Episode 275: Nullius In Verba

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For reasons I hope to make clear soon, advertising is not foremost on my mind right now. I made a realization that a great change will quite possibly befall us, and… I have no idea when. To understand my thinking on this, though, I feel it's necessary to give some background. Hence, some background in this Episode 275: Nullius In Verba.

In this episode, I read from: William Rosen's book The Most Important Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention. Expect more from that book as I finish in broad strokes his theory of invention and its importance to the Industrial Revolution.

Musically, I play: just a snippet from one of my favorite ditties from Monty Python's Flying Circus, listed as "Bruce's Philosophers Song". Since I didn't have anything invention related in terms of an opening, Mark Blyth just repeats the words shit and crap a lot backed by KMFDM; and Julie & Rolf & The Campfire Gang sing us out with "Over the Rainbow."

Episode 274: Our New Normal… Is Abby

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What's that phrase? One step forward, two steps back? For every positive step our society takes, it seems there are invisible forces trying to drag every step in a quite negative direction. I'll explore one example of just this in this Episode 274: Our New Normal… Is Abby.

In this episode, I read from: A Matt Stoller article from his newsletter Big, published November 25, 2025. It's title is a long one that starts out with "The Rent Is Too Damn High…". All of the links of other material, including the Wall St. Journal article I also quoted, can be found in Stoller's.

(Oh, and Stoller and Ms. Slater had a back-and-forth on social media that quite accurately defines the term "shit posting." It is quite amusing, but I wonder…. If Stoller is the eunuch, ahd the Sultan is the Chief Executive, what does that make Ms. Slater?)

I play: Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Abby Gail Slater announcing the RealPage settlement (that video link, too, can be found in Stoller's article); and from the movie Young Frankenstein we hear Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder determining exactly what kind of brain now controlled the monster. KMFDM's tune "Attack" backs another person worried about the power balance between government and industry, Cory Doctorow, in the opening; and I close today with Mistlethrush's "It's All Like Today."