We list great classical, early modern, and modern books and why they are worth reading.  

Art prof Rachel Hays raps with Dan and Jeff about art, its history, and why Jeff is wrong to dig Banksy so much.  

Veteran journalist, author of a new book on the Vietnam War,  Triumph of the Absurd: A Reporter's Love for The Abandoned People of Vietnam shares a story from his travels, and explains how unethical journalism failed the people of Vietnam.

We discuss holidays associated with American immigrant communities and ask whether they might be culturally inappropriate. Joe Laughon joins us once again.  We discuss Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get To Arizona" video, St. Patrick's Day, and Cinco De Mayo.  

Dan and Jeff start by a list of regrets, clarifications and retractions from prior shows. Then they talk about MBTI (Meyers Briggs) profiles and what celebrities share them.  Finally they answer listener questions.  We talk Lana Del Ray, Putin, the Big Lebowski, nihilism, and narcissism.

On this, our 50th episode (enter fanfare) we discuss the nature of sanity and insanity. Wait, before you think that this is a highfalutin' philosophical show (well, it does have some philosophy) we came to this show by way of a question we asked ourselves: who is the sanest person we know?
This lead us down a rabbit hole for a week as we tried to put together a composite of the "sanest person" we know. Perhaps, sanity is illusive. Perhaps we are all insane. Or, like most things... it's complicated and we're not quite sure. But, join us as we discuss Dan's adventure with his two boys and missing cat, Jeff's new bike, and we think out loud through the thought of G.K. Chesterton, Soren Kierkegaard and others. We play some Old 97's and Beastie Boys and get around to making a little more sense of the world, our collective selves, and what it means to be sane.  The closing song is a cover of "Crazy Train" by the Denver country band The Railbenders.

We share things we wish were true but probably aren't.  We share things we are pretty darn sure aren't true are not true.  

We discuss conspiracy theories, the Melanchthon Circle, Santiago Sam, kambucha, alchemy, neoplatonism, St. Augustine's Confessions, Masonry, Airborne, occult philosophy, esoterica, the JFK assasination, Ethiopia's claim to have the Ark of the Covenant, and postmodernity.

We discuss the history of immigration in the United States and converse with Joe Laughon, a contributor to Cafeconlecherepublicans.com.  He helps to dispell some misunderstandings about immigration laws and attitudes past and present.  We discuss the use of terms like "illegal immigrant" and "undocumented worker".  What's the virtuous response to todays immigration debates?  Listen in to hear a unique, and arguably sane, perspective.

We talk about several recent scandals and leaders who have fallen from cultural grace.  Then, we call Jeff's old friend Chris to talk about his experience with the movement led by Bill Gothard. We discuss authoritarianism, spiritual abuse, Woody Allen, Ted Haggard, Anthony Weiner, and Lance Armstrong.  

With Jeff Macaré, a favorite Lutheran hippy.  We talk about music,  the nature of digital and analog sound, Dan's diet of caffeine, nicotine and prozac and more importantly: the ambiguity of the word "nature" and Jaff Macare on his vocation of filtering water (that's right! water filtering! Seriously, hear what he has to say about that bottled water you're drinking)