President Donald Trump, in the shadow of Mt. Rushmore, warns of the “merciless campaign to wipe out our history.” Joe Biden, from his secure location, urges America to finally live up to the Declaration of Independence. As the Statue Wars enter month two, coronavirus cases increase, and the nation’s couch potatoes flock (shhhh) to the Disney Plus showing of Hamilton, it can be hard to make sense of the mixed up state of summer 2020.
That’s why Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch spend a good chunk of today’s Reason Roundtable podcast brainstorming new malignancies that America should henceforth declare independence from, in this our wobbly 244th year. Starting with pants.
The gang talks fireworks, patriotic gadgetry, men’s hair fashion, the fragrance of space, and so very much more.
Audio production by Ian Keyser and Regan Taylor.
Music: “Deep Mind,” by Jeremy Black.
Relevant links from the show:
“It’s Not Just Face Masks. Everything Is Now a Political Death Match,” by J.D. Tuccille
“Editorial Notes on Police Brutality,” by Katherine Mangu-Ward
“Post-Pandemic Americans May Be Done With Taking Orders,” by J.D. Tuccille
“Let’s Have Fewer Public Statues,” by Steven Greenhut
“The Next Pandemic Will Be Caused by the National Debt. It Will Crater the Economy,” by Nick Gillespie
“Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Self-Flattening, or Will It Grind Relentlessly on?” by Ronald Bailey
“The New York Times‘s Inconsistent Standards Drove Slate Star Codex To Self-Cancel,” by Robby Soave
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