4.14: This Money Might Be Illegal

We use the Panama Papers as a jumping-off point to sum up the season and talk about:

• the alleged flatness of the world
• the possibilities of both globalization and localization
• the twin dangers of imperialism and parochialism
• the ways that growing income inequality intersect with globalization
• the things different cultures can learn from each other
• the distinction between “reasonable” and “justifiable” responses
• the importance of humility, whether in art or in charitable action
• the value of choosing not to do something at times

In other words: how can you be a good actor in a global space?

As an aside, on the rough size of a Word file (referenced with regard to the size of the Panama Papers data release): a 20-page paper from Chris’ seminary degree is about 52 kilobytes. 2 gigabytes would be 20,000 such papers.

• The Panama Papers:

  • “400 reporters kept the Panama Papers secret for a year. Here’s how they pulled it off.” (Mashable)
  • “David Cameron Answers for the Panama Papers” (The Atlantic) – and with a hilarious subtitle: ‘In a robust debate, one member was thrown out of the House of Commons for calling the prime minister “dodgy Dave.”’
  • “The 8 most important things to read to understand the Panama Papers document leak” (Vox)
  • “The Panama Papers leak, explained with an adorable comic about piggy banks” (Vox)

• The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)

• 4.07: Kickstarting a Hyper-Local Superfarm
• 4.08: A Ghost in Singapore
• 4.10: The Ancient Wisdom of Usenet
• 4.12: Five Years of Facepalming (Live at NC State)

• “River’s Sigh”, by Hazelwood. Used by permission.
• “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. This theme is never changing. Even if we get a neater recording, or a variation on it: it's slowly winning at taking over your brainspace at the end of every episode..

Many thanks to the people who help us make this show possible by their financial support! This month’s sponsors:

• Andrew Fallows
• Jeremy W. Sherman
• Jeremy Cherfas

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