First Material Breach

Education isn't wasted just because your degree and your job aren't related.

Explaining charter schools with a metaphor.

Spoiler alert: they're a bad idea.

Dear Boomers... I know you believe you paid your own way through school. But you probably didn't.

Buildings, professors, equipment, cafeterias... these things cost money. But that doesn't mean the student should be on the hook for the cost.

There's a reason the system developed the way it did. We need to ask better questions when it comes to education.

The point of education is to help you become a person that can learn to do anything. It's another type of freedom.

The most important thing school can teach you is that you don't have to be content with your station in life.

A successful democracy in any of its forms requires at least four things from citizens:

This episode begins the exploration of education.

Everyone will need healthcare eventually. The more we collaborate, the less we have to pay for it.

Medical care should be expensive. Just not to the patient.

So where does the money actually come from?

Can you guess what system I'm talking about? It's easier than you may think.

We know how to share. We do it all the time. It doesn't hurt.

"Anthro" - short for "anthropo-", a prefix meaning human, or human-like.

People hate words like capitalism and socialism. Why fight about them when we can just say what we mean?

Helping people is great. It's a big part of what makes a group of people into a civilization.

But by its nature, charity is inefficient, unpredictable, and demeaning.

There are better ways to help people.

"Entitlement" isn't a bad word. At least, not in a legal context. Or Social Security.

A lot of the misunderstandings about Social Security are due to the fact that it's two different things at the same time.

If peace comes to America it will begin on the freeway. The freeway is a metaphor for pretty much everything that matters in a civilization.

The next few episodes will require us to understand a key concept: two things can be true at the same time.

One does not override the other. You don't pick one side or the other. Both are true at the same time.

It may seem simple, but far too many public policy discussions break down because of this.

"Freddish" is the collection of lessons Mr. Rogers created for his staff for how to communicate with kids. Why aren't we using these lessons with everyone?

Before we can fix our country we need to remember there's something worth saving.

Even Henry David Thoreau went shopping. A lot of cooperation went into creating his story of rugged individualism.

[NOTE: Apparently, the term "Super Bowl" is trademarked by the NFL. This episode uses the term for non-commercial purposes. Specifically, the term is used in the context of civics and economics, for criticism, comment, and teaching purposes. But if they get mad about it and let me know, I'll change it to the "Superb Owl" or something.]

The earliest versions of the social contract were about groups joining together to take down bullies.

Mr. Rogers was not in the military, let alone the special forces. But the rumor says a lot about us.

"He had to restrain himself and keep silent because he did not have the right to degrade an idea by setting it forth himself." - Dostoevsky, The Idiot

"Dostoevsky, a female stoevsky." - Mr. D.

A successful democracy in any of its forms requires at least four things from citizens:

This episode begins the exploration of good faith.

John Cage was known for challenging conventional rules and ideas. Fixing America requires us to challenge conventional ideas of civics and government.

There is no shortcut to freedom and prosperity.

All of human knowledge is being interpreted for you, or by you. This includes our understanding of government and civics.

The word "aristocracy" gets a bad rap. But in the ancient world, it meant something different.

Most theories of the social contract boil down to two categories: victims and investors.

Explaining charter schools with a metaphor.

Spoiler alert: they're a bad idea.

Dear Boomers... I know you believe you paid your own way through school. But you probably didn't.

Buildings, professors, equipment, cafeterias... these things cost money. But that doesn't mean the student should be on the hook for the cost.

There's a reason the system developed the way it did. We need to ask better questions when it comes to education.

The point of education is to help you become a person that can learn to do anything. It's another type of freedom.

The most important thing school can teach you is that you don't have to be content with your station in life.

A successful democracy in any of its forms requires at least four things from citizens:

This episode begins the exploration of education.

Everyone will need healthcare eventually. The more we collaborate, the less we have to pay for it.

Medical care should be expensive. Just not to the patient.

So where does the money actually come from?

Can you guess what system I'm talking about? It's easier than you may think.