Real and raw economic insecurity is driving the electoral turmoil on both the left and the right. The anxiety is energized by the brutal awareness that the deep seated, Liberal-Enlightenment belief in perpetual economic prosperity and political influence is colliding with the emergence of a new economic and political paradigm characterized by rapidly diminishing human value and the end of the nation-state. In this free-wheeling episode, "Globalization and the Managed Devaluation of the Western Social- Welfare Democracies," we investigate what the new economic and political paradigm means for our sense of "value," our income potential, happiness, and political efficacy. Enjoy.

Headlines scream: On both the Left and the Right, the Election Process is Rigged. The Panama Papers have shone a bright light into the obscure and byzantine ways political leaders and the wealthy "steal" public wealth through tax evasion. And last week, thousands of protestors were arrested in an attempt to "take back the Democracy." What is going on? In our most recent episode, "From the Panama Papers to the Primary Election Process: The Re-Emergence of Aristocratic Governance," we examine the emerging crisis between the overt power and influence of the intellectual and economic aristocracy and the masses who are still committed to the mythos of representative democracy. Enjoy.

As the political season of discontent continues to heat up, we have a little fun investigating Thoreau's and Foucault's account of Resistance and Civil Disobedience. In our latest episode, "From Thoreau to Foucault: Metaphysical and Postmodern Accounts of Resistance and Civil Disobedience," we examine and compare Thoreau's metaphysical account of resistance and civil disobedience to Foucault's postmodern account of resistance and ethics. Despite very important philosophical differences between Thoreau and Foucault, we identify some very interesting and important similarities in the thought of these unique and fascinating political philosophers. Enjoy!

In recent months we have listened to Donald Trump suggest there might be riots if he is denied the Republican nomination, witnessed several acts of political violence, and now we hear the emerging chants from a group called Democracy Spring promising the largest civil disobedience action in American political history. In our most recent podcast, "Civil Disobedience and the Season of Political Discontent," we examine the current political environment through the lens of Henry David Thoreau's and Martin Luther King's account of civil disobedience. We begin by investigating what Thoreau and King meant by civil disobedience, what makes civil disobedience civil, and how they differ. We conclude the episode by reflecting on the question of whether the coming season of political discontent will remain civil, or if it will slip towards something more ominous. Enjoy.