The Hinterlands
Courage for the journey beyond the status quo. Topics include education, culture, and economics, as well as faith, family, and philosophy. (Podcast postponed as of Jan 2021. Writing can be found at https://medium.com/the-hinterlands).
Episodes
24 episodes
Tracking Truth, Part 2
This is the second part of my conversation with Matt Leavenworth. On his suggestion, we recorded a conversation on trying to tease out the truth about God, the Bible, and mythology. How should we understand these ancient human fixtures in light...
•
52:00
Tracking Truth, Part 1
Matt Leavenworth is a new friend of mine. On his suggestion, we recorded a conversation on trying to tease out the truth about God, the Bible, and mythology. How should we understand these ancient human fixtures in light of changing standards o...
•
54:20
A Farewell Confessional
The way we handle our knowledge of good and evil divides the world, philosophically, into two camps. On the one side are those who implicitly rely on their grasp of good and evil to inform and justify their attempts to control the world. On the...
•
1:16:20
Acknowledging Difficulties In The Bible
Given the scope of the topic, this discussion is bound to be both insufficient and controversial. Be that as it may, I'm grateful to have such an experienced voice on the podcast. Steve Scansen shares some of his background in the faith and sug...
•
1:23:03
Rule 9: Assume Interlocutor Intelligence (The Full Embrace of Seth Hirschkorn)
In the process of discussing Rule 9 on the topic of listening to the person you're talking to, Seth and I stumble into religion and politics, personhood, self-examination, advice-giving, the divide between love and truth, intellectual blindspot...
•
1:27:23
Alcoholism & Loving What Is, Pt. 2
Have you ever thought of yourself as a character in your own story--the story you tell yourself to make sense of the world? Do you feel the stress of needing others to be different so that you can be okay? How does emotional maturity arise?...
•
1:00:36
Alcoholism & Loving What Is, Pt. 1
How do you deal with the things you can't change? What stories do you tell yourself to make sense of your experiences? How do we relate to truth and reality when they seem to be bent on taking us apart?In this two-part interview, Henry K...
•
1:10:56
Apostasy & Honesty
A cordial conversation of differing perspectives on the fallibility of the Bible, the cultural relevance of Christianity, roles in relationships, spiritual leadership, and how agriculture whetted man's appetite for controlling the world around ...
•
1:35:23
What Is Human
I bring you Randy Pennington's GUT: (Grand) Unified Theory of human behavior. We discuss self-interest, incentives, choosing beliefs, and how we receive love. Randy is an old friend. This is his first time on the podcast. I hope it will not be ...
•
1:26:08
Covid, Schooling Revisited
Wondering if pubic school is still an acceptable place to send your kids for the day? In light of the current political/biological climate, I'm reposting this discussion on education in the hope that it may be of use to those considering altern...
•
1:15:04
Compassion Over Fear
This is a special episode. The woman I’m talking with picked up my son and me while we were hitchhiking through Wyoming. Her story is fairly graphic at points, but it is also hopeful. I think some of you will find it encouraging in the midst of...
•
55:57
Rule 10: Don't Bother Children
Good chat with an old friend, Steve Brown. We chop up one of the finer chapters of 12 Rules for Life, on the connection between Oedipal mothers and the nanny state. Other creatures glimpsed along the way include Homer Simpsonian man-children, A...
•
1:25:49
Rule 8: Tell the Truth (or at least don't lie)
Do little lies lead to bigger ones? Does deceit affect our souls? What becomes of a State built on lies, and what truth-responsibility do citizens have?I share a couple personal stories about breakthroughs in honesty while discussing Ru...
•
1:11:57
Rule 3: Choose Good Friends
Do your friends stand by you even when you don't do what they want? How can we stop making excuses for the takers in our lives, and how can we find and keep people who are real and true? These questions are complicated by the lukew...
•
1:24:38
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)
Why is the need to be right so strong? Why is it so hard to admit our faults? In the course of discussing the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), Dr. Sarah Townley and I discuss many of the issues surrounding the cracks in our nat...
•
1:40:11
Pandeminomics
Here's a look at just one of the ways these strange times are playing out in the world of money. Our economic system allows for the accumulation of wealth--in terms of buying power, at least. That same system also advertises itself to us as som...
•
1:04:16
Gold Is The New Gold
Wondering if you should look into gold (or silver) lately? In this episode, I discuss the perennial metal with Erin Moffett of 7k Metals. We move from basic terminology, such as bullion, troy ounce, and numismatic, to...
•
1:05:33
Rule 4: Compare Yourself To Yourself
Another discussion of a chapter of Peterson's book, 12 Rules for Life. Andrew Akerstrom and I dive into the inside of envy, effort, humility, transformation, and the counterproductive addiction of serving appearances. Standards are...
•
1:18:38
Marx, Not A Communist? (Phil Griffin, Pt 2)
Phil and I dive into it again on the topics of Marxism, the place of government, self-sufficiency, and responsibility. We stumble our way through the neuroses of billionaires, the illegitimacy of property, how we're all on the team of the serfs...
•
59:43
Of Love & Polyamory (Phil Griffin, Pt 1)
For those who don't know, polyamory (the practice of having multiple romantic partners, often called an "open relationship") has recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Phil Griffin and I sat down to discuss his experience in this practice. I...
•
1:04:01
Rule 7: Pursue Meaning, Not Expedience
A discussion of a chapter in Jordan Peterson's book, 12 Rules For Life, with Aaron Langford. We discuss work, jealousy, depression, Cain & Abel, the character of demons, and the Grand Inquisitor, among other matters. Aaron is a home builder...
•
1:28:13
AMA: Putting Your House In Order
In this AMA (Ask Me Anything) episode, Sami Paul asks the questions of listeners and holds my feet to the fire. Much of the conversation revolves around parenting, but we also touch on arrogance, fear, future hopes, work, gratitude, bullies, et...
•
54:45