So I’ve been away for the last few weeks, first visiting family for the first time in a long time, and now at a conference put on by The Claremont Institute. I’ll be back to full speed (on both the Substack and Unraveling w/Jocko) in couple of days, but in the meantime I had a fun interaction yesterday.

Hi everybody. I’ve been breaking a cardinal rule (it should probably be upgraded to a religious injunction) ever since the most recent dustup between Israel and Hamas began - namely, I’ve been discussing the topic on Twitter. Huge mistake, obviously, and one I’ll make again, no doubt, but for now I’m trying to correct it. Twitter is not the place for complex and nuanced discussions of topics charged with raw emotion on all sides. Instead, I figured I’d create this Q&A page, and update it as necessary, and have it be a one-stop shop for anyone who wants to know what I think about something.

As NATO meets to discuss the tension on the Russian border to Ukraine, and the papers fill with denunciations of Putin’s aggression, I still find it useful to return to the framework I developed in Crashed for analyzing the intersection of geopolitics and economics and the rise of Russia as a challenger. This framework consists of three basic propositions.

Great links, images and reading from Chartbook Newsletter

An oligarchy inherently converges on ideas that justify the use of power.

I will be reading my own verse as well as assorted 20th-century material. (I apologize for paywalling this earlier—that was a scurvy trick. Poetry is for the people!) This is a private event. Please do not share or publicize. Email qulturewar@proton.me

A sketch.

Publisher’s note: Free for curmudgeons and optimists alike, Earlywood is a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2017. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. We hope you enjoy it.

Words by Rosa Kumar

Words by Hadiya Ali Khan

Professor Julie Moore was fired from Taylor University in what has become a pattern at far-right Christian schools.

Hey folks! I was supposed to publish the answers to your “Ask Me Anything” questions today, but I will have to publish next week. I had the oppo…

Sveiki atvykę į pirmajį audio mini serialą mano Substack kanale. Kadangi tai pirmas mano postas čia, turėčiau papasakoti, kam kuriu šį kanalą ir kodėl jus kviečiu prie prisijungti, bet padarysim kitaip - aš kelsiu pirmąsias savo audio serijas, jūs jas paklausysite, gal net pakomentuosite, o tada bus aiškiau matyti. Ir jums ir man:)

7 dalis - Lenkijos išprievartavimas. Pilna ši ir visos kitos serijos preinamos kanalo prenumeratoriams.

The former "Celebrity Apprentice" talent handler on what he saw behind the scenes.

We are sleepwalking towards dictatorship. Will we wake up in time?

On this day in 1945, Dorothy Parker had writer's block

Norman Lear offers some words of advice to a stranger

Will there ever be a Secrets of Great British Castles season 3? How much of a boss was William Marshal? What is my favourite beer? And other pressing questions...

A brave new world!

The diagnosis sure explains a lot. I’m gonna need to be cagey about some things to protect the privacy of others and be evasive about self-medication that may not have been entirely proper. Not illegal, just not exactly the way you’re supposed to. This is not mental health advice, it’s just my story.

The post I promised you yesterday

Martin Scorsese embraces the death of cinema—and thrives

It's really important

自由嘅靈魂，你奈我唔何

講嘢要揀場合．迴音谷．流量密碼

"I used to write long-winded descriptions...in a kind of cipher shorthand which I am now unable to read even with a magnifying glass…"

"The point is so that it doesn’t look like it’s sweating like that effort, you see? It must appear effortless!"

The machine tool industry is heavily concentrated geographically. A handful of countries located in Western Europe and East Asia account for almost all the global exports, Germany and Japan being the world’s two undisputed leaders. Considering that the machine tool industry provides the production base for all the other manufacturing industries, including the military, the vast quantitative and qualitative regional disparities in machine tool production have far-reaching strategic consequences.

and how to prevent it

"The smoke of satan has entered the Church"

Open Letter

If you love how Ancient Origins provides the latest scientific research on ancient and mysterious aspects of history and archaeology and combines that knowledge with out-of-the-box perspectives than you'll love Ancient Origins Unleashed!

Presumed innocent, yet dirty dark secrets are imbedded in the bedtime stories told to children. Fairy tales are magical narratives that pervade the young minds of children so deeply, leaving imprints on their subconscious that can mold their every-day lives. According to Bruno Bettelheim, the 20th century child psychologist and author on autism, ancient cultures had no hard lines: “separating myths from folklore and fairy tales; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies.”

Musk has a plot to transform America that’s more reminiscent of the supervillainry of a Marvel or DC film than a business plan. Last night this plan took a big step forward—and now America is at risk.

This report ranks the Top 50 most frequently graded sealed video games and the Top 10 most graded complete-in-box games. The graded video game market is a booming sector in the collectibles industry.

I disappeared one month ago in an all too similar fashion as Anne Heche. I am here to share my journey into hell with only a limited amount of my friends and supporters.

The CIA is known for silencing whistleblowers. If they can’t discredit them, they’re usually imprisoned or murdered. Today, I’m sharing what one CIA whistleblower revealed about his time with The Firm.

A study of the Deep State's immolation of a Catholic president in masonic sacred space

Cancel culture has determined that this knowledge is forbidden to you

I am pleased to let you know that my latest book, which I co-authored with Liz Nesbitt, is now on sale. Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State is the first book to highlight the stories of the half billion years of plants and animals that have lived in the state (or what is now the state). It also contains ecological reconstructions and amazing fossil photos—most of which were retaken by volunteer Michael Rich. And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that

Not Mine!

If we want the war to stay in Ukraine, we have to win it in Ukraine.

Marking nine years since Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity & Georgia’s hybrid defeat — and why the West must understand both to see the way ahead

Ælfgif-who? Exclusive Paid post number 15

A queen's role is often a diplomatic one

Hello, new subscriber! And welcome to Skipped History. Here’s a little rundown about the series, a sort of What to Expect When You’re Expecting Skipped History. First things first We send out videos on an every-other-week cadence, typically on Thursday mornings. This cadence allows us time to research, write, and produce new episodes. If you’d like even more history between episodes, check us out on Twitter!

Lessons from the history of NOW, with Professor Katherine Turk

This week's excerpt reveals how Hitler lost his sex drive as the war turned against him - as told by Eva Braun's sister

9th December 1943: Low on fuel after crossing the Atlantic the crew then encounter zero visibility - and B-17G Flying Fortress 42-31420 fails to arrive