In Lieu of Fun: #DogShirtTV

Wherein Holly Berkley Fletcher outs herself as a CIA officer, and tells us all about 19 years in the Agency.

Wherein Jonathan Rauch persuades Ben to swear off swearing, and Marty Lederman discusses Chris Wray's resignation. Alicia Wanless and Eve Gaumond cohost.

Wherein Ben takes audience questions on Polish democracy, missile defense systems, and other important issues, and solicits audience opinions on the most important issue of all: should you let a robot give you a massage?Join the Sol Invictus Fundraiser here: https://www.dogshirtdaily.com/p/sol-invictus-sale-takes-steroids

Wherein Ben and Holly Berkley Fletcher welcome Ammar Abdulhamid to celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad and discuss what comes next for Syria and the region.

Wherein Ben welcomes Shane Harris, who has discovered the secrets of candied bacon and told us all about it. Then we talked about Kash Patel and did a dramatic reading of one of his children's books.Check out Shane's reporting on candied bacon here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/bacon-the-bestkept-secret-in-washington/And read Ben's analysis of Kash Patel's child propaganda here: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation--the-plot-to-lie-to-children

Wherein Ben, left alone and bereft of a guest, vamps on Bitcoin, the nomination process, and the Feast of Sol Invictus. Antti Ruokonen drops in to ask after Ric Grenell, and Laura Donna weighs in on whether the audience is more of a Collegium than a Greek Chorus.

Wherein Ben welcomes Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former president of Estonia, to discuss Eastern European reactions to Russia and Trump. They also talk electronic government in Estonia, and Ben demonstrates one of the problems with e-government via a series of tech glitches.

Wherein Sarah Bond tells us about the Labor movement in ancient history. Check out her new book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300273144/strike/