The Arbitrarium

Join Dave and Garrett for the first ever BLATHERSTREAM! episode of The Arbitrarium. We start with no particular topic in mind, and dive right in, following the conversation wherever it may lead, honoring the namesake of the podcast. In this maiden episode, we span topics of from the Ukraine, porn, autonomy, consent to cannibalism, the Velma series fiasco, Jordan Peterson, the rise of The Daily Wire, Star Trek, and a whole lot more, and it's all presented for the first time ever AD FREE!

So sit back in your cognitive innertube and float downstream with us as we take on the world at large and our minds at small.

Dave hosts this episode as we discuss the problematic ways in which Christians evangelize, especially from parent to child, and the counter-intuitive consequences of religious cudgeling and persona-centered so-called "faith." We talk about Christians who engage with the faith as a cosmetic rather than a genuine, compelled belief and philosophy.

In this harrowing episode, Garrett and I debate whether or not A.I. art is "art" by trying to break down what qualifies as art, who in such a situation is considered the "artist," and whether or not it's a real threat to human artists moving forward. Join us on this, the longest single episode in Arbitrarium history, as we meticulously discuss artistry and how to determine its authenticity.

This episodes sponsors:
Mallory Bash, the Animated Series
Butch Chumstock: Manatee Hunter

We continue our brief lecture series on an introduction to firearms.

Welcome to our first official Guest Host episode of The Arbitrarium! In this episode, we discuss corporate culture with Josh Berkley. We start with a simple breakdown of what a corporation is, and explore what it means to build a sort of "society of values" out of the corporate atmosphere and brand. 

Our sponsors for this episode: 

• An Endorsement by Nick Offerman
• Now That's What I Call Harpsichord, Volume 3

In this A La Carte episode, we discuss the pros and cons of gatekeeping fandoms with our host, Nick.

In Part III, Garrett outlines the 11 types of firearms licenses, their costs, and what you're permitted to do with each one you possess.

Welcome to a brand new season of The Arbitrarium! Our first episode of Season Two is an A La Carte episode tackling the great big T word: Truth. What is it? How should we define it? Why is it so important to pursue it? We'll break it down and have a chat about the implications and consequences of what it is and why the burden of pursuit is necessary.

We're back for the THIRD time with the final compiled collection of our fake ads from the first season of the podcast! This one features some of our newest bits, including a whole new segment of absolutely insane secrets of the past REVEALED, which we like to call "Unknowable History."

This collection's sponsors include:

Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary: Pastries
Private Service Announcement: Casket Rental Expiration
Roadkill Horoscopes
Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary: Breakfast Treats
Unknowable History: Santa Claus
Private Service Announcement: Extended Warranty
Earnest Hunter Reprisals
Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary: Frozen Treats
Unknowable History: Hancock, MD
Raving Derelict Butter
Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary: Confections
Unknowable History: The Nazi Bell

We've reached the end of the first season! In this two-part episode, Garrett asks the question: What is ART? The largest selection of guests in Arbitrarium history forms the panel to answer this complex question, with artists of many mediums such as photography, music, animation, illustration, writing, and various fine arts. Join Garrett, Dave, Nick, Colorful, and Matt Gambill of the Myriad Creatures Podcast as we take you down the winding road of the world of art, sharing opinions, anecdotes, and a wealth of laughter in the second part of our season finale.

This episode's sponsors:

Unknowable History: The Nazi Bell
Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary

We've reached the end of the first season! In this two-part episode, Garrett asks the question: What is ART? The largest selection of guests in Arbitrarium history forms the panel to answer this complex question, with artists of many mediums such as photography, music, animation, illustration, writing, and various fine arts. Join Garrett, Dave, Nick, Colorful, and Matt Gambill of the Myriad Creatures Podcast as we take you down the winding road of the world of art, sharing opinions, anecdotes, and a wealth of laughter in the first part of our season finale.

This episode's sponsors:

Unknowable History: The Nazi Bell
Lil' Fuhrer's Confectionary

We continue our exploration into the basics of firearms, piggybacking off of our previous discussion.

In this a la carte episode, Garrett gives us the basics of firearms knowledge, starting with "what is a gun?" We explore the definitions of these terms, what they reference, and how they're founded.

Where do we go when we don't want to be here? Join host Garrett Harriman and guest David Perry as they probe the concept and practice of escapism and its virtues and vices. Is it good? Is it bad? What sort of flavors are there, and do they last?

This episode's sponsors:

Jackie Hancock's Secondhand Porno
Arbitrarium Private Service Announcements

Nick hosts this a la carte episode about the wide wide world of animated sex and the mere prospect thereof.

Nick hosts this a la carte episode about the strange phenomenon called tulpas: imaginary friends that you will into true hallucinations.

Garrett hosts this episode where we weigh in on the benefits and drawbacks of nuclear power, and discuss whether or not it's an ultimately better course of action to alleviate our current energy woes. 

This episodes sponsors: 

• Unknowable History - The Fall of the Pangolin Empire
• Ernest Hunter Reprisals

On this episode of The Arbitrarium a la Carte, we tackle the recent presidential debacle and discuss whether we think the president's actions were justified or hasty and misguided. Join Dave as he tries to find a middle ground between Garrett's claims of bravery and Nick's claims of foolhardiness.

In this a la carte episode, we have a go at the recent Green M&M fiasco that nearly tore our great nation in twain and sent us spiraling into an ideological civil war the likes of which no previous historian could have foreseen or foreshadowed, despite the fact that this fundamental existential question has tortured the greatest minds of men for millennia, catalyzed the rending of countless shirts, and inspired volumes of moral philosophy reaching back to the pre-Socratic tradition. The question? Deceivingly simple: How bangable should chocolate candy mascots be?

Come with us as we reminisce upon the candy pseudo-woman whose leggings launched a thousand tweets.

Dave hosts this episode, along with Garrett and Nick, and our very special guest and Pokemon expert, Jade. In this episode we ponder the in-universe ethics of Pokemon and follow our thoughts along to what the world would be like of Pokemon were real, including how this would change warfare and how we would relate to these absurd god-like creatures. Stay tuned during our first break for a brand new Arbitrarium Special Segment which we call "Unknowable History." In this segment, you will learn the unknowable origin of Santa Claus. Merry Christmas, Arbitreers!

This episode's sponsors include:

Roadkill Horoscopes (ad sponsor)

Garrett hosts this episode, where we discuss the structure and rules for dueling, talk about a few famous examples, tell the story of the hard-ass mad lass known as Julie d'Aubigny, and ask ourselves if dueling has a place in the modern world. 

Our sponsors for this episode include: 

Keanu Reeves, an Endorsement
Raving Derelict Butter

Nick hosts this episode, asking us why we think apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction appeals to audiences. We compare and contrast a few different examples and talk a bit about what sort of societal structure my arise and how it would affect us sociologically and psychologically.

We're BACK with another compiled collection of our absurd fake ads from more of the first season of the podcast! This one features celebrity endorsements from Keanu Reeves, Christopher Walken, and Christopher Lloyd, as well as a bunch of new insane sponsors!

This collection's sponsors include: 

Acu-Pine Therapy
Doctor Happy Flay's Flesh Steamer
Glory Home Solutions
Indigi-Technologies
Off!-sferatu Vampire Repellent
Doe Comma John Omnicorp Unlimited
Everyday Investigations
Impress Staffing Solutions

Using Albert Camus's famous influential essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus," Dave hosts a breakdown of the idea of Absurdism and we discuss whether or not it's reasonable to believe that life has meaning, and if it does, how do we embrace it? Do we find it? Is it given to us? Can/must we create it ourselves? Join us in yet another exploration of life's biggest questions.

This episode's sponsors include:

Doctor Happy Flay's Flesh Steamer
Christopher Walken, an endorsement

Garrett hosts this a la carte episode, regaling us with the forgotten story of how Pepsi found itself in possession of the 6th largest navy in the world, thanks to a bartering deal with the Soviet Union.

Dave, Garrett, and Nick assess Netflix's live-action reboot of Cowboy Bebop after watching the recently released trailer and discuss, in brief, the challenges of adapting anime into live-action--especially for this legendary, ground-breaking series that redefined animated television storytelling.

Garrett and Dave break down a New York Times opinion article from February of 2021 titled Don't Go Down the Rabbit Hole, in which the article's author, Charlie Warzel, interviews digital literacy expert Michael Caulfield about researching on the internet and how much of what we engage with online is misinformation. We take a critical look at Caulfield's suggestions for engaging with internet information and how it may not be as insightful as a casual reading might lead you to believe.

Our sponsor for this episode includes:

Doe Comma John, Omnicorp Unlimited

In this special episode of The Arbitrarium, we venture to the city of Cincinnati to meet our friend and host of the Myriad Creatures podcast, Matt Gambill! Our conversation spans all manner of subjects, from gallantry to deep self-reflection to philosophy, political theory on violence, and psychedelics. We even talk about Tom Lehrer, Timothy Leary, Woody Allen, Andy Warhol, and we add several tallies to the Hitler counter.

Join us on this highly conversational adventure over coffee and bagels, with all the Myriad Creatures charm of the outdoors!

This episode's sponsors include:

Glory Home Solutions
Everyday Investigations

And thanks to special guest, Sting, for playing us out!

It's more likely than you think! Welcome to the first episode of The Arbitrarium's "A La Carte" series, which will be shorty episodes sprinkled in with our regular episodes. For these shorties, one of us will be throwing out a topic that we'll spend roughly twenty minutes on, just as off-the-cuff discussions. It may be comedy, it may be drama, but it'll always be short (comparatively).

This episode's topic was chosen by Nick, who decided he wanted to discuss the ethics of having carnal relations with alien species. You heard it here, folks: Layin' the aliens. Porkin' Mork. Bangin' Kang. We discuss what, if any, ethics must be considered when making whoopie with Wookiees. Sit down, have a drink, and rub one out to your favorite Martian as we explore the carnal frontier.

Is the universe made up of matter or ideas? Are we all atoms and quantum bits, or are thoughts the building blocks of reality? Dave poses an old philosophical dichotomy, and the group discusses where each of them stand on the topic--Materialist or Idealist. This episodes guests are Garrett Harriman, Uncle Razo, and Colorful.

This episode's sponsors include:

IndigiTechnologies - The IT Shamans
Off!-sferatu

Uncle Razo (Nick) asks us to consider the science fiction concept of uplifting animals to sapience. Together with Garrett, Dave, and Colorful, we embark on our most weirdly contentious subject yet: the ethics of making animals as smart as humans.

This episode's sponsors include:

Doe Comma John: OmniCorp Unlimited

Garrett asks Dave and Uncle Razo if Malthus had it right to think that overpopulation would lead to a dearth of resources and toward a high-scarcity dystopia. We discuss in terms of Thanos and his Malthusian take on things.

This episode's sponsors include:

AcuPine Therapy
Impress Staffing Solutions

Hey there, Arbitreers! This is just a little bonus episode that repackages our ads from episodes up to this point so you can hear them all in one place without having to scan the long episodes. Enjoy!

Dave interviews Garrett about his two and a half year absence from social media, and the two engage in a critical discussion about the effects of social media after viewing Netflix's documentary, The Social Dilemma.

This episode's sponsors include:

Doe Comma John: OmniCorp Unlimited
Sean Connery for: Soylent Silver

Garrett, Dave, Jenn, and Nick explore what makes a cult a cult, and propose the efforts one might embark upon in order to create the Cult of Rock & Roll.

This episode's sponsors include:

Woodward & Bernstein's Nixon Logs!

Vincent Price for Phantom Touch: Ghost Masseuse

The Carthago Plant Diet

Dave and the Brothers Harriman try to puzzle out what makes a human a human through a systematic approach of category elimination, until we actually come to a pretty solid epiphany. The answer may surprise you.

This episode's sponsors include:

Romie O'Possum's Totally Legitimate Pizza and Child Casino
Dr. Skangus's Single Malt Toothpaste
Scottish Bog Soap

Garrett poses this very question to Dave, and we bat around some ideas about the nature of the universe, what it might want, and why Garrett is woefully and hilariously a non-threat to the cosmos.

This episode's sponsors include:

Scottish Bog Soap

Garrett and Dave discuss the pros and cons of Elon Musk's Neuralink (brain-to-machine interface) technology. Garrett takes the pro position and Dave dissents.

Our sponsors this episode include:

Wolf Government Brand Anchovies

Garrett, Dave, and Kirky discuss Jungian archetypes and how they manifest themselves in personality and societal structure.

Our sponsors this episode include:

Dr. Unsomnia's Lethargy Drink
Platonic Phonics: Banal Chatline for Sex Workers
Kraft Holdings presents: Muppets Take Jonestown

Dave, Garrett, and Kirky discuss the issue of establishing and retaining identity using the Ship of Theseus thought experiment and extrapolating into details on Kant's notion of the Noumenal and Phenomenal worlds and Heidegger's concepts of Present-at-Hand/Ready-to-Hand.

Disregard the vibration at the beginning. It's brief and only occurs once. (we're still noobs at podcast stuffs)

Our sponsors this episode include:

The Cetacean Translation Foundation presents: Story Porpoise