Rat Races

Crowds are dangerous.

By
102

Today’s Ruminant raises a predictably peculiar question within its opening moments: How can rodentology help us understand the first Republican debate? Jonah’s answer may surprise you, but what’s more surprising is that it connects quite naturally to another of the week’s hot topics: the debate over what America’s role should be in the war in Ukraine. With plenty of vim and slightly less vigor, he dedicates most of this episode to exploring what form American foreign policy should take, and why we must remember that Putin is the villain in this conflict.

Show Notes:

– The Remnant with Michael H. Parsons (rat guy)

– The Dispatch Podcast on the debate that didn’t matter

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  1. Pegmetcalf

    So excited (and envious) about the camper van! Can't wait to hear about it!

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    Alex RC

    Per the question: I enjoy the longer podcasts. No complaints from this listener if you go long and ramble.

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  3. Charvondersaar56

    Congrats on the RV - if you and the Fair one find yourself in Cody, I'd love to buy you a bourbon! After Labor Day you won't have trouble finding RV sites but we do have an RV electrical outlet on our property! Safe travels!

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    Michael Garrett

    Contemplate for a moment the possibilities if you took Pod with you on the drive out west to pick up the camper.

    Road trip, buddy movie style.

    You could do a series of crossover podcasts, travelogues. Heck, even vlogs, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee-style.

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      Michael Garrett

      AFTER I made this comment, I listened to the latest GLoP podcast episode.

      I think you guys made my case for me.

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  5. Perkins.Melissa

    Congrats on the camper van!!! I have always wanted to do that maybe once the kids are gone.

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    Whit Waldo

    Jonah - please follow up with your experiences about using Starlink (on the move, stationary, etc.)! My folks are exploring signing up for their maritime service, but it's just not been a service used broadly enough to really draw any useful conclusions about how reliable or valuable the service is for its cost.

    Having originally found the Dispatch looking for niche but analytical legal podcasts, I think the larger product offering is quite valuable and for the amount of content I consume each month, easily justifies the $10/month.

    I can't think of a single episode where I've lifted up my phone to see how much time was left (solo or with a guest) because I've found them consistently interesting. Sometimes I'll even listen more than once (The Full English was excellent as was As Crime Goes By). Especially in some of your solo podcasts, you really get rolling about 20 minutes in and I don't see any reason to arbitrarily slam on the brakes once you hit an hour.

    Unrelated, what're your thoughts about the effectiveness of remote work? I referred someone to your open editor position who ultimately opted not to apply because it indicates it's an on-site position. As I'd always assumed everyone recorded these podcasts from their homes, it never occurred to me that there's a physical Dispatch office and not just a company-wide Slack channel, so I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts on that. And more about rats - that was also a very interesting episode, though I tried looking back for it and couldn't find it.

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      Kenton A. Hoover

      Starlink is pretty fantastic, but I haven't tried streaming video over it (nor would I). I did use it to listen to the BBC Proms while cooking & dining on some recent camping trips. On-the-move is locked out above 10 MPH now unless you pay for priority data (which is $$$). I did eliminate the Starlink router and saved 15 watts.

      I look forward to finding out how CNN hits will work from the road. The landscapes of Utah or a forest will make much better backdrops than a shelf of books. Until the bear comes up from behind you...

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    Bill Nelson

    Mug shots are fun. A former co-worker (a brilliant guy) used to look at them to identify females as potential dates, and look at the guys to identify the failures of the public school system. Trump falls in the latter category.

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  8. MB

    Enjoyed the podcast again.
    Had visions of the new "doggo-cross-country-van-mobile" for most of the day after listening. Not sure why I imagined Rob Long and Pod living in the van with you and not your family.....but that was the vision in my head.
    Suggest you have a contest for Dispatch members to name the van something appropriate.

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    Dr. Livesey

    Van Ideas

    Don't drive late at night through the Adarondacks when you need to get gas, even if you're on the highway. It is New York State's Empty Quarter, the sidewalks are rolled up, the gas stations closed early. It is incredibly dark, even on I-87, But you can do what my ex-girlfriend did: Call New York state police. They directed us to the last gas station still open in our neck of the Adirondacks.

    See the "Anasazi" ruins in New Mexico, Southwest Colorado and Arizona. They're often huge, always mysterious and incredible feats of engineering. In the centuries before Columbus, Native Americans were doing wondrous things. It's worth reading up on it before you go, and there are some great Great Courses video series that are worth watching (also some documentaries on YouTube and Netflix). Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon may be the two most awesome of any of the ruins. There were massive ruins elsewhere in the U.S. (from other Indian cultures) that weren't as well preserved, but if you learn about them, your mind will be officially and permanently blown and you'll want to see the sites. Yes, just like Richard Dreyfus in Close Encounters (avoid making a mash potato Devil's Tower).

    When leaving Chaco Canyon, don't go due south. It was early evening when I did that. I experienced massive potholes in my rented car, a herd of cattle and the prospect of getting stranded essentially in the middle of nowhere. Don't do that. Take the state route.

    Audio books. They tend to be better when they tell a story, whether it's fiction, biography or history. If they relate in any way to where you're driving (say a Jack Reacher thriller that takes place in some place you'll be visiting; or a biography of Grant, Custer, Fremont or Lincoln) you'll appreciate the book and the trip more. And they help while away the hours of driving.

    College towns have interesting restaurants. Try the ostrich burgers if you ever find them on the menu.

    Float down a river in an inner tube, particularly a gentle river. See the major solar eclipse that's coming on April 8, 2024 across a path from Texas to Toronto. Get sweet corn on the cob picked the same morning that you get it and eat it the same day. Even if you don't like corn on the cob.

    Elon Musk's Starlink allows you to get a subscription where you travel with your antenna and set it up anywhere you go for internet service. I have no idea whether or not this is a good thing to get, but it sounds like it would be. One of those portable solar panels that you could set up outside might be useful too; and one of those deluxe emergency radios, just in case the Apocalypse (or a bad weather event) comes when you least expect it.

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      Kenton A. Hoover

      gas stations:

      Figure out how to get a CFN card. It lets you use commercial fuel stations which are 24/7 (because unattended) and exist in farming towns as well as cities. The gas can be somewhat cheaper (it isn't always). Also, some of closed gas stations (in some small towns) will still take a credit card as night.

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        Dr. Livesey

        Wow! Never heard of unattended fuel stations, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks!

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      Dr. Livesey

      Oh, because I didn't say everything yet:

      No book, movie/video/TV show, audio recording, photo or any other kind of description that exists can prepare you for seeing the unique things that you can find on the road. Nothing I did to prepare for seeing the Grand Canyon actually prepared me for it. And the scent of the pine forest on the way north from Flagstaff to the canyon was magical. The sense of space as you look down from the lip of the Kennecott Copper Mine and see the trucks as big as cottages looking like ants in the mile-deep pit they dug where there had once been a mountain. Getting lifted by a wave on an ocean beach. Seeing that great painting in person. Smelling the Great Salt Lake — a stench that needs to be smelled to be believed.

      “I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe. Attack Ships On Fire Off The Shoulder Of Orion. I Watched C-Beams Glitter In The Dark Near The Tannhauser Gate. All Those Moments Will Be Lost In Time, Like Tears In Rain.” That kinda thing.

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  10. Jabobward

    Now that you've accepted horseshoe theory, I'd love to hear an episode devoted to it: history, pros and cons, maybe even a guest (or two) to suss the wholevthing out.

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