December 9, 2019
The UK elections will be held on Thursday December 12, and the results will impact not only the British people, but Europeans at large - for decades to come. Will unelected incumbent conservative Boris Johnson win an outright majority? What will that mean? Will opposition leader and beleaguered head of Labor Jeremy Corbyn shock the world by tip toeing around Brexit and focusing on social programs? Will the smaller parties make a splash? Gil Kidron hosts patron John Ellis, a Welshman with a B.A in Politics, to break it all down.
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![The Expanse & Game Theory: Earth v Mars, US v USSR]()
December 5, 2019
The Expanse is a political story about a society set 200 years in the future, led by humans who are making the same sort of calculations leaders today make - weighing options, trying to figure out what other people will do in all kinds of situations. Dr. Rutger Vos, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands, joins Gil Kidron to talk about game theory, the thinking behind it and its applications in all walks of life, including when dealing with a trans-planetary conflict with several factions, and the sub-factions within them.
The conflict between, Earth, Mars and the Belt is shaped by the decisions, assumptions and misjudgments of its leaders, and exploring game theory through this Amazon Prime show is a great way to learn more about The expanse and game theory.
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December 2, 2019
After long years of on-and-off investigations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted for corruption charges - including bribery. His upcoming trial changes the political situation in Israel after 10 years of solid reign for King Bibi, which increasingly now seem like they will soon be in the past. Therapist Noga Ariel Galor is joining Gil Kidron on the podcast to break down Bibi's deteriorating mental state and how it endangers the fabric of a society that is very diverse to begin with.
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![The King (2019) Historical Review: Brexit, English Nationalism & Evil French]()
November 25, 2019
The King (2019) is a Netflix movie adapting a play from William Shakespeare's Henriad, about Henry V of England, who united the realm and went to successful wars in France. Rutger Vos, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands, joins Gil Kidron to talk about the political relevance of The King in the UK's shattered politics in the age of Brexit, as the union is breaking apart at the seams.
We go into detail about the actual historical context of the 100 years war that fostered national sentiments on both sides of the English channel, leaving an old world of warrior kings behind, to be later replaced by rich royal courts, all powerful monarchs and world explorations. We also discuss the historical figures and the context in which the plays were written, some 200 years later.
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November 4, 2019
Is Severus Snape a horrible person who abused a traumatized child or a fighter against the dark forces? Is he a cynical person who only saw the light when the darkness consumed his loved one, or is he a victim of his upbringing? Anke Bosma, a long time patron of Got Academy with a Masters in Literary Studies and an ardent Potterhead, is coming to defend Snape against the evil forces who want to disparage him, aka Gil Kidron and his arguments about child care.
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October 28, 2019
One of the best things about The Expanse is the language spoken by the Belters, who live in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Saturn. Belters are made up of Americans, Chinese, Russians, South Africans and more, and the society that they have created, under the oppression of Earth and Mars, is very much represented in their common language, that unifies people who live millions of kms (or miles) apart. Mallory Aler, linguist extraordinaire, comes back to the podcast and joins Gil Kidron to talk about the history of creole languages, the role of languages in forming new nation states and what we can learn from the history of our own world and project into The Expanse.
Follow Mallory on Twitter @mallort1
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![History in Movies: Finance | From Mary Poppins to the Wolf of Wall Street]()
October 21, 2019
Wall Street and its flaws are a common theme in movies, which emphasize the excesses, the risk-taking, and the societal fallout. But once upon a time, banking and finance were boring, steady occupations - and even before that, they were the domain of Florentine family businesses and Venetian Jews. What changed, and why?
In this History in Movies podcast Gil Kidron welcomes again Dr. Rutger Vos, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands - this time to talk about how Hollywood portrays the world of finance capitalism.
From a prologue in the Renaissance, with the Medici and the Merchant of Venice, we jump off in Edwardian England, where banking runs the British Empire, although Mary Poppins portrays this as a serious and somewhat noble business. Fast forward a century, and capitalism seems to take place inside a blizzard of cocaine and hookers - and all the grownups have left the room. Where did the morality go? Was there ever any? Where are we going, in the aftermath of 2008?
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October 7, 2019
Is Dumbledore really to blame for the flaws in the wizarding world? Should he have done better? After last week's podcast with writer Ariella Yashar, airing out her beef with the great Albus Dumbledore, huge Potterhead and patron Lireza Elezaj comes to his defense with very compelling arguments. He is a powerful wizard, but not a deity, so he doesn't know everything that is going on in Hogwarts; his hiring practices are inclusive, look at the big picture and are oftentimes restricted by reality, and he knows that young wizards need to go through trials and tribulations to be prepared for the wizarding world, knowing and controlling their powers. Gil Kidron waves a white flag, apologizes to the great Dumbledore and tries to repent.
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