School Sucks Project self-knowledge, self-education, self-mastery

September, 2018

• 26 September

  The Public School “Solution” [PODCAST #580]

  

  A quick discussion about understanding the fears and motivations behind the development of the public schooling system in America. Shane Radliff and I discuss the radical school reform movement of the 1960s and how A Renegade History of the United States helped to add important nuance to my public school history narrative. We do cool things! Thanks to your support. School Sucks is one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college). Your support keeps the show going and growing, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us ...

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• 24 September

  The Lessons of Location Independence [PODCAST #579]

  

  Shane Radliff is a School Sucks listener and the creator of the popular website and podcast, Liberty Under Attack. In this joint production, we discuss the benefits, challenges and lessons of a location-independent lifestyle. Shane is preparing to live a more nomadic lifestyle, so we reflected on my extensive travels over the last year, including School Sucks Across America tour, Renegade University/SSP events and my recent relocation to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We talked about why I decided to pursue such a lifestyle, the importance of being with like-minded individuals in physical space and time, the role past decisions have on limiting freedom, the role of education in personal freedom, our past missteps when trying to discuss the philosophy of liberty with ...

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• 20 September

  cinemaNUFACTURING – part two – “Soft Prep” [PODCAST #578]

  

  Part 2 of 3: "Soft Prep" Tomas "Dutch" Deckaj and Scott Bowers are film makers and School Sucks Podcast listeners. I met them last spring in New Orleans where they were working together on a project. Dutch was the film's First Assistant Director, and he told me his job on set is similar to a principal at a high school. From there we discovered many connections between schooling and the film production process, including Hollywood's reliance on "factory model" of production, hence the series title. Today's Discussion: - Dutch and Scott explain where they each started in the film business - Tangent: running the camera - How Dutch and Scott starting working together - Pre-production and the script - How ...

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• 17 September

  Tom Woods For President? (No.) – With Tom Woods [PODCAST #577]

  

  In this thinly-veiled 52-minute promotion for the Contra Cruise, happening October 21-28 (tickets available at ContraCruise.com), Tom and I open talking about the cruise, highlights from previous cruises, and the origins of the Contra Krugman podcast. What's up with the title? I recently turned someone on to Tom's show, and after listening for a couple weeks he asked me "why isn't this guy the Libertarian Party candidate for president?" I ask Tom to provide an answer. Before recording, I just listened to Episode 1236 of The Tom Woods show, called A Thousand Statist Arguments Smashed. Also I just moved to Pittsburgh and I have been meeting a lot of new people lately, and have been having some really frustrating political ...

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• 13 September

  cinemaNUFACTURING – part one – “Film/School” [PODCAST #576]

  

  Part 1 of 3: "Film/School" - Tomas "Dutch" Deckaj and Scott Bowers are film makers and School Sucks Podcast listeners. I met them last spring in New Orleans where they were working together on a project. Dutch was the film's First Assistant Director, and he told me his job on set is similar to a principal at a high school. From there we discovered many connections between schooling and the film production process, including Hollywood's reliance on "factory model" of production. Dutch, Scott and I will discuss that model in great detail, and we'll question whether or not such a complex process could even work by less efficiency-focused means. We'll also tangent into analysis of some of our favorite films ...

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July, 2018

• 31 July

  [BONUS] A Conversation With An OUTSIDER Hollywood Insider

  

  (AUDIO 91 MINUTES) Willie (a pseudonym) has worked his way through many levels of film production, ascending from a janitor to an essential part of the creative team on many films. He has organized large productions, written and directed. I first met him at the Renegade U/SSP event in New Orleans, where he was filming an upcoming gangster movie. Willie's current project brings him to Pittsburgh, where he joined me, Andrew and James in the studio for an in depth discussion of the troubling present and possible future of the entertainment industry. This is the second half of a 3-hour conversation; the first part will be released tomorrow.

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• 31 July

  [BONUS] Investigative Journalism’s Mike Cernovich Problem

  

  The elaborate monologue I cut from episode #571. I discuss the Duplass/Shapiro and Cernovich/Gunn controversies as prime examples of current input overload and social media ills. What was Cernovich's original motive for going after James Gunn? All I've found is "Gunn frequently tweets about his opposition to President Donald Trump, and thus drew the ire of fans of the president such as right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich, who began posting a series of old tweets by Gunn, many subsequently deleted." It can't be that simple right? Cernovich is fond of using hero and victim narratives for himself. I wonder if he's helpful or harmful. If you think about everything there is to expose about the entertainment industry (including Disney), his digging ...

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June, 2018

• 30 June

  [BONUS] Liberty In Our Lifetime? – Midwest Peace and Liberty Fest Q&A

  

  A snapshot from my delightful and challenging Q&A at the Midwest Peace and Liberty Fest. The first question came from a loyal longtime listener named Scott B, and although it had a few components it basically boiled down to "do you think liberty in our lifetime is possible?" Are we talking about the dissolution of the state itself? Or something more personal? We expanded the question, clarified some terms and began a productive and lively discussion. Video of this will be available soon. No player? Click HERE.

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• 10 June

  [BONUS] THE MASTERMIND – s01e01 – “The Time For Expansion”

  

  (AUDIO, 136 MINUTES) With Richard Grove and Kevin Cole. The Mastermind shows begin with a "pain point," which is a pressing problem of a personal, professional, political, cultural or educational nature. We discuss the problem in detail and contemplate/debate solutions. Every day, Alex Jones and his collection of extremely punchable co-hosts shill for the executive branch of the US government, in between promotions of white-labeled products that somehow fight the New World Order. InfoWars has basically devolved into Alex Jones fan fiction, as they spent the weekend using the the death of Anthony Bourdain to suggest "we've been right all along about everything" because Bourdain was getting ready to reveal to the public everything Alex has been professing for years. ...

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• 3 June

  [BONUS] THE MASTERMIND – Pilot Episode – “PodcastMasterMind”

  

  (AUDIO, 126 MINUTES) The new weekly supporter-only series! Fellow Podcastmasters Jason Osborne and Gardner Goldsmith join Brett to launch The Mastermind. These shows will typically begin with a "pain point," which is a pressing problem of a personal, professional, political, cultural or educational nature. A rotating group of co-hosts will then discuss the problem in detail and contemplate/debate solutions. Today's Pain Point: Are we correct that schools and entertainment media are engaged in an expanding (both overt and covert) campaign to sexualize young children? Or have we just become stupid old conservatives? There is also a related pain point about how this kind of indoctrination is affecting one of our families, but due to its very personal natural, it is ...

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