1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,079 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Brady. Hello, welcome back to the show. 5 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: My name is Matt, my name is Nol. They called 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: me Ben. We are joined as always with our super 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,919 Speaker 1: producer Alexis code named Doc Holiday Jackson. Most importantly, you 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: are you. You are here, and that makes this the 9 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: stuff they don't want you to know. I want to 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: open this week's listener mail segment with a very special 11 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: welcome to my neighbor's downstairs dog, who you may be 12 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: able to hear in the background, who is going through 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: some things. Be kind to your pets, the responsible dog owners, 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: and uh, if your dog is really going through something, 15 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: check on it. That's that's our takeaway from today. We 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: don't need to pay, we don't need to play the 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: Sarah McLaughlin song, but I'll know the one I'm talking about. Today, 18 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: We're going to look I'm doing it. I'm doing it. 19 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: I'm speaking up for the dog owners. When I leave 20 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: my house, my dog does that. So I have a 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: feeling your neighbor, Yes, I know, yeah, and you have 22 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: to go big on empathy. You have to have the 23 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: human moment. So hoping the dog is okay uh, And 24 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: thanking you, fellow conspiracy realists for tuning in today. We're 25 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: going to talk about issue near and dear to my heart. Uh. 26 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: The US is ongoing beef with the Hague. Uh. Also 27 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: another thing I think near and dear to all of us, 28 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: speculation about food supply apocalypse. You may be able to 29 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: see a deep dive of that on YouTube in the 30 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: near future. And then we're going to talk about a 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: conspiracy native to Amazon and TikTok. But maybe first, maybe 32 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: you know, we don't always open up with a voicemail Matt, 33 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: what do you think about that? I want to switch 34 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 1: things up a little today. Yes, then let's jump to 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: the phone lines. This is a message we received from Dirs. 36 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: Hey guys, it's dirts here and you can use this 37 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: on the air if you so choose. In your latest 38 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: episode of Strange News, you touched on the food supply 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 1: scare in lieu of Russia's war with Ukraine. And I 40 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: wanted to add something to that conversation. But it's not 41 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: gonna be the doom and gloom that it first appears 42 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: for this hanging there in that episode. And forgive me 43 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: if I'm incorrect, I didn't hear him mention anything about 44 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: rock floss faith. And uh, you know how rock foss 45 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: faith is mostly supplied by Russia and Ukraine, so we're 46 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: not getting that anymore. But before this war, scientists already 47 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: thought that we were gonna heat pique fosters. So what 48 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: like does that mean we just can't have food anymore? 49 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: Because we can't we can't mind this fertilizer out of 50 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: the ground. I don't think that we actually need to. 51 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: What do you guys know about perman culture. It's a 52 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: system of agriculture that combines philosophy with smart farming. Google it. 53 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: Using perman culture, farmers have reversed the certification of entire 54 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: fourth we mind fertilizer to like exploit a short cut 55 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: to a system that already existed before humans started interacting 56 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: with it. I nick mold fertilizer my yard with wheat. 57 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: That's Korean natural farming, which is a little bit different. 58 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: But anyway, perman culture at a mass scale proven to work. 59 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: It's the easiest, simplest, and most cohesive way to farm 60 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: to tell me, is Perman culture the stuff that they 61 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: don't want you to know. Thanks so much for your show, guys. 62 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: You guys actually covered the apocalypse. It's in a really 63 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: uh blessedly funny way. And I appreciate what some of 64 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: you every day. Thanks what a nice thing is so nice. 65 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. And and Matt you Uh. I'm 66 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: familiar with Perman culture actually from from some of my 67 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 1: outdoors time. You spoke with Thers and DRS actually wrote 68 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: to us. I believe, yes, permana culture is interesting. I 69 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: don't know much about it. I'm learning about it now 70 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: and the figure we would all learn about it together. 71 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: I did speak to DERs. He's my new best friend. Sorry, guys, Uh, 72 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: y'all are OUTDRS is in. That's just how it is, 73 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: so I'm kidding. He's just a very very cool guy. Uh. 74 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: Spoke to him a little bit. He's got a company 75 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: that specializes in Perman culture out there in Seattle, in 76 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: the Seattle area. I guess it's titled The Hermetic Order 77 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: of the Garden Dawn. Oh wow, snap, I love a 78 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: good I love it job. There's also um Perman culture, 79 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: as I'm sure there's pointed out. While the term itself 80 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: is from the nineties seventies, it's descended from some really 81 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: really old agricultural and husbandry practices. Yeah, it's a lot 82 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: of different things. Perman culture is many things. It is mostly, 83 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: as you said, um, indigenous people's practices, right, that kind 84 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: of got lost over time as industrialization came around, and 85 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: now it's kind of we're going back to those roots 86 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: if you will. It's it's a fascinating thing. I'll tell you. Yeah, 87 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: I'll just tell you some of the things here. By 88 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: the way, his company is quote a secret society of 89 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: plant lovers. It's pretty awesome. We talked about so many things. 90 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 1: One of the most interesting concepts that dur has talked 91 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: about is that people in general, our society, I guess 92 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: we see weeds that are on our lawns as problems, 93 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: weeds that are in our backyards as problems. I certainly do. 94 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: I'm preparing to sell my home and one of the 95 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: first things I did to try and beautify this place 96 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: to be able to make it marketable, is to get 97 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: rid of all the weeds, every single one of them. Uh, 98 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: scorched earth. Only grass will remain. And that's what I 99 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: decided to do and there are so many companies out 100 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: there that will do that for you. There's so many 101 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: products that you can do that on your own. And 102 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: there's main point, or one of his main points, was 103 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: that we should not do that. That's one of the 104 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: worst things you can do for the soil. If you 105 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: want to actually have healthy plants growing on that soil. 106 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: One of the worst things you can do is especially 107 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: apply herbicide and kill all those things. Anyway, as Dark said, 108 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: it's way more of a philosophy and a collection of 109 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: techniques than anything else, right, That's what permaculture is, philosophy 110 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: plus technique. I don't know where to where to begin here, guys. 111 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: Besides this peak phosphorus thing, which is a real existential 112 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: threat for me, even though it was kind of a 113 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: theory for a while that we had to throw a 114 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: little cold water on in the past. But at the 115 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: same time, it's a real issue at least when it 116 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: comes to how much it will cost to continue, you know, 117 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: getting these fertilizers the rock phosphates out of the ground 118 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: and then shipping them around the planet in order to 119 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: continue our industrial farming practices. It is a bit scary 120 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: to me. Have you guys heard anything about that recently? Yeah, 121 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: I know. I mean Der's you are correct in the 122 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: way that the global phosphates rock system has been disrupted 123 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: by conflicts UM. I would also note to you earlier 124 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: point that because we did discuss this, I think briefly 125 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: a number of years ago, saying that things are like 126 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: when you said we threw some cold water on it, 127 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: which is to a degree true. Uh, we by no 128 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: means said it wasn't going to be a problem. There 129 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: are a lot of things that I think sometimes people 130 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: don't take it seriously because they hear really hyperbolic descriptions 131 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: of them. But just because some one sources being alarmist 132 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: does not in any way mean that the problem is 133 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: not there. It's like it's like the question about the 134 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: timing of when peak oil will be reached. It's a 135 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: very similar problem with peak phosphate UM. I think primarily 136 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: because no one really knows, like we know where the 137 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: um we know where you can mine phosphate rock in 138 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: a cost effective way. Now, Uh, we know that there 139 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: are certain areas that have great reserves of phosphorus, but 140 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: we don't know exactly when we will see those affordable 141 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: reserves exhausted. Is it going to be fifty to a 142 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: hundred years, is it gonna is peak phosphorus gonna be 143 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: twenty thirty? Is it going to be several hundreds of years? Uh? 144 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: The jury is out and there are a lot of 145 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: smart people who disagree on this. To me, it reminds 146 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: me of the rare Earth elements or the rare Earth materials. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 147 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: There's a ton of this stuff rock phosphate and and 148 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: mindable phosphate on the planet that we could access. It's 149 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: just it's concentrated in a few specific places where it's 150 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: economically feasible to mind it there. But otherwise it's just 151 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: spread out in ways that it would be difficult to 152 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: make a lot of money or to have it even 153 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: just a and a profitable company at all, to just 154 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 1: gather up the phosphate in these you know, various places 155 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 1: across the globe. So it could be a really big 156 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: problem headed our way. I guess the next thing we 157 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: need to do is kind of define what is permaculture 158 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: a little better, at least for my mind. Ben, you 159 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: mentioned the nineteen seventies is when the term at least 160 00:09:54,440 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: came around by a few Australian guys, Bill Mullison, David Holmgren, 161 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,439 Speaker 1: and they've wrote a book's called perman Culture. One that 162 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: was really the thing that kicked off the movement of 163 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: perman culture. I suppose, yeah, and you and you you 164 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: raised a great point where, um, in some of the 165 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: conversations you and I have had in the past, and 166 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: what you just said now about your conversation with DR's 167 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 1: that there is a culture, a philosophy behind this. Uh. 168 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 1: The idea I think maybe for people who aren't familiar 169 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: with the term, we could go to, uh something you 170 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: would linked to from n C State with their appendix 171 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: on perman culture design. Um. I think they're introduction is 172 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 1: quite succinct and covers a lot of the bases, especially 173 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: like the three driving ethics or axioms of the belief. 174 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's a perfect place to start, Ben. I'll 175 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: give you this quote that comes from that book as 176 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: a basic definition of sorts, and then we'll go into 177 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:04,479 Speaker 1: the as ethics. The definition is quote, consciously designed landscapes 178 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while 179 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: yet yielding an abundance of food, fiber, and energy for 180 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: provision of local needs, so basically your local area, using 181 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: what's there and designing the thing out of what's already there, 182 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: like just making the land essentially work. It's in a 183 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: way it seems as though we kind of want the 184 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: land to work for us. We want this land to 185 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: make the corn. We want this land over here to 186 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: make the wheat, and that's all it is. That's all 187 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: it's gonna be. That's what we're gonna do. This philosophy. 188 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: It's way more like, well, what naturally grows over here, Uh, 189 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: what's edible that grows in this land already, let's design 190 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: it around that. So the former idea you outline is 191 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,079 Speaker 1: mono agriculture, right, those are the things where those are 192 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: the practices where you see an entire swath of land 193 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: growing only soybeans or growing only you know, one specific 194 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: type of profitable crop in profitable and whatever current regime 195 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: you live in. But for much of human history this 196 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: wasn't the case. People lived closer to the land and 197 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 1: they were practicing the thing you describe. The latter idea, 198 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: which I think is superior um. If you are in 199 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,239 Speaker 1: the United States, you might be familiar with the concept 200 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: of the Three Sisters, which is the corn beans and squash. 201 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 1: You plant them like you plant the beans at the 202 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,959 Speaker 1: base of the cornstocks, and they helped support the bean 203 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: vines as they grow and reach the sunlight. You the 204 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: ideas you can um by farming. You can look at 205 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: it as not like helping plants work together and people 206 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: working with plants. You can also um. You can also 207 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: rotate the crops you grow in such a way that 208 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: enriches the soil, rather than growing just one crop that 209 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: over time could deplete the soil. So there's science to this. 210 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: What we're establishing is there is philosophy. There are ethical guidelines, 211 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: but there is like I'm sure DR's you would you 212 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: have probably had to point this out to people in 213 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: the past. There's solid science to back up a lot 214 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: of this stuff. Oh yeah, oh dude, there's all kinds 215 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 1: of science and fascinating things I've never heard about. Did 216 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: you guys know? There's a German method where you cut 217 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: your lawn that has grass on it, and you you 218 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: cut it into squares. Then you take that lawn and 219 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: you flip it over so the grass side is down, 220 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,959 Speaker 1: and then and you leave that there, and then that 221 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: grass breaks down into the nutrients you need to feed 222 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 1: stuff that you plant into the soil. On top of that, 223 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: I've never heard of that. That's amazing. That's news to 224 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 1: me as well, Matt. I love learning new things. That's awesome. 225 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: That reminds duh when Scott Benjamin over at cars stuff 226 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: years ago. You know, Scott, I love the guy. Uh. 227 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: She told me. I was. I was doing a piece 228 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: on two two cycle engines, right, so I was fixing 229 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: all these little lawnmowers and is getting frustrated, and he 230 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: was like, you know what you should do, Ben You 231 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: should buy a goat lawn. And that's a real thing 232 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: people do. You can rent goats stick out your lawn, 233 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: and arguably it's more sustainable than than a gas guzzling motor. 234 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: But but I love like not do we know how 235 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: old that idea is in Germany or how recent? I 236 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: don't know. I'm here somewhere in one of these links 237 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: that I shared. Guys, it's a specific technique. Oh lord, 238 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:41,320 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna be able to find it right now. 239 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: I missed a step. By the way. You have to 240 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: get decaying wood or like dry or older wood that's 241 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: just around somewhere from you know, probably just sticks falling 242 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: down and things like that. But you have to put 243 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: that wood between the ground and that grass layer that 244 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: you put on top, because that would breaks down in 245 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: the same way the grass breaks down, and that will 246 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: feed those plants that you put on top of it 247 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: for years, I guess, or at least for a long 248 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: time according to jurors. I don't know these things. Guys 249 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: is very smart and knows these things. Um, there's also 250 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: something I figured you guys might have encountered through ridiculous history. 251 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: You guys, ever heard of night soil? Oh? Yeah, night soil. 252 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: Human poop is fertilizer. Okay, it's sort of like gray 253 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: water maybe where you take the runoff or the you know, 254 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: parts of the water that you use in your house 255 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: that don't have human fecal matter in them and use 256 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: it for irrigation. Yeah. Night night soil is an historic 257 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: practice too. It's quite an efficient one. But but I 258 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: think what a lot of people might not know is 259 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: night soil is still commonly used as fertilizer today in 260 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: different parts of the world. That's right, That is right again. 261 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: Just mix your poop with wood chips and you've got 262 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:01,400 Speaker 1: some really great fertilizer. That's that's what I wipe with. 263 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: Oh oh lord there. I mean there are controversies though 264 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: about it being linked to uh, some health concerns, you know, 265 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: but it makes sense when you're you know, like, imagine 266 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: you're a farmer. We'll just say, for the sake of argument, 267 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago, and uh, 268 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: and you don't have a big company. You don't also 269 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: have a general store where you buy fertilizer, so you 270 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: save it up the poop and then you're probably also 271 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: having a lot of kids because that's free labor. Right, 272 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: it was a very different time. All right, guys, I'm 273 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: gonna get to those ethics we never said them. Yeah. 274 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: This is according to um NC State North Carolina State University, 275 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: I'm assuming, and this is on one of their websites. 276 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: It's Appendix G Permaculture Design. It's from the North Carolina 277 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: Extension Gardner Handbook. Okay, here we go. Permit Ulture ethic 278 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 1: one Care for the Earth. Stop me when you feel 279 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: like this is sounding like guidestones. UM Care for the Earth. 280 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: The discipline looks to nature as a model for design. 281 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: Perman culture includes replicating and restoring natural systems. With this 282 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: ethic perman culture emphasizes organic and sustainable methods of working 283 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,880 Speaker 1: with the land. It promotes the use of naturally occurring 284 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: and locally available materials for design, installation, and maintenance. Awesome, 285 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: and number two would be care for people. One primary 286 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: goal of perman culture is to provide for people's basic needs, 287 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: including food, shelter, human connection, education, and a sense of 288 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: purpose and place. A perman culture designer aims to produce 289 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 1: both food and pleasure. Whoa okay? Okay? Number three share 290 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: in the surplus. The third ethic is to share the 291 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: surplus ones basic needs are met an alignment with natural systems, 292 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: Excess yield is transferred to another system or person. Waste 293 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 1: becomes an asset to be repurposed. Now, I know you 294 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: were kind of joking, but there are some guidestones. E 295 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: feels about some of these, like and that it feels 296 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: more like a philosophy more than like a set of 297 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: instructions for a you know, sort of practical functioning system. 298 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:20,880 Speaker 1: But that's I don't think that. I don't think you're joking, Matt. 299 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I know the precepts would all do, but you, 300 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 1: like Matt, you were just literally saying earlier that this 301 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: is a combination of philosophy and practical practical tactics. Right, yeah, 302 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: it really is, and it and it does Honestly, I really, 303 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: I'm not joking. Well, it feels like to me like 304 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: leaving room for nature, finding a way to work with nature. Basically, um, 305 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 1: here is my thing, guys. This sounds amazing. This sounds 306 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 1: like also and I'm serious, there's this feels like the 307 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 1: laying the groundwork for a cult, you know, like and 308 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: not in a bad way, not saying permaculture is a cult. 309 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: I'm saying these are very positive, awesome things. Uh. It 310 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 1: just does make me feel like you could use this 311 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 1: as your as You're like, um uh support structure to 312 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: get a bunch of people out living on a piece 313 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: of land with commune kind of stuff. Yeah, you can't 314 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: spell permaculture without cult. Just but that's not what. I 315 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,359 Speaker 1: Don't mean that at all, And I'm not trying to 316 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:27,360 Speaker 1: speak badly about the Flash movement. It's just when I'm 317 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,439 Speaker 1: when I'm reading that out loud and I'm hearing it 318 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 1: then in putting it all into my head because you 319 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: can use that phrase. Perman Culture Designer aims to produce 320 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: both food. And you know, the BuzzFeed headline is libertarians 321 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 1: hate this agricultural system. Uh. You know, for some people 322 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 1: who are a little bit sensitive about stuff, the idea 323 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: of the third ethic may seem um, probably too close 324 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,880 Speaker 1: to socialism in some ways. I mean, the big difference 325 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: from perman culture, between perman culture and the precepts from 326 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: the Georgia Guidestones is obviously not the demand for um, 327 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: a mass lowering of the population, and hopefully not descended 328 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 1: as directly from belief in eugenics. But uh, but also 329 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: in defense and again this is not This is a 330 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: point that has nothing to do with with perspectives on 331 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: current society. What sticks out to me here is the 332 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 1: emphasis on systems, right on the systems, and uh, society 333 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: is a system. A group of people is at heart 334 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: a system. And in the natural world, way before human 335 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:50,400 Speaker 1: beings ever existed, that third precept and that first precept 336 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: were enforced at times brutally, you know what I mean. 337 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: Nature has been a lot of things, but it's not 338 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: always the nicest, the nicest thing, I No. I think 339 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: this is especially the emphasis on learning and mimicking natural systems, 340 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,440 Speaker 1: like the more sophisticated so much technology becomes, the closer 341 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 1: and closer it cleaves to being very similar to pre 342 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: existing things that were formed by environments or by evolution. 343 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:24,879 Speaker 1: I strongly believe that it doesn't matter. If I believe it, 344 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: it's true, yeah, exactly. The one thing for me, guys, 345 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 1: is this all sounds well and good. It sounds amazing. 346 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: It sounds like the right thing to do. One of 347 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: the things Durst said was no one picks up leaves 348 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: in a forest and the soil is doing great in there. 349 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: And that's one of the whole points. Like, the way 350 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:49,120 Speaker 1: these systems function is to sustain themselves, right, the way 351 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: a forest functions, the way a meadow functions. It will 352 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: sustain itself if you don't touch it, and it's going 353 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,160 Speaker 1: to grow and be great. It just won't do maybe 354 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,440 Speaker 1: the things that we wanted to do, but you can 355 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: gently if those things and those systems to work for you, 356 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: rather than tearing them up and trying to build something new. Basically, 357 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: I really love what like the philosophy he was teaching me. 358 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: The way drs did this is he went to a 359 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: special place. I can't remember DERs what it was, but 360 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 1: he just looked it up online found a school basically 361 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: to go to and learn all about permaculture, and then 362 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: he started a business and he's you know, he's running 363 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: a successful business right now doing this stuff. My question is, 364 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: how do you do this on a mass scale really, 365 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: because it feels like it's going to be impossible just 366 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: to fill up the stores with the food that Americans 367 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: and much of the Western society is used to. I 368 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: don't know that you can. Maybe you can. It feels 369 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: unfeasible to me, which you know, maybe it's not. And 370 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: hopefully somebody out there knows that it's not and knows 371 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 1: a way to do it, and we can figure that out, 372 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: because this does seem a lot more sustainable than the 373 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: factory farming. It's just I don't know how it would 374 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: function at scale and time soon. Oh, I would love 375 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: to talk about this more in depth that I say 376 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: we do an episode because I've got some crazy stuff 377 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: about this, So there's you're gonna have to tune in 378 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,280 Speaker 1: for that. I think this will be a fun one. Sweet, 379 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm in. Well, that's it for now, Thanks so much 380 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: for calling enters. We'll be right back with more messages 381 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: from you. And we're back with one more message from 382 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: from you. Uh and in this case, you is a Connor. 383 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: And here's how the message goes. Hello. I am an 384 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: American and have lived in Europe for thirty years now 385 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: and teach at a community college here in the Netherlands. 386 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: I really enjoy both stuff they don't want you to 387 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: know and stuff you should know. Um. A few months ago, 388 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: I gave my English as a Second language students the 389 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: exercise of choosing one of your episodes, listening to it, 390 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: and giving a short or report on the episode in English. 391 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,159 Speaker 1: I would love to hear that. Shucks. Yeah, a connor 392 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: goes on. I all so teach social studies and international studies. 393 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: So for those courses, every year our students visit the 394 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: International Court of Justice in the Hague, where we talk 395 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: about how it works and sometimes get to watch some 396 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 1: of the war crimes trials. Most people do not know 397 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: that the US does not participate in the Court. They 398 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: do help find and transport criminals, and historically they did 399 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: help create the court. However, they do not participate in it. 400 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: It would be great if you did a show on 401 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: the International Court of Justice, especially given the recent debate 402 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: on US democracy. Love to hear you, guys, cop the 403 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: good work kind regards A Connor, Ben, that was a 404 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: very telling chuckle. Um, I think, because why would the 405 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: US not want to support an international court that tries 406 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: war criminals? Crazier than that? Okay, so a lot of 407 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: Americans don't know this, but there are, um, there are 408 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: some people who are lauded as heroes by certain factions 409 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 1: of the US population that can't travel to places because 410 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: they might get arrested. Uh and yeah, your point holds 411 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: know about the idea of possibly being war criminals. I 412 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,640 Speaker 1: would like to introduce everyone who hasn't heard about this. 413 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 1: Uh well wait, first off, first, I'm excited. I'm jumping around. 414 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: But first off, A Connor, thank you, Yes done, we're 415 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: doing that episode. It's weird. We haven't done it so much. 416 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: It's so rife. It's fascinating because here's how deep it goes. 417 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: And um, A Connor, I'm sure you know this. But 418 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:42,639 Speaker 1: for anybody who's not aware, this stance against participating in 419 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:48,159 Speaker 1: I c C is so ingrained in American culture that 420 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: back in two thousand and two under the Bush administration, 421 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: they passed the American Service Members Protection Act, and that 422 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,160 Speaker 1: has a street name. The street name is the Hague 423 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: Invasion Act, meaning that if you take someone that we 424 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: care about, because the US doesn't treat everybody equally, obviously, 425 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: if you take someone that we care about and you 426 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: try them in the court, then we are sending the 427 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:21,439 Speaker 1: world's biggest, most dangerous military to the court, and not 428 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 1: to peacefully testify, not to be character witnesses. So there's 429 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: a really really cool piece cool I don't know, it's 430 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: just a good like primer on this that came out 431 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:35,199 Speaker 1: in April sixteenth of this year, UM on NPR. It 432 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: was filed by Michael Martin on All Things Considered, and 433 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,399 Speaker 1: he interviews John Bellinger the third, who is a former 434 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: legal advisor for the National Security Council UH specifically about 435 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: this kind of fraud relationship between the US and the 436 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: International Criminal Court. And the host starts the interview very 437 00:26:55,359 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 1: I don't know, straightforwardly asking this gentleman, UM, why why 438 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: is it that the you know? So he sort of 439 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 1: gives a little back, right, So, the International Criminal Court 440 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 1: was established relatively recently in n by an international agreement 441 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: that's called the Rome Statute, and the US, you know, 442 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: to a Connors point in the email, UM did help 443 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: negotiate that accord. In the end, it didn't formally join 444 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,119 Speaker 1: uh and he asks Bellinger why not, and he responds, 445 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: the real answer to your question is that the US 446 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: has been concerned from the very beginning that the prosecutor 447 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: for the court would be given too much power unchecked, 448 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: and he or she could conduct politically motivated prosecutions of 449 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:42,120 Speaker 1: US soldiers a k a. Bring them up on war 450 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: crime charges. Right right, Yeah, Yeah, there's more to the 451 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: story to certainly, But but I'm just saying, it's like, 452 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: we don't do war crimes in the United States. I 453 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: think that's sort of the what I'm saying is, I 454 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: am the US. We don't do war crimes. That's what 455 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: other countries do work times. We don't do that. So therefore, 456 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: we are not gonna put our rubber stamp on a 457 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: situation out of our control that could call our men 458 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: and women in uniform before some sort of European tribunal 459 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: and and rake them across the coals for just doing 460 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: Uncle Sam's good work. That's the idea. I mean, that's 461 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 1: why that's why they're standing law in the US. I'll 462 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,879 Speaker 1: dig into this and have the specifics for the episode, 463 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: but that's why they're standing law in the US that says, 464 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: you know, you can't prosecute certain people or positions for 465 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: exercising the actions that are expected in their role unless 466 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: they're you know, there are things that are outlined, right, 467 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: But there's that's why the US doesn't accuse a sitting 468 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: president of war crimes, right when when there's a conflict 469 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: in a region somewhere else in the in the world. 470 00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: But this idea, it's important to note, has never been tested. 471 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 1: The US is not invaded the Hague for two decades 472 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: and counting. So picture the u N or the International 473 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 1: Criminal Court with one of those little race boards in 474 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: the break room that says it's been and then somebody 475 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: and Marker wrote, twenty years since the US invaded the Hague. 476 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 1: It's strange. There's some c y there, obviously, and a 477 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: lot of US allies didn't like this move. Um, and 478 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: the US started instituting the strategy of obtaining immunity from 479 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,080 Speaker 1: other state actors in order to like in a quid 480 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 1: pro quo. So it's it's a fascinating process, but it's 481 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: not something every country can do. And the U S 482 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: would say, of course, as the lawyer pointed out, they're 483 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 1: not signatories to the I s C. Well, you know 484 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,400 Speaker 1: who else is not. There's another country that's in the 485 00:29:55,400 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: news right now that's doing some things m hm. And 486 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: that's honestly where this, uh, this article kind of stemmed 487 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: from or this uh, this NPR piece was, you know, 488 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,240 Speaker 1: the US or the President of the United States, Joe 489 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:13,960 Speaker 1: Biden went so far as to call Vladimir Putin a 490 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,280 Speaker 1: war criminal. Um And where do war criminals get prosecuted. 491 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: It's it's at the Hague at least in terms of 492 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: international affairs or the international you know community. Uh. And 493 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: yet we would not hold our own um officials or 494 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: our soldiers to that same standard. So at that point, 495 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: you know, I mean, I know it's complicated, and I 496 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: know it's definitely we're gonna keep this short because we 497 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: don't want to spoil anything that's gonna go into the 498 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:45,040 Speaker 1: episode and definitely requires a deeper dive. But it feels 499 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: very hollow for Biden to say that as sort of 500 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: a buzzy thing to say, I'm taking a stand, and 501 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,719 Speaker 1: yet we don't actually recognize the jurisdiction of this you know, 502 00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: largely internationally legally recognized body. So it's kind of like 503 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: not really putting your money where your mouth is when 504 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: you say a thing like that. Yeah. Also, let me 505 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: just read the list of countries who are not part 506 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: of the International Criminal Courts. This isn't fullst but Russia 507 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 1: is not. Neither is the US. We've established that, neither 508 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:23,240 Speaker 1: is China, nor India, nor Rock, Libya, Yemen, Cutter Israel, Ukraine, 509 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: Like it's not everybody is what we're saying. And then 510 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 1: I do want to say, I know, we do want 511 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:31,880 Speaker 1: to keep this short. I want to say there could 512 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: be rational, slash legitimate concerns from the perspective of those countries. 513 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: The i c C gets a lot of criticism. It's 514 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: been accused of um being a tool of Western imperialists 515 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: or neo colonial powers, punishing like the leaders of smaller, 516 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 1: less powerful states in Africa in particular, while ignoring crimes 517 00:31:55,560 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: committed by other more powerful countries. It's even the African 518 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:06,680 Speaker 1: Union wants to withdraw from made moves to withdraw from 519 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: the court. It's hard to find a court that every 520 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: country agrees with, and there are a lot of accusations 521 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: about conspiracy. So a connor, as the Templar Night said 522 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: to Indy, you have chosen wisely, this is perfect for 523 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 1: an episode, and there's an Indiana Jones coming out number five. 524 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: I don't know if my face off is it really yeah? Yeah, 525 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,640 Speaker 1: but the last one was so middling. This win. I 526 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 1: don't know about lou boof, but if he can still 527 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: stand up right by that, I mean, okay, no, no, 528 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:43,120 Speaker 1: no shame there. Harrison's a stud I don't believe there 529 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: will be any like c g I monkey swinging. That 530 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: was I couldn't heard. It took all the magic out 531 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: of the previous films. The Indiana Jones franchise also, as 532 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: far as I know, like Russia, India, China and the 533 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: US and those other countries, does not acknowledge the jurisdiction 534 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: of the International Criminal Court. So it's going to be 535 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: up to the good folks at Rotten Tomatoes to decide 536 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: whether or not Indiana Jones five as a crime. Well, 537 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:15,560 Speaker 1: good luck to you, Indiana Jones. I mean you could 538 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: argue Indiana Jones himself might have been guilty of some 539 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: war crimes. I mean, shot that guy dead. He was 540 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: just swinging a sword around, and come on, that's not right. 541 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: He also airplane guy? Yeah? Oh yeah. Also wait, but 542 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: there was a dude who like, yeah, there's a dude 543 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: who's like swinging a scimitar around, yeah, and make a 544 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,560 Speaker 1: big show of it. And then Indy just shoots him dead, 545 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: you know, And that was improvised. He also shot that alien. 546 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,360 Speaker 1: He shot that alien man in in Star Wars. He 547 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 1: definitely shot first, and they've that's revisioned his history right there. 548 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 1: Han shot first, ruined that fridge. Well, he also stole 549 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 1: a ton of priceless artifacts. Look, I say, this is 550 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: a fan of many films in the Indiana Jones franchise, 551 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 1: but the guy's a criminal. These are crust you guys. 552 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,480 Speaker 1: Know what else is coming out? I think it's this weekend. 553 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: It's the new Thor movie. Yeah, it's good tonight as 554 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 1: we record Love and Funder. That looks fun. It's very 555 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: Masters of the Universe looking. I like that vibe that 556 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: I'm getting from the trailer. Can't wait us. I don't 557 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:27,360 Speaker 1: get excited about many movies we go from international courts. 558 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:30,759 Speaker 1: I love that about the show Crime and Jurisdiction. Yeah, 559 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 1: this is a great thing. We we got there because 560 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: I just had to reference the templar night from uh, 561 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: the Last Crusade. So yeah, that's how we got there. 562 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: But but yeah, this is something more people should know about. 563 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 1: And the decision for the US to participate or not 564 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,799 Speaker 1: participate in the i SEC is such a who does 565 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: it ride with? Who does that rest with? Ben? Well, 566 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 1: it's such a high level decision. I think it's executive branch. 567 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 1: But it's such a high level decision. May be wrong 568 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: that the average voter doesn't get to do anything about 569 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,560 Speaker 1: it. It It doesn't matter what you think you can you 570 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,399 Speaker 1: I guess all I will say to end with if 571 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: that's okay? Is uh? This guy Ballinger, you know, who 572 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 1: seems to know what he's talking about. Um, he says 573 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,760 Speaker 1: the US should be a member. But sadly that ship 574 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 1: sailed back in when the negotiators over US objections during 575 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,480 Speaker 1: the Clinton administration negotiated a treaty that did not address 576 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:33,320 Speaker 1: US concerns. So, yes, it's painful for me as an American, 577 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 1: as a lawyer, as the former legal advisor for the 578 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,839 Speaker 1: State Department, representing a country that has long been at 579 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,200 Speaker 1: the forefront of international criminal justice. It is unfortunately the 580 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court. 581 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,960 Speaker 1: We should be, but for the time being, I think 582 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,879 Speaker 1: US policy will have to continue to be through both 583 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 1: Republican and democratic administrations, is to support the Court when 584 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:57,359 Speaker 1: it is doing what it was set up to do, 585 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: which in this case is the investigations of the Russian 586 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:04,320 Speaker 1: War crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, which is 587 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 1: exactly what the Court was set up to do. So 588 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,719 Speaker 1: boy oh boy, Um, this is a deep dive of 589 00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:12,480 Speaker 1: an episode that we're gonna have coming up in the 590 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,280 Speaker 1: in the near future. And and thank you a Connor 591 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,240 Speaker 1: for this. Um, you know, just kind of light bulb 592 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:20,839 Speaker 1: moment I think for all of us. Um, we're gonna 593 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:22,439 Speaker 1: take a quick break and then we're gonna come back 594 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: with one more piece of listener mail from you. And 595 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,759 Speaker 1: we've returned. This one comes to us via Instagram. A 596 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,680 Speaker 1: lot of people reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter, 597 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: various missives, Crossroads at midnight, all the hits, all the 598 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:48,680 Speaker 1: good ones, and uh, this person requested to be anonymous 599 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: and they hipped me to something that I shared with 600 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 1: you all off air. Uh. It was someone strange for 601 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,920 Speaker 1: me because it's something I had never heard of a 602 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: lot of times would get a good idea. We're thinking, 603 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,800 Speaker 1: why haven't we done it? Episode on that like the 604 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 1: I C C. I think it's crazy that never came 605 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 1: up a conversation. Um, maybe it did back in the 606 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,799 Speaker 1: YouTube days. But this question, I'll read the pertinent bit 607 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:18,160 Speaker 1: sad to remove some stuff to help preserve this person's identity. 608 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:21,200 Speaker 1: But if you are listening, thank you. This is a 609 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:26,280 Speaker 1: very strange one. And just like academic journals the piece 610 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,360 Speaker 1: we did earlier, which by the way, we got we 611 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:32,400 Speaker 1: got some Uh, we're gonna get some feedback from the 612 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,880 Speaker 1: world of academia on that one. But like academic journals, 613 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:37,920 Speaker 1: this idea is a little bit niche. So here it 614 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: is anonymous from Instagram reaches out at them bullen to say. 615 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:47,000 Speaker 1: A TikTok trend called the hashtag Read and Return challenge 616 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:51,919 Speaker 1: instructs readers to read books on Amazon quickly then return them. 617 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:57,560 Speaker 1: Amazon actually does so, then deducts the money from those authors. 618 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 1: This has led to an increasing number of authors and 619 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:05,920 Speaker 1: observers wondering whether Amazon is complicit in this trend, pushing 620 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:12,240 Speaker 1: authors to join their Kindle Unlimited program. Now earlier and 621 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: this anonymous person did something I love, which is uh, 622 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 1: sending some sources, sending some articles that they had been 623 00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:25,239 Speaker 1: reading and relaying some of their own personal experience. At 624 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:27,440 Speaker 1: the end of this week's segment, I'm going to ask 625 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,840 Speaker 1: if you have encountered something like this. Uh, it reminds 626 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:34,200 Speaker 1: me of earlier this week, we're talking about how to 627 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 1: manufacture a viral marketing trend. What if you could pull 628 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:43,320 Speaker 1: those levers not just to try to make a middling 629 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 1: film a success, but you could pull those levers to 630 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: incentivize behavior in people. Here's this group. So Amazon has 631 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:59,360 Speaker 1: this thing called Kindle Unlimited. Full disclosure, I've used Kindle 632 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: Unlimited for a number of years, often to get books 633 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:07,920 Speaker 1: related to various branches of research, things that are so 634 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,319 Speaker 1: subject specific I'm probably not going to keep them, you know, 635 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 1: as a physical copy. But the story really started with 636 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:21,520 Speaker 1: someone named Lisa Kessler, who is an award winning, very 637 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:26,720 Speaker 1: prolific author, has written forty four novels forty four separate novels, 638 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,359 Speaker 1: and then earlier in June this year, Uh blew up 639 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:33,240 Speaker 1: with a tweet where she said, Hey, just reminder, Amazon 640 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,400 Speaker 1: is not a library. When you read and return a book, 641 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,440 Speaker 1: it cost the author. It's June one says this again, 642 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:45,200 Speaker 1: successful award winning, prolific author, and I owe Amazon at 643 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,320 Speaker 1: the moment because people are reading through a series of 644 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,360 Speaker 1: books she wrote and returning the books when they finish. 645 00:39:52,239 --> 00:39:55,600 Speaker 1: So Kessler was in an interview with BuzzFeed and she 646 00:39:55,719 --> 00:40:00,719 Speaker 1: said this problem started around May of this year and 647 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:05,040 Speaker 1: last month for her, there was this swell of returns 648 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,560 Speaker 1: of entire series of books, and they didn't seem to 649 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:11,680 Speaker 1: be related to people not liking the actual book or 650 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:14,640 Speaker 1: accidentally buying something, which you know can happen when you're 651 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:19,080 Speaker 1: shopping online. She says, they ran through them and turned 652 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:22,360 Speaker 1: turned them back in and got their money back. You know, 653 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,080 Speaker 1: this is a hustle people have done at retail stores 654 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: in the past, right, Like, uh, nobody has to admit 655 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 1: it if you've done it. But I'm sure there are 656 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,040 Speaker 1: many of us listening to the audience today who maybe 657 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:36,600 Speaker 1: bought something that they were going to use over the 658 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 1: weekend and then returned it because you just needed it 659 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: for the weekend. And also the like the permissiveness or 660 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:47,280 Speaker 1: laxness of return policies. It comes off like a feature 661 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:50,000 Speaker 1: where it's like, oh, I'm not taking any risk by 662 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:51,759 Speaker 1: buying this thing because I can just return at no 663 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,439 Speaker 1: questions asked. But there are so many ways to game 664 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,279 Speaker 1: that like the like you know, a scam you'll see 665 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,399 Speaker 1: in movies. Sometimes it's like people will steal something from 666 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,600 Speaker 1: one tar get and return it to the other one 667 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:05,320 Speaker 1: because you don't actually have to have the receipt. Yeah, exactly. 668 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 1: And in some cases, especially for a lot of big retailers, 669 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:14,120 Speaker 1: the headache of the paperwork and returning and processing something 670 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,759 Speaker 1: is or like denying or return it just doesn't make 671 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,680 Speaker 1: sense for their use of time. That's why there are 672 00:41:20,719 --> 00:41:23,799 Speaker 1: things that that's why there are so many algorithms in place, right, 673 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,480 Speaker 1: Like if you order something that's not incredibly expensive from 674 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: a company like Amazon, you know, you just get your 675 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,719 Speaker 1: whatever threshold to get free shipping, and then you say 676 00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:38,680 Speaker 1: the box never arrived. If you're not doing that really often, 677 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:42,760 Speaker 1: they'll probably just send you another box of the same stuff, 678 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:46,400 Speaker 1: you know. I think the term is called spoilage. Like 679 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,760 Speaker 1: in business in general, like there's a shrink you know, yeah, 680 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,719 Speaker 1: maybe it's one of the two, um, but there is 681 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:56,000 Speaker 1: a certain allowable level of that. Like I think we've 682 00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:58,040 Speaker 1: even talked about like in you know, this isn't the same, 683 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:02,840 Speaker 1: but in like drug cartels, they have an allowable amount 684 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:06,680 Speaker 1: of cash that just gets eaten by rats. You know, 685 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,839 Speaker 1: it's like, Okay, it's like it's just like a little spoilers. Look, 686 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,239 Speaker 1: we're past it now, but I have to say it. 687 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:24,680 Speaker 1: Nobody talks about shrinkage Seinfeld anyone. So so this is 688 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:28,160 Speaker 1: not a Seinfeld problem though, because a lot of these 689 00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 1: authors are independent. You know, they don't have the Seinfeld 690 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:37,200 Speaker 1: comedians and cars getting coffee money. Uh. Instead, what they're 691 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:41,279 Speaker 1: doing is depending upon these sales, and when these things 692 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: are purchased as e books, they ideally you would get 693 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,080 Speaker 1: paid off that you get like royalties of some sort, 694 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,880 Speaker 1: but when that e book is returned, the royalties from 695 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,600 Speaker 1: that sale get deducted from the author's Amazon account directly. 696 00:42:56,080 --> 00:43:00,600 Speaker 1: And per Kessler, there's also a digital delivery fee that 697 00:43:00,719 --> 00:43:04,040 Speaker 1: Amazon charges the author. Sounds kind of bs to me. 698 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,879 Speaker 1: That's like the ticket master fees, but they don't mean 699 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:13,879 Speaker 1: the maintenanceive servers are so yeah, it's something so our 700 00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:17,759 Speaker 1: cynicism is showing here. Uh. But then you you you 701 00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:22,200 Speaker 1: have to imagine they probably also are getting Spotify money 702 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:24,960 Speaker 1: compared to what they would get for like a purchased 703 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 1: physical copy of their book. Right, and here's where the 704 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:35,800 Speaker 1: conspiracy comes into play. The going like. The running theory 705 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:42,960 Speaker 1: is that Amazon is aware of what's being called a hack. Uh, 706 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:46,240 Speaker 1: Like you can buy any book and you get seven 707 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:48,840 Speaker 1: days you have to return. You can return it in 708 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,239 Speaker 1: seven days, no questions asked, and you could even hear 709 00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,360 Speaker 1: people you only hear play any people arguing that e 710 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:57,960 Speaker 1: books are a scam. But that's a story for another day. Uh. 711 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,920 Speaker 1: The conspiracy, if you'll let me Pepe Lopez just a 712 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:06,440 Speaker 1: little big guys. Uh, the conspiracy is that Amazon is 713 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:10,560 Speaker 1: aware of this trend and complicit in it. Uh, and 714 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:16,000 Speaker 1: they're allowing it to happen because they want to incentivize 715 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:22,759 Speaker 1: or push these independent authors toward the Kindle Unlimited program. 716 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:28,319 Speaker 1: And the Kindle Unlimited program doesn't have the same return policy. 717 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:33,640 Speaker 1: So it's like, um, kinda unlimited his Amazon's ebook subscription 718 00:44:33,719 --> 00:44:39,320 Speaker 1: plan and that pays authors by the pages read instead 719 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:43,560 Speaker 1: of just buying you know, the entire work or something. 720 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,279 Speaker 1: So if you go to Kindle Unlimited, you read ten 721 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:52,000 Speaker 1: pages and you decide, well, Loumargadoff, He's guide to perman 722 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:54,960 Speaker 1: Culture is not for me. He's just coming from a 723 00:44:54,960 --> 00:45:00,600 Speaker 1: different place. Then you then, uh, whomever the rights of 724 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:04,120 Speaker 1: that book would would get the ten pages. So you 725 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:06,560 Speaker 1: know what I would buy? What would you buy? Man? Little? 726 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:12,319 Speaker 1: A little book from Lisa Kessler titled Pirates Passion Yes, yeah, 727 00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:19,279 Speaker 1: oh yeah it's it's real passionate. You can tell by 728 00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:24,560 Speaker 1: the cover, right, Oh yeah yeah. So that's the conspiracy 729 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:29,200 Speaker 1: theory that's going around, that's the idea, that's the speculation. Um. 730 00:45:29,239 --> 00:45:32,600 Speaker 1: Looking into it, there are some questions that I would 731 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:35,200 Speaker 1: have to ask. We have to interrogate that theory because 732 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:40,359 Speaker 1: one Amazon is Amazon not powerful enough that they could 733 00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:43,680 Speaker 1: just say all books have to go to Kindle unlimited. 734 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:49,279 Speaker 1: Maybe maybe they aren't. Maybe they can't get the literary 735 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:53,480 Speaker 1: whales like the Malcolm Gladwell's, the Stephen King's, the J. K. 736 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:58,359 Speaker 1: Rolling Rowlings or what have you. Um, But then it 737 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:02,200 Speaker 1: feels a little circuitous, right Like there are two ways 738 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:04,439 Speaker 1: to look at it. So there are a couple of ways. 739 00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:09,200 Speaker 1: So Amazon could the far end, deep the deep end 740 00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:12,399 Speaker 1: of the conspiracy theory pool is that Amazon did this 741 00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:16,359 Speaker 1: somehow right. They did it instead of just saying, hey, 742 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:19,160 Speaker 1: you have to go to this uh this model that 743 00:46:19,239 --> 00:46:21,920 Speaker 1: we have, they did it on purpose, even though it 744 00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:25,239 Speaker 1: feels kind of round about. The other more moderated or 745 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:30,640 Speaker 1: mitigated idea is that maybe Amazon saw it happening and thought, well, 746 00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:34,359 Speaker 1: this works out for us. We're we're opportunists. Eventually, these 747 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,760 Speaker 1: people who are not powerful enough to change our return 748 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:41,400 Speaker 1: policies are going to have to do what ultimately makes 749 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,280 Speaker 1: them some money, even if it makes them less money 750 00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:49,760 Speaker 1: than it than the previous model did both of those. Yeah, 751 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:51,840 Speaker 1: we see them doing shady stuff like this with like 752 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:54,880 Speaker 1: designers to for example, where like they have this Amazon 753 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 1: marketplace where you can like upload a design and then 754 00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:00,800 Speaker 1: through Amazon they'll print on demand and like a shirt 755 00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:02,960 Speaker 1: or a coffee mug or whatever sort of like you 756 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,400 Speaker 1: know sites like t public. But it's all within the 757 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,120 Speaker 1: Amazon ecosystem. And it turns out that a lot of 758 00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:11,880 Speaker 1: like freelance designers are having their like design stolen and 759 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:15,440 Speaker 1: then put into the Amazon you know whatever, the automated 760 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:18,839 Speaker 1: system and then printed and they get no money. So 761 00:47:19,080 --> 00:47:21,759 Speaker 1: we know that Amazon doesn't particularly have scruples about this 762 00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:23,719 Speaker 1: kind of thing in terms of because I mean think 763 00:47:23,719 --> 00:47:27,360 Speaker 1: about it, like, if you're not John Grisham or whatever, 764 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:30,480 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, that's the only like big author actor Stephen King, 765 00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:34,560 Speaker 1: you know you're an independent seller. You depend on those 766 00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:36,960 Speaker 1: e book sales not only for a little cash, but 767 00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:38,759 Speaker 1: to get your name out there, because it's like the 768 00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:43,239 Speaker 1: distribution platform of choice. Let's not forget Amazon started off 769 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,719 Speaker 1: selling only books, you know, and they've still kind of 770 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,239 Speaker 1: kept an iron fisted grasp over that market. So they 771 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:53,000 Speaker 1: really have like small creators over a barrel. And what 772 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:55,319 Speaker 1: are you gonna do? Say, Well, I'm not gonna put 773 00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:58,720 Speaker 1: my stuff on Amazon anymore, Okay, cool, go with God, 774 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,640 Speaker 1: they say, right right. It's kind of like the old 775 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:05,759 Speaker 1: adage from back in the days of the West when 776 00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:09,279 Speaker 1: when the US was expanding westward. You probably heard the 777 00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:12,920 Speaker 1: story a hundred times. But the idea is, you go 778 00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:17,640 Speaker 1: to a small town, there's just one saloon, there's a 779 00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:22,040 Speaker 1: guy playing poker, and the dealer is clearly cheating, and 780 00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:24,640 Speaker 1: one guy points out to the poker player. He's like, hey, 781 00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:28,479 Speaker 1: this game is rigged, and the poker player shrugs and says, 782 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:32,759 Speaker 1: I know, that's the only game in town. Like that's 783 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:36,120 Speaker 1: that's kind of how these monopolies can work, and that's 784 00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:39,600 Speaker 1: a very real danger. But it also launched a pretty 785 00:48:39,719 --> 00:48:43,200 Speaker 1: nuanced discussion that you can read in You can read 786 00:48:43,200 --> 00:48:46,520 Speaker 1: ex service in The Daily Dot and Chicago Tribune and 787 00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:51,480 Speaker 1: pick this up and so on about the nature of ownership, 788 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:57,480 Speaker 1: what differentiates a bookstore from a library. You know, whether 789 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:00,320 Speaker 1: you should be able to return a book just because 790 00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:03,320 Speaker 1: you say you didn't dig it. And this all leads 791 00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:07,880 Speaker 1: us to what's happening now as we record now, there 792 00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:12,120 Speaker 1: is a petition going around on change dot org pushing 793 00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:17,760 Speaker 1: for Amazon to change its return policies for completed e books. 794 00:49:18,719 --> 00:49:22,080 Speaker 1: You can find this very easily and their ideas in 795 00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:25,000 Speaker 1: the petition, they explicitly say, we don't have a problem. 796 00:49:25,040 --> 00:49:27,799 Speaker 1: If somebody reads ten of a book and they don't 797 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:30,400 Speaker 1: like it, you can turn it back in return it 798 00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:33,000 Speaker 1: because you didn't like it. It's like taking a bite 799 00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:35,880 Speaker 1: of something at a restaurant and sending it back. But 800 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:38,080 Speaker 1: then if you read the whole thing and return it, 801 00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:41,280 Speaker 1: it's like you're in a restaurant. You ate the fries, 802 00:49:41,640 --> 00:49:44,279 Speaker 1: you ate the hamburger, you know, you're polishing off the 803 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:47,279 Speaker 1: cookie or whatever, and then you tell the server you 804 00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:51,040 Speaker 1: were not satisfied, the meal wasn't up to your standards, 805 00:49:51,160 --> 00:49:53,440 Speaker 1: and you want your money back, you know what I mean. 806 00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,760 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of our our fellow conspiracy realists 807 00:49:56,760 --> 00:49:59,800 Speaker 1: in the service industry are like nodding with their brows 808 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:03,399 Speaker 1: for road right. Now, you've seen those people, I've seen it. 809 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:07,320 Speaker 1: You got worst. It was probably one of the worst things. 810 00:50:07,520 --> 00:50:09,239 Speaker 1: It's just one of the worst things. I've been on 811 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:11,520 Speaker 1: both sides. I've been at a table when somebody did it, 812 00:50:11,680 --> 00:50:15,239 Speaker 1: and I've been you know, walking out as the server 813 00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:17,520 Speaker 1: to pick up I'll play in. They're like, yeah, that 814 00:50:17,600 --> 00:50:20,839 Speaker 1: was awful. Um, I'm gonna I'm not paying for that. 815 00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:26,359 Speaker 1: You just realized it was awful classy anyway. But if you, um, 816 00:50:26,760 --> 00:50:30,960 Speaker 1: if you agree with the following two ideas that one 817 00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:35,000 Speaker 1: changed dot org petitions work and that too, Amazon should 818 00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:38,759 Speaker 1: change its policies, then I encourage you to find this 819 00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:42,760 Speaker 1: petition uh and give it your John Hancock and see 820 00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:47,640 Speaker 1: if that will trigger a response from Amazon. UH. And 821 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:50,440 Speaker 1: with that, we're gonna We're gonna leave it there. Thanks 822 00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:54,760 Speaker 1: to a Connor, Thanks to anonymous on Instagram. Thanks of course, 823 00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:57,640 Speaker 1: two dur's. Thanks to everyone who tunes into the show 824 00:50:57,719 --> 00:51:01,600 Speaker 1: every every day, every week, every episode, every segment, uh, 825 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:04,160 Speaker 1: and thinks even more so, to those of us who 826 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:08,239 Speaker 1: take the time to contact us. We love it. We 827 00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,640 Speaker 1: want to hear your thoughts. I'd like to end with 828 00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:15,200 Speaker 1: a very special thank you to the UM the amazing 829 00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:19,320 Speaker 1: work of independent authors in the US and abroad across 830 00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,480 Speaker 1: the planet. Because it's a daunting task, but I think 831 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,799 Speaker 1: it's an important pursuit. I think it's an important profession. 832 00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:28,520 Speaker 1: We can't wait to hear what you think, folks about 833 00:51:28,520 --> 00:51:32,240 Speaker 1: permit culture, about the I c C, About the big 834 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:36,480 Speaker 1: A Amazon nowadays. Uh so let us know what's on 835 00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:38,760 Speaker 1: your mind. We try to be easy to find online. 836 00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,919 Speaker 1: Oh yes, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and 837 00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:47,080 Speaker 1: YouTube at Conspiracy Stuff on Instagram where at Conspiracy Stuff Show. 838 00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:52,560 Speaker 1: But there's more, that's right. We are also authors, at 839 00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:57,560 Speaker 1: least officially, especially Ben Like really, you can buy our book. 840 00:51:57,840 --> 00:51:59,600 Speaker 1: It's coming out right now. You can preorder it. It's 841 00:51:59,640 --> 00:52:02,759 Speaker 1: called stuff. They don't want you to know. It's got 842 00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:05,160 Speaker 1: our names on it. You'll see it. There's a picture 843 00:52:05,200 --> 00:52:07,560 Speaker 1: of I believe it's the capital guys, is that correct 844 00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:12,440 Speaker 1: capital in a UFO. You'll you'll recognize as soon as 845 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:16,000 Speaker 1: you see. It's got this cool orange warm tone to it. Uh, 846 00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,960 Speaker 1: check it out. Please don't return it on Kindle like 847 00:52:19,040 --> 00:52:21,120 Speaker 1: if if you can help it, we unless you just 848 00:52:21,239 --> 00:52:24,160 Speaker 1: really don't like it. We get it sure, but still 849 00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:26,799 Speaker 1: don't don't return it. That would be cool, all right. 850 00:52:27,200 --> 00:52:30,000 Speaker 1: We also have a voicemail system. If you want to call, 851 00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:33,879 Speaker 1: you can. Our number is one eight three three st 852 00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:37,040 Speaker 1: d w y t K. You'll call, You'll get a 853 00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:39,439 Speaker 1: message letting you know you're in the right place. You'll 854 00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:42,880 Speaker 1: have three minutes. Those three minutes aren't ours, they're yours. 855 00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:46,440 Speaker 1: Go nuts, get weird with it. Highly encourage you to 856 00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:49,560 Speaker 1: do so. Give yourself a cool nickname. Tell us what's 857 00:52:49,600 --> 00:52:52,759 Speaker 1: on your mind. Tell us uh. Second, most importantly, if 858 00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:55,480 Speaker 1: you are comfortable having your name and or message on 859 00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:59,840 Speaker 1: the air. Most importantly, do not censor yourself. If you 860 00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:02,560 Speaker 1: having sillary links, who would like to send us? If 861 00:53:02,600 --> 00:53:04,440 Speaker 1: you want to walk us to the front of the 862 00:53:04,520 --> 00:53:07,560 Speaker 1: rabbit hole, we'll do the rest. All we have to 863 00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:10,040 Speaker 1: do is drop us a good old fashioned email where 864 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:32,120 Speaker 1: we are conspiracy at i heart radio dot com. Stuff 865 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:34,000 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know is a production of 866 00:53:34,080 --> 00:53:37,040 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 867 00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:40,000 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 868 00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:41,400 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.