Rod and Kale reconnect after his return from Poland, Rod reports on his ongoing conversations with Western academics and intellectuals about what is going on with the state of discourse, and the control of The Narrative. It strikes them both as incredible to think that the former communist countries have become a beacon of intellectual freedom in this time of self censorship.

Speaking of censorship, the lab leak hypothesis is now “New York Times official” with the latest Bret Stephens piece. Kale and Rod discuss the implications of the capture of the scientific establishment, the odd protection of a narrative and a comparison to it and NFL Commissioner’s campaign a decade ago to “protect the shield,” along with the protection of the church during the abuse crisis. Viewpoint diversity, though messy and a bit chaotic, seems to be the only recourse to finding truth.

Rod ends with a comparison with the underappreciated comparison between our moment and the lead up to the Spanish Civil War.