Topic: Calculus

Sir Chris of Carmel-by-the-Sea requests "Mac and Cheese Jobs Karma" for his wife's birthday. Michael Johnson from Waterloo, Wisconsin, donates for the first time, expressing his enjoyment of watching "Hillbots" from a parallel universe. A millennial donor requests the title "Knight of Lambda Calculus" and asks for a "Rubbleizer" jingle.

A technical aside explores the mathematical basis of encryption, specifically the use of elliptic curves and calculus. The theory is presented that encryption protocols may be compromised at the fundamental mathematical level rather than through software backdoors.

The hosts debunk a news story about ISIS acquiring "dirty bomb" materials, noting that the materials were low-grade medical supplies. They mock the media's repetitive use of the word "calculus" as a synonym for strategy. Additionally, they discuss declassified documents showing the Obama administration knew about the British government's plan to destroy The Guardian's hard drives containing Snowden's leaks.

Foreign policy experts discuss the possibility of formalizing Ukraine's neutrality to reassure Russia. While some suggest arming the Ukrainians, others argue this is the "worst of all options" as it would be too slow to have an effect and might provoke a more aggressive Russian response.

The hosts conclude that Common Core is a "robot training" system intended to keep the next generation out of elite universities. Because top-tier colleges still teach traditional mathematics, students trained in Common Core "fact families" will be unable to pass standard calculus courses, effectively creating a permanent lower-tier workforce.