The Conundrum Cluster Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theconundrumcluster.comThoughts on Zodiac (2006) and the present cultural moment.Most recent podcast episodes:Ep93: For personal reasons I will be burning myself alive in front of Halo Studios headquarters in Redmond, Washington (Paid)Ep92: I watched Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026) like two weeks ago and just remembered I had to do an episode on it? (Paid)Ep91: [Minions & Monsters review] Should you see this new cinematic odyssey in theaters now? (Paid)Ep90: Should you watch new movie Young Washington (2026) this Independence Day? (Paid)Ep89: New anti-migrant thriller Citizen Vigilante (2026) really makes you think (Paid)Ep88: What really happened with the Zebra Murders, America’s deadliest* serial killing? 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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theconundrumcluster.comHello everyone,I am extremely happy to present the 3rd entry in our book club episodes on the book Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel. In my humble opinion, the first and second book club episodes are still some of the best in this podcast’s history. You can listen to the previous episodes below:Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 1: Always with Honor Chapters 1-3Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 2: Always with Honor Chapters 4-6Latest podcast episodes:Ep92: I watched Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026) like two weeks ago and just remembered I had to do an episode on it? (Paid)Ep91: [Minions & Monsters review] Should you see this new cinematic odyssey in theaters now? (Paid)Ep90: Should you watch new movie Young Washington (2026) this Independence Day? (Paid)Ep89: New anti-migrant thriller Citizen Vigilante (2026) really makes you think (Paid)The paid subscribers did a really good job on their responses to the discussion prompts this time around. I’ve featured some of my favorites below, but I strongly encourage you to go back to the original discussion post to see for yourself. There are tons of great content in the replies, this is probably my favorite project that we’ve done on this Substack so far.Featured discussion prompt responses below:1. Talk about Wrangel’s actual description of the retreat (i.e. not his dispute with Denikin). What stands out to you about conditions on the ground?Nixonsdaydreams:Wrangel’s descriptions of how the soldiers had begun behaving during the retreat via the railroads stuck out especially. Many regiments that while diminished many had carriages full of war loot the soldiers mainly officers were actively trading, selling, and working to send back. Much of this loot was “requisitioned” from the places they had liberated from the reds during retreat much of it from the populace they were supposed to protect. Their behavior being more akin to bandits counting the spoils before an eventual exit than soldiers fit to retake their home.Henry:On #1–on pg. 124, “told me that the evacuation of Odessa had been a veritable nightmare. No measures had been taken to maintain even a semblance of order. In the port the refugees were killing one another and committing suicide in despair.”This stood out to me because it was a stark reminder of what defeat looks like when political stakes are real. Just bluntly horrible and murderous and total succumbing to darkness. It’s just a very sobering and grim portrayal of (1) what actual defeat looks like—not just losing some vote, and (2) how bad things can get if people are careless with their duties in a political/military struggle.2. Was Wrangel and Denikin’s big break inevitable? Talk about the actions of people who aren’t Wrangel and Denikin that might have contributed to the mess.Wesley:Wrangel and Denikin’s big break seems to me to have not been inevitable at first but would eventually enter a path of no return. In chapter 6 when Wrangel was surrounded after going to the theatre he writes, “Amongst other questions I was asked: ‘What are your relations with General Denikin? Is it true that you have broken completely with the Commander-in-Chief?’An invisible hand was fostering intrigue behind the scenes and sowing the seeds of doubt and confusion in all minds.”In any political system those shadowy forces are a fact of life. Ultimately it was up to Denikin to see the situation clearly enough to continue trusting Wrangel. Those seeds of doubt blossomed through the Disaster of chapter 7 as Denikins reputation continued to decline and Denikins close officers (as seen in Wrangels discussion with Romanovsky where Wrangel had his epic go-off moment on him “It means that intrigues are still flourishing—that is all…”) provided no help in seeing the situation clearly.Aethermacht:Denikin clearly had some degree of paranoia of Wrangel seizing power from him. The military defeats that led many to openly disavow Denikin while hyping up Wrangel certainly did not help this perception. Perhaps these sorts of personality issues could have been resolved if Denikin was not so feminine in his conflict with Wrangel. If upon receiving Wrangel’s demands Denikin made it clear that the offering of demands under threat of desertion was unacceptable, perhaps an understanding could have been reached. Instead in person Deinkin bent to Wrangel but in private he lashed out.Also having a rebellious Captain Orlov publish a proclamation that his band would only submit to Wrangel was funny in how ill-timed it was.3. Wrangel spends what seems to be an usually large amount of time describing the actual legal succession process between him and Denikin as head of White forces at the Council of War. What happened there and why does Wrangel give it so much emphasis?WDot:Honestly it was worth Wrangel putting in the effort to have the appearance of being an officially appointed successor to Denikin, rather than a democratically elected one. If the council can vote Wrangel in on a whim, they can vote him out on a whim, which could make an already chaotic situation worse.“I personally considered it absolutely inadmissible that a new Commander-in-Chief should be elected by his future subordinates” -- I don’t think this came from pride, but from properly considering the source of legitimate authority. When Denikin was in charge, there was no legitimate democratic method to remove Denikin a Commander-in-Chief (and there should not have been!) If Denikin appoints a successor, this governance structure doesn’t change. For a military institution, especially one on the backfoot, that’s important!What if some of Wrangel’s generals start grumbling about him over a particular order? The idea of voting in a new general would at least cross their mind. Bullying Denikin into issuing an edict that says the words “Wrangel is hereby appointed Commander-in-Chief,” with no reference to a vote, brought stability to that transition.4. What are Wrangel’s main problems when actually assumes command in Crimea?variableannuity:Wrangel details a litany of problems when he assumes command in Crimea: low morale; acute manpower and supply shortages; lack of control over backline cities; lack of legitimacy and public support; flagging international backers. To fuse these issues together, Wrangel inherits an army without a legitimate state.5. How does Wrangel solve these problems?variableannuity:Wrangel’s actions in Chapter 9 are his attempt to turn this weakness to a strength. He changes the goal of the Volunteer/Russian Army from contesting control of the entire Empire to defending a legitimate breakaway government on Russian soil, aiming to outlast the Soviets. His every action in that chapter is taken with the goal of establishing legitimacy.Briefly, I would say Wrangel takes a three-pronged approach in creating legitimacy in his government. First, he fixes the most urgent and debilitating issues with supply and lawlessness, distinguishing his regime from Deniken’s. I’d note here that he takes time to mention that he ceases public executions as they are no longer effective. He just wants the free subscribers of Crimea totally disappeared, erased from history.Second, he builds personal relationships with all of the stakeholders in the region, establishing his government as one for all true Russian patriots. I think he realizes that pretty much everyone left alive has panicked and made some mistakes at some point over the past few years, so he implements a campaign of persuasion rather than punishment. In Chapter 9 alone, he personally meets with the insane Cossack leaders, foreign dignitaries, the libtard newspapermen, that treasonous mayor, and even representatives from the bordering peasant soviets. He has boats everywhere trying to pick up refugees. He even writes to the Red Army itself!Finally, and necessarily after the first two steps, Wrangel begins institution building. Hes built a tribunal system so far, and is about to start with the land reform program. This is incredibly important as the government at the moment is entirely dependent on his reputation and health. When these institutions are established, the hope is that people will start believing in government again, not just his personal leadership.The Conundrum Cluster is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theconundrumcluster.comHi everyone,I just wanted to remind you that our 3rd book club meeting on Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel, covering the collapse of the White Army and birth of Wrangel’s Russian Army, is exactly 7 days from now. I strongly encourage you, the person reading this, to get over to the Book Club Meeting 3 Discussion Post to get your answers in on this week’s discussion prompts. You can also check out the first two episodes in this series below. Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 1: Always with Honor Chapters 1-3Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 2: Always with Honor Chapters 4-6This has probably been the most fun project we’ve done on this Substack so far. I am constantly impressed by how intelligent, perceptive, and conventionally attractive our beloved paid subscribers are.See you in the comments!Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 3: Always with Honor Chapters 7-9 Discussion PostThe Conundrum Cluster is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theconundrumcluster.comAt long last the second book club episode! I’ve really enjoyed going back through Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel with all of you. Our section today deals with the “main action” of the Russian Civil War, when the White Army was enjoying its greatest levels of success up to March on Moscow.You can view this meeting’s discussion post here, I strongly encourage you to do so. Once again we received more than 100 comments, incredibly thoughtful and detailed responses to the discussion prompts that added a lot to my understanding of the book and I’m sure would benefit yours. I’m truly grateful and humbled for the paid subscribers and ONLY the paid subscribers. If you’re viewing this post for free, go f**k yourself you worthless piece of s**t.I’ve included a few of my favorite comments below the break. I’ll be discussing others in the episode. I really wish I could have included more, I them all. Thank you so much to everyone who’s participated in the book club so far.Book Club Episode 1: Always with Honor Chapters 1-3You can also catch up on the most recent podcast episodes below:Ep91: [Minions & Monsters review] Should you see this new cinematic odyssey in theaters now? (Paid)Ep90: Should you watch new movie Young Washington (2026) this Independence Day? (Paid)Ep89: New anti-migrant thriller Citizen Vigilante (2026) really makes you think (Paid)Ep88: What really happened with the Zebra Murders, America’s deadliest* serial killing? (Free)Ep87: I really loved Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) and think you would love it too (Paid)Ep86: I watched the first season of Yellowstone-spinoff Y: Marshals (2026) and now wish I were dead (Paid)Ep85: The official Backrooms (2026) review (Paid)Ep84: Does this obscure 1970s movie about a mass shooter at the Super Bowl help explain how the Civil Rights Movement broke everyone’s brains? (Paid)Ep83: Does troon-coded extraction shooter Marathon (2026) provide the key to escaping the Right’s cultural doldrums? (Paid)Ep82: Should we kill you if you liked Project Hail Reddit (2026)? (Paid)Discussion prompt highlights1. Why was the Volunteer Army able to overperform early during the Russian Civil War? Why did that eventually stop?Nixonsdaydreams:Early on the volunteer army and cossacks were more organized than the better supplied reds. Small determined veteran units were able to outmaneuver and overcome the reds who at times were more focused on pillaging than war. Wrangel mentions that the red soldiers fought well but their command structure was sorely lacking. Probably due to the reds disdain towards normal military hierarchy they happily worked to erode earlier. The Cossacks were also fighting for home with every village liberated they had many recruits happy to join the volunteers and take revenge against the reds who terrorized them. Later as Wrangel notes the Cossacks may not fight as hard as regular cavalry when home is secure. As we read later the Kubans will consider autonomy and it leads to reinforcement issues.Early on the volunteer army took heavy casualties but there always seemed to be a steady stream of replacements as the situation devolved into across Russia and more territory was liberated. As the lines began to solidify and the central command coalesced under Denikin troops were pulled away to preferred campaigns and certain theaters. As we see with Wrangel taking Tsaritsyn was chronically left without reinforcements or supplies causing losses to incur with no progress.Ultimately the lack of sound strategy during the march to Moscow created the foundation of a disaster. The reds had fortified positions and bases to fall back on while the Whites were precariously exposed. Destroying the campaigns momentum while losing men and material they couldn’t afford to lose when the disaster struck.G_3:I think part of their over performance was because at the start, there was little room for discussion on long term war plans because they could not afford to think that far ahead. There was more consensus on what immediate battles needed to be fought, which allowed the Volunteer Army’s superior leadership in battle to thrive. The more they won, the more opportunity there was for personal opinions/motives to deviate from one another.2. What about Wrangel’s leadership style stands out to you? Contrast this with the style of General Denikin.carrion:Wrangel’s men serve him out of love. They love him because he has delivered them victory upon victory. He created a success-to-morale-to-success feedback loop. Success begets success. Because he understands morale is paramount, whenever possible, he creates tactical conditions that heavily favor success. He avoids against-the-odds engagements at all costs. When the chips are down, he takes steps to limit the damage to his forces. Whenever he fails, it gnaws away at him terribly; not because of the damage to his ego, but rather the responsibility he feels toward his men. Toward the end of the fifth chapter his Cossacks, exhausted as they are, anticipate his orders and carry out a counter attack -- victoriously -- without him even commanding it.When Wrangel is unsure about a particular course of action, he solicits ideas from his subordinates, demonstrating trust in them.Denikin has objectives he believes are sound, but does not create the conditions to tilt the odds in his generals’ favor. He effectively ignores Wrangel’s entreaties to adapt strategy or change course. Nevertheless, Wrangel serves Denikin faithfully, but out of his sense of duty, certainly not love.George Bailey:I noticed that Wrangel did not tolerate insubordination or bad behavior whatsoever. Multiple times in these chapters when Wrangel found vagrants in his ranks he very quickly had them court martialed and hung. This willingness to put prisoners and traitors to death even caused a group of Red Army prisoners to straighten up and become one of his best units. Wrangel had no shame in wielding his authority and his army was better because of it.Denikin, on the other hand, seemed to lack the strength that Wrangel had, with Wrangel remarking that Denikin was wary to demand much of those under him and wouldn’t even subject one general to another.It never really takes much for people to straighten up, but it does seem to take a massive amount of courage and fortitude to actually enforce standards, no matter the environment.Ti-on:Wrangel, to me, is like a Druid in D&D order sprouts from around him. Beyond any grudge he holds against his enemies in war, he is far more concerned with restoring order in the villages, preventing reprisal killings wherever he can, and giving everyone the sense that things are being done with an air of legitimacy. He is extremely confident with his troops, both interpersonally and militarily, takes his subordinates’ advice seriously, and asks for it often. The confidence he places in his men allows them to act autonomously in key moments of battle for the improvement of the entire position. Denikin on the other hand seems a little bit more vengeful and while Wrangel never writes of Denikin being rude or offending in conversation he also makes no mention of him inspiring either3. Wrangel spends a lot of time describing the aftermaths of his victories. What details stuck with you and why? What do these tell you about Wrangel?Jesper Jensen:The length of Wrangel's descriptions of the aftermath speaks to his exceptional constitution. He wasn't tuning out the reality of the situation in order to focus, at all times he recognized the gravity of the situation & the horrors of the day for what they truly were. He was able to do this without being overwhelmed with sorrow. It was his courage that allowed him to persist in spite of the misery of the situation. It also speaks to the fact that he was "turned on" at all times, he was always measuring, evaluating, determining the next course of action.Henry:On pg. 83 of the passage edition, the hangings he orders and that he orders them to hang from the gallows for days thereafter. Shows how Wrangel is willing to use the force he wields to restore order, and is not overly merciful. This seems to be good thing, as each time order seems to be restored by these actions. On pg. 90, the rebirth of Tsartisyn following the departure of the reds stuck with me. It is clear Wrangel is moved by this, he describes to beautifully. This tells me the use of force we see elsewhere is not coming from malice, but love for a Russian society that can blossom. On pg. 87 the revival of the Cathedral moved to tears almost. Nice picture of Wrangel at Cathedral here, maybe from that day or around that time? (https://tinyurl.com/7exkdrpe)4. Why did Denikin pursue the March on Moscow? Come up with an argument against Wrangel’s preferred strategy?SB: Denikin seemed to grasp similarly to Wrangel that their coalition and support was shaky and splintered. Wrangel’s idea was to consolidate and try to strengthen it, Denikin’s idea was to try to win before it could come apart. It seems as though Denikin favored keeping the initiative and believed that once he got the Bolshevik forces moving backwards, they would lose their will and collapse. Denikin might have also thought, possibly correctly, that help from the Allied powers would be harder to come by if it looked like the war would turn into a protracted stalemate. If the win condition was to take back all of Russia and not form a southern rump state locked in a perpetual war of attrition, it’s somewhat arguable that Denikin’s plan was the only way to achieve that, even though it was a high stakes gamble that ultimately lost big.The biggest flaw I see in Denikin’s whole mode of thinking is that he wanted to dabble as a politician while not doing the thing that politicians do, which is deal-making and compromise. He’s enthusiastic about making these various philosophical political pronouncements, but he’s not willing to make any concessions to either his internal allies or to foreign powers that could help him. Wrangel by contrast says he doesn’t care about politics but he’s actually a much better politician. He solves the Kuban situation with a compromise, he negotiates successfully with the Allied powers, etc.Wesley:It seems to me that Denikin saw Moscow as a “press to win game” button. A shiny prize that seemed attainable once smaller victories had been won but in reality would require neglect of the ground they had made to get there.I see people act in a similar manner at my job often, there will be a very large problem to solve and leaders jump at what is shown to them as an easy to understand and quick path to a solution and seem to forget to ask what the chance of success would be. I will then provide some data that is skeptical of that proposed solution and offer some alternatives that are less sexy but will get smaller, proven results over time and it’s waved away.I can only imagine how tempting it would be to take back the prize jewel after seeing it fall to the hands of Bolsheviks. Maybe the chance of success did not need to be very high for Denikin to still be willing to go for Moscow. I would love to get his perspective on decisions made during this time. I could see that being the case against Wrangel’s strategy. Go for broke now if you don’t think the odds will get better later.5. Talk about the Kuban Cossack rebellion that Wrangel suppresses. What caused the dispute and how was it resolved?Ganen CR Denam:The Kuban Revolt primarily dealt with autonomy. The various White groups were all looking 2 steps ahead, trying to crush other separatists, rather than trying to work with them in increased autonomy or future independence. Much could be accomplished (as Wrangel demonstrated) if the larger threats were dealt with before falling into in-fighting. The Cossacks, thinking themselves as allies rather than compatriots, took the initiative to exert itself on the local state and act independently of the White Provisional Government. It failed due to the Rada being weak-willed and easily persuaded after a terse standoff and a division of troops.MikeyLemons:Wrangel approached the situation differently. While he ultimately suppressed the rebellion, he recognized that simply using force would not create lasting unity. Instead, he combined decisive military action with efforts to restore discipline, reassure loyal Cossacks, and re-establish a functioning civil administration. By separating committed rebels from the broader Cossack population and quickly restoring order, he prevented the conflict from escalating further and rebuilt cooperation between the Kuban region and the Volunteer Army.Wrangel argues that authority cannot rest solely on coercion or military power. Successful leadership requires legitimacy, discipline, and the confidence of those being governed. The Kuban dispute demonstrates that political divisions within the White movement were often just as dangerous as the Bolsheviks themselves. Maintaining unity required compromise and competent administration as much as battlefield success, whereas heavy-handed policies risked alienating valuable allies at a time when the Whites could least afford internal conflict.