After a hello to our Imperial listeners, Ped & Tom discuss the decline of cursive writing, the Common Core Standards, learning cuneiform, and the purpose of purposeless pursuits. Also, squeaky cats and oatmeal.

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An Imperial listener [00:00]

• The Empire Did Nothing Wrong
• The Ridgeway National Trail

Should we still learn cursive writing? [06:55]

• What is cursive writing?
• Left-handed scissors
• The Common Core State Standards Initiative
• Sentence diagrams
• A math teacher answers the question: When Am I Ever Going to Use This? (Matt Kitchen)
• The Palmer Method
• Cuneiform script
• The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh
• Star Trek:TNG s5e02 “Darmok”
• The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal

Squeaky Cats and Oatmeal [35:35]

• “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played on squeaking stuffed cats (Rare and Strange Instruments)
• Simple vs Complex Carbohydrates

Music by Lee Rosevere (CC by 4.0)