WEBVTT - What's the Difference Between Socialism and Communism?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bolebaum here. The Soviet Union was the world's first

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<v Speaker 1>communist country, So why was its official name the Union

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<v Speaker 1>of Soviet Socialist Republics. Our Socialism and communism actually the

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<v Speaker 1>same thing, Yes and no. Both share a single foundation

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<v Speaker 1>at the Communist Manifesto published in eighteen forty eight by

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<v Speaker 1>Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. But there are clear differences

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<v Speaker 1>between authoritarian communist regimes like the Soviet Union and China

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<v Speaker 1>and far more democratic forms of socialism practicing countries like Sweden,

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<v Speaker 1>Canada and Bolivia. To understand the differences between socialism and communism,

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<v Speaker 1>we have to start with their common enemy, capitalism. Marx

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<v Speaker 1>and Engels viewed the entirety of human history as a

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<v Speaker 1>history of class struggles. In ancient Rome, there were patricians, plebeians,

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<v Speaker 1>and the enslaved. In feudal societies, there were lords, apprentices

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<v Speaker 1>and serfs. In the seventeen hundreds, political and economic revolutions

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<v Speaker 1>in England, America and France did away with feudalism and

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<v Speaker 1>replaced it with capitalism. For the article this Episodes based

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<v Speaker 1>on How Stuff Works, spoke Norman Markwitz, a political history

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<v Speaker 1>professor at Rutgers University. He said, by the eighteen twenties

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<v Speaker 1>and eighteen thirties, capitalism had produced a world of progress

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<v Speaker 1>and poverty. Even at that early point, the Industrial Revolution

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<v Speaker 1>and the creation of free market economies had greatly benefited

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<v Speaker 1>the wealthy classes, who owned the factories and the farms,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, the means of production, while leaving the average

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<v Speaker 1>worker even worse off than the Marx and Engels divided

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<v Speaker 1>the modern world into two classes, the bourgeoisie, who owned

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<v Speaker 1>the means of production, and the proletariat, or the working class.

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<v Speaker 1>A capitalism, with its emphasis on cheap labor, had created

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<v Speaker 1>an ever widening gulf between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat,

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<v Speaker 1>a problem they said could only be fixed by completely

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<v Speaker 1>dismantling the political and economic system that had created it.

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<v Speaker 1>But Marx and Engels, writing in the eighteen forties, weren't

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<v Speaker 1>the first to have these ideas. They were the latest

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<v Speaker 1>in a long line of economic and political theorists who

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<v Speaker 1>all identified as socialists. A Socialism as a movement began

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<v Speaker 1>in the early eighteen hundreds with thinkers like Henri de Sinsman,

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<v Speaker 1>Robert Owen, and Charles Fourier. Disgusted with the inequalities created

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<v Speaker 1>by capitalism and competition, early socialists proposed the creation of

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<v Speaker 1>workers collectives with shared ownership of property, farms, and factories.

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<v Speaker 1>Markwitz said from the eighteen twenties through the eighteen forties

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<v Speaker 1>there were various different socialist movements that attracted workers, farmers,

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<v Speaker 1>and alienated intellectuals, and all kinds of plans and programs

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<v Speaker 1>to establish socialist collectives. The aforementioned Robert Owen, a wealthy

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<v Speaker 1>Scottish industrialist, even founded such a community called New Harmony

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<v Speaker 1>in Indiana in eighteen twenty five, which eventually failed. Socialism,

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<v Speaker 1>both then and now, advocates for cooperation rather than competition,

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<v Speaker 1>by opposing an unrestricted market economy. Under a socialist system,

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<v Speaker 1>citizens pay high income taxes in exchange for free access

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<v Speaker 1>to government run programs and services. In some socialist models,

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<v Speaker 1>all industry and means of production are state owned, while

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<v Speaker 1>other models allow for private ownership of businesses, with public

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<v Speaker 1>control of certain sectors like health care, energy, education, and transportation.

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<v Speaker 1>The goal of socialism is to create a more egalitarian society.

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<v Speaker 1>A Marx and Engels were fierce critics of the earlier

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<v Speaker 1>utopian forms of socialism that were, in their words, doomed

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<v Speaker 1>to failure because they said they were based on the

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<v Speaker 1>naive belief that class struggle could be resolved through peaceful means.

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<v Speaker 1>Markowitz explained, A Marx and Engels believed that eventually the

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<v Speaker 1>struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat would create a

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<v Speaker 1>crisis in which the capitalist system would need to be

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<v Speaker 1>abolished and replaced with a socialist system. It wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>a utopian system, but a system in which the working

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<v Speaker 1>class have the political power. So you can think of

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<v Speaker 1>the communist Manifesto as a socialist called arms in it. A.

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<v Speaker 1>Marx and Engels argued that the only way to end

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<v Speaker 1>the class struggles that had defined history was through a

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<v Speaker 1>socialist revolution. After the revolution, society would be ruled by

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<v Speaker 1>a dictator leadership of the proletariat. Under capitalism, the bourgeoisie

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<v Speaker 1>called the shots, but a government ruled by the workers

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<v Speaker 1>would put the worker's interests first and not those of

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<v Speaker 1>a wealthy elite. For Marx and Engels, communism was the

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<v Speaker 1>most advanced form of socialism. They saw the evolution of

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<v Speaker 1>advanced societies as starting with capitalism, moving to socialism, and

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<v Speaker 1>finally reaching the ultimate goal of communism. Under proletariat rule,

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<v Speaker 1>the communists would abolish private ownership of land, farms, and

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<v Speaker 1>factories and hand all control over to the state. Housing,

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<v Speaker 1>medical care, and education would all be free, and every

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<v Speaker 1>worker would have a job. In a way, Marx and

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<v Speaker 1>Engel's vision of a truly communist society was also utopian.

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<v Speaker 1>They believed that at some point the state itself would

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<v Speaker 1>cease to exist and the workers would simply share everything,

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<v Speaker 1>as Marx famously wrote, from each according to his ability,

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<v Speaker 1>to eacharding to his needs. Markowitz said, in that higher

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<v Speaker 1>stage of communism, there would be general equality and general abundance.

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<v Speaker 1>People could do whatever they want without harming others. They

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<v Speaker 1>would be genuinely free. But Marx Engels's version of revolutionary socialism,

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<v Speaker 1>also known as Marxism, was never really put into practice. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the world's first communist revolution happened in an unlikely placed,

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<v Speaker 1>Czarist Russia, and its political mastermind was Vladimir Lenin. Lenin

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<v Speaker 1>was a Marxist, but he put his own twist on

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<v Speaker 1>communist theory. He was a champion of the workers, but

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<v Speaker 1>he wasn't confident that a dictatorship of the proletariat would

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<v Speaker 1>spontaneously form after the revolution. Instead of leaving governance up

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<v Speaker 1>to an election or appointment by the workers, Lenin installed

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<v Speaker 1>the Communist Party. All power was put in the hands

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<v Speaker 1>of a political elite that controlled every asset aspect of

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<v Speaker 1>Soviet economic, cultural, and intellectual life, with the ostensible goal

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<v Speaker 1>of creating the more equitable socialist society. In reality, Leninisms

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<v Speaker 1>slipped into authoritarian and tolitarian territory with violent crackdowns on

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<v Speaker 1>dissent and opposition. The ideas put forth in the Communist

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<v Speaker 1>Manifesto inspired generations of political thinkers and economic theorists. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of those individuals formed socialist political parties to win power

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<v Speaker 1>by democratic means, while others, like Lenin and Malo Zadong

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<v Speaker 1>launched communist revolutions. The results today are countries and governments

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<v Speaker 1>that identify as either socialist or communist or both. Scandinavia

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<v Speaker 1>is home to a cluster of democratic socialist countries. Norway, Sweden, Finland,

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<v Speaker 1>and Denmark have elected socialist democratic parties into power, and

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<v Speaker 1>their legislatures have passed laws establishing expansive welfare states. In

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<v Speaker 1>a socialist welfare state, citizens pay high taxes, but enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>generous social services, including free education including college of free

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<v Speaker 1>health care, retirement pensions, paid parntal leave, subsidized housing, and more.

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<v Speaker 1>Socialism hasn't had much success in American politics since Eugene

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<v Speaker 1>Debs ran for president in the early nineteen hundreds, but

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<v Speaker 1>there are currently three members of the House of Representatives

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<v Speaker 1>who belong to the Democratic Socialists of America, including Alexandria

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<v Speaker 1>Ocasio Cortez of New York and Rashida Talib from Michigan.

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<v Speaker 1>The organization has over ninety two thousand members in the US.

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<v Speaker 1>Proponents of the democratic socialist model say that it allows

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<v Speaker 1>for the democratic ideal of individual liberty while also providing

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<v Speaker 1>the socialist ideal of egalitarian social programs. Critics say that

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<v Speaker 1>providing those egalitarian social programs requires a level of redistribution

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<v Speaker 1>of wealth and government regulation that necessarily hampers individual liberty.

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<v Speaker 1>It's important to point out that in democratic socialist countries today,

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<v Speaker 1>private ownership of business and free market capitalism are also

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to exist, and while socialist parties may currently be

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<v Speaker 1>in power, they're not one party governments. Other political parties

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<v Speaker 1>are allowed to campaign and run for office. That's not

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<v Speaker 1>the case in so called communist countries like China, Cuba,

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<v Speaker 1>and Vietnam, and it wasn't true in the former Soviet

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<v Speaker 1>Union either. Those nations are one party regimes where the

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<v Speaker 1>authority of the communist Party is unquestionable and the party

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<v Speaker 1>chooses government officials, not the people. While there is no

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<v Speaker 1>real democracy in these countries, capitalism has made significant inroads,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly in China and Vietnam. Meanwhile, just to keep things confusing,

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<v Speaker 1>all of the countries that we call communist still think

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<v Speaker 1>of themselves as socialist at just different flavors of socialism.

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<v Speaker 1>Markwitz said, China is developing its own model of socialism

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<v Speaker 1>that's very different from the Soviet Union. China's model retains

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<v Speaker 1>power in the hands of a government controlled by the

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<v Speaker 1>Communist Party, but it's also created a capitalist sector that's

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<v Speaker 1>become the second biggest economy in the world over the

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<v Speaker 1>last forty years. The truth, says Markowitz, is that there

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<v Speaker 1>has never been an actual communist country in Marx's sense

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<v Speaker 1>of the word justice. There has never been a true democracy.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, these are ideals that one works toward and

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<v Speaker 1>struggles to achieve. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>what's the difference between socialism and communism on how Stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com, written by Dave Ruse. The brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the Arheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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