374: What's up with Freemasonry?

<p>The boys drink and review Anderson Valley Brewing Company&#39;s Winter Solstice Ale, then discuss Freemasonry. </p> <p>How do you learn about a secret society without becoming a member? It&#39;s hard to know what to believe about them. </p> <p>Still, P&amp;C did their best to find the essential details. </p> <p>Stone mason guilds started to have outsized political power and started to admit people who weren&#39;t stone masons. The organization grew in numbers and power, and was very influential in the founding of the United States. </p> <p>They became closely associated with Englightenment thinking and promoted the ideas of rationality and science. One of their mottos is to &quot;make good men better.&quot; </p> <p>But what does it mean to be a mason? What about all their spooky rituals? And why is the Catholic Church against them? </p> <p>The boys discuss. </p> <p><br></p>