You Can't Win

Donald Hughes
  • 4.5 (148)
  • COMEDY
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

We're Tom and Donald. We are two trolls that are trying to make sense of the world through conversations about the traps and scams that surround us.

  1. 1D AGO

    Episode 178 - AOR3E2 The Scale of the Danger

    We talk about up to page 90 in Aesthetics of Resistance Volume 3 by Peter Weiss in our read-along group. Then at about 57 minutes we chat about the Epstein debates and a few mini-reviews. Next read-along in a few weeks we will get to page 131. Mentioned: The Wild Pear Tree (2018) dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan The American by Henry James Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo Concrete by Thomas Bernhard The Imperative to Write by Jeff Fort Blog post that discusses The Imperative to Write: https://this-space.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-imperative-to-write-destitutions-of.html

    1h 38m

  2. JAN 30

    Episode 177 - Copy of a Copy

    We talk about Tom leaving his job, the schizophrenia of Long 2026 and frustration over how politics works, trolling by competing in good deeds, and some mini reviews. Mentioned: The Time that Remains. The Worst Person in the World. Fistful of Dollars. Following. Eephus. This is Spinal Tap. Ralph Waldo Emerson essays. Masnavi by Rumi. Me & Rumi by Shams Tabrizi.

    1h 38m

  3. JAN 12

    Episode 176 - AOR3E1 Happy New Year

    After our resolutions we jump into Aesthetics of Resistance by Peter Weiss, volume 3, a novel about art and fighting fascism in Europe during 1930s and 40s. We get up to page 44 in our first episode in this series. Next time (in a few weeks) we will do up to page 90. Book talk starts at 16m48s.

    1h 31m

  4. 12/28/2025

    Episode 175 - Best of a Bad Year 2025

    We chat about our favourite movies, podcasts, games, moments and books of 2025 as we get ready to say goodbye to a pretty bad year. Tom's Top Five Books: 5 Poetry of Rilke (Ed Snow trans.) 4 Aesthetics of Resistance vol II by Peter Weiss 3 Autobiography by John Cowper Powys 2 Terra Nostra by Carlos Fuentes 1 Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort by Roger Martin du Gard Don's favourites were Aesthetics of Resistance Vol I and II by Peter Weiss and Correction by Thomas Bernhard.

    1h 23m

  5. 12/14/2025

    Episode 174 - Negative Theology

    We chat about whether prediction markets are forbidden, Herbert McCabe on the goodness of God, some Mubis and some books. Faith Within Reason by Herbert McCabe, OP. Oslo, August 31st. Wendy and Lucy. Bring them Down. The Smashing Machine.  Frost by Thomas Bernhard. Austerlitz by WG Sebald. Selected Writings of Walter Benjamin, Vol 2, Part One. What Maisie Knew by Henry James. Don also briefly mentions the podcasts Age of Napoleon and The Siècle.

    1h 11m

  6. 11/29/2025

    Episode 173 - Old Fat Guy Updates

    We chat about the beginning of the end of the year, Herbert McCabe and the relationship between faith and reason, the movie Post Tenebras Lux and that show with Mussolini, and some stories out of Quebec. Mentioned: Faith Within Reason by Herbert McCabe. --- We're going to start reading Aesthetics of Resistance: Volume III by Peter Weiss in January, probably in 30-40 page chunks. Your heads up to get a copy. The AOR wikipedia page Don mentions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_art_in_The_Aesthetics_of_Resistance

    1 hr

  7. 11/19/2025

    Episode 172 - Green Grass Target Emissions Reductions

    What the heck are Green Gras Target Emissions Reductions. Okay, I was tired. This ep' we talk about some recent newsy stuff (Canada, Epstein) and then get into books, including the awful new print-on-demand by big publishers. Mentioned: Ottawa Citizen article about mobilization: https://ottawacitizen.com/public-service/defence-watch/canadian-military-public-servants Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Francis A. Yates The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World by  G. E. M. Ste. Croix Alone with the Alone by Henry Corbin Stone Age Economics by Marshall Sahlins The Notebooks of Henry James Mannerism by Arnold Hauser The Social History of Art by Arnold Hauser Jimmy Breslin

    55 min

  8. 11/07/2025

    Episode 171 - Making Popcorn

    We chat about baseball, our new kawaii (cute) mini-PCs, politricks and a bunch of books. Mentioned (mostly book hauls): The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich Listen, Little Man! by Wilhelm Reich Marcel Proust by William Carter The Poetry of Rilke, trans. Ed Snow Europe: A History by Norman Davies Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 by Tony Judt Religion and Nothingness by Keiji Nishitani The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han by Mark Edward Lewis A History of China by Wolfram Eberhard The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau Interesting Times by Eric Hobsbawm Les grands textes indépendantistes, 1774 - 1992 by Andrée Ferretti and Gaston Miron Selling Free Enterprise by Elizabeth A. Fones-Wolf Riddle of Fire (movie)

    1h 9m
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4.5
out of 5
148 Ratings

About

We're Tom and Donald. We are two trolls that are trying to make sense of the world through conversations about the traps and scams that surround us.

Information

  • Creator
    Donald Hughes
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    You Can't Win

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