A mother and son debate the changing times…
#51 The Thing About Climate Change No One Wants to Say
No more being afraid to say what climate disavowal and inaction really mean.
It’s time to call it out.
Note: I say “Goddard’s Law” at the beginning of this episode but mean “Godwin’s Law.”
#50 In the Future Will Be Two Types of People - Part II
TJ predicts another major dividing line in the near-term future: those who use AI and those who eschew it. But not for the reasons this prominent YouTuber thinks…
#49 In the Future There Will Be Two Types of People
What does the future look like? In a very short time — 5-10 years — we will see a marked difference in people, in our very realities. Here’s why.
#48 How Can You Debug a Trump Supporter?
Social psychologist Steve Hassan likens MAGA enthusiasts to cult members and uses his own experience being “deprogrammed” from the popular 1970s Sun Myung Moon cult, the “Unification Church,” with Hak Ja Han.
Hassan’s insights are important, but I’m always left wondering — how can anyone be sure they’re not the brainwashed ones? Where can we find objectivity enough to base our reality and know right from wrong?
For further edification:
https://youtu.be/YNXk102BEz8?si=7DjN6Rcji9mpU2g5
https://youtu.be/hvJJwNzfT88?si=YPwz6TlA921tHfYA
https://youtu.be/eo4gIihETu8?si=OmrLECCd9MMSwLvk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQksC-8fqpM
#47 We're Being Sold Artifice
I reflect ( *ahem* rant) on the specious nature of goods and services we’re sold today in our hyper-consumption society.
#46 "Blessed" versus "Lucky"
When I told someone I felt “lucky” for my life, he said he needed to “correct” me that I was “blessed,” not lucky. This rant of mine ensued.
#45 Why Trump Will Win in 2024
#44 Why "Se7en" is a Perfect Story (The Kind of Idea I Want to Have)
#43 Nature is Cruel, Staros
What movie is this from? (Minus the “spoonman”)
#42 Oppenheimer
Is Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film about Robert J. Oppenheimer and the A-Bomb the masterpiece many seem to think it is? I’m not so sure.
Please forgive my stuffy nose and traffic commentary as I record this analysis.
#41 The Kid Who Leaked Classified Documents
Thoughts on retributive justice, re: 21 year old Airman Jack Teixeira leaking classified Pentagon intelligence on the war in Ukraine
#40 How Technology Obliterated Objective Reality
What’s real? Can we believe anything we see or hear or read online in a world of divisive politics, massive multinational corporations, ChatGPT or deepfakes? Where is it all going from here?
#39 Does God Only Give You What You Can Handle?
Of a piece with the previous episode, T.J. explores the idea behind this oft-used religious phrase.
#38 The Only One Solving the Problem is the Light
A brief exploration of Kabbalah Mysticism
#37 Why We Grieve When We Quit an Addiction
When we quit something bad for us, it can paradoxically cause sadness, even grief. As if we’ve lost a friend…
#36 Why we don't care about the death of others
I mean, of course we do. But not really.
#35 Aerials
You know the song.
#34 The Trump Thing
Trump is indicted and flies to New York for arraignment. The media cover it in a frenzy, but actual human interest seems low. There are no protests, no real crowds, and Marjorie Taylor Greene can’t get her megaphone to work.
In an age when we’ll burn a tree to power a machine to draw us a picture of a tree, what is Trump? What is it to be any sort of celebrity today, supported and sustained by internet connectivity and social media? What if we unplugged — what would we find?
#33 Early Childhood Development
T.J. discusses how his early experiences shaped who he is today, and how our childhoods indeed impact us all.