Virtue in the Wasteland Podcast

Shelley, Thoreau, Ferguson, the police, the law, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ideology, Žižek, and our post-Christmas depression.

 

Direct download: Disobedience.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

For our hundredth episode, we discuss the sociology and cultural implications of Christmas traditions in the west.  Joining us are Faithful Mask Fellows, Dr. Koenig (a sociologist) and Dr. Armstrong (a classics scholar and occasional pulpit jockey).  This one gets a bit giddy and a tad out of hand, since we recorded at the end of a semester and were celebrating the fact that we hit 100.  

Direct download: The_Sociology_of_Kristmas.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

This isn't your normal self-help conversation.  Dr. Lu is brutally honest.  He is all about research and not so much of the fluff.  But we can learn some things about parenting, continuous improvement, setting realistic and motivating goals, and letting go of our egos.

Direct download: ViW75_Optimize_Yourself.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We run down the top 10 christmas films, what they say about our culture, and the message they have for us about life together, overcoming the grinches in our world and virtue.

We definitely will hit on It's A Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation.  Will your favorite make the list?  Will Charlie Brown?

Direct download: ViW73_Christmas_Movies.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The pagan roots of Christmas and other reflections on the greatest holiday around.

Direct download: ViW72_A_Very_Pagan_Christmas.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Philosopher of science Dr. Angus Menuge joins us to talk about the vocation of a scientist, especially that of a scientist who is also religious.  Prof. Dan Deen (Concordia University, Irvine), another philosopher of science is along for the expedition.  We talk about new atheism, virtue, epistemology, science, biology, physics, paradigms, theories, and Motörhead (that's right).  Dr. Menuge is professor of philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin and is the president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. His research interests include philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, apologetics, and C. S. Lewis. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Diploma in Christian Apologetics from the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights, Strasbourg. He is editor of C. S. Lewis: Lightbearer in the ShadowlandsChrist and Culture in Dialogue, Reading God's World and of Legitimizing Human Rights (forthcoming). He is author of Agents Under Fire: Materialism and the Rationality of Science (Rowman and Littlefield, 2004). His most recent work focuses on libertarian free will and the creative powers of agents.

Direct download: ViW71b_The_Vocation_of_a_Scientist_with_Angus_Menuge.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We talk NFL, explain why we've been wrestling with immigration, share some stories about our week, and end by applying philosopher of science, Ian Barbour's four transparadigmatic criteria to NFL viewing and other indulgences.

Just Dan and Jeff between classes.  Enjoy the expedition.

Direct download: ViW71_I_Wish_I_Knew_How_To_Quit_You_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

In anticipation of President Obama's executive action related to immigration and Central American Child Refugees, Joe Laughon of Café Con Leche Republicans returns to the show to discuss the controversial idea of opening the US borders.  Is it possible that it is in our economic and moral interest to do so?  What about communism and radical Islam?  What about drugs?  What about the burden of social service resources?  Come with an open mind and feel free to disagree and remain friends with our show.  Whatever your political position, undocumented (aka illegal) immigrants (aka aliens) are human beings, so we need to consider a virtuous response to our current crisis.

Direct download: ViW71_Immigration_Amnesty_and_Child_Refugees.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Survivor of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Alex Nsengimana tells of his experiences during the bloodshed, from the vantage point of the capital city.  He also shares his story of transformation and hope.  He currently works with Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse.

Direct download: ViW70_Rwanda_Two_Decades_Later.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

While Dan is out speaking at the Teigen Reformation Lectures, classicist and biblical scholar, Dr. C. J. Armstrong sits down with Jeff to trace the theme of the hero's journey to the underworld and back.  What does it look like?  Can we fight against death.  Why does the Apostle's Creed say that Jesus descended into hell?  Listen in and find out.

Direct download: ViW69_Underworld_Travel_Guide.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:40am PDT

Our second spooktacular. This is a show about stuff you should be more afraid of than you are.  Dan shares the biggest fears of friends and experts. Jeff shares his recipe for a mini-bug-out-bag, should the apocalypse arise.  Dr. CJ Armstrong joins the wasteland gents at the end to bring a word of comfort in the face of fear and death.  Jeff reads a moving passage from Peter Berger's book A Rumor of Angels.

Direct download: ViW68_Be_Afraider.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We mail it in.  We were going to a basketball game, so why not?  We talk about mailing it in.

If you find the audio quality distracting, come back next week, when we'll be back in studio.  

Direct download: ViW67_Mailing_It_In.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Tucker Kaas, from Kaas Tailored (kaastailored.com) talks about quality, ethical business practices, beauty, reduction of waste, kai zen, continuous improvement, vocation, Design on Stock, and the good life.

Direct download: ViW66b_Furniture_Zen_with_Tucker_Kaas.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Rapture culture rapping with Dr. Amy Frykholm, writer for and associate editor with the Christian Century, and author of Rapture Culture, Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography,  and See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity. We talk about Nicolas Cage, dispensationalism, the rapture, eschatology, the recent film adaption of the books, the way gender plays into the book series, American religion, popcorn, paper planes, and happiness.  We had a lot of fun with this one.

Direct download: ViW66_Left_Behind_with_Dr_Amy_Frykholm.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We explore the nature and history of evil regimes, their ability to kill people on large scales, and how to oppose such things with Marc Thomas Voss, a historian and German language instructor, who is completing his doctoral work on this topic in Germany.  Hitler, Stalin, Polpot, oh my.  

Bonus b-sides are shows where we go deep into content with a professor or a professional in some specialized field.

Direct download: ViW65b_Regimes_and_Genocide.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

South Africa, Yoruba, Christianity, excommunication, Nelson Mandela, women in African society, racism in America and one superb woman: Nokukhanya Shabalala. We play a clip from Micah Bournes.

Direct download: ViW65_Africa_-_The_Good_The_Bad_and_The_Beautiful_with_Noks_Shabalala.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

This one is a messy but relaxed discussion of the big question of human culture: are we basically violent and chaotic, or cooperative and caring?  Should we embrace utopianism and primitivism?  Scotland voted to stay in the UK.  What does this mean?  Jeff thought he saw a sea monster.  Was it because of what Jeff failed to describe with the correct term, which is hyperactive agency detection device.  

Direct download: ViW64_The_State_of_Nature.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

All about the phenomenon of witch hunts, contemporary and old timey.  Salem, McCarthy, and Bewitched.

Direct download: ViW63_Witch_Hunts.mp3
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We discuss recent downfalls of evangelical Christian leaders, the vocation of the journalist, including the work of Janet Mefferd.  We check to see if the hosts are dogmatists or authoritarians using an old psychology questionaire.  We reflect on the structures that failed Mark Driscoll, Ted Haggard, and Bill Gothard.

Direct download: ViW62_Dont_Touch_the_Anointed.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We talk about the history of the Reformation as it affected the idea of vocation, the Max Weber thesis, the puritans, Theodore Beza, the practical syllogism, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, providence, Roger Williams, and Labor Day.

Direct download: ViW61_The_Protestant_Work_Ethic.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Civil engineer and League of Faithful Masks chairman of the board talks about vocation, David's story of deciding to leave seminary for a different, public calling, and the ways in which he has contributed to landmarks throughout Southern California.  It turns out, civil engineers save lives, quietly and behind the scenes.

Direct download: ViW60b_The_Vocation_of_Civil_Engineering.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

You'll have to excuse us this week for sounding a bit like the odd couple.  Stemming from a conversation that began some time ago, Dan truly believes that we live in the greatest time period in human history (yeah, yeah, there are caveats of course) and Jeff is pretty sure that we aren't.  Dan is very unfashionable in some circles for his love of the Enlightenment, and Jeff is sometimes cautious when he talks about why he can dig the postmodernists.  Nevertheless, this show discusses just how good (or bad) we have it right now from a historical and philosophical perspective.  
And if that seems a little too heavy, while we were recording, our favorite classicist CJ Armstrong strolled by the studio and we had him sit in and join the conversation and add a bit of levity (you might not get the Flinstone's reference, but Dan is still laughing about it). Enjoy!

 

We mention Jacobi, Hamann, Radical Pietism, Kierkegaard, Grundtvig, Continental Philosophy, Voltaire, Ovid, Art of Love, Metamorphoses.

Direct download: ViW60_Greatest_Era_in_Human_History.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Too often we get caught up using bad analogies.  While there are many commonly used poor analogies, we find the hitler/holocaust and "fall of rome" parallels particularly confusing and unhelpful. What do these events have that cause constant modern analogies? How might we better understand certain landmark historical events without taking them out of time and making a modern "version"?  In what ways are the present and future different?  We tackle these and other related topics.  Give it a listen.

Direct download: ViW_59_The_Hitler_Show_Edited.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Dr. Adam Francisco, a historian who specializes in Islam and Middle Eastern history, joins us as we discuss the current conflict in the between Israel and Hamas, and the possible future of Palestine.

Direct download: ViW58_The_Overpromised_Land.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We look back at the first full year+ of our podcast+.  We ponder what we might have done differently, what we enjoyed most, and where we are heading in year two.  We didn't miss a single week release and don't intend to in the next year.  Thanks for listening and engaging with us through facebook, the website virtueinthewasteland.com, and through our Twitter and Instagram presence.  Thanks especially for listening and spreading the word. Dan is in the mountains and Jeff is in Key Largo while this is dropping.  So, if you write a comment and we don't respond, we will get to it after our much needed breaks from the bustle and the hustle.  

 

 

Direct download: ViW57_A_Year_in_the_Wasteland.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

What is a cult?  How do we balance tolerance and critical thinking when it comes to new religious movements?  Are their authoritarian personalties in my own, established religious community?  How are multilevel marketing and pyramid schemes like cults?  Is cult a bad word or is it a concept we need to preserve for the good of a safe and healthy society?  We wrestle with these questions and more.  We mention Jim Jones, Swedenborgianism, the Guru Maharaji, Amway, Scientology, and the FLDS. We love everyone.  Please don't sue us; we have no money and few assets, so it wouldn't be worth it.   Moreover, we are critical of ourselves and our own communities, various states that never really done nobody wrong, and the entire Inland Empire on occasion.  So it's all in good fun.  If we talk about your group, and you don't think we've represented it properly, feel free to explain where we were mistaken in the comment section.  Or, better, stage a press conference explaining why you think Virtue in the Wasteland is bad, making sure to get coverage from the major media outlets, and making sure to wear your sect's most distinctive clothing and strange hairdos, if applicable.  

Direct download: ViW56_Culty.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We discuss the promises and perils of making books into movies.  We focus on Steinbeck's East of Eden and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but we also mention and/or discuss the following: Ian Flemming's James Bond stories, Michael Crighton and Jurassic Park, Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the Cohen Brothers and Huckleberry Finn, musicals, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jungian archetypes, the value of mythology, and the importance of fairy tales.

 

Direct download: ViW55_When_Books_Become_Movies.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We freestyle chat about the nature of the good life and the ways in which we measure life's success.  This is about vocational questions for young people looking to the future or folks who want to redirect their lives later in the game.  We mention Daoism, LeBron James and The Decision, Stoicism, and whether you might want to rethink your current path.

Direct download: ViW54_The_Good_Life-Barometers_of_Success.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Whether you've read this book before or thinking about giving it a shot, you can join in.  We discuss important historical, religious, literary and philosophical themes in this important Russian Novel.  We talk especially about the Grand Inquisitor, the novel's most famous chapter.  

Direct download: ViW52wc_Brothers_Karamazov.mp3
Category:Wasteland Companion -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The 4th of July is upon us! Are you ready for the party? No, seriously. Are you ready? We've all been to parties with terrible hosts, terrible guests, poorly thought out games or ice breakers, etc...  On today's summertime show we break from our recent heavier topics and talk about how to throw a party.  As we were discussing this idea with our friends and colleagues we realized that there are some definite party do's and don'ts.  And maybe this isn't as frivolous as we first thought.  Hosting a party can be an important event in bringing together various people and opening a camaraderie in our ever self secluding world.

Direct download: How_to_Throw_a_Party_Fixed.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:41am PDT

This one is just a bunch of fun conversation tossed together like your favorite salad.  But it all revolves around emotional wellbeing and how external factors like the food we eat or our physiology affect our mood.  We learn a bit too about what we are able to do to eat ourselves to a bit more happiness.  Check out this conversation about psychology and happiness. 

We also check with her on the nature of addiction and prisons, following up on our last episode on the War on Drugs.

Direct download: ViW51b_Physiology_Food_and_Emotion.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The history and ethical problems with the war on drugs.  We discuss the nature of addiction and why private prisons are an unethical place to house those who have substance dependency.  We argue that we should focus on actual data and seek to be virtuous toward our addict neighbors, rather than merely looking virtuous to our upstanding and "together" neighbors.  Discussion topics include initiatives to legalize cannabis, the history of the penitentiary system, methodone, and other social issues related to narcotics.

Direct download: ViW51_The_War_on_Drugs.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Happy Father's Day.

Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, his son Ted Rosenbladt, Steve Byrnes, Dan Deen and other old friends try and capture the sort of conversation that has been happening for decades on the Rosenbladt deck.  Dan was out for this one, but he's got a history of joining in these back yard conversations.

What is it to be a good father?

What is it to be a true brother--or friend?

We discuss answers to all this and a kind of love called philia.  Ted, of New Reformaion Press, also reveals some plans for an organization called 1517.

 

Direct download: ViW50_Fathers_and_Brotherhood.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Armageddon.  Apocalypse.  Rapture.  What do such words mean?  This show is about the end of the world, what it will be like according to several ideologies, and why it matters.  Even if you don't believe strongly in a particular religion or political ideology, you probably have an implicit theory of the end (eschatology), and your neighbors sure do.  Sometimes, our views about the end of the world have serious consequences for our life in the world today.  Even though we don't spend much time on the traditional theological conversation, we do mention the distinction between premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial theologies.

Oh, and Dan also lets us know whether Putin is bringing on a third world war.

Direct download: ViW49_The_Way_the_World_Ends.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

It feels good to give.  But what we don't often realize is the uneven ways charities distribute our gifts.  We talk about the best and worst nonprofit organizations as regards their stewardship of donor money.  We talk about ways for young professionals to consider a career in the world of development aka fundraising.  Philanthropy is best done with knowledge.  This show gets us on the right track at least.

Direct download: ViW48_Give_it_Away_Now.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The Winriches are former Jesus Freaks.  They are currently highly involved in youth work, music, and nonprofit organizations.  We talk about the good, the, bad, and the musical as it relates to working with adolescent religious education.

Direct download: ViW47_Youth_Gone_Wild.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

What does the average person NEED to know about video games? Jeff's son joins the show to share the top five things folks need to know (especially parents) about the world of video games.  We find that it is a world that you are probably too worried about in some regards and not wary enough of in other regards.  

Direct download: ViW46_Gaming_Gaming_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Freak out.  Dr. Kristen Koenig joins us again, this time to discuss those who are outside the societal norm. I'm surprised we never got to mentioning Michel Foucault.  But we did deal with important issues related to what it means to be normal and how we should respond to the other.  We mix a little sociology with a bit of good old human decency.  And some awkwardness.

Direct download: ViW45_Freaks_and_Geeks.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

When scandals strike, or big decisions need to be made, do we let the masses decide how to respond?  Clippers owners, media stars, and your neighbor all are involved in this one.  How helpful is the popular opinion?  Do we seek an honor culture or a virtue culture?

Direct download: ViW44_The_Court_of_Public_Opinion_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Commencement is about beginnings.  We address those who graduate this spring and all those who are adults and out of school.  We talk abou the importance of ongoing exploration of the world and ways to stay sharp.  We share some of our favorite podcasts for learning as adults.  

Direct download: ViW43_A_Graduation_Special.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

What do amateur ornithology and coffee snobbery have to do with anything?  We explain the personal and cultural value that avoocations bring.    Dan explains some ways to enjoy a better coffee.  Jeff explains why he loves birds so much and explains how to get started as an amateur bird watcher.

Direct download: ViW42_The_Birds_and_The_Beans.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

What is virtue anyway, and can it be taught?  This is not our dissertation on the subject, just some friendly conversation with several colleagues who participated in a panel conversation on great texts.  Dr. Scott Ashmon, Dr. John Lu, Dr. C.J. Armstrong, and Prof. Dan Deen gathered in Dr. Ashmon's Hilton suite for beverages and conversation.  We talk about ethos, pathos, logos, virtue, habituation, Aristotle, Virgil, and love.  This affects everything from parenting to pedagogy, so give it a listen.

Direct download: ViW41_Can_Virtue_Be_Taught_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We explore the beauty of language, classic and contemporary with Dr. Stanley Lombardo, a translator of classics like the Illiad and Aeneid.  Listen even if classic Latin and Greek epics aren't familiar to you.  If nothing else, listen for the first twenty minutes to hear Dr. Lombardo recite poetry in classical Greek.  The sound itself will demonstrate the importance of our topic.  Topics include the art of translation, Homeric legends, Virgil, Zen Buddhism, and poetry in general.  

B-Sides are in depth discussions with professors and professionals about the beauty and importance of their callings.

Direct download: ViW39b_Its_Epic.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 6:00am PDT

Classicist C.J. Armstrong explains the importance and beauty of Homer's Iliad.  This is the first of several Wasteland Companions, shows where we give you the important background and summary of a great book.  Unfortunately, Jeff's mic wasn't working right.  Fortunately, this is one of the few shows where he doesn't talk too much.  Share with a high schooler or college student perhaps who is reading this in their studies, or a friend who likes to go back and pick up great works they missed in school.

Direct download: ViW40wc_The_Illiad.mp3
Category:Wasteland Companion -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto has seen it all.  The JFK assassination coverage, the rise of the Nazis, a famous drinking horse in Germany, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, and of course the Vietnam War.  Uwe talks about getting a doctorate after a not so good high school experience.  We learn why our news media has gone so far away from its original calling or vocation today.  Learn why you should not criticize a German town’s beer. Learn who can drink more beer and not slur: Catholic priests or Lutheran pastors.  Find out how clumsy and immature JFK was, but also how he rose to the occasion when global annihilation loomed.  What should a journalist do when they come across a scandal?  Find out why Uwe wouldn't mind being a horse poop specialist.  By the way, you wish you were as cool as the guy in the picture here.  I suppose you can be.  Just become a journalist in the old school style.  Learn about how Uwe came to study with Peter Berger, thanks to his wife, Gillian's wise sense of Uwe's suitability for the clergy ranks, or lack thereof.  

Direct download: ViW39b_A_Journalists_Vocation.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We list great classical, early modern, and modern books and why they are worth reading.  

Direct download: ViW39_Great_Books.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Art prof Rachel Hays raps with Dan and Jeff about art, its history, and why Jeff is wrong to dig Banksy so much.  

Direct download: ViW38_Embroidery_Faith_Banksy_Whatever.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Veteran journalist, author of a new book on the Vietnam War,  Triumph of the Absurd: A Reporter's Love for The Abandoned People of Vietnam shares a story from his travels, and explains how unethical journalism failed the people of Vietnam.

Direct download: ViW37b_Rethinking_Vietnam.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We discuss holidays associated with American immigrant communities and ask whether they might be culturally inappropriate. Joe Laughon joins us once again.  We discuss Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get To Arizona" video, St. Patrick's Day, and Cinco De Mayo.  

Direct download: ViW37_Racist_Holidays.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Dan and Jeff start by a list of regrets, clarifications and retractions from prior shows. Then they talk about MBTI (Meyers Briggs) profiles and what celebrities share them.  Finally they answer listener questions.  We talk Lana Del Ray, Putin, the Big Lebowski, nihilism, and narcissism.

Direct download: ViW36_You_Asked_for_It.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am PDT

On this, our 50th episode (enter fanfare) we discuss the nature of sanity and insanity. Wait, before you think that this is a highfalutin' philosophical show (well, it does have some philosophy) we came to this show by way of a question we asked ourselves: who is the sanest person we know?
This lead us down a rabbit hole for a week as we tried to put together a composite of the "sanest person" we know. Perhaps, sanity is illusive. Perhaps we are all insane. Or, like most things... it's complicated and we're not quite sure. But, join us as we discuss Dan's adventure with his two boys and missing cat, Jeff's new bike, and we think out loud through the thought of G.K. Chesterton, Soren Kierkegaard and others. We play some Old 97's and Beastie Boys and get around to making a little more sense of the world, our collective selves, and what it means to be sane.  The closing song is a cover of "Crazy Train" by the Denver country band The Railbenders.

Direct download: ViW35_Are_You_Insane_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We share things we wish were true but probably aren't.  We share things we are pretty darn sure aren't true are not true.  

We discuss conspiracy theories, the Melanchthon Circle, Santiago Sam, kambucha, alchemy, neoplatonism, St. Augustine's Confessions, Masonry, Airborne, occult philosophy, esoterica, the JFK assasination, Ethiopia's claim to have the Ark of the Covenant, and postmodernity.

Direct download: ViW34_I_Want_to_Believe.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We discuss the history of immigration in the United States and converse with Joe Laughon, a contributor to Cafeconlecherepublicans.com.  He helps to dispell some misunderstandings about immigration laws and attitudes past and present.  We discuss the use of terms like "illegal immigrant" and "undocumented worker".  What's the virtuous response to todays immigration debates?  Listen in to hear a unique, and arguably sane, perspective.

Direct download: ViW33b_Rethinking_Immigration.mp3
Category:Bonus B-Side -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We talk about several recent scandals and leaders who have fallen from cultural grace.  Then, we call Jeff's old friend Chris to talk about his experience with the movement led by Bill Gothard. We discuss authoritarianism, spiritual abuse, Woody Allen, Ted Haggard, Anthony Weiner, and Lance Armstrong.  

Direct download: ViW33_ScandalScandal.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

With Jeff Macaré, a favorite Lutheran hippy.  We talk about music,  the nature of digital and analog sound, Dan's diet of caffeine, nicotine and prozac and more importantly: the ambiguity of the word "nature" and Jaff Macare on his vocation of filtering water (that's right! water filtering! Seriously, hear what he has to say about that bottled water you're drinking)

Direct download: ViW32_Water_Water_Everywhere_But_Not_A_Drop_To_Drink.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

We move from individuals to society in our quest to understand narcissism.  Sociologists, Dr. Kristen Koenig (B.A., Occidental College, M.Sc., University of Oxford, D.Phil., University of York) joins us to make sense of it all.  This is one of our favorite conversations yet.  We find out what the "i" in "iPhone" means.  You are going to dig Dr. Koenig! Has narcissism as a trait (not the disorder per se), including vanity and selfishness been on the rise over the last several decades?  Listen to find out.

Direct download: ViW31_Narcissism__Sociology.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Dr. John Lu, social psychologist, joins us for a discussion of the nature of the DSM (a tool for diagnosing psychological disorders), the nature of narcissism, and the concept of an operational definition.  This is the second of several episodes planned for spring on the topic of narcissism. 

Direct download: ViW30_Defining_Narcissism.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The hosts play with some initial ideas related to art and why we like what we like.  Dan explains some of the background behind conversations about art and beauty we will have over the coming months.  Don't expect a full and comprehensive lecture.  Expect the opening volley in a larger discussion about beauty (since we've talked a bit more about goodness and truth in our first six months).  Dan gives some art history background.  Jeff talks about beauty in the Bible.  We share our top guilty aesthetic pleasures and guilty aesthetic displeasures.

Direct download: ViW29_Aesthetics_--_First_Thoughts_on_Art_and_Beauty.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

The myth of Narcissus with classicist and Faithful Masks Fellow Dr. C. J. Armstrong.  We each take an online narcissism test and share the results.  Stories about Dan's kids.

Direct download: ViW28_Narcissism_Classic__Contemporary.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am PDT

Stories about snags over the winter vacation, things we learned from vocation fails in our own lives, and historical vocation fails.  Thanks for checking out the first podcast of 2014.

Topics include:

Epic of Gilgamesh

Householder Yogi

Drinking your own urine for health benefits

Upgrade to Garage Band

The Big Lebowski

One Week

Wundermann

Norton Motorcycles

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Sucker Punch

Jerry Garcia Senior

Bob Dylan Senior

Young Life

Paul Fairweather, Symbolic Regression Therapy

Dr. Bruce Gordon

HD DVD

Crystal Pepsi

Arch Delux

47 Ronin

Direct download: ViW27_Vocation_Fails.mp3
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