PODCAST · society
Totally Classic
by shinfain
A podcast where two friends with divergent world-views unite in curiosity and love to explore the world as each other sees it.
Episodes
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"Is There a Trans Genocide?" (part two)
Is there a Transfemicide Emergency in Chicago? Is there a Trans Genocide, ongoing? Is one being planned? In part two of exploring this question, with curiosity, reason, emtpathy and nuance, Andy & Brendan ask the questions behind the questions, hold the claimants to their own standards and try to...
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"Is There a Trans Genocide?" (part 1)
Sparked by politicians and comedians alike this week, the Transfemicide Emergency Declaration by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the podcast comments by Margaret Cho converged to create a curiosity: are we living through anything like a Trans Genocide or even an epidemic of anti-transgender…
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Should We Smash the Matriarchy? (Part Two)
This week, Andy & Brendan are joined by Brandon Peele - author and facilitator of purpose-centered leadership and communities - to press further into whether The Matriarchy is underserved in the bumper sticker and T-shirt "Smash ______" category:) They dig into the differences between belonging &...
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Is Odysseus a Hero?
This week, Andy & Brendan use Christopher Nolan's recent adaption (the space that launched a thousand thinkpieces) of Homer's The Odyssey to examine whether the archetypal hero Odysseus is, indeed a hero or, as some of those thousand think pieces have posited, not a hero at all, perhaps a…
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Should We Smash the Matriarchy?
In the inevitable companion piece to "Should We Smash the Patriarchy?" Andy & Brendan look at how one would coherently define modern society (with especial focus on the U.S., where they live) and what does that mean, in terms of net harm or net benefit? Are we living in a Matriarchy? If so, for…
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Does the Body Keeps the Score?
How far will one go to WIN if the body keeps the score? Andy & Brendan, this week, try to avoid winning whilst still chasing TOGETHER the rabbit of truth around the track:) A recent article by four authors (one of whom is amongst the premier neurologists in the world, Karl Fristen) laid out the...
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Is LGBTQ a Social Construct?
This week, inspired by our "Is Gender a Social Construct?" episode (both progressive bias Andy & independent bias Brendan voted yes by the end of the dialogue), we turn to Pride-month-centric examination of the potential social construct "LGBTQ!" Gender was NOT, but IS this acronym? Andy &…
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Is Voting Rigged?
This week, Andy & Brendan discuss the electoral process, ground-level, in the democratic republic of the United States. VOTING! Is voting rigged? If so, in what manner of "rigged?" They explore re-districting & gerrymandering, voter suppression & disenfranchisement, packing & cracking, conspiracy...
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Is Gender a Social Construct?
This week, Andy & Brendan examine a popular claim - is it aphorism or shibboleth? "gender is a social construct." Um... but IS THAT TRUE? From ancestral wisdom to modern medicine, from German to Sanskrit, from tautologies to taxonomies, it's all here in this week's Totally Classic! originally...
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Is Iran The Enemy?
This week, Andy & Brendan try to unravel a lifetime of historical evidence and place it in context of the radically divergent narratives around the target of U.S. military action in the present. From two divergent pre-perspectives (prespectives?:) they seek to find common great (love Iranis!) and...
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Is Drag the New Blackface?
This week, Andy & Brendan chart the history of minstrelsy - from Al Jolson & Bert Williams TO RuPaul & Pabllo Vittar! Why is Drag given a pass for doing all the same TYPE Of things that blackface does? OR why is blackface not given a pass for doing all the same TYPE OF things that drag does? Is...
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Are ICE the Bad Guys? (Part Two)
PART TWO OF TWO - Andy & Brendan continue to explore whether ICE are BAD GUYS or FLAWED GOOD GUYS? In a world where "F@%# ICE" and "ABOLISH ICE" are de rigueur, DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? What makes an entire organization prosecuting over 400 laws A BLACK HAT? Are Neighborhood Watches AGAINST Law...
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Are ICE the Bad Guys? (part one)
Cops & Robbers. Cowboys & Indians. Chutes &... ladders? Binary good guy/bad guy is fundamental to the stories humans have shared since time immemorial and key to understanding our modes of reckoning, today. Is ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) the Gestapo of our American Era? Or are they...
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Is Anyone Spiritual Without Being Religious (Part 2 of 2)
This week, Andy & Brendan continue (& conclude) their conversation of Religion, Spirituality and the synonymity and potential difference between the two. Can dictionary synonymity prove logical contradiction of the SBNR claim? Can they devise a taxonomy that doesn't have to alter definitions at...
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Is Anyone Spiritual But Not Religious? (part one)
On this episode of Totally Classic, Andy & Brendan explore the question around the zeitgeist adage of our generation - "I'm spiritual, not religious." Is this a coherent claim? Is it a Buddhist Koan or a logical impossibility? They're synonymous terms in Merriam Webster, Thesaurus.com & Roget's...
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"Is LinkedIn Sexist?"
This week, Andy & Brendan examine the recent accusations against job board/social networking site LinkedIn, to get curious about whether the platform is biased against women. Is there evidence besides assertion? What would a non-misogynist algorithm look like? Is bias UNAVOIDABLE? All this and…
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"Is Anyone Transgender?" (PART THREE)
In the third and final volley, Andy & Brendan integrate AI analysis to ascertain where they may be suffering from logical or ethical mismatch and if ANY ethical system supports affirmation of subjective self-claim. From freedoms gained to empathy employed to the conclusions empathetic…
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"Is Anyone Transgender?" (PART TWO)
Andy & Brendan dance back into the fray to examine by what means can anyone said to be (or not to be - that is the question!:) "transgender." Is it equivocation or a paradigm shift? Is it semantic colonialism or indigenous linguistic revival? Is it a delusion or is all of society deluded and this...
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"Is Anyone Transgender?" (part one)
This week, Andy & Brendan ask a question of the modern semantic chaos moment where a sentence like "My gender is not my gender, because gender isn't gender, it's gender." exists and CAN have some cogent meaning! Does the claim make a coherent case? Can the modern novel proposal of gender exist…
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"Is Chicago Under Attack?"
This week, Chicago-area-met friends Andy & Brendan interrogate the popular regional claim that the city with big shoulders is under being invaded (by ICE). They explore how many actual options there are (and different layers of evidence and proof to assess said options) for who exactly is...
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"Is AI an Existential Crisis?" (PART THREE)
This week, Andy & Brendan bring the plane in for a landing on this epic, three-part discussion of what may well bring about the downfall of humanity! It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine? ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude & CoPilot all have distinct and pronounced and…
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"Is AI Bias an Existential Crisis?" (PART TWO)
This week, Andy & Brendan, continue the conversation on whether AI Bias could end us, as we know "us," or end us, entirely? Does the Progressive bias (which exists within ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude & CoPilot), specifically, threaten all in any unique fashion? Is the programming of relativistic or...
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"Is AI Bias an Existential Crisis?" (w/ guest Jacob Ward) (PART ONE)
Andy & Brendan are joined by their first guest, Jacob Ward*! This week, they discuss the existential dangers of AI bias - on cognitive processing, on outsourcing of evaluation, on fight or flight And shaping the very grounds of understanding and meaning the human family has relied on since time...
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"Are Land Acknowledgments Helpful?"
Andy, a Progressive & Brendan, an Independent, both agree that the Indigenous people of North America were abused, lied to, killed and conquered in many ways unconscionable. We don't agree on whether verbal land acknowledgments are in any way net benefit to anyone, including said Indigenous…
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"Are Progressives The Worst?" (part two)
This week, Andy - a progressive - & Brendan - an independent - conclude their discourse on the modern Progressive movement! Is it the worst? Is semantic gerrymandering more destabilizing than misinformation? Is moral relativism immoral? Can the subjective be the primary basis for cohesive…
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Season 3, Episode 1 "Are Progressives The Worst?" (part one)
Andy & Brendan start the new season off with a bang, pow, whammo! Are Progressives the worst? The worst political subcohort in the US? The worst political movement in the world? All-time, world history? Andy, a progressive & Brendan, an independent, are besties and love talking about the sort of...
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Can AI Co-host Our Season 2 Wrap-Up?
This week, Andy & Brendan & Charlie (& Charlie?) all survey the season 2 behind us - the intentions met, the debates unsettled and the conclusions shared. Charlie, by the by, is an AI (Google's NotebookLM) who not only summarizes and highlights our season but also enters into conversation with…
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Should We Smash the Patriarchy (part two)?
This week, Andy & Brendan dig into their patrilineal inheritance, the loving sacrifice necessary for a healthy patriarchal paradigm & whether smashing ANYTHING is the answer. From bumper stickers to dinnertime shushing, the beginnings of gender and the. endings of fun, from fathering for freedom…
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Should we smash The Patriarchy? (part one)
This week Andy & Brendan - two patriarchs - try to examine if one of the credos of their age is a worthwhile one - The Patriarchy: Smash or Pass? Is Patriarchy inevitable - evolutionarily, biologically, under religious dictum or secular examination? Is Patriarchy based in oppression or...
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Is Sex Sacred?
This week, Andy & Brendan explore the regions nether and higher and interrogate the question about whether sex is sacred, profane, or something else entirely? From sex positive Christianity to sex negative Buddhism, from new age to new lovers, polyamory, polygamy and polyglot versions of "the...
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5 Years After Lockdowns... Did we learn anything?
In keeping with the plethora of retrospective coverage of the 5 year anniversary of Lockdowns in March of 2020, Andy & Brendan return to, in many ways, ground zero for the podcast where divergent viewpoints are explored on every topic people claim cannot be discoursed with rancor. What, if...
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Is Donald Trump a Racist?
This week, in an experiment in brevity (30 minute episode this week, let us know what you think!), Andy & Brendan try to parse through a grand & oft-repeated assumption for almost a decade "Donald Trump is a racist." But... IS he? Neither of Totally Classic hosts are fans of his, but they are…
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Is Porn Harmful?
This week, Andy & Brendan unpack their lived experience, their innate & modified perspectives and the literature on pornography. What is pornography? Is it helpful? Is it harmful? Net harm? All harm? Is "ethical porn" a healthful way forward or detriment greenwashed? Tackling topics to undermine...
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Should the United States Let Everyone In?
This week, Andy & Brendan take divergent vantages on the immigration debate and try to find points of synergy, crossover and mutual understanding. Are nations necessary? Are boundaries beneficial? Are immigrants integral to the intricacies of international ideals? Or are we all just vagabonds...
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Is Gender-Affirming Care Ethical? (Part 3 of 3)
This week, Andy & Brendan launch into the trifecta session of trying to ascertain not merely the answer to the question, but even agreeing on what the question is asking! Meaning this week they can actually start referencing evidence and parsing out whether it's ever ethical... by its own…
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Is Gender-Affirming Care Ethical? (Part 2)
This week, Andy & Brendan return to interrogate the question of gender-affirming care, and their conversation reveals that the societal discord over the practice is rooted far deeper than mere political squabbles... into the depth of how semantics are proven or disproven, into what truth itself…
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Is 'Gender Affirming Care' Ethical? PART ONE
This week, Andy & Brendan - as humans, parents and citizens of the nation whose highest court in the land just heard arguments on "gender-affirming care" bans (U.S. v. Skrmetti) - explore with great curiosity whether such care is A) accurately termed and B) ethically applied? In this part one (of...
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"Should Non-Christians Celebrate Christmas?"
This week, Andy & Brendan ruminate on the seasons' eatings at one's soul - is Christmas cultural appropriation? Is it colonialist imposition? Capitalist frenzy? All or none of the above? From Saint Nick's assault record to hating Satan Claus, from gifts around the tree to singing in harmony, from...
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"Is Elon Musk a Supervillain?"
This week, Andy & Brendan evaluate the nature & impact of the richest man in the world, from their very different vantage points. Can they ask about the villainy of everyone's favorite autistic centibillionaire without descending in gross ad hominem? Can they bounce from spaceX rockets red glare…
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"Are We Doomed?" (A Very Special Post-Election Episode!)
Yesterday was the final day of voting in the 2024 election. Today, two friends whose candidates (they didn't vote the same and still love each other! Gasp!) lost early this morning get together to ask the question "Are We Doomed?" and do their best to muster up some evidence we AREN'T... and some...
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"Should we trust corporate media?"
This week, Andy & Brendan discuss whether the modern news media landscape is a trustworthy map of reality or not. From McDonald's fries to Washington Post's lies, from correcting your parents to deceiving yourself, from AI Trump to real life trust issues, it's all in this episode of Totally Classic!
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"Is Climate Change Real?" Part Two
This week, Andy & Brendan meet back up after a month to explore the literature, the arguments strong & shoddy and the strange manipulations around climate change! From unmodelable clouds to model google usage, from adhd Brittanica forays to conspiratorial arrays, from the ground to the atmosphere...
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"Is Climate Change Real?"
This week, Andy & Brendan tackle a subject they are both admitted novices in: Climate Change. They do their best to parse out not only their apprehension of the landscape of theory but seek to posit a means of validating or invalidating those apprehensions, from the place of admitted ignorance....
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"Is a Third Party Vote a Waste?"
This week, Andy & Brendan interrogate a popular supposition about the United States' purported two-party system. Does any party "deserve" you vote? Is voting for a third party candidate "stealing" from some other candidate with a larger bankroll? What arguments are tenable that a third party...
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"Should We Vote Based on Identity?"
This week, Andy & Brendan wrestle with a question about elections, in part spurred by the sudden new Democrat nominee for President. Should a citizen vote for a candidate based on what identity categories that candidate falls under? It is hypocrisy? Machiavellian? One last gasp of error to right...
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"Have I Fallen for a Media Hoax?"
This week, Andy & Brendan stroll down media memory mayhem lane, remembering and analyzing a trio of Media Hoaxes they've fallen for and why. What fears did they prey upon? What biases did they tickle? What do they tell us about our media and ourselves? What Media Hoaxes have YOU fallen for?
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"Is Circumcision Appropriate?"
This week, the conversation goes a bit below the belt. This episode is relatively uncut, but the two conversants are. Puns misbegotten aside, this episode Andy & Brendan wrangle with the seeming lack of forethought put into removing foreskin. Is this mild form of genital mutilation cultural...
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"Is JK Rowling Transphobic?"
In just 4 short years, it's become more of an assumption than even a belief that author JK Rowling, who altered the literary landscape for more than a decade in the 90s & 2000s, is "transphobic." But is this assumption accurate or inaccurate? Andy & Brendan try to sleuth, feel and reason it out!...
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"Has DEI DIED?"
Andy has worked in the DEI space, both professionally & passionately. Brendan is skeptical of DEI as a methodology of social justice. But they can still talk to each other - even about this. DEI might be the modern antidote to racism. DEI might the modern manifestation of racism. Either way, DEI...
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"Are the Gaza Protests Charlottesville 2.0?"
A much repeated perspective on the series of protests against the Gaza War is that they're anti-semitic. While antisemitism certainly is extant in the protests, does this make the movement entire essentially so? Having heard the oft-repeated comparison of these Free Palestine rallies to...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Totally Classic have?
Totally Classic currently has 91 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Totally Classic about?
A podcast where two friends with divergent world-views unite in curiosity and love to explore the world as each other sees it.
How often does Totally Classic release new episodes?
Totally Classic has 91 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Totally Classic?
You can listen to Totally Classic on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Totally Classic?
Totally Classic is created and hosted by shinfain.
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