Questions Kyle and Jennie join me for an unusually strong mailbag. In this first part we talk the wild events of the last month in the presidential election, fielding several questions about what is and isn't different now that Harris-Walz has replaced Biden-Harris. Is "You're weird" a good strategy? Do they have their shit together at long last? Why does the campaign feel so different, and is that real or in our heads?

This is the (free!) first half of a two-part episode; Part II is available here to Patreon subscribers, so go ahead and sign up for as little as 1 American Dollar. It's worth it, I promise.

Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social.

Questions Kyle and Jennie join me for a close look at three of the wildest weeks in recent American political history - we talk the Trump assassination attempt, Biden's brain, JD Vance, and (checks notes) former Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood. You are currently listening to the first half (free!) of a two-part episode; Part II is available to Patreon subscribers here, so go ahead and sign up for as little as 1 American Dollar.

Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social.

Thanks: QK, QJ, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.

Kassia St. Clair, author of the 2017 best-seller The Secret Lives of Color and the Sunday Times Book of the Year follow-up The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History (2019) joins me to talk about her new book, Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the 20th Century. It's the story of the utterly bonkers 1907 auto race from Peking to Paris, which didn't let things like the fact that roads and gas stations didn't exist stop some adventurous competitors from trying it. All 8000 miles of it.

The widescreen artwork accompanying this episode is Kassia's map of Russia, laden with thread and post-it notes, which she references during our chat.

Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me on Bluesky at edburmila.bsky.social.

Thanks: Kassia St. Clair, the bands that contribute music (IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.