Zeitgeist Report

About Zeitgeist Report

Zeitgeist Report

Publisher

Author Media

Category

arts · news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Sept 2024

Latest episode

11 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

78 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Returning to Public Executions Will Bring Back Balance

   For the first time since 1937, Americans will be able to watch their government carry out a death sentence by firing squad when Major Nidal Hasan's execution is live-streamed on December 3rd, Pentagon officials announced. Hasan committed a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, gunning down fellow soldiers while shouting "Allahu Akbar" — an act the Obama administration initially classified as workplace violence rather than terrorism, a decision the hosts call one of the most poorly handled events in recent military history. The hosts argue public executions are the civilizational default in Western history, stretching from the Old Testament through Rome, medieval Europe, and early America, and that their elimination coincided historically with women's suffrage and the advent of television. They contend the cultural pendulum is swinging back from decades of mercy toward criminals toward a renewed demand for visible justice, driven by communities that have lost faith in government's willingness to punish evil — pointing to cycles of retaliatory violence in Chicago, cartel-run territories in Mexico, and the rise of mafia-style alternative governments as consequences of government justice failure. One host, a Marine veteran, argues that public execution demonstrates government competence and lethality, deterring vigilantism by proving citizens do not need to take justice into their own hands. The hosts draw a sharp distinction between public execution — a sterile, ritualized, government-sanctioned act following trial and conviction — and lynching or mob justice, which they call the toxic result of a citizenry that has abandoned confidence in government. They warn the pendulum can swing too far, citing the Roman Colosseum and the French Revolution's mass drownings of Christians as examples of spectacle replacing justice. Times: 0:00 — The Return of Public Executions 2:35 — Historical Default of Public Executions 5:50 — Vigilante Fiction & the Hunger for Justice 10:58 — The Mafia as Alternative Government 15:05 — Lynch Mobs vs. Legitimate Justice 18:25 — The Dangers of Going Too Far 24:00 — Military Culture & Ritualized Executions 28:33 — Fort Hood & the Cultural Pendulum 36:28 — Christianity: Forgiveness and Justice Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Patron Toolbox (Author AI Tools): https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Jonathan's Audiobook Services: https://jonathanshuerger.com/arsenal-audio/#audio-demos Zeitgeist Report Podcast: https://zeitgeistreport.com/ Join the AuthorMedia.social Community: https://authormedia.social/feed Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #FortHood #PublicExecution #ControversyVideo

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Spitting on the Grave of C.S. Lewis: How Copyright Became Literary Colonialism

   Meryl Streep has been cast as the voice of Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Netflix adaptation of The Magician's Nephew, reimagining Narnia as a rock opera with an Aslan design inspired by David Bowie — featuring mismatched eyes, a red facial scar, fur mixed with feathers, and a more griffin-like appearance than a traditional lion. The casting and redesign sparked intense reactions, but the deeper argument is that copyright law itself is the villain. Under the original 14-year copyright term, The Chronicles of Narnia would have entered the public domain in 1978, allowing anyone to tell an Aslan story — faithful or revisionist — with fans choosing which version to support, the way Sherlock Holmes is adapted every year by different creators. Instead, perpetual corporate copyright extensions lobbied by Disney mean the biggest, most corrupt corporations control beloved IP and can defile it with no recourse for fans. Netflix could make more money with a faithful Narnia adaptation but is choosing to desecrate beloved stories for ideological reasons, violating their own fiduciary duty. Copyright doesn't protect human artists — even the major AI settlement money goes to corporations, not creators. The argument is that copyright as it exists is a force of corporate control over human storytelling, preventing the literary commons that produced Shakespeare, Homer, and every fairy tale, and that authors who defend intellectual property are unknowingly tempting their own grandchildren to sell out their legacy to the highest bidder. Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Patron Toolbox (Author AI Tools): https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Zeitgeist Report Podcast: https://zeitgeistreport.com/ Join the AuthorMedia.social Community: https://authormedia.social/feed Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #Woke #FilmNews #Narnia

3. 

   3 Oct 2026

   Your Gun Can't Save You From the Pentagon's SI Drones

   Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans for a new four-star autonomous warfare command — dubbed Auto War Com — intended to institutionalize autonomous systems, robotics, drones, and AI-enabled warfare throughout the joint force, with an implementation target of October 1st, 2027, subject to congressional action. The strategy is a "high-low mix" of sophisticated traditional weapons operating alongside masses of inexpensive autonomous systems that can maintain pressure on an adversary without trading million-dollar weapons for thousand-dollar threats. The cost asymmetry is already urgent: a $1 million Patriot missile intercepting a $20,000 Iranian drone is a losing financial exchange. The discussion explores deep narrative and cultural implications for science fiction writers — the moral weight when one drone operator in Kansas can kill thousands through perfectly obedient autonomous swarms, the collapse of masculine identity when a concealed Glock offers no defense against a drone, the Order 66 scenario where perfectly loyal systems switch allegiance when control changes hands, the Battle of New Orleans parallel where war ends but jammed drones keep fighting, and the Genghis Khan precedent where mass killing through proxies is not new. Authors are urged to probe these moral ramifications in fiction before the next real war forces society to confront them unprepared. Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Patron Toolbox (Author AI Tools): https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Zeitgeist Report Podcast: https://zeitgeistreport.com/ Join the AuthorMedia.social Community: https://authormedia.social/feed Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #Zeitgeist #DOW #AINews

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Zeitgeist Report

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.