Welcome to our failed attempt at a TOPICAL EPISODE.

The aim was a discussion of unfolding events in the Middle East, now too long ago to be relevant (things move quickly). The actual result was twenty minutes of reminiscing about life among the Houthis in Yemen, followed by a MANIFESTO on why the UK should not have an army or air force and instead focus all its excess resources on a reinvigorated navy that will rule the seas with GREAT SEVERITY. To the extent that one suspects that the entire concept of a topical episode was a trojan horse to introduce more Royal Navy propaganda into our lives.

“You can make the French ambassador feel really small, and nobody can put a price on that.”

Are aliens just American faeries? One of our hosts read Jacques Vallee’s Passport to Magonia: from Folklore to Flying Saucers and took it literally. UFOs exist, and they are the same phenomenon as faeries and elves but reinterpreted by a twentieth century audience.

This view is met with some scepticism. “They’re all just part of the collective unconscious.” Regular listeners will become familiar with this pattern.

We also talk about Zimbabwean goblins, the interdimensional hypothesis, and how it would feel to be a demon.

We look at alcohol’s ritual, psychological, and cultural function. Starting with Dionysus and the ancient Greeks, we compare alcohol with psychedelics and other drug and explore what’s going on beneath the surface at after-work drinks through this lens.

Can you really trust someone you have never seen with their inhibitions lowered? Is transgression required for bonding? We attempt to reach some deep conclusions over some good whisky.