War and Peace (Book 3, Part 3)

Show Notes

This week, Matt and Cameron fiddle while Moscow burns. They finish Book 3 of War and Peace by finally engaging with the direct interaction of war and society. Unfortunately for the population of Moscow, that comes as their city burns. Why that is? Well - Tolstoy has some opinions. (Unsurprisingly, those opinions begin with the fact that Moscow is mostly built of wood, which may have something to do with the fire). Grab your least flammable cocktail and tune in!

Major themes: Hanging’ With the Enemy, The Force of History, Burning Moscow

06:55 - The Achilles Paradox

30:40 - Vive L’Espanol

31:51 - Historically, I mean.

34:43 - I, personally, stand behind “The Long 20th Century.” But that’s only because the guy who wrote it was a professor of mine, and once spent an entire class lecturing on how a certain shade of green showed a) where Portuguese immigrants have gone and b) the implications of finding that green in places like Hawaii (sugar farming and resultant imperialist takeover, in that case).

41:29 - I think it’s actually usually translated as “money changers” instead of “money lenders.”

57:54 - Unfortunately for Matt, I get to edit these episodes and I have all the power.

The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and YouTube.