Pod Only Knows - #3.7 - The Georgia Guidestones (RIP)

#3.7 - The Georgia Guidestones (RIP)

Explicit content warning

07/18/22 • 63 min

1 Listener

Pod Only Knows

As of July 6th, 2022, the Georgia Guidestones are, alas, for now, no more.

The weirdly aesthetically pleasing, mysterious, and ultimately just bizarre landmark that became northeast Georgia's biggest tourist attraction quickly became a flashpoint for conspiracy theorists and just run-of-the-mill Satanic Panickers since their creation in 1980.

But sometimes around 4 AM on July 6th, an explosion destroyed one of the stones, and the remaining stones were torn down over safety concerns.

Were they intended as advice for the human who survive the inevitable (by 1980s logic) nuclear holocaust and/or population bomb? Or maybe the 10 Commandments of the Anti-Christ? Were they - as Alex Jones believes - an act of hubris from the New World Order, funded by Ted Turner, openly announcing their plans for global depopulation? Or were they a prank?

John promised Jess Collins, who visited the Guidestones a year ago, he'd do a show about the Guidestones, and this seemed like the right time. They explore the clues that may reveal the true identity of their pseudonymous creator, "R. C. Christian", discuss the lasting appeal of this weird landmark, its strange religious elements, and ask whether the Guidestones will rise again.

As of July 6th, 2022, the Georgia Guidestones are, alas, for now, no more.

But sometimes around 4 AM on July 6th, an explosion destroyed one of the stones, and the remaining stones were torn down over safety concerns.

Previous Episode

#3.6 - The Bible and Abortion - with Jess Collins and Mike Manzi

What does the Bible say about abortion?

Well, if you're supposed to be living in a free, secular democracy, it shouldn't matter. And yet here we are, in the year 2022, in a supposed free, secular democracy, and somehow it does.

The short answer is this - the Bible does not teach life begins at conception (or rather it specifically teaches that it does not begin at conception) and has nothing to say about restricting abortions. The long answer is even more complicated and interesting, and so John explained it to frequent HTB guests, Jess Collins and Mike Manzi.

Resources for helping others in need of abortion care and learning more about your own options:

abortion.cafe - collection of abortion resources
shoutyourabortion.com - campaign to normalize abortion
donations4abortion.com - donate to support abortion funds by state
secure.actblue.com/donate/supportabortionfunds - donate to the national network of abortion funds (donations split between 80+ abortion funds)
usow.org/repro/volunteer - list of abortion clinics across the country that need volunteers
dontbanequality.com - language for companies to use to stand against the ruling
plancpills.org/ambassadors - early abortion access pills you can store in your cabinet
prochoice.org - abortion access hotline
natalist.com/products/early-pregnancy-test-strips - buy early pregnancy test strips
plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control - get info on types of birth control
choice.crd.co - collection of these above links and more, managed by @starplanes (DM them on twitter to add more)
guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/abortion-policy-absence-roe - abortion policy by state as of June 1, 2022

Next Episode

#3.8 - Ms. Marvel and the Muslim Superheroine - with Dr. Safiyya Hosein

Ms. Marvel was reborn in the pages of Marvel comics almost a decade ago, when writers Sama Amanat, a Pakistani-American Muslim, and G. Willow Wilson, who converted to Islam in 2003, created Khamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakastani-American from New Jersey who idolizes the previous Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers,

Khan’s portrayal has drawn plenty of accolades and criticisms for its portrayal of an American Muslim youth. And, in recent years, criticism of representation of Islam in western popular culture has become far more focused, especially in the two decades since 9/11. In general, however, mass media continues to reduce Muslims to a good Muslim/bad Muslim binary, lacking any real depth or nuance.

With Kamala's Ms. Marvel now joining the MCU with the Disney+ television adaptation of her story having just wrapped, John decided to ask Dr. Safiyya Hosein, who has written extensively about Kamala Khan and whose academic work covers the intersection of Islam, comics, and gender, among other things, to join him to talk about it.

Dr. Hosein is on Twitter @safibelle30