In this episode Jerry and Stablydiscussed Susan Sontag’s On Photography, with both finding the book overly long, baroque, and pedantic, though both agreed that Sontag's observations were interesting when extracted from the dense, "show-offy" prose. Jerry and Stably critiqued Sontag’s positions on photography as a predatory act, its role in tourism and status, and its potential for desensitization, with Jerry challenging Sontag's political framing and insistence on classifying art. The discussion included Stably suggesting Sontag's critique was politically motivated, while Jerry prioritized free speech regarding photography in public.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discussed Arthur Schopenhauer's On the Suffering of the World. Jerry praised the book as a great introduction to Schopenhauer's philosophy and its insights, particularly the concept of life as a balance between suffering and boredom, while Stan found the text repetitive and at times impenetrable, disagreeing with the author’s premise. They also explored Schopenhauer’s core ideas, including the "Will" as an eternal, irrational force and the philosopher’s suggested solution of denying the Will through asceticism or art, and they further debated the ethics of procreation and the necessity of preserving consciousness. Stan then selected "On Photography" by Susan Sontag as the next reading material for discussion.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discussed Stefan Borg's book, The Return of the Common Good: The Post-Liberal Project Left and Right, with Stably finding it enjoyable but wanting more and Jerry viewing it as a concise outline confirming prior beliefs, while both criticized its dense, academic style. A major talking point was the assertion that post-liberals offer a "fantastic critique" of liberalism's self-undermining nature but are "incredibly light on prescription," with participants exploring alternative post-liberal approaches like Michael Lind’s and the intellectual genealogy rooted in "radical orthodoxy." The conversation covered various facets of the post-liberal critique, including its US and UK contexts, its distinction from National Conservatism (NatCon), its theoretical core identifying liberalism as an ideology rooted in fear and violence, and its analysis of liberalism's internal contradictions, which erode social trust and necessitate state enforcement of radical individual freedom, alongside a critique of post-liberal feminism.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss Philip Roth's The Human Stain, focusing on the character Coleman Silk, a disgraced college professor whose downfall began after a misconstrued comment with a big secret. They analyzed the book's themes of radical individualism, societal judgment, and the complexities of Silk's relationships.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss Bryan Burrough's book, Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence, focusing on the complexity, motivations, and incompetence of 1970s radical groups like the Weather Underground, BLA, SLA, and FALN.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss Hanno Sauer's book, "The Invention of Good and Evil: A World History of Morality." The discussion highlighted the book's exploration of cooperation in early hominid evolution, the emergence of punishment, the impact of agriculture and "big gods," and the influence of the Catholic Church on Western individualism.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss Andrew Preston's book, "Total Defense, the New Deal, and the Invention of National Security," which explored the evolution of "national security" from territorial defense to an ideological concept linked with the New Deal and global interventionism.

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discuss two books by Mark Schatzker, "The Dorito Effect" and "The End of Craving," exploring how artificial flavors and government mandates have altered food, affecting satiety and nutritional wisdom. They also talked about the challenges of engineering natural flavors, the critiques of lab-grown meats, and the accessibility and cost of quality food.