Episode 41: Self Evident As Mud

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Today's Episode 41: Self Evident As Mud, deals with the historical divide between those of the upper and lower classes, specifically the prohibitions on social mixing and what tasks anyone in the upper classes could perform without denigrating themselves and being looked upon as less than genteel.

I draw from a bunch of books. Henry George's Progress & Poverty; Brian Czech's Supply Shock; Randall Keynes' Annie's Box"; and David Bodanis' Passionate Minds. I also shared details, if not exact quotes, from Peter Nichols' Evolution's Captain, the story of Captain Robert FitzRoy of the Beagle, the ship Charles Darwin sailed to the Galapagos and beyond.

I also quote Planet Money's Episode 641, "Why We Work So Much" and Stephen Colbert from a 2010 CSPAN testimony to Congress concerning immigrant labor in agriculture.

Musically, you hear Jahzzar doing "Family Tree" and the final bars of Mistle Thrush's "It's All Like Today." I opened with the Tim Bousquet/KMFDM intro.