Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill

Pigweed and Crowhill

You like beer, and you like conversation, right? Of course you do. Pigweed and Crowhill review a beer (sometimes their own homebrews) and discuss issues of the day. They try to break down serious issues into bite-sized chunks, and add some humor when possible. But it's all in good fun. Just two pals chatting over a beer.

  1. Jul 18

    Thomas Jefferson: Genius, Contradictions, and the American Experiment (ep. 632)

    Thomas Jefferson was far more than the author of the Declaration of Independence. He was a lawyer, architect, inventor, linguist, scientist, diplomat, president, and one of the most influential minds behind the American experiment. In this episode of Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill, we trace Jefferson's remarkable life—from writing the Declaration of Independence and championing religious liberty to the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, the Barbary Wars, and even his surprising belief that woolly mammoths might still roam the American West. We also tackle the hardest question surrounding Jefferson: how do we reconcile his soaring ideals about liberty with the fact that he owned hundreds of slaves? Rather than reducing him to either hero or villain, we examine the historical, political, and personal contradictions that continue to shape the debate over his legacy today. Along the way, we discuss: * Why Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence * The revolutionary ideas that transformed government forever * States' rights vs. federal power * The Louisiana Purchase and constitutional questions * Lewis and Clark's unexpected mission to search for mammoths * The First Barbary War * Jefferson's passion for science, education, and the University of Virginia * The enduring paradox at the heart of Jefferson's life Grab a beer and join us for a thoughtful conversation about one of America's most brilliant—and most complicated—Founding Fathers.

  2. Jul 16

    Bad French Ideas: Foucault, Derrida & the Theories That Broke the West (ep. 630)

    Foucault. Derrida. Lyotard. Three French philosophers walk into a cafe — and forty years later, American universities can't define what a woman is.In this episode, Pigweed and Crowhill dig into a viral French mea culpa: an apology, on behalf of France, for exporting postmodernism to the world. They trace the direct line from French theory's core claim — that truth is just a mask for power — through Judith Butler, Edward Said, and Kimberlé Crenshaw, and into today's language of oppressor/oppressed, meritocracy-as-racism, and "words are violence."Topics covered:* Why civilization rests on three pillars — truth, morality, and inherited tradition — and how French theory tried to dynamite all three* The difference between what Foucault et al. probably meant and what their disciples did with it* Why "everything is a power struggle" is really just Marxism with race swapped in for class* The philosophical case against relativism (and why no one actually lives like a true relativist)* Fragmentation, diversity, and the postmodern seduction of "there is no truth, only narrative"* Why a civilization that's only trained to deconstruct forgets how to buildPlus: a four-year-old bottle of Flying Dog Double Dog Triple IPA that's mellowed into something closer to a barleywine — tasting notes, aging thoughts, and whether it's worth the cellar space.#Postmodernism #Foucault #WesternCivilization #Philosophy #CraftBeer #IPA #BeerReview #PoliticalPhilosophy #CultureWar #Podcast

  3. Jul 10

    What Would the Founding Fathers Think of America Today? (ep. 629)

    As America approaches its 250th birthday, we fire up a (mostly) reliable time machine and imagine what the Founding Fathers would think if they could see the United States today. Would George Washington be amazed by America's military power? Would Benjamin Franklin marvel at electricity, space travel, and modern technology? Would Thomas Jefferson recognize the federal government they created—or wonder what happened to the republic they envisioned? Over a German wheat beer, Pigweed and Crowhill explore questions the Founders might ask about: * The Constitution and the Bill of Rights * Free speech and religious liberty * The Second Amendment * Taxes and the growth of government * The Tenth Amendment and states' rights * Originalism vs. the "living Constitution" * The rise of the federal bureaucracy * Presidential power * Political parties (which many Founders distrusted) * Whether America has fulfilled—or departed from—the Founders' vision Along the way, we also review a classic German Weissbier and finish with another round of "Satire or No Satire?" — where today's headlines are sometimes stranger than fiction. Whether you agree or disagree with our conclusions, we hope this conversation encourages you to think more deeply about America's constitutional heritage as we celebrate the America 250 anniversary. Cheers! #America250 #FoundingFathers #Constitution #BillOfRights #AmericanHistory #GeorgeWashington #ThomasJefferson #BenjaminFranklin #PoliticalPhilosophy #BeerAndConversation #PigweedAndCrowhill #Originalism #ConstitutionalLaw #HistoryPodcast

4.7
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

You like beer, and you like conversation, right? Of course you do. Pigweed and Crowhill review a beer (sometimes their own homebrews) and discuss issues of the day. They try to break down serious issues into bite-sized chunks, and add some humor when possible. But it's all in good fun. Just two pals chatting over a beer.

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