**Previous Episode: [[BDE ]]** **Next Episode: [[BDE3 ]]** %%Post image thumbnail below.%% ![wmed center]() > [!abstract|no-i] **Episode Overview** **Date Aired:** [[04-26-2025]] **Title:** **Episode:** 3 **Description:** **Link:** **Tags:** %%<https://historydraft.com/happened/what-happened/1-January/world>%% ## Replay %% Get embed URL then highlight and hit ALT + I%% <br> ## Greetings & Announcements 1. ## Segments ### The Xanatos Gambit Named for David Xanatos, a central antagonist from Disney's Gargoyles.  Gargoyles originally ran from October 24, 1994 – February 15, 1997, for 78 episodes over a total of three seasons. > From [Fandom](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Gargoyles#Story): > > The series features a species of nocturnal creatures known as Gargoyles, that turn to stone during the day, focusing on a clan led by their only named member, Goliath. In the year 994 A.D., the clan lives in a castle in medieval Scotland alongside humans, until many of them are betrayed and killed, and the remainder are magically frozen in stone until the castle "rises above the clouds". > > A millennium later in 1994, billionaire David Xanatos purchases the Gargoyles' castle and has it reconstructed atop his New York City skyscraper, which towers above the clouds, awakening the six remaining Gargoyles. In trying to adjust to their new world, they are aided by a sympathetic N.Y.P.D. detective, Elisa Maza, and quickly come into conflict with the plotting Xanatos. In addition to dealing with the Gargoyles' attempts to adjust to modern New York (including the others' also taking names - after various parts of the city), the series also incorporated various supernatural threats to their safety, and the world at large. To this day, Xanatos is still a much-beloved villain because of his strategic plans throughout the show, which is now referred to commonly as the "Xanatos Gambit." A Xanatos Gambit is a plan whose multiple foreseen outcomes all benefit its creator. It's a win-win situation for whoever plots it. The plan is designed in such a way that either outcome will ultimately further the plotter's goals. > “Pay a man enough and he'll walk barefoot into hell.” ― David Xanatos The only way to escape a Xanatos Gambit once you're caught up in one is by somehow foiling both presented options and leaving the organizer thoroughly beaten. There are further subcategories of the gambit, such as: - If the character's plan is continually revised to bring about a winning solution no matter what happens, he is playing Xanatos Speed Chess. (Think L and Light in Death Note.) Remember: It's only a Xanatos Gambit if all the plausible outcomes benefit the mastermind in some way. At the very least, the planner has to benefit regardless of whether the obvious plan succeeds or fails. Literary Example: - In The Art of War, Sun Tzu advises that if your enemy is attacking one of your areas, you should respond by attacking his weakest ally. Your enemy will thus be forced to lift his siege and come to his ally's aid. Oh sure, he could ignore the plea for assistance and keep up the attack, but then all his allies will desert him. #### Basic Building Blocks: 1. Plan with multiple outcomes. 2. Every outcome benefits planner. 3. Failure still advances goal. 4. Creates illusion of invincibility. 5. Opponent’s moves are anticipated. 6. Losses are acceptable or staged. 7. Winning or losing is part of success. #### Political Wedge Issues Sometimes referred to as “hot button” or “third rail” issues, wedge issues are political or social topics of public debate that are both polarizing in nature and incredibly salient among the mass public. Often, wedge issues cause a rift or disagreement between members of what would otherwise be a unified group, such as the citizens of a country or the members of a political party They are also similar to “culture war” issues in that they bisect a group of people according to strongly-held beliefs or values that are not easily reconciled This creates the perception that if one side is right, the other must be wrong. In the United States, popular wedge issues include access to abortion, racial justice, and gun ownership Politicians, political influencers, and those running for office often draw attention to specific wedge issues as a means of exploiting social or cultural cleavages between people, and mobilizing single-issue voters in their favor. Source: [Wedge issue | Media Manipulation Casebook](https://mediamanipulation.org/definitions/wedge-issue/) %%Footer Starts Here%% --- ![[Brain Icon 1.png|center]] <b><font color="#ffffff"> <center>You might not have noticed it… but your brain did.</center> </font></b> --- ### Tags ### Linked Pages & Footnotes