Worth Knowing

Joey Harris

Occasional briefings on topics worth being able to talk about with real intel, from The Learned Gentleman.

  1. Nov 4

    Sugar Substitutes: Better Than Sugar, or Not?

    Aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, the sugar alcohols, stevia, monk fruit, and allulose — what each one does in your body, the honest state of the aspartame and erythritol questions, and the verdict: substitutes beat sugar when they replace it, not when they add to it.

  2. Nov 4

    Divided Government: Democratic Presidents, Republican Congresses

    The other side of the table: since World War II, Democratic presidents have spent about ten years facing a Congress fully controlled by Republicans — Truman, Clinton, and Obama, plus Wilson's League fight before them. The Marshall Plan, welfare reform, and balanced budgets came out of those years — along with the shutdowns, the Garland blockade, and the treaty that died in the Senate.

  3. Nov 4

    Divided Government: Republican Presidents, Democratic Congresses

    Since World War II, Republican presidents have spent about twenty-two years facing a Congress fully controlled by Democrats — Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford, Reagan, and both Bushes. The Interstate Highway System, the EPA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the TARP rescue all came out of those years. Divided government doesn't always mean gridlock.

  4. Nov 2

    Transcendentalism

    Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller in 1830s-40s New England: the idea that truth comes from intuition and nature, not churches or traditions — plus Walden Pond, civil disobedience, and the Brook Farm commune that didn't quite work out.

  5. Nov 2

    The Lowell Mill Girls

    The young farm daughters who powered America's first factory town in the 1820s and 30s, lived under the boardinghouse bells, published their own literary magazine — and then walked out on strike in 1834 and 1836, and organized for the ten-hour day.

  6. Nov 1

    GLP-1: An Honest Review

    Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound — how GLP-1 drugs actually work, what the big trials really showed, the common side effects, the rare serious ones, the muscle loss, the weight regain when you stop, and the cost. No hype, no horror stories — just the evidence. Not medical advice.

  7. Nov 1

    Why Gold Hit a Record High

    Gold hit about $5,589 an ounce in January 2026 — then fell roughly 30%. The central banks, the rates, and the fear behind the record, and the higher rates, stronger dollar, and Middle East war behind the pullback. Plus the two dates that decide what happens next.

  8. Oct 31

    A History of Witches

    From Circe and the village cunning folk to the Malleus Maleficarum, Matthew Hopkins, and Salem — and back again, as Gerald Gardner's Wicca reclaimed the witch in the twentieth century. Just in time for Halloween.

See All (15)

About

Occasional briefings on topics worth being able to talk about with real intel, from The Learned Gentleman.

Information

  • Creator
    Joey Harris
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Worth Knowing