Pigweed and Crowhill enjoy a celebratory bottle of champaign as they review the 2024 election.

Which is the more important victory: that Donald Trump won, or that Harris lost?

The first time around, Trump didn't have a "Trump Team." He had to cobble together an administration through recommendations from people who didn't agree with his policies and approach. That will be entirely different this time.

Once again, the pollsters have egg on their faces. Trump overperformed by a wide margin.

Why did this go wrong for the Democrats?

* Kamala was a horrible candidate who ran a horrible campaign

* She was never selected by any democratic vote

* She has been completely incompetent as vice president

* Her policies, such as they were, were completely out of touch with the country

* She did nothing but call names and alienate people

* Walz was super weird

With hope, we can look forward to these things from DJT:

* The end of trans madness

* Get rid of the men in dresses in the military

* Stand up to China

* A better team with good ideas

* The end of DEI, "equity" and racial grievance

* Close the borders, amnesty over

* End of entitlement benefits for illegals

* Money for foreign wars we don't care about

* Clean up the deep state: DOJ, HHS, DOE, DOT, etc.

* No pride flags on any buildings or embassies

* JD Vance tearing up the idiots in the media

The boys drink and review Fireside Chat winter ale by 21st Amendment Brewery, then discuss The Northman, paganism, and Rod Dreher's take on how paganism presents an enchanted view of life.

"The Northman" is basically the story of Hamlet set among the Vikings. Amleth witnesses his uncle murdering his father and carrying off his mother. He vows to avenge his father and rescue his mother.

Years later, Amleth becomes a fierce warrior, but sells himself into slavery so he can be in the town of his uncle and get his revenge.

It's an interesting movie, but the larger question addressed in the podcast is how this relates to modern man's lack of a sense of meaning and purpose, and the longing for enchantment.

Modern secular, technological society is a fantastic thing. It's given us antibiotics and labor-saving technologies that are simply amazing. But there's no dispute that it's come at a cost. Secular society reduces life to the material, emphasizing logic, technology, and efficiency over mystery and meaning. While these advancements offer many benefits, Dreher argues that they leave a void, creating a sense of disconnection from life’s deeper meaning.

In stark contrast, the symbolic, hero-driven narrative of "The Northman" shows characters motivated by a sense of duty and destiny that transcends self-interest. It's an appeal to something timeless and heroic. But beyond that, there's a constant sense of immanent spiritual reality. The gods are as real in The Northman as the sky and the land.

Dreher’s analysis suggests that this type of worldview, which modernity often overlooks, fulfills a deep-rooted human desire to connect with the divine, the sacred, and the transcendent.

The boys drink and review "Beast of Both Worlds," a "Bi-Coastal IPA" from Lagunitas.

George Soros has become a whipping boy for the right. The man was born a Hungarian Jew and lived through both Naziism and communism, but made his respectable pile of money in the United States. P&C start off with a brief biography, but move on to speak about his underlying philosophy and the causes he promotes.

Soros was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Karl Popper and his concept of open and closed societies. In an open society individuals are free to think and act independently with minimal government control. An open society has pluralism and tolerance, democratic governance, change and reform (because no one holds the ultimate truth), and a commitment to our own limitations (fallibilism).

If giving to political causes qualifies a person as a philanthropist, Soros is a big one. His foundation supports ...

* Democracy and human rights

* Education

* Criminal justice reform

* Public health

* LGBTQIDYSDLKSDH rights

* Immigration and refugee support

* Racial and social justice

* Economic equity

* Media freedom

* Climate change and environmental protection

All of these flow logically from his commitment to the "open society" concept, and Soros takes a very liberal stance on all these issues.

You've seen the sign.

Science is real

Black Lives matter

Love is love

No human is illegal

Climate change is real

Women's rights are human rights

Kindness is everything

What does that sign really mean? P&C break it down, line by line.

But there are other versions, like this, from a public school (if you can believe it).

The American dream is a scan

Policing originates from runaway slave patrols

Capitalism exploits

Colonialism is evil

The founding fathers were racist

American imperialism must end

America was built on genocide and slavery

This country is on stolen, indigenous land

With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Slightly Mighty IPA by Dogfish Head brewing, then discuss their recent jaunt down to Washington, D.C., to review the architecture on some key buildings.

Their trip took them to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, St. Matthews cathedral, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Capitol.

Longinus was able to give Pigweed and Crowhill some insights into the history and architecture of these amazing buildings.

The boys discuss the psychological effect and message of these buildings, but the show isn't only about architecture. They discuss issues related to the freemasons, the Catholics, and the U.S. government.

With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale, then discuss five stories by the master of horror.

After a brief bio on King, they review ...

The Jaunt -- King presents a futuristic story where teleportation, or "jaunting," allows instant travel but comes with a terrifying caveat: while the physical body arrives safely, the mind remains conscious in a timeless, endless void during the journey. When a young boy defies the rules and jaunts while awake, the horrifying consequences reveal the true nightmare of experiencing eternity alone.

The Raft -- Four college students, two men and two women, take a late-year visit to a lake where they hope to swim out to the raft that's used by the summer visitors. They run into an unexpected visitor.

Survivor Type -- a disgraced surgeon stranded on a deserted island resorts to extreme measures to survive, including self-amputation and cannibalism. The story, presented through the character's journal entries, reveals a descent into madness as he makes horrifying sacrifices in a desperate struggle for life.

Gramma -- a young boy named George is left alone to care for his ailing, bedridden grandmother, whose dark and supernatural powers begin to reveal themselves in terrifying ways. As the night progresses, George’s fear escalates as he realizes his grandmother harbors a sinister secret that threatens his safety.

The Reach -- elderly Stella Flanders faces her fear of crossing the frozen stretch of water separating her island home from the mainland, drawn by visions of deceased loved ones calling her to the other side. As she traverses the ice, Stella experiences a haunting journey that blends life and death, ultimately finding peace in accepting her fate.

The boys drink and review a pumpkin beer from Sam Adams, then discuss the origins of Halloween and paganism in general.

Halloween came from something called Samhain, which was a pagan feast for the end of the year. In the years before capitalism and industrial food production, this was a time of year where you desperately hope and your family won't starve over the winter.

At Samhain, ghosts and spirits walk around on earth. The veil between this world and the world of the dead gets thin. To scare away the spirits our ancestors would dress up as scary characters. They'd also carve vegetables with scary faces.

When the Scots and other Europeans came to America they brought some of these customs with them. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that we got full-blown Halloween in the United States. So we'd buy candy and costumes and such.

They then review paganism in general. Its history. What the word means? Who are the pagans? What did they believe? And so on.

Unfortunately, we don't know much. Even the Druids and the cult of Mithra -- both very influential in their time -- are not well known.

The boys drink and review Lord Maltimore, a Marzen from Key Brewing Company, then discuss the state of the election and their predictions.

Pigweed starts off ripping Kamala as a phony with no talent and little brains. Crowhill says she's mean and vapid. She slept her way to the top and has no idea what she's doing.

No one is voting for Harris. They're voting against Trump.

Harris gets three groups. (1) The "not Trump" vote. (2) The "it's time for a black woman" vote. (3) The "pull the D lever" vote. In addition, Harris has the media, Hollywood, the arts, academia, and the entrenched bureaucrats all pulling for her.

Is that enough to win?

The polls don't look that way. Trump has a slight edge nationally and seems to be winning in enough states to become president.

P&C recount some of Trump's failings, but believe he's still the man for the hour.

The boys drink a shandy and talk about Indigenous People's Day.

Pigweed suggests various ways to celebrate the holiday, observing some of the customs of the indigenous people.

The boys review some of the negative aspects of indigenous cultures -- such as human sacrifice -- and point out how silly it is to measure people in the past by modern moral standards. If we're going to hold Columbus to modern standards, why not the indigenous people too?

Columbus had his faults, but he also brought about an incredible sequence of events that led to functional, modern societies in the western hemisphere.

Trigger warning: This is a very politically incorrect episode.

The boys compare Crowhill's homebrewed dopplebock against Paulaner's Salvator, then discuss conspiracy theories.

Pigweed found a chart that characterized conspiracy theories in ascending order of craziness, from actually true, to you have left the world of sanity. Pigweed and Crowhill go through a list and rank them from true to impossible.

Some conspiracies actually happened, like the Tuskegee experiment, MK Ultra, the FBI spying on Martin Luther King, etc.

Then there's completely nutty things. Like chemtrails. Is the white trail behind jets really condensation, or is it a chemical the government is using on us to manipulate our behavior?

The boys go through a long list of conspiracies, including ...

* Did the government aim the hurricane at Trump voters?

* Was Maui a controlled burn so Oprah could buy cheap land in Hawaii?

* Did Epstein kill himself?

* Did the Titanic really sink?

* Is Joe Biden a robot?

* Are white people being replaced?

This is a fun and somewhat silly show. Enjoy.

The boys drink and review Flannel Fest, a dunkel from Sam Adams, then wonder whether our electronic devices are spying on us.

There are levels of spying. A pixel phone is always listening to you because it has to be ready to respond when you say "Okay Google." The question is not whether it's listening, but whether it's recording what you say.

A lot of people their phones are spying on them because they talk with friends about some topic, they then see ads on that topic. Is that confirmation bias in action, or is it actually happening?

The tech platforms claim they are not doing this, but there are companies that claim they are doing it, and are trying to sell that service to advertisers.

It's not just the phones. Video doorbells are spying on us. The maps we use in our cars are spying on us. Health devices are spying on us.

The boys discuss the positives and negatives of these services.

For some other treatments of the same topic, try these.

Mark Hurst: "Even more devices are spying on you."

https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/143859

Skeptoid: "How Your Driving Is Being Tracked"

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4947

Joseph Cox: "Here's the Pitch Deck for 'Active Listening' Ad Targeting

https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/