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• Blount County First Wednesday Meet-up

  • When
    02/04/2026
  •  
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    NEW LOCATION Peaceful Side Brewery, 106 Everett Ave, Maryville, TN 37804

  Come Join us at the Peaceful Side Brewery, 106 Everett Ave, Maryville, TN 37804

  This is a new location that we are trying out. 

  If you enjoy looking at menus ahead of time, check out this link: 

  https://peacefulsidebrewery.com/taproom-menu/
  

  This will be a monthly event on the First Wednesday. 

  Please disregard the notice below about forwarding this email. If you know of others who would enjoy this event, please share. 

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• February RET Book Club

  • When
    02/08/2026
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Abundance

  by Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson

  To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don’t have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven’t built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget—if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough.

  Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear’s villains. Rather, one generation’s solutions have become the next gener­ation’s problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished.

  Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.

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• February Third Sunday In-Person Meeting

  • When
    02/15/2026
  •  
    10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    PSCC Hardin Valley Road

  Join us for a presentation by Keith Paige, a former pastor for a mega church in California. Keith lest the ministry and religion and will shar his story and lessons learned along thr way. Keith currently works for Hospice in Blount county and is a death doula. 

  Coffee and other hot beverages will be served. Bring a snack to share if you wish. 

  We meet in the Cafeteria Annex at the rear of the Goins Administrative Building. There is a direct entrance off the staff parking lot at the back of the building. Follow the signs. 

  For those joining us from afar, a Zoom link will be provided in the announcement emails. 

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• February Field Trip

  • When
    02/22/2026
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Ruby Sunshine and ET Historical Center

  Meet at Ruby Sunshine in Market Square for Brunch at Noon on Sunday 2/22. There is an adjacent Market Square parking garage that should be free. After brunch we can walk through Krutch Park to the ETHC which opens at 1pm and should also be free. This will allow time to explore the 1st and 3rd (McClung Collection) floors and still make it home in time to participate in Reflections at 4:30pm if desired.

  Here is a Doordash menu for those who like to peruse it beforehand: https://www.doordash.com/store/ruby-sunshine-knoxville-919760/19183749/ 

  RSVP to outreach@rationalists.org so we can get a count of how many will be at Ruby Sunshine. 

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• February RET Reflections

  • When
    02/22/2026
  •  
    4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Immigration

  Immigration is big in the news, but what is it supposed to do?  Maybe it's time for philosophy to help us out.  Microsoft Copilot answered the immigration pros and cons this way:

  Immigration brings both significant benefits, such as economic growth and cultural diversity, and challenges, including strain on public services and social integration issues.

  Pros of Immigration

  1. Economic Growth: Immigration can stimulate economic growth by increasing the labor force, which leads to higher productivity and innovation. Immigrants often fill labor shortages in various sectors, contributing to overall economic output and tax revenues.

  2. Filling Labor Gaps: Many industries, such as healthcare, technology, and agriculture, face labor shortages that immigrants can help address. By bringing in skilled workers, immigration can ensure that essential services continue to function effectively.

  3. Cultural Diversity: Immigrants enrich the cultural landscape of host countries by introducing new traditions, languages, and perspectives. This diversity fosters creativity and innovation, particularly in the arts and business sectors.

  4. Entrepreneurship: Immigrants are often more likely to start their own businesses, contributing to job creation and economic dynamism. Many successful companies in the U.S. were founded by immigrants, showcasing their role in driving innovation.

  5. Demographic Balance: In many developed countries, immigration helps counteract declining birth rates and aging populations, ensuring a balanced demographic structure that supports economic sustainability.

  Cons of Immigration

  1. Strain on Public Services: A sudden influx of immigrants can put pressure on public services such as healthcare, education, and housing. This can lead to competition for resources and potential resentment among local populations.

  2. Social Integration Challenges: Immigrants may face difficulties integrating into the local culture, leading to social tensions and conflicts of values. This can result in discrimination and social marginalization.

  3. Job Competition: There are concerns that immigrants may compete with native workers for jobs, potentially leading to lower wages or unemployment for certain groups. However, many studies suggest that immigration does not significantly harm overall employment levels.

  4. Cultural Clashes: The introduction of diverse cultural practices can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or conflicts within communities, particularly if there are significant differences in values or lifestyles.

  5. Political Backlash: Immigration can become a contentious political issue, leading to anti-immigrant sentiments and policies that may further divide communities and create social unrest.

  In summary, while immigration can drive economic growth and cultural enrichment, it also presents challenges that require careful management and policy considerations to ensure positive outcomes for both immigrants and host communities.

  So, what do you think about all this?  Do you have a philosophy that leads to a workable policy?

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• Knox County Fourth Wednesday MEET-UP

  • When
    02/25/2026
  •  
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Corner 16, 9637 Kroger Park Dr
Knoxville, TN 37922

  Come join an informal gathering for food and conversation at the Corner 16 Restaurant, 9637 Kroger Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37922 near Pellissippi and Northshore.

  If you are interested in seeing the menu beforehand, you can check it out here.  

  Disregard the notice below about forwarding this email. Feel free to share with others who may be interested. 

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• March First Sunday In-Person Meeting

  • When
    03/01/2026
  •  
    10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    PSCC, Hardin Valley Road

  Jen Stern on Buying Technology.

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• March RET Book Club

  • When
    03/08/2026
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us about the Power of the Female Body

  by Starre Vartan

  Following a half decade of research into the newest science, Vartan shows in The Stronger Sex that women’s bodies are incredibly powerful, flexible, and resilient in ways men’s bodies aren’t. Tossing aside the narrow notion of a fully ripped man as the measure of strength, Vartan reveals the ways that women surpass men in endurance, flexibility, immunity, pain tolerance, and the ultimate test of any human body: longevity. Vartan—a deadeye shot since her grandmother showed her how to aim a .22—debunks myth after myth like so many tin cans at two hundred yards and reveals why, if anyone wins in a battle of the sexes, it’s women. In interviews with dozens of researchers from biology, anthropology, physiology, and sports science, plus in-depth conversations with runners, swimmers, wrestlers, woodchoppers, thru-hikers, firefighters, and more, The Stronger Sex squashes outdated ideas about women’s bodies. It’s a celebration of female strength that doesn’t argue “down with men” but “up with us all.” ‎ 384 pages.

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• March Third Sunday In-Person

  • When
    03/15/2026
  •  
    10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    PSCC, Hardin Valley Road

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• March RET Reflections

  • When
    03/22/2026
  •  
    4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Are You Built for All This?

  
  

  A summary from current research:

  Human biology evolved for a world of movement, nature, and short bursts of stress—not the constant pressure of modern life. Industrial environments overstimulate our stress systems and erode both health and reproduction. Evidence ranging from global fertility declines to chronic inflammatory diseases shows the toll of this mismatch. Researchers say cultural and environmental redesign, especially nature-focused planning, is essential.

  Humans are built for nature not modern life | ScienceDaily

  Are you mismatched for the modern world - at least this one?  Maybe it's time to walk the dog in the woods.  Join us for a discussion.

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• April First Sunday In-Person

  • When
    04/05/2026
  •  
    10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    PSCC, Hardin Valley Road

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• April RET Book Club

  • When
    04/12/2026
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Discounting the Future: The Ascendancy of a Political Technology

  by Liliana Doganova

  A pioneering exploration of the defining traits and contradictions of our relationship to the future through the lens of discounting. Forest fires, droughts, and rising sea levels beg a nagging question: have we lost our capacity to act on the future? Our relationship to the future has been trapped in the gears of a device called discounting. While its incidence remains little known, discounting has long been entrenched in market and policy practices, shaping the ways firms and governments look to the future and make decisions accordingly. Thus, a sociological account of discounting formulas has become urgent. Discounting means valuing things through the flows of costs and benefits that they are likely to generate in the future, with these future flows being literally discounted as they are translated in the present. How have we come to think of the future, and of valuation, in such terms? Building on original empirical research in the historical sociology of discounting, Doganova takes us to some of the sites and moments in which discounting took shape and gained momentum: valuation of European forests in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; economic theories devised in the early 1900s; debates over business strategies in the postwar era; investor-state disputes over the nationalization of natural resources; and drug development in the biopharmaceutical industry today. Weaving these threads together, the book pleads for an understanding of discounting as a political technology, and of the future as a contested domain. 325 pages.

  This book is rather deep into the subject and those of you with limited time would be better off to read two short articles which are more readable and more focused on climate change. Here are the links: The Discount Rate: A Small Number with a Big Impact and Critical Assumptions in the Stern Review on Climate Change.
  

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• April RET Reflections

  • When
    04/26/2026
  •  
    4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Is Socialism Back?

  
  

  As you have seen in the recent elections in NY, a democratic socialist was elected.  Is a new and improved version of socialism coming back?  Has capitalism burned too many bridges and dumped too many people into the gutter?  Or are the rules of game rigged by the rich so that the little guy can never win?  Systems or rules, or maybe buy the rules?  Dust off you bust of Karl Marx and join us for a conversation.  Some background to jog your memory:

  A reckoning over capitalism
  

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• 2026 Scholarship Application

  • When
    05/01/2026
  • Spaces left
    181

  Register

  
  

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