The current president of Venezuela made global headlines when he seemed on the cusp of invading the neighboring country of Guyana -- why would a country already in the grip of domestic chaos aim to start a war? In today's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel dive into the disturbing history of Venezuelan-Guyanese relations, as well as the claims that there may be more -- much more -- to the story than what we're seeing in the headlines.
Mia and James attempt to evaluate the common claim by post-Occupy political parties that they were the only ones serious about taking power by looking at the records of nine such parties. They fare poorly.
Does someone have real-life superspeed? Can people telepathically control machines? When the guys originally began investigating real-life superpowers, they had no idea how many extraordinary abilities they would end up discovering. Tune in for the superpower sequel, with all new powers (and a few abilities that might be more like a curse).
James and Shereen discuss how to stay warm in the coldest winter yet and the warmest winter of the rest of our lives, because it will only get worse with Climate Change.
Clothing in the cold
Overall principles - cotton kills, it gets wet and stays wet and can freeze you
- It is not so much about staying dry as making sure you can dry off quickly
- Based on Mark Twight’s system , you essentially want to create a warm microclimate around your body which is warmer than the microclimate and will encourage and allow vapour transfer out into the world, not keep vapour around you
Base layer
Here you’re looking to wick moisture away from the skin and insulate while you’re warm. You want something that fits and allows you to move
Consider that wool can get misshapen and has to be treated with care but it doesn’t small like synthetic and it won’t melt and stick to you. Wool drys slower as well .
Don’t go too thick here, if it heats up or you heat up it really sucks to be locked into a thick warm base layer, I’d rather have a warmer active insulation layer and be able to strip down to a light base layer, for example when xc skiing uphill
This takes the bite out of the wind while remaining breathable . It needs to be cut big enough to move around in and go over your active insulation , and possibly your parka for protecting it in camp. For this reason some people advocate for a thing wind shirt which you can wear UNDER layers and a soft-shell which provides abrasion tresistance and is sized to go over layers
Active insulation -The mid layer isn’t a great term, it was invented when people used wool or fleece which weren’t blocking wind very well so needed an outer layer . This is a layer that keeps us warm, but doesn’t make us overheat when we are working hard. We want to look for something with a breathable material and/ or mechanical venting.These layers are great to sleep in if you’re camping.
I really like grid fleece pattern layers for this, down tends to be too hot and doesn’t breathe as well. Beyond has some great ones like the alpha aurora ( https://beyondclothing.com/products/mens-alpha-aura-jacket) or the celeris which I like but they stopped making . I look for Polartec’s alpha (needs backing material) or alpha direct fabric (doesn’t need) , it’s very warm. I particularly like the mammut alpha 60 (donating 60gsm fleece weight) which they don’t make any more, 90gsm is a bit warmer . A great value option here is the U.S. gi waffle top https://militarydepotusa.com/gen-iii-level-ii-underwear-tan-waffle-top-military-issue/ .
The outdoor vitals Vario (or the vents which is lighter) is a bit of an outlier here. It’s a synthetic insulated hoodie. The vents has mesh under arms and a 1/4 zip and it’s incredibly warm and light. I generally don’t like a combo wind / insulation layer but this thing is fantastic https://outdoorvitals.com/products/vario-jacket
Static insulation - This is your big warm jacket, to be thrown on when you stop moving.
People tend to lean to down here but consider that lower quality does can compact, and if it’s not treated well it will fail to insulate if it gets wet. Good modern down is treated with DWR so it keeps loft in the wet. It is the warmest/ weight option and it packs well.
You want to look at the fill power of the down, this can go from 400-900 approx higher numbers indicate a better quality jacket. The number comes from a lab test that measures how many cubic inches of loft one ounce of that down fill produces. Higher fill power numbers indicate greater loft and insulating efficiency.
You also want to look at the fill weight, the amount of down used in the pier of gear. A lower fill power jacket with the same fill weight as a higher fill power jacket will be less warm. But a 400 fill power jacket with 60g fill weight will be as warm as a 800 fill power jacket with 30g fill weight , however the former will weigh more and be less packable. For me I like to go above 100 when it’s below freezing but I get cold a lot
Consider the denier count of the face fabric, it can go from single digits to 70 ish and a more durable face fabric will prevent you tearing it and losing down. I would also not opt for a jacket with tons of baffles as places where there are baffles are uninsulated and every stitch is a hole. a thinner face fabric is going to need babying around camp, or a layer over it
The ultralight subreddit does a great job of ranking full power / weight / price as well
Size up to go over your other layers
Waterproof - this is for sustained downpours. Far too many people us gore Tex when a set wind layer would be fine. With water loots you have your laminates , with a waterproof layer, like goretex and PerTex, and your waterproof coatings on an otherwise non waterproof fabric .
With a waterproof you want a three layer , that way the fabric is protected on the inside and doesn’t need a heavy and bulky hanging mesh liner like you get in a 2 layer . I suggest a minimum of a 2.5 layer
Waterproofing is expressed in terms of the height of a water column in mm, or in pounds / square inch. Higher numbers are better if you’re often kneeling in snow or we ground. Another, more useful stat, is mm of rain in 24 hours, a higher number in the 20k range indicates a jacket that won’t wet out on long wet days , gore Tex pro is at 28,000. Breathability is quantified in terms of mvtr, again over 20k is good here
You’ll also want to look for seams that are taped , so water can’t get in, and a good quality waterproof zip and mechanical vents . Hovering around freezing I like a jacket that I can get over my parka
I have an emergency jacket with 20-40 denier fabric that packs very easily , it’s my jacket for when I doubt there will be rain , I like the mountain hardwear minimizer (https://www.mountainhardwear.com/p/mens-minimizer-gore-tex-paclite-plus-jacket-%7C-418-%7C-m-888663704981.html) . This is Goretex Paclite which is cheaper than Goretex pro but acceptable for occasional use
I also have an “it’s going to be wet all day” jacket which I got from forloh, it’s the all clima 3 and I like the mechanical venting and the fact that is quiet . It’s. It cheap but it’s a great piece https://forloh.com/products/allclima-mens-rain-jacket-3l
You want socks that aren’t too tight, wool tends to be preferred. I really like the Feetures , darn tough and swift wick socks. Alpaca wool socks are very warm , I like paka https://www.pakaapparel.com/
Furious family members, community and friends demand answers when three men are found dead in Kansas City days after watching a football game. AI creates a full special inspired by the works of legendary philosopher and stand-up comic George Carlin. Prompted by in-depth, disturbing journalism, the FBI begins investigating former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries for multiple sex crimes, including trafficking across international borders. All this and more in this week's strange news segment.
In the 1930s, Lucky Luciano, one of American history’s most notorious mobsters, was finally taken down by a rookie prosecutor. Eunice Carter was one of the first Black Women ever to become a prosecutor in America. She operated from the heart of the Harlem Renaissance to navigate the corrupt world of downtown Manhattan politics, and a deeply racist and sexist pre-civil rights American society. But her pioneering role in what became known as the “trial of the century” has been forgotten by popular history. Hers is the story of a writer, social worker, mother, teacher, sister, socialite, political candidate, community organizer and unheralded pioneer. This eight part immersive podcast is hosted by poet and writer, Nichole Perkins. It tells the story of Eunice Carter: a bad-ass anti-hero unafraid to bend the rules in pursuit of ambition, justice and legacy. Listen to The Godmother on the iHeartRadio App or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-godmother-141201920/
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.
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Before converting to Islam, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin was a Black Power activist named H. Rap Brown. Like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, he was targeted by COINTELPRO, the FBI’s counter intelligence program. In 2000, he was convicted of shooting two sheriff’s deputies — one fatally — outside a mosque in Atlanta’s West End. Tonight, Ben and Matt join journalist Mosi Secret to learn more about his new podcast Radical.
