On today's show we discuss the idea of normal.  Having received so many emails from all around the world, we have a particularly American and west coast mentality.  We think some things are normal when in fact it might be shocking to others.  Is normal the same as good?  how do we judge what is "normal"?  Do we need to check what we believe is normal, or are they socially constructed and need not be judged as normal or abnormal?

From Aquinas to Warren Harding to Oingo Boingo.  Enjoy the show!

In this, the last episode of 2016, Jeff and Dan discuss what they might slough off and let go of in 2017.  Rather than think too much about we will do in the coming year, this show explores what kind of rubbish, litter and filth we would like to shake off for the coming year.  We discuss politics, personal ideologies and the album of the year (and play what Dan believes is the best track... if you want to slip through it, he won't take it personally). We all know 2016 has been a tumultuous year, the guys discuss how we might enter the new year, #EGBOK style...

How a famous 19th c. Danish statesman, hymn writer, poet, theologian and education reformer, though little known to many Americans today, had a profound influence on the world, and represents an alternative to angrier approaches to life.      

Depression, Christmas, muddling through, hope, the Christmas blues, great but darker pop Christmas lyrics. The Pogues, Calexico, Eels and more. Why suicides don't really spike around Christmas. Why April is the cruelest month.

What happened to the European Christian world after Luther posted his 95 theses. Protestant scholasticism, pietism, Philip Melanchthon, Johann Sturm, Martin Bucer, Primoz Trubar, and Johann Arndt.

Fidel Castro, evil, the media, failures in journalism, ideology, how to defeat or overcome self-defeating ideology.

www.virtueinthewasteland.com

www.1517legacy.com 

Why the 95 Theses of Martin Luther sparked a revolution beyond what anyone, including Luther himself, probably expected. The political, cultural, religious, and psychological issues surrounding a little academic document posted on a church door in Wittenberg, 500 years ago. 

Cultural, theological, and spiritual events leading up to the time of the Reformation.

Following his recent death, we discuss Leonard Cohen's songs, which deal with biblical and romantic themes. Was he pessimistic and despairing, or was there a secret chord that some might miss if they don't listen close enough to this genius songwriter.

Check out virtuneinthewasteland.com for show notes and links.

How will we live after nearly half the country is frustrated that their candidate didn't get what they hoped for? Healing and virtuous community in the aftermath of an ugly election cycle with Clinton and Trump.