In this podcast we deal with questions from two reader emails. The first question asks about mentorships. The second question deals with the concerns one guy is having about his career path.
Podcast
You Do What You Have To Do To Survive (Podcast)
A recent news article talks about how young, unemployed urban Greeks are leaving the city to return to agricultural work in the countryside. They’re producing and marketing their own products directly to consumers. It’s part of a wider economic trend that has a lot of positive features.
In life, you do what you have to do to survive.
“How Do I Convince A Student That His Ideas Are Wrong?” (Podcast)
A reader who is a teacher is troubled by the fact that one of his teenage students firmly believes in fascist government. The teacher seeks advice on how to deal with this situation. He relates this situation to similar experiences he had as a soldier in Afghanistan when he was speaking with local villagers.
A Meeting With Stalin (Podcast)
A former NKVD agent describes a meeting with Joseph Stalin and the special assignment he was given. We reflect on the fact that power and glory are fleeting, and that they can vanish faster than most people believe.
The Hollow Men (Podcast)
A reader from Italy writes to say he is frustrated and angry with the deceit and fraudulence of a certain political figure on the world stage. We explain why it is best to take a detached, philosophical view of such men, since experience shows that they eventually bring about their own ruin. What matters is to be a man of substance, not a man of straw, a hollow man. We close by reading T.S. Eliot’s immortal poem, “The Hollow Men.”
Leadership Questions: Pulling The Trigger, And Dealing With A Passive-Aggressive Boss
Two different readers ask questions from their own personal experience:
1. One man is trying to overcome feelings of discomfort when ordering his men to go places where they may face certain harm.
2. Another man is trying to deal with a boss whose passive-aggressive comments may mean trouble for him.
Hit Them Hard
When your back is against the wall, you need to fight back however you can. Don’t allow society or other people to denigrate you. Remember that the only one who cares about you is you. Sometimes the best way to get people to listen is to force them to listen. Hit them hard, and keep hitting them as long as necessary.
The Rise Of The “Plutocratic Insurgency”
I’ve written before on the extreme social dangers that come about from excessive concentrations of wealth in the hands of a few. An important series of articles by Robert and Pamela Bunker in Small Wars Journal has taken this idea one step further: they have identified the current vast income disparities as a form of insurgency warfare. This is a very significant step, and one that is supported by the facts. This condition–in all its forms–they call the plutocratic insurgency. This podcast discusses some of their conclusions, and asks readers to ponder the implications of this insidious form of warfare on the social health of Western nations.
There’s Nothing Shameful In Having Problems (Podcast)
I recently saw the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster. The film shows the group trying to keep itself together in the wake of band tension, personal issues, and creative deadlock. How these problems are confronted and solved make this a film very much worth watching. We discuss some of the lessons learned.
There is nothing wrong or shameful in having problems. The measure of a man is how he confronts and handles those problems.
Some Questions From An Ex-Military Reader (Podcast)
I received a great email the other day from an accomplished ex-military man who is currently enrolled in a higher degree program at a major US university. He wanted to know my thoughts on these questions:
Quintus Curtius 
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