philosopher.eu/others-writings/essay-on-wotan-w-nietzsche-c-g-jung/ 
Asatru’s Racist Missionary: Stephen McNallen, Defend Europe, and the Weaponization of Folkish Heathery: https://godsandradicals.org/2017/09/14/asatrus-racist-missionary-stephen-mcnallen-defend-europe-and-the-weaponization-of-folkish-heathery/

Episode 9: Brucepod

Aaron walks Robert and Rachel through the career of Bruce Springsteen. Why do so many people focus on “Born in the USA” in wildly inappropriate ways? What makes good protest music good? Digressions include: Old cable TV; the gang talks She-Hulk; Aaron makes very good jokes about music that everyone will get and enjoy.
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
Reading list:
 
RollingStone interviews Springsteen on Tour: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rolling-stone-interview-bruce-springsteen-on-born-in-the-u-s-a-184690/
Vice, “Politicians Have Always Misunderstood Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.': https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkyjvn/misunderstood-bruce-springsteens-born-in-the-usa-trump
Wikipedia article on Nebraska - I dunno, just go listen to the album, man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_(album)
Smithsonian: The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/cuyahoga-river-caught-fire-least-dozen-times-no-one-cared-until-1969-180972444/
Lyrics to Dave van Ronk’s “Luang Prabang:” https://www.metrolyrics.com/luang-prabang-lyrics-dave-van-ronk.html
Utah Philips. We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years, Intro to “Dump the Bosses Off Your Back”
NPR, Backstage With Bruce: Springsteen On His Early Work: https://www.npr.org/2009/01/30/100038036/backstage-with-bruce-springsteen-on-his-early-work

Episode 8: The Matrix

Robert takes Rachel and Aaron on a journey through the Matrix. You might say they got red pilled. Eh, coppertops? Eh? Eh?
Music by Daniel Griggs.

Episode 7: Snowflakes

Join us as Rachel takes us through a tour of the Netflix reality TV show called Snowflake Mountain. We also talk about the historical usage of the term “snowflakes.” Sadly, we don’t talk about weather systems in this episode. Maybe in a future episode. Is that foreshadowing? Who knows?! Digressions include: All my homies hate Licorice Pizza; Snowflake Victory; Kid Rock; Cows are horrible mutant monsters.
Music by Daniel Griggs.

Episode 6: The Punisher

Join the gang as they delve into the infinite well of sorrow that is Marvel’s The Punisher. Why does a murderer and psychopath resonate with cops, soldiers, paramilitary forces, and, er, weirdo nerds? Why does “Punisher Trump” exist? WHO KNOWS! Few digressions this go-round, thanks to the crippling depression everyone felt.
Music by Daniel Griggs.
Reading List
Salon - The Punisher skull: Unofficial logo of the White American death cult: https://www.salon.com/2019/04/28/the-punisher-skull-unofficial-logo-of-the-white-american-death-cult/
Vulture - Why Cops and Soldiers Love the Punisher: https://www.vulture.com/article/marvel-punisher-police-cops-military-fandom.html
How a Marvel Comic Hero Became the Icon of the Fight Against ISIS: https://time.com/3819227/punisher-iraq-isis/
A History of The Punisher Logo Being Used By Police, Military & Politicians: https://www.cbr.com/punisher-history-logo-used-police-military-politicians/
Milwaukee police looked into ‘Punishers’ group: https://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/112982324.html/
Marvel’s “Punisher” Was a Hate Symbol Long Before Police Co-opted His Character: https://truthout.org/articles/marvels-punisher-was-a-hate-symbol-long-before-police-co-opted-his-character/
Marvel’s Punisher Problem: https://www.newsweek.com/marvels-punisher-problem-1574579
St. Louis Police Union Posts Punisher Logo in Protest of Internal Investigations: https://screenrant.com/punisher-logo-st-louis-police-union-protest-investigations/
More Sorrow:
Why We Must Back The Blue - Western Tennessee D.A.:: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/opinion/why-we-must-back-blue-1
 

Episode 5: George Orwell

The gang talks about 1984 author George Orwell, wonder why our culture is so susceptible to short stories, and discuss why James Bond should be thrown onto the trash pile of history.
 
Digressions include:
Dune is not open source
One Clever Trick to Avoiding the Mile Run
Fireside Chats about USB
Fireside Chats about Bach Cantatas
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
 
Reading List
John Molyneux Animal Farm revisited: https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/molyneux/1989/xx/orwell.html - 
Gordon Beadle  George Orwell and the American Conservatives: https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1191&context=suscholar
Louis Menand -  "Honest, Decent, Wrong:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/01/27/honest-decent-wrong
Ron Charles - "Conservatives crying ‘Orwell’ are downright Orwellian" https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/orwell-1984-conservatives/2021/01/11/e80ce30e-5446-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html
https://libcom.org/article/orwell-quotes-right-wingers-never-mention
Rachel Klein Please Stop Comparing Things to “1984:" https://electricliterature.com/please-stop-comparing-things-to-1984/
Non reading list
https://www.foxnews.com/media/charlie-kirk-orwells-1984-is-the-instruction-manual-for-the-left-theyre-criminalizing-speech

Episode 4: Conspirapod

Light show notes this go-round. In Rachel’s first episode on the show, we discuss our favorite conspiracy theories and how we first came to realize that just maybe conspiracy theories aren’t the best form of entertainment. (X-Files is still kosher, though.) Digressions include layered Star Trek explanations, cab drivers, and cocaine. 
 
Music by Daniel Griggs.
 
Reading list
https://www.conspiracychart.com/ - Created by Abbie Richards