Ep 116 | How We Beat Those Neanderthals | Guest: Natalia Reagan
Comedian and primatologist Natalia Reagan joins Heaton to talk about hominids, the human family tree, and the time when Homo sapiens weren’t the only smart bipedal hominids running around.
6 Touko 201950min
Ep 115 | The World’s Sexiest Accent | Guest: Brian Sack
Comedy writer Brian Sack joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort the world’s better headlines: from the worst use of parking spaces ever, to a great education game about cow tuberculosis, to an effortless but irritating way to get abs.
3 Touko 201931min
Ep 114 | Why Do We Love Conspiracy Theories? | Guest: Jesse Walker
What’s in the DNA of a conspiracy theory, and when does it go from benign to dangerous? Jesse Walker is author of “The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory,” which identifies the different types of conspiracy theories and charts them from the Salem witch trials through Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
2 Touko 201945min
Ep 113 | That's Not Socialism, Dammit! | Guest: Justin Haskins
People don’t really like pointing to Venezuela, Cambodia, Cuba, or the Soviet Union when they talk about socialism. (What with the deaths.) They like to mention cute sweater-vest countries, like Denmark, that aren’t actually socialist. Justin Haskins, executive editor at the Heartland Institute, joins Heaton to talk about what socialism is and isn’t, and also when it occasionally gets out of hand and murders hundreds of millions of people.
1 Touko 201946min
Ep 112 | The Student Loan Bubble Is Filled with Swamp Gas | Guest: Royce Sharp
Student loan debt has surpassed $1.5 trillion dollars — more than credit card debt — prompting some ascendant Democrats to push for loan cancellation and tax-funded university tuition. Heaton figures out what’s making it so expensive with filmmaker and friend Royce Sharp.
30 Huhti 201952min
Ep 111 | Good Fare, Bad Fare, We All Scream for Welfare | Guest: Deanna Easley
Deanna Easley rejoins Heaton to talk about welfare: when it works, when it traps, and her experiences on it. Plus, Heaton explains a Biden vs. Trump election through ostrich racing, and producer Jennings comes on with timely feedback.
29 Huhti 201945min
Ep 110 | The Time the Brits Accused Me of Gun-Smuggling | Guest: Bridget Phetasy
Comedian Bridget Phetasy joins Heaton for a Friday Release Valve episode to sort out the week’s better headlines, from how the Philippines might trigger World War III, to man-killing birds, to black-market colonoscopies.
26 Huhti 201937min
Ep 109 | Loneliness Is Worse for Cities than Godzilla | Guest: Tim Carney
Did Trump win the election because economically displaced Rust Belt workers wanted a shake-up, or because old white guys can’t handle change? Tim Carney rejects that dichotomy and says that the 2016 election had more to do with the nature of the community you hail from: whether it’s connected, upwardly mobile, and optimistic, or pessimistic, disconnected, and lonely. His book, “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse,” dives into the nature of American communities and why the disappearance of clubs, churches, and diners is hurting the nation economically and psychologically.
25 Huhti 201951min
