Each week, we bring you short readings about interesting things you haven't thought about before. From philosophy and literature, to recipes and advice, occult and paranormal, theory and poetry, or just straight-up rumors and anecdotes. We read old, weird books so you don't have to.
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On Short and Interesting we read to you strange and curious things. BEHOLD! The gods have invested in me power and authority. I have erected a massive stone of black basalt in front of my palace, and on it I have carved the immutable laws of my domain. Heed these laws or perish in agony. For the most part these are pretty fair. If you kill someone’s son, their family can come here to the palace and tell me about it, and I’ll send my guards out to kill THEIR son. You’re not going to find a fairer deal than that in all of ancient Sumeria.
I don’t know about you but I find ancient Sumeria weirdly interesting and actually kind of cute to the point of being hilarious. But don’t take my word for it, just get thyself to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi) and check it out.
Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com (https://danmason.bandcamp.com/). For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)
Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz (http://www.plutocrat.biz/). Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz (mailto:copyright@plutocrat.biz). All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz (mailto:podcast@plutocrat.biz).
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12 Mar 2026
[46] The 48 Laws of Power pt 2
On Short and Interesting we read to you strange and curious things. We’re taking another look at the bestselling “The 48 Laws of Power,” by Robert Greene. I feel like I’ve seen this book pop up a lot lately. It was referenced on ‘Abbott Elementary,’ I know that much. Personally, I first encountered this book as a recommendation by the philosopher Daniel Schmachtenberger, whose website has a list of other good books (https://civilizationemerging.com/resources/books/).
You can read about the book here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_48_Laws_of_Power) and buy a copy here (https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197). And you know what, while we’re at it, go watch The Love Witch (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3908142/). That movie rules.
Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com (https://danmason.bandcamp.com/). For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)
Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz (http://www.plutocrat.biz/). Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz (mailto:copyright@plutocrat.biz). All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz (mailto:podcast@plutocrat.biz).
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5 Mar 2026
[45] Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted pt 3
On Short and Interesting we read to you strange and curious things. Once again, we’re flipping through the big book of every dream possible and what they all mean.
Though I will say this, the other night I dreamed I was traveling by air—I was either on a luxury airplane or still at the airport, I can’t remember—in the bathroom, and all of a sudden my cat rushed in and jumped right down the toilet, vanishing. I was so worried! Panicking, didn’t know what to do, but eventually the cat jumped back out of the toilet pipes, safe and sound. I was crying big green puffy slugs of phlegm that accumulated into piles.
I haven’t found this dream in the book. But to be fair, it’s a big book, and I haven’t finished it yet. What do you think it means?
Download this public domain book for free from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/926 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/926)
The author was an interesting historical figure. If you want some more details, you could simply start with Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Hindman_Miller (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Hindman_Miller)
Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com (https://danmason.bandcamp.com/). For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)
Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz (http://www.plutocrat.biz/). Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz (mailto:copyright@plutocrat.biz). All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz (mailto:podcast@plutocrat.biz).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
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