T.REX TALK T.REX ARMS

The early 21st Century is a good time to be thinking about cyberpunk dystopias. Fictional dystopian worlds (and attempted Utopian ones) are interesting thought experiments that have an effect on the populations that read them. 1984 and Brave New World have shaped political discourse in the real world to a substantial degree. But you probably want to be aware of one of the least known and least discussed dystopian novels in recent history. Its obscurity is almost as disturbing as its creepy, all-powerful computer-controlled government.


Also, you should be aware of some real-life utopian experiments that have been attempted in the past. Very thought provoking:


https://www.honest-broker.com/p/is-silicon-valley-building-universe

Night vision has been one of the most magical and mysterious capabilities fielded by many militaries over many decades. However, times have changed, and Gen 3 night vision is now pretty commonplace for soldiers and civilians alike. PVS-14s and PVS-31s are the Glocks of night vision devices, and yet there are many more strange and esoteric ways to see in the dark then you can possibly imagine. Nick Chen both collects and documents the capabilities of some of the world's rarest goggles and observational tool, and he shows us some in this conversation.

David Botkin gets on the podcast to talk about how history is being rewritten, and some of the books that he has collected to preserve esoteric military data that used to be common knowledge. We also go down a bit of a rabbits trail involving data preservation methods, personal servers, and AI-generated Muppet war. This episode is something of a follow-up to the T.Rex Labs video on digital libraries.

Anthony Miranda of the Armed Scholar YouTube channel joins us to talk about the current state of Second Amendment court cases. As an attorney, Anthony has been involved in many kinds of legal battles, served in many different roles, and is currently a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the state of California. What is going on during this election year, and what happens next?

There are a few parallels between modern America and the kingdom inherited by Alfred the Great. It was crumbling from within, besieged from without, and poised at the crossroads between greatness and oblivion. How did this unexpected king build the foundations that England and the United States still rest on? And how does he stack up against the pantheon of other Great military leaders in history?

Author Andrew McKevitt's book Gun Country posits that America's unique love for guns appeared in the late 20th century, growing out of a love of cheap WWII surplus arms, Cold War commie fear, and 1960s race riots. Is it this simple? And is his description of "gun capitalism" a helpful way to talk about the Citizen Defense Industry?