Disease. Despair. Distraction.

That about sums up the reasons why it took me so long to publish my own podcast. I’ve been sick this winter; not everything is hunky dory in Virkkalavia, and I am not emotionally unaffected; and I’ve been reading and working and even watching stuff on the big screen.

But I’ve postponed podcasting too long. So last night I didn’t go to sleep. Instead, I published two podcast episodes in the form of video on YouTube and audio on SoundCloud.

It’s called the “LocoFoco Netcast.” Why? Well, I’ve been referencing my politics to those of the 19th century LocoFocos for a long, long time. And why “Netcast” instead of “podcast”? Well, the way to get to the audio on SoundCloud is to put the simple URL locofoco.net into your browser. Bang. You’re there. Calling it “Netcast” reminds listeners that it can be found at LocoFoco.net.

The first episode starts with me going solo, but clipping a segment from MSNBC and another from Stefan Molyneux. That’s not very long, but I make a point that is not made elsewhere, from what I can tell. Call it a plea for “lateral thinking,” though I did not use the term in my short talk. That is, in the podcast. The rest of the episode is long conversation between James Littleton Gill and me about economist Tyler Cowen’s “State Capacity Libertarianism.” Check it out:

LocoFoco Netcast #1

What’s with the title? Well, if you are curious, you know where to click.

The second episode consists entirely of an interview with the great writer David Ramsay Steele. Lee C. Waaks takes command of the interview, here, though Mr. Steele doesn’t need much prompting or managing. He is excellent as always. Our conversation is about fascism and its meaning, history, and lingering influence — that is, the subject of the lead essay of his new book:

LocoFoco Netcast #2

As much work as I put into these videos, I think I prefer the audio versions that you can find on SoundCloud. Please click in and listen — and subscribe, and comment. On SoundCloud you can place your comments at precise points in the audio presentations, which is really an attractive feature, if you ask me.

Find the SoundCloud account by going to locofoco.net.

By the end of the week the podcasts should be available upon multiple podcast distributors, such as iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play. I will keep readers posted.

Me in my living room, in front of a new acquisition: an old Apple eMac!