Finneran's Wake: Recent Episodes
Daniel Ethan Finneran
A soporific, non-pharmaceutical aide with which to ease your descent into sleep, or, alternatively, to awaken your literary passion. Pass an hour with me, and you’ll hear read in a soothing, tranquil voice the greatest works to which voice can be given.
J. Randy Taraborrelli is an author, editor, reporter, journalist, and biographer whose latest work, “Jackie: Public, Private, Secret” is now available for purchase.
(For what it’s worth, I strongly encourage you to get yourself a copy!)
Some of Randy’s other popular works include, Madonna: An Intimate Biography; Jackie, Janet, and Lee; The Hiltons; Sinatra; Michael Jackson; Becoming Beyonce, Cher, Diana, and The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.
In this delightful conversation, Randy and I discuss…
Plutarch (of all people!); Cleopatra; Jackie Kennedy’s je ne sais quois; the role of the First Lady in American political history; Fashion; Influence; Elegance; Michelle Obama; Melania Trump; The media’s treatment of First Ladies through the decades; JFK; Ted and Bobby Kennedy; Aristotle Onnassis; How to write a biography; The life of a writer; Motown; Diana Ross; Country music; and MUCH more!
I hope you enjoy it!
Links to Randy’s stuff:
Books:
His illustrious Amazon page, on which all his fine works can be found:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-Randy-Taraborrelli/author/B000APS72I?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Website: https://jrandytaraborrelli.com/
Twitter: @JRTaraborrelli
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrandytaraborrelli/
Links to my stuff:
Check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: Youtube @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy these conversations and share them with family and friends!
politics #history #politicalhistory #americanhistory #kennedy #jackie #jackiekennedy #taraborrelli #biography #books #newbook #bestseller
Sally Fallon Morell is an author, a farmer, a businesswoman, and the founder of multiple organizations dedicated to human flourishing.
And how, as humans, do we flourish, you might ask?
Simple: it all begins with our nutrition!
Inspired by the under-acknowledged genius of Dr. Weston A. Price, Sally has popularized the “Wise Traditions” Diet, a natural, wholesome, elegant way of eating to which countless people subscribe.
In this wide-ranging episode, Sally and I discuss…
The framing of a new dietary “Constitution”; The most unhealthy, damaging foods to exclude from your diet; The “Wise Traditions” Diet, and what it’s all about; Dr. Weston A. Price; His life and theory about nutrition; Milk as a microcosm of politics; Milk and Marxism; Metaphysics; Philosophy; Literature; Shakespeare; Louis Pasteur; The benefits of RAW MILK (and raw dairy, generally); The idea of the “Noble Savage”; Romanticizing primitive tribes; Eugenics; Progressivism and conservatism; Beauty; What it’s like to own and work on a farm,
And so MUCH more!
You’re going to love this conversation.
Links to Sally’s stuff:
The Weston A Price Foundation:
https://www.westonaprice.org/about-us/welcome-from-sally-fallon-morell/#gsc.tab=0
Nourishing Traditions (her highly educational blog)
https://nourishingtraditions.com/
Her widely-popular book, “Nourishing Traditions”
https://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2GA4GTL3CQOA2&keywords=mary+fallon&qid=1691091459&sprefix=mary+fallon%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-6
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Links to my Stuff:
My Stuff:
Check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: Youtube @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy these conversations and share them with family and friends!
Dr. Robert Kiltz is a physician, businessman, YouTuber, potter, pilot, and poet.
(I challenge you to repeat those last three words as quickly as you can without stumbling!)
One of America’s leading experts on the Carnivore Diet (of which he’s been both an advocate and adherent for the past decade), Dr. Kiltz has bravely questioned the dietary guidelines we’ve been fed by our medical “establishment” for countless years.
His intrepidity is truly inspirational–
Like everything else about him!
In this episode, Dr. Kiltz and I discuss:
Courage; Lions and sheep; Being a happy heretic; Swimming against the current; Misguided Dietary “Guidelines”; Belonging to a gang in LA when he was young; Perseverance in the face of hardship; Overcoming learning barriers; Discovering one’s passions; Becoming a pilot; The importance of art; The benefits of the carnivore diet; The influence of Joe Rogan; Catholicism; Gratitude; Meditation; Jesus Christ; Friedrich Nietzsche; Plato; Homer; Spiritualism v. materialism; The key to human flourishing;
And MUCH more!
If you’re interested in following Dr. Kiltz, you’ll have no difficulty finding him.
Search his name on any of the social media platforms or simply follow the link below:
https://www.doctorkiltz.com/
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My Stuff:
Check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy these conversations and share them with family and friends!
carnivore #carnivorediet #wellness #longevity #drkiltz
Dan Levitt is a director, documentarian, and an author.
His latest book, What’s Gotten Into You: The Story Of Your Body’s Atoms, From The Big Bang Through Last Night’s Dinner, is now available for purchase!
For the promulgation of good science to the general public–in a format and a language that is accessible to all–we look, now more than ever, to trusted figures like Dan.
As you can see, his passion for science is infectious. I learned a TON from (first) reading his fine book and then hosting him for this amazing conversation.
In this episode, Dan and I discuss:
Materialism v. Spiritualism; Science v. Religion; The Big Bang, and what preceded it; Genesis v. Aristotle; The Steady State theory; The validity of Stephen Jay Gould’s concept of “Non-Overlapping Magisteria” (NOMA); Atomic and subatomic theory; quarks; the cosmos; Albert Einstein; Georges Lemaitre; Rosalind Franklin; Benjamin Franklin; Watson and Crick; Jan Ingenhousz; Photosynthesis; The beauty of nature; Having an artistic and a scientific mind; The current state of “Science”...
And MUCH more!
A link to purchase Dan’s book:
https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Gotten-Into-You-Through/dp/0063251183/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BJXQ2G33RV9N&keywords=dan+levitt&qid=1688233498&sprefix=dan+levitt%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1
Dan’s website:
https://danlevitt.com/
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My Stuff:
Check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy these conversations. Share them with family and friends!
bigbang #science #education
Barry Brown is an author, cowboy, horse breaker, bull rider, and rodeo competitor to whom the nickname, “The Bionic Bull Rider” has been, I think, very fittingly applied.
Barry began competing as a bull rider at the tender age of 15. Despite its perils, he fell in love with the sport, in which he continued to participate (either as a competitor or a judge) for the next four decades of his life.
During the course of his long career, he broke just about every bone in his body.
Fittingly, he received the nickname, “The Bionic Bull Rider” after he underwent an unprecedented surgery to repair a fractured sternum (with which he competed, unmended, for many years).
I was honored to have him as a guest.
On a scorching hot summer day, Barry was attired in proper cowboy garb: tall black leather boots, thick denim jeans, a long-sleeve Wrangler shirt, black neckerchief, and trusty cowboy hat. As he sat there fielding silly questions from me, absorbing the heat of the hot sun, he was completely unperturbed.
He was as patient, stoic, thoughtful, and gentlemanly a man as I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
He manifested, in the best possible way, the true “Cowboy attitude” to which I’ll be working on conforming myself in the coming months.
In the meantime…
Be sure to check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy the conversations. Share them with family and friends.
Purchase Barry’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Bionic-Bullrider-Barry-Brown/dp/0979091918/ref=sr_1_4?crid=12HGBFR562WIH&keywords=barry+brown&qid=1687097647&sprefix=barry+brown%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-4
Tell me in the comments below: Do you think America can rediscover its “Cowboy/girl Swagger”? How can you implement the “Cowboy Attitude” in your daily life?
I can tell you this much: I’m going to begin by purchasing a proper hat!
With affection,
Daniel
Reid Mitenbuler is an author, a journalist, and an Air Force veteran.
His latest book, Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, An Epic Journey, A Lost Age tells the untold story of the twentieth century’s most interesting man.
Peter Freuchen was a Danish explorer, globetrotter, novelist, journalist, actor, and game show contestant.
An imposingly large man (he stood over 6 '5”) with a wildly unkempt beard and a stiff wooden leg, the very image of Freuchen invites curiosity. Wanderlust, Reid’s latest excellent work, explores the life of an explorer in which you’re bound to get lost!
In this episode, Reid and I discuss:
The arresting image of Peter Freuchen; His three wives and their influence on him; His expeditions to the Arctic; Discovering the “top of the world’; Interactions with the indigenous Inuit people; The diet of the Inuit and their sexual practices; Bohemianism, within and out Europe; Freuchen’s eclectic politics; Nazism and Bolshevism; The virtues of being contrarian; The “Explorer’s Spirit”; The golden age of animation; The evolution of cartoons; Popeye and South Park; What is Whiskey?; The History of Whiskey in America; The Whiskey Rebellion; Alexander Hamilton v. Thomas Jefferson; How to be an author and publish a book; The writing process; and MUCH more!
Visit your local bookstore (or the links below) to get your hands on Reid’s three fine books:
Wild Minds: The artists and Rivalries that Inspired the Golden Age of Animation
https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Minds-Rivalries-Inspired-Animation/dp/0802129382/ref=sr_1_3?crid=143A2QGLQ68GP&keywords=reid+mitenbuler&qid=1687294732&sprefix=reid+mitenbuler%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-3
Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey
https://www.amazon.com/Bourbon-Empire-Future-Americas-Whiskey/dp/014310814X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=143A2QGLQ68GP&keywords=reid+mitenbuler&qid=1687294811&sprefix=reid+mitenbuler%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-2
Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, An Epic Journey, A Lost Age
https://www.amazon.com/Wanderlust-Eccentric-Explorer-Epic-Journey/dp/0358468329/ref=sr_1_1?crid=143A2QGLQ68GP&keywords=reid+mitenbuler&qid=1687294811&sprefix=reid+mitenbuler%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
You can visit Reid at his website:
https://reidmitenbuler.com/
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My Stuff:
Check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Be sure to subscribe to this channel if you enjoy these conversations. Share them with family and friends.
And please! comment below: Favorite whiskey? Most interesting explorer? What are your choices?
Alas...
How quickly (and imperceptibly!) the years accrue!
Before you know it, you're departing your second, and entering your third (or fourth, or fifth…) decade of life and wondering, as you pass another milestone, celebrate another birthday, and add another number to anno domini:
"How should I tailor my fitness regimen to my (advancing) age?"
In this episode, resident fitness guru and recurring guest, James Flood, outlines exactly what you should do in each decade of life to maximize your health and wellbeing.
On what exercises should you focus at the age of 25?
How much time for recovery is needed when you’re 39?
Should you continue deadlifting with a barbell when you’re 62?
No matter the decade in which you find yourself, the information in this episode will prove valuable.
I hope that you find it enjoyable as well!
Be sure to check out my Instagram page for shorts from this and prior episodes: @danielethanfinneran https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Website: finneranswake.com
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
My sister project, PNEUMA, on which I put out sleep stories, meditations, mindfulness content: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Pneumameditations.com
Comment below!
What training mistakes did you commit when you were younger?
How are you approaching your training at this point in your life?
How do you envision yourself in your next decade of life?
A huge thanks to my father for enduring the sultry Florida heat and filming this video. Thanks Dad!
The beard is back!
Recurring (and undeniably burly) guest James Flood joins me to discuss the five most important things you can do outside the gym in order to optimize your performance once you re-enter.
In brief, he advises you to focus on:
1. Hydration (with electrolytes)
2. Nutrition
3. Sun exposure
4. Cold exposure
5. Sleep
Or if, like me, you prefer alliteration:
1. Salt
2. Sustenance
3. Sun
4. Shiver
5. Sleep
Focus, my friends, on these five simple things not only to improve your performance in the gym, but to enhance your overall state of health and wellbeing.
With the arrival of Summer, there’s never been a better time to start!
Comment below with aspects from your own routine, from which we can all learn.
James and I are always eager to implement new and interesting techniques with which you've had success!
(*Apologies for the sound quality. We will be using TWO microphones next time!)
James Charney is a psychiatrist, cinephile, professor, and author.
His latest book, “Madness at the Movies” examines the mental disorders by which Hollywood’s most infamously deranged characters (Travis Bickle from Scorcese’s “Taxi Driver”; Norman Bates from Hitchcock’s “Psycho”) are afflicted.
The book, written for a popular audience, is an extension of a beloved course (also entitled, “Madness at the Movies”) that he taught at Yale University for many years.
A physician by training, Dr. Charney is not only a lover of movies, but a faithful student of their history and a discerning judge of their merit. As you’ll see, his knowledge of film history is encyclopedic, and his passion for the art is infectious!
It was an absolute honor to speak with him and I can’t wait to watch all of the films he recommended!
In this episode, Dr. Charney and I discuss:
His exposure to the cinema at a young age; The importance of the movie theater in the 1950s (contrasted with its unimportance today); The communal experience of attending the theater; Being traumatized by horror films as a boy (and how that became the genre to which he later devoted much of his professorial career!); The greatest duos in film history; The best action films in the modern age; How action sequences are edited; How to keep the attention of an audience; How to watch and (really) appreciate a film; Musicals, then and now; If we are at a low ebb of creativity; Why we should all go back and watch “the classics”; How to become fully cultured in the arts; Where to view the oldies; Television v. Movies; The Sopranos; Succession; Breaking Bad; Aristotle and Fred Astair; Katherine Hepburn and Gene Kelly; and MUCH MORE!
Links to Dr. Charney’s stuff:
His book, "Madness At The Movies":
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12732/madness-movies
https://www.amazon.com/Madness-Movies-Understanding-Illness-through/dp/142144562X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14X4H0ELCJS0M&keywords=madness+at+the+movies&qid=1685473991&sprefix=madness+at%2Caps%2C363&sr=8-1
Criterion Channel
https://www.criterionchannel.com
Mubi
https://mubi.com
Dr. Charney's brilliant wife, Diane Charney (a professor of French literature at Yale) also has a book available for purchase!
Check it out here:
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Men-Diane-Joy-Charney/dp/1736020617/ref=sr_1_5?crid=172KUXEKE3JVK&keywords=Letters+to+men+of+letters&qid=1685541306&sprefix=letters+to%2Caps%2C3733&sr=8-5
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As for me…
I can be reached at finneranswake@gmail.com
Website: finneranswake.com
Instagram, on which shorter clips from my longer episodes (along with other sundry things) are posted: Daniel Ethan Finneran
Twitter: DanielEFinneran
MY WELLNESS, MEDITATION, AND SLEEP AID CHANNEL!
You have to check this out!
Pneumameditations.com
Youtube: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Available on all podcast streaming services.
Just search, “Pneuma by Daniel Finneran”. Listen and share with friends!
Please comment below with thoughts and suggestions!
With affection,
Daniel
The web’s most dynamic (and handsome) father and son duo are at it again! In this episode, we reflect on the huge, earthshaking, history-making announcement for which we’ve all been waiting: Donald Trump will seek the presidency in 2024.
Should he succeed in escaping the Republican Primary with the Party’s nomination, he’ll likely face down the dotard of Delaware, Scranton’s senescent son, Joseph R. Biden–the unintelligible incumbent against whom Trump battled, and to whom he lost, in 2020.
We ask, is Trump’s nomination preordained? Is there no one (Ron DeSantis) by whom he might be challenged and, God willing, replaced?
Join us as we talk about these and many other issues.
Timeline
0:00 Introduction and Banter
6:12 Why did Trump announce so soon?
10:27 How will history judge Donald Trump?
14:53 Dad’s predictions for 2024 contest
20:10 Reproductive Rights and the “Threat” to democracy
22:17 Some playful hypotheticals: Is DeSantis the new Reagan? Will Gavin Newsom be the president for 11 years?
28:00 The gerontocracy
31:00 A message to younger leaders: where are you?
35:34 What should House Republicans do?
51:50 Will Republicans tire of Trump?
55:30 George Washington
Please leave a comment and subscribe!
Mark Schrad is a professor in the department of political science at Villanova University, over whose “Russian Area Studies” he presides as director.
Professor Schrad is the author of three books: The Political Power of Bad Ideas; Vodka Politics; and, his latest work, Smashing the Liquor Machine (to which, if interested in their purchase, I’ll include links below).
We sip our spirits, imbibe our beers, and become giddy over the prospect of tasting an evening’s dram of liquor, without ever really thinking about the history hidden behind these potent drinks. We look forward, with unsuppressable glee, to the decanting, the toasting, the clinking, and, more than anything else, the delicious imbibing to which these merry libations call us.
And yet, at the bottom of your shot of vodka, your glass of gin, your cup of rum, your drop of whiskey, there mingles among the dregs a sordid tale. It’s a tale of state control; extortionate taxes; the intoxication of the citizenry; the raising of revenue by immoral means; the introduction of addictive beverages to colonized peoples abroad; the response of humane “progressives”; the push toward Prohibition; and the many setbacks encountered along the way.
From this episode, you’ll learn…
A bit about modern, domestic politics from a university professor in the Keystone state; the results of the 2022 midterm elections; the ongoing War between Russia and Ukraine; the role that alcohol played throughout history in raising revenue for the state; the meaning of “alco-imperialism”; the difference between fermented and distilled beverages; how alcohol affected indigenous peoples; why we should re-acquaint ourselves with typewriters; and much more!
Time Stamps
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Analysis of midterm election results in Pennsylvania
9:32 Fetterman’s Unusual Campaign and Triumph
11:40 Will Pennsylvania fix its electoral process?
14:56 General reflections on the (national) election results
18:14 Update on the Ukraine-Russia War
23:49 Was Ukraine wise to continue the fight?
26:38 Why Alcohol?
36:27 Alcohol as a Revenue-Raiser
49:09 What is “Alco-Imperialism”?
54:41 Fermentation v. Distillation
1:00:45 Who was the WORST offender in the West?
1:09:40 Temperance and Prohibition
1:13:29 What does “Manhattan” mean?
1:15:20 Typewriters: An archaic avocation
1:26:59 Conclusion
Links to Professor Schrad’s books:
Smashing the Liquor Machine - https://www.amazon.com/Smashing-Liquor-Machine-History-Prohibition/dp/0190841575/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OZ6ZM0PDFODE&keywords=mark+lawrence+schrad&qid=1668739929&sprefix=mark+lawrence+schrad%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-1.
Vodka Politics - https://www.amazon.com/Vodka-Politics-audiobook/dp/B00JPLEPVU/ref=sr_1_2?crid=OZ6ZM0PDFODE&keywords=mark+lawrence+schrad&qid=1668739961&sprefix=mark+lawrence+schrad%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-2.
Bad Ideas - https://www.amazon.com/Political-Power-Bad-Ideas-Institutions/dp/0195391233/ref=sr_1_3?crid=OZ6ZM0PDFODE&keywords=mark+lawrence+schrad&qid=1668739961&sprefix=mark+lawrence+schrad%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-3.
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Finneran’s Wake
Listen to this and all episodes on your favorite podcast streaming service:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af.
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796.
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Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
In this experimental episode, my father and I sit down in our back patio to discuss the shocking results of the midterm elections, in which the Republicans vastly underperformed even the most modest of expectations.
At the time of this episode’s posting, it appears that the Democrats will have gained at least one seat in the Senate, secured a few contentious governor races (most notably in Arizona and Michigan), and totally avoided the “Red Wave” in the House by which their comfortable majority was predicted to be wiped out.
Behind the scenes, we were playing with a new microphone arrangement, which might explain the discrepancy in volume.
Be sure to let me know what you think of this episode! I’m planning to do more “patio” sessions in the future.
Send emails to finneranswake@gmail.com
Visit my website at finneranswake.com
Ignacio Zuleta is a Colombian lawyer, writer, and yogi.
Born into politics, raised in the capital, trained as a lawyer…Ignacio’s career path appeared, until the transformative age of thirty (that strange moment in the life of a man at which epiphanies most often occur–just ask the Buddha, Joseph Smith, and Jesus) somewhat predictable: he’d ascend the ladder of his profession and society, accumulate wealth, acquire status, maybe run for office, and luxuriate in the fruits of his labor.
No sooner had he reached his third decade than a spiritual awakening visited him, roused him, and forced him to alter his life’s pre-charted course. In response to this visitation, he sold all his possessions and stopped practicing law. He bid adieu to his family and uprooted himself from the soil out of which he grew. He purchased a one-way ticket to India, where he studied under expert yogis, among whom he now numbers himself.
From this episode, you’ll learn…
How to commit to radical change; where to go to discover your truest, inmost passion; what it’s like to sell all your possessions, quit your job, bid farewell to your family and friends, and travel to the other side of the globe in pursuit of a dream; the importance of nature, and how to reconnect with her; the benefits of “grounding”; the power of Ayahuasca; if religion can be a drug; how to reach a “spiritual” state in our material world; Colombian politics; Gabriel Garcia Marquez; advice for the next generation; and much more!
TIMESTAMP
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Lawyer, writer, master yogi - Ignacio’s Background
5:44 From the West to the East: A shift in civilizations
8:39 Yoga, Ayahuasca, and Marijuana
11:45 Is religion a drug?
17:40 Yoga in Colombia v. Yoga in India
25:00 Our pursuit of the “spiritual” in a material world
28:59 The Benefits of Grounding
30:23 Ignacio’s daily routine
33:15 Are Colombians better acquainted with nature?
35:39 Is Nature mounting her “comeback”?
39:09 A brief explanation of (current) Colombian politics
48:21 Colombian Literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
52:06 Advice to young people who want to Change their lives
54:00 Know Thyself
54:23 Conclusion
–
Finneran’s Wake
Listen to this and all episodes on your favorite podcast streaming service:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af.
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796.
–
Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
The Pop Historian is a general historian with an exciting, eclectic new channel on YouTube.
“The historian must serve two masters: the past and the present”.
In compliance with Fritz Stern, the late German-American professor of history at Columbia University by whom the above statement was issued, the Pop Historian has undergone to do just that. In a highly original, accessible, and entertaining way, he has packaged fascinating bits of history in a series of compelling videos, using the technology of today to tell great stories from the past.
From this episode, you’ll learn…
The advantages of homeschooling for the curious mind; the importance of learning about different faiths as a child; the role that video games (like Assassin’s Creed) can play in instructing you in history; the potential of virtual reality, both for education and entertainment; the reliability of Wikipedia; the necessity of “transhistorical” sympathy; the difficulties in becoming a documentarian; Hitler and the Third Reich; George Washington and whether he should be celebrated or condemned, and much more!
TIMESTAMP
0:00 Introduction
2:54 Home School v. Private School
5:15 Passover in a Universal Church
9:56 Assassin’s Creed: Do video games have a role in teaching history?
15:12 Virtual Reality: Entertainment and education
21:17 Wikipedia: is it a reliable source?
23:15 Becoming a documentarian
26:46 Hitler and the rise of the Third Reich
28:25 “Trans-historical” empathy and the moral superiority of today
33:06 Slavery
34:29 George Washington: Do we condemn or celebrate him?
39:22 A Christian outlook on history
42:01 How one becomes interested in different subjects
46:02 The history of Tourism
49:51 Traveling the world
53:08 Book recommendations
56:43 How to begin making content on YouTube
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The Pop Historian’s Page:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSNRm4gFx9BSqWDzECdTD6w/featured
Works mentioned:
The World at War (Documentary)
Assassin's Creed (Game)
All Tomorrows (Book)
The Children of Men (Book)
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Finneran’s Wake
Listen to this and all episodes on your favorite podcast streaming service:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af.
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796.
–
Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
Hector Roos is a candidate representing the Libertarian Party in Florida’s gubernatorial race.
For all intents and purposes, your choice of political party in America is binary: Republican or Democratic, or so you’re told. Doubtless, this preserves us from the pitfalls of a parliamentary system, but isn’t it frustrating to know that, in this freest of lands, your options are so narrowly constrained?
Libertarianism offers a much-desired alternative. Hector Roos is here to offer exactly that.
From this episode, you’ll learn…
Whether or not government is necessary; the difference between libertarianism and anarchism; between having ordered liberty and being an untamed libertine; what distinguishes the Libertarian Party from the Republican and the Democratic Parties; if our Founding Fathers were truly libertarians at heart; the morality of shipping illegal aliens out of your state; Patrick Henry’s forgotten message, “Give me Liberty or…”; the constitutionality of abortion; the Maoist mind; and much more!
TIMESTAMP
0:00 Introduction
01:19 Is government Necessary?
04:07 Difference between Liberty and Anarchy
09:55 How is the Libertarian Party different from the Republican and Democratic Parties?
14:42 Were our Founding Fathers Libertarians?
19:18 DeSantis’ shipment of illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard
33:08 Florida’s authoritarian approach to the pandemic
44:18 How to win (fellow Florida resident!) Donald Trump’s vote
46:00 Is DeSantis the new Beto?
49:52 Give me Liberty, or give me…nevermind. You can take my liberty.
55:55 Abortion: How should it be legislated?
1:15:30 Is Abortion Constitutional?
1:20:28 Should the state be involved in Education?
1:29:00 The Maoist Mind
1:30:13 Rapid Fire Questions!
CORRECTION
1:16:22: “Dred Scot v. Sanford” should be “Plessy v. Ferguson”
To err is human, to forgive, divine – Alexander Pope
(Do forgive me, all you gods and goddesses out there!)
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Links to Hector’s stuff
http://www.roosforflorida.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=hector%20roos%20for%20florida%20governor.
Top Lobsta Shirts
https://www.toplobsta.com/
Hans-Hermann Hoppe Article, What Must Be Done
https://mises.org/library/what-must-be-done-0
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Listen to this and all episodes on your favorite podcast streaming service:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af.
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796.
–
Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
Carrie Gibson is an American-born, Cambridge-trained historian, journalist, and author.
America, a wild outpost for British Puritans, speculators, merchants, and malcontents began in the year 1776, no? And it wasn’t until the year 1863, on whose dawn Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, that we all began thinking about slavery, right? While these are, no doubt, important dates to remember, the real history of America (what we might call, Spanish America!) stretches much further back in time.
From this episode, you’ll learn…
The historical significance of the British monarchy and whether it’s been, on the whole, an evil visited, or a good conferred upon the rest of the world; imperialism old and new, as practiced variously by the British, French, Americans, and Chinese; if, in our studies and national myths, we overemphasize the role played by Christopher Columbus; the Valladolid Debate and the earliest arguments against slavery; Manifest Destiny and Karl Marx; Why conspiracies are so alluring; and if America suffers from a delusion of innocence.
history #columbus #america
TIME STAMPS
0:00 Introductory Remarks
1:39 The Death of Queen Elizabeth and the state of the monarchy
6:07 Carrie’s Biographical Info
8:32 Has the British Empire been a net benefit or detriment?
10:18 Asian vs European Imperialism
13: 55 Differences between American and British schools, how they produce their scholars
21:29 Do we care too much about Christopher Columbus?
30:10 With whom would YOU sail?
32: 27 The Valladolid Debate and Slavery
44:30 American Expansionism and Manifest Destiny; Marx, Hegel
55:10 Bad history and reasons we’re drawn to conspiracies
1:00;33 America’s delusion of innocence, Reinhold Niebuhr
1:07:50 Rapid Fire questions
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Links to purchase Carrie’s books:
Empire’s Crossroads: https://www.amazon.com/Empires-Crossroads-History-Caribbean-Columbus-ebook/dp/B00JLQ4QJA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=16N0B4C5D59EM&keywords=empire%27s+crossroads&qid=1663272871&sprefix=empire%27s+crossroads%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1.
El Norte: https://www.amazon.com/El-Norte-Forgotten-Hispanic-America/dp/0802148360/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2APVU17HXJ292&keywords=carrie+gibson&qid=1663269078&sprefix=carrie+gibson%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-2.
Get in touch or keep up to date with Carrie here:
https://carriegibson.co.uk.
https://twitter.com/carrieegibson.
https://www.facebook.com/cegibson.
–
Listen to this and all episodes on your favorite podcast streaming service:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af.
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796.
–
Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran
Email me at finneranswake@gmail.com
Mil gracias to my brother and friend, Ernesto Crespo, for accompanying me on my first recorded and filmed interview/conversation (of which, in the coming weeks, I hope to have many more!)
His remarkable story, to which hundreds of thousands of Americans can doubtless relate, will always be a source of inspiration to me.
From him, you'll learn what it was like to grow up in Cuba in the 1980s under the regime of Fidel Castro; how the island struggled during the "Periodo Especial" when the Soviet Union fell; how he assuaged his hunger with a filling concoction (water mixed with sugar); what it was like to be educated in a state-run school bearing the name of "Lenin"; what it was like to feel the pinch of poverty, and the sweetness of socialist "equality"; to aspire to a better future; to dream of a better life; and, finally, to become, an American.
If you or someone you know has a story to tell and would like to join me on a conversation, please send me an email at finneranswake@gmail.com. All voices are welcome.
Subscribe to this channel, like this video, and comment below with advice on better recording techniques (I think it's time for something more sophisticated than Skype).
"With malice toward none; with charity for all".
It was with magnanimity, solemnity, and humility that President Abraham Lincoln addressed a wearied nation divided in two. He was careful not to cover his political opponents (of whom he had many) in opprobrium. He sought, instead, a higher, nobler road toward unity and reconciliation.
President Biden, in his speech on the "Soul of America" chose a different, lower path. In the process, he succeeded in inverting Lincoln's precept: "With charity for none; with malice toward all".
Given all the dysfunction, ineptitude, profligacy, venality, shortsightedness, and unscrupulousness with which our political institutions are rife, we have to ask ourselves: is government necessary? Can we get along just as well without it?
In this episode, the first in a series on the “Great Ideas”, we address the question in a dispassionate, philosophical way.
This series is inspired by the work of Mortimer Adler, one of America’s foremost public intellectuals and educators with whose countless works, you’d do well to spend some time.
What do you think? Is government necessary? Comment below or email me at finneranswake@gmail.com with your response!
This podcast is available on my YouTube channel, (Finneran's Wake) as well.
For mindfulness, meditation, and wellness, visit my sister channel, Pneuma by Daniel Finneran.
A book review of "Up From Liberalism" by famed Conservative thinker, William F. Buckley Jr. I spend a few minutes tracing my political inspirations: Aristotle, Cicero, Tocqueville, Jefferson, Hitchens and, yes, Buckley.
Subscribe, leave a rating, and visit my sister podcast, Pneuma by Daniel Finneran and Finneran's Wake for Kids
Quite a week!
Ayman Al Zawahiri, the Egyptian physician-terrorist by whom Osama Bin Laden was succeded, was killed by an American drone strike. He was living large at the time in the heart of Kabul. Nancy Pelosi, undeterred by warnings from both the White House and the CCP, visited Taiwan. In Kansas, a ballot initiative to move the issue of abortion from the judicial to the legislative branch fails, while, in the Senate, the "Inflation Reduction" Act passes.
Subscribe to this channel for more content! Visit my sister podcasts, Pneuma and Finneran's Wake For Kids for even more!
While reading Thomas Jefferson's collected writings, I realized that, until the very end of his life, his mental acuity never suffered. The same brilliance with which he dazzled the Continental Congress in 1776 sustained itself (and perhaps grew even brighter) until the first quarter of the next century when, on the Fourth of July in 1826, he died. I contrast, in this recorded essay, Jefferson's eloquence at the age of 79 years with the inarticulacy of our current president, Joe Biden, by whom the English language is, each time he opens his mouth, severely abused. The examples I provide are shocking.
Be sure to subscribe to this channel, and visit my other projects, "Finneran's Wake For Kids", and "Pneuma"
We've witnessed two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth--a trend to which most honest economists once affixed the word, "recession". But honesty, it seems, no longer has currency, so long as a certain Party is in charge. And the army achieves only 40% of its recruitment goal. Why did this happen, and what does it portend?
Jill Nagle, with whom I had the great pleasure to talk, is the founder of Evolutionary Workplace, a company based in California whose aim it is to “dismantle white supremacy” mythology. In her approach to “Anti-Racism”, she employs some fascinating techniques, about which you’ll want to learn much more.
In this episode, Jill Nagle and I discuss definitions of fundamental words (Racism, Anti-Racism, White Supremacy, etc) around which, as of late, there seems to be a lot confusion; the idea that racism is an outgrowth of white supremacy, exclusively (an idea on which I gently push back); the depiction of black characters in television and film.
You’re sure to enjoy this episode. It’s a civil, courteous conversation between two people who don’t quite hold the same opinion, but who sincerely wish to see their world improved.
—Links—
Jill Nagle’s website: www.evolutionaryworkplace.com Tik tok: skin_in_the_game
On this week’s Concise Recap, we cover the following:
1.) Unrest in Akron after the release of police footage (of Jayland Walker’s Death) 2.) A mass shooting carried out in Highland Park, and a mass shooting averted in Richmond 3.) Boris Johnson steps down, and Shinzo Abe is shot down.
Subscribe and leave a five-star rating and review! Visit my newest projects, "Finneran's Wake - For Kids" and "Pneuma"
“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.”
- John Adams
Today, the 2nd of July 2022, we commemorate this festival of Liberty as Adams envisioned.
An extraordinary week! The three items you must know: 1. 53 Migrants Die in a Semi Truck in San Antonio Texas 2. The January 6th Committee Welcomes a New Witness 3. Religious Freedom Prevails (Again) in the Supreme Court
Visit my new podcast, "Finneran's Wake, For Kid's" for wonderful family-friendly content and my wellness podcast, "Pneuma".
Wow...what a week! Here are its three most important news items of which you MUST be aware!
- Uvalde shooting update (plus, the passage of Gun legislation)
- The Supreme Court sluice gates open, three monumental decisions pour out
- President Biden falls off his bicycle...as the economy falls off a cliff
Subscribe to this growing channel! Show me some (much-needed) love by leaving a five-star rating. Visit my sister podcast, Pneuma Wellness for more content in the health, mindfulness, and wellness sphere
Upon her graduation from high school, when, with unalloyed excitement, most young men and women look hopefully toward the future, Olga’s home country of Russia—in whose greatness and infallibility she was, from a very young age, propagandized to believe—collapsed. All that she’d known, every doctrine whose truth she’d been conditioned to accept, disintegrated before her eyes. She immigrated to America at the age of twenty. She reflects now on the state of Russia and its aggression toward Ukraine, What follows is her story.
The one writer under whose influence William Shakespeare squirmed: Christopher Marlowe. Born in the same year, Marlowe and Shakespeare were two of history's greatest geniuses. Of Shakespeare's genius, we need never be reminded. But that of Marlowe too often escapes our approbation. We will assess him, and praise him, in this book review.
Enjoy!
If there's a book of which you'd like me to produce a review, send its title to finneranswake@gmail.com. I'll happily oblige.
An honest book review of Andrew Klavan's latest work, "The Truth and Beauty", in which the quick-witted, bald-headed conservative satirist marries the Romantic poets and the sacred Gospels--a union worthy of your consideration.
If there are any books of which you'd like me to do a review, hesitate not! Send me their titles. E-mail me at finneranswake@gmail.com, or (once it's finished), visit my website, finneranswake.com
Gone are those optimistic days of youth when the glasses through which we viewed the world were "rose"-tinged. Now, it seems, everything is colored red. The red of communist China, that is. Into every institution that color has bled: from finance, to tech, to politics, to sports, to entertainment, it suffuses them all. Schweizer's book examines, with a fearless eye, how deeply entangled our venal, purchasable American elites are with the opportunistic Chinese Communist Party. A quick and distressing read.
If there's a book of which you'd like me to compose a review, email me its title at finneranswake@gmail.com
This week's "Concise Recap" on Finneran's Wake!
For those short on time, but on long on curiosity; for those to whom news and politics are an interest, but whose time is limited.
The three most important news items of which you should be aware, with which you should be fluent, all brought to you in a half-hour's time:
1.) A shooting in Tulsa leaves four people dead, of whom two were orthopaedic physicians. How the media covered this and previous shootings.
2.) The "Depp-Heard" Dénouement: The Trial of the Year Concludes.
3.) Pride Month Begins And, With It, The Commencement of June
4.) BONUS
Subscribe and leave a 5-star rating Visit my sister podcast, Pneuma Meditation
A candid book review of Robin DiAngelo's best-selling work, "White Fragility". Disclaimer: I am a white person. Worse still--a white man! And I'm not infrequently fragile. And yet, despite that, I'll review this hugely influential book critically and fairly. You'll hear DiAngelo's most salient points, and how they might be examined.
If there's a book of which you'd like me to compose a review, email me at finneranswake@gmail.com.
An honest book review of Ibram X. Kendi's 2019 best-seller, "How To Be An Anti-Racist". Dare I treat it critically?
Yes.
If there's a book of which you'd like me to write and record a review, email me at finneranswake@gmail.com, or send a message through social media.
Welcome to Part II of my first "Ticklish Topic": Abortion
In this, part two of a two-part series, I'll list for you the two strongest arguments against abortion--arguments by which you might be repulsed, persuaded, enflamed, or unmoved. You'll have to e-mail me and let me your response...
I should say, the goal isn't to win you, my dear listener, to one side or to the other of this debate, but to the elucidate the issue for you. I want you to see through it more clearly than ever before, to penetrate all the dense political jargon, the misleading euphemisms, and the fog of cant by which this topic is clouded. I want you to feel confident about your position, settled in your reasoning, affirmed of your logic when this topic arises over the course of the next few months, on which you might be called upon to give an opinion.
Listen to this and the next episode , and you'll be well-equipped.
In ascending order of their relative strength, the best arguments against abortion would be
1.) The "Future-Like-Ours" Argument 2.) The "Difference-In-Degree" Argument
Do you find these compelling?
Visit Part I for the Three Arguments FOR abortion.
This week's "Concise Recap" on Finneran's Wake!
For those short on time, but on long on curiosity; for those to whom news and politics are an interest, but whose time is limited.
The three most important news items of which you should be aware, with which you should be fluent, all brought to you in a half-hour's time:
1.) A mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas left 21 people dead, of whom 19 were children. This is the second mass shooting in as many weeks.
2.) Political responses to the aforementioned.
3.) President Biden asserts America’s commitment to defend the island of Taiwan in the case of a Chinese invasion.
To the inimitable Duke Ellington, to whom I am, in more ways than one, indebted--thank you.
The inaugural "Concise Recap" on Finneran's Wake! For those short on time, but on long on curiosity; for those to whom news and politics are an interest, but whose time is limited.
The three most important news items of which you should be aware, with which you should be fluent, all brought to you in a half-hour's time:
1.) A racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo claimed the lives of 10 people, whom the assailant–a young white supremacist–deliberately targeted.
2.) The stock market suffered its worst week since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. The financial future of the country appears to be, at best, inauspicious.
3.) The Disinformation Governance Board, whose creation was announced just three weeks ago, has dissolved.
An enduring thanks to Duke Ellington for his musical contribution, and his inimitable genius.
Welcome to my first "Ticklish Topic": Abortion
In this, part one of a two-part series, I'll list for you the three strongest arguments in favor of abortion--arguments by which you might be repulsed, persuaded, enflamed, or unmoved. You'll have to e-mail me and let me your response...
I should say, the goal isn't to win you, my dear listener, to one side or to the other of this debate, but to the elucidate the issue for you. I want you to see through it more clearly than ever before, to penetrate all the dense political jargon, the misleading euphemisms, and the fog of cant by which this topic is clouded. I want you to feel confident about your position, settled in your reasoning, affirmed of your logic when this topic arises over the course of the next few months, on which you might be called upon to give an opinion.
Listen to this and the next episode , and you'll be well-equipped.
In ascending order of their relative strength, the best arguments for abortion would be
1.) The Argument from History (or Long-Established Custom) 2.) The Argument from Bodily Autonomy 3.) The Argument from the Prioritization of the Woman's Health
Do you find these compelling?
Stay tuned for Part Two!
Season's Greetings, one and all! Around this joyous time of year, we're inundated by lists proclaiming absolute knowledge of the best Christmas films and songs, but little mention is ever made of the best Christmas poems...
Until now!
Listen along, and learn about the five greatest Christmas poems written by Virgil, Milton, Tennyson, Eliot, and Hardy.
Happy Holidays, my learned friends!
"Ours is the crowning era foretold in prophecy: born of time, a great new cycle of centuries begins. Justice returns to earth, the Golden Age returns, and its first-born comes down from heaven above..."
And just who might this heavenly "first-born" child be? From what royal eminence does he descend? From what divine seed is he made? To whom shall he return, when his hour on this earthy stage is through?
We leave it to Virgil, the pagan saint of Dante's dream, to answer these great questions. I could think of no better passage than the Mantuan's "Fourth Eclogue" to bring in the holiday season. Enjoy!
"One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy”. Does this apply to podcasts as well? Does one episode not a wise man make? Can you not comprehend all of Aristotle in twenty minutes? You'll have to listen to find out...
“Some there are who say that the fairest thing seen on the black earth is an array of horsemen; some, men marching; some would say ships; but I say she whom one loves best is the loveliest". She bats her eyes and smiles at the competition, secure in the knowledge that there is no thing, and doubtless no person, by whom her radiant beauty and unutterable loveliness will ever be surpassed. She is, we well know, the fairest thing of all--the immortal object of Sapphic adoration and rhyme, the fully-formed Venus emerging from the frothy, misty sea.
“Our institutions do not emulate the laws of others. We do not copy our neighbors: rather, we are an example to them. Our system is called a democracy, for it respects the majority and not the few”. To this day, some two and a half millennia hence, Athens still remains an example to its neighbors. Mounted high above us, she enjoys the lonely summit of grandeur and refinement to which every civilization hopes to ascend. She alone breathes this thin air to which we’ll never be fully acclimatized. The greatness of any age, the perfection of any epoch, shines less brilliantly when held next to the dazzling prosperity of Pericles’ tenure.
Here, in our first discussion of Thucydides, the most scrutinizing and professional historian ever to have lived, we will delve into the peculiarities of this renowned city state, whose rapid acquisition of territory and power threatened her Peloponnesian neighbors to the point of war. In the following, we will touch on the famous passages from Thucydides’ classic work, including his depiction of Corinth’s hostile assessment of the Athenians, Pericles’ Funeral Oration at the end of the war’s first year, the devastating plague by which Athens was afflicted, and the morally bereft Melian Dialogue.
"He had a desire to secure eternal and perpetual fame, but his method was ill-advised. For he abolished the old names of many things and places and gave them new ones based on his own, so that he termed the month of April, 'Neroneus' and he had a plan to give Rome the name of 'Neropolis'". Can you guess the emperor about whom Suetonius is speaking? Matricide, fratricide, the attempted genocide of the Christians, the burning of his own imperial city--only one figure in history has such a lengthy laundry list of crimes. In this episode, we'll cover the Roman historian, Suetonius and that foul emperor, Nero, of whom he gave us such a daunting account.
"This contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the neighboring villages and country. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to restrain its progress..." Emphasis on the word "seems", for, as we know, this virulent superstition of which Pliny the Younger speaks, to which we now attach the innocent name of "Christianity", would not be stymied. Pliny, disquieted by the rapid spread of this zealous and alien creed, sought the advice of his regal employer, Emperor Trajan, who, back at Rome, grappled with the news of this movement's waxing popularity and unanticipated growth. The correspondence between the two gives the reader an unparalleled intimacy with the difficult conversations in which these two statesmen were engaged, as they deliberated just how they'd treat this new, upstart, irreverent, Semitic faith.
"War is simply a continuation of political intercourse, with the addition of other means". Those last two words, "other means", have always left me feeling somewhat uneasy. Is it not, after all, a kind of euphemism, a gentle phrase more agreeable to sensitive ears, behind which all the horrors of war--all the carnage, bloodshed, conquest, death, and loss--are too neatly concealed? Perhaps. But we mustn't forget, war is nothing more than a instrument of policy. An especially lethal one, it may well be, but it's an instrument nonetheless.
“The policy of the emperors and the senate, as far as it concerned religion, was happily seconded by the reflections of the enlightened, and by the habits of the superstitious, part of their subjects. The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful. And thus toleration produced not only mutual indulgence, but even religious concord.”
“Every individual is seen to be strongly actuated by a desire to be seen, heard, talked of, approved and respected, by the people about him, and within his knowledge”. This is the fundamental, universal impulse by which every single person is animated—a passion for distinction, and a desire to be loved. We all feel it—from our life’s beginning, till its end—and to its satisfaction, we apply ourselves incessantly. It’s the government’s role, then, to check this mighty passion, and to restrain our ambition before it gets out of hand.
“Me miserable! Which way shall I fly—Infinite wrath, and infinite despair? Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep still threatening to devour me opens wide, to which the hell I suffer seems a heaven”. The question, then, fiend Satan, is wither goest thou? Quo vadis, king of the infernal depth? Directionless and vanquished, fallen and condemned, what home remains to you, arch apostate, that is not also hell? As you admit, yours is a mind “not to be changed by place or time”. What matter where, then, if thou be still the same?
“Thus it appears that the Christian Church chose to celebrate the birthday of its Founder on the twenty-fifth of December in order to transfer the devotion of the heathen from the Sun to him who was called the Sun of Righteousness”. The Nativity of Christ, then, is observed not at some divinely-sanctioned date, an hour of which the singing angels in heaven alone foreknew, but at a time of the year in strict conformity with the rather mundane renewal of the sun. The Winter Solstice was simply appropriated for the Christian doctors’ use.
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness; but still will keep a bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing”. Indeed, forever joyous is that beautiful thing—its fair image upon the Grecian urn so fitly stamped. For beauty knows not death, nor feels the whips and scorns of time. It fears not the slings and shocks to which flesh is heir, nor the pangs of love denied. It cannot fade; it cannot be but young, for “beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”.
“Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung.” And thus, in death, the image of the bird was born. Had the trigger-happy Mariner not shot this helpful fowl, this airy guide upon whom the wayward crew was dependent, we’d not have the great expression—an “Albatross to bear”. Pinions of ebony, body of creamy white, this guileless bird was killed in mid-flight. The neck of its assassin bore the corpse’s heavy weight, endured the frigid Antarctic, and his colleagues’ cooler hate.
“You see, I wanted to become a Napoleon…that’s why I killed. Well, is it clear now? Would Napoleon have gone ahead or not?” Doubtless, he would have. The Corsican artilleryman, that great general upon whom, in the rubble of the Revolution, the dazzling title of “First Consul” was bestowed, was little encumbered by his conscience, and seldom dissuaded by the scruples of his Christian faith. Indeed, he was subject to no higher moral law, no Decalogue issued at Sinai’s misty peak. He cast himself, instead, quite beyond the realm of good and evil--that same meek, pallid, wretched world from which our young Raskolnikov sought his escape. In his murder of a louse, and her innocent sister as well, perhaps he found it. We hesitate, though, to proclaim him a Napoleon reincarnate. Such an epithet is for others to apply.
“Henceforth I ask not good-fortune—I myself am good-fortune. Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing, done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms. Strong and content, I travel the open road”. Might we, having now seen the “long brown path” before us, and nodded “yes” to its meanders---to the many bends along which our intrepid feet amble---join you on so enticing a walk? Might we, having now pressed our soles to the leaf-strewn soil, and felt the supple spring of the grass atop which the morning dew lingers, accompany a spirit so unencumbered, strong, and free? Let us gather, then, in singing our songs of the open road—our songs of boldness, liberty, resilience, and life. Let us gather, one and all, and travel this open road—marching, as we do, to the tuneful rhythm of a fearless spirit, and a happy heart.
“A nihilist—that’s from the Latin "nihil", nothing, so far as I can judge. Therefore, the word denotes a man who doesn’t recognize anything?” Sadly, it does. The word’s etymology, should you be so fearless as to trace it to its root, shan’t lead you astray. It will, however, lead you to dark, morbid, and unnatural places, to a chthonic world out of which you’ll not easily climb. It’ll lead you to a realm emptied of meaning, and an existence stripped of life. The materialist, utilitarian, unpoetic, brooding Bazarov will welcome you to this ghastly terrain.
When you return, as I hope you do, I’ll offer you my warmest Father’s Day wishes.
“To the music of his strings he sang, and all the bloodless spirits wept to hear; and Tantalus forgot the fleeing water, Ixion’s wheel was tranced; Sisyphus sat rapt upon his stone and the Furies’ cheeks, it’s said, were wet with tears; And Hades’ queen and He whose scepter rules the Underworld could not deny the prayer, and called Eurydice.” Such is the power of Orpheus’ melodious persuasion. With lyre in hand, and a song in his heart, the troubled troubadour is able to convince his every listener—inanimate or divine—with an eloquence by which not only god and Titan, but vegetable and stone were suddenly arrested, or magically moved. Here, at the outset of the tenth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, we follow the musical genius down into the depths of the chthonic beyond. To our great pleasure, a multitude of myths will greet us along the way.
“The days began to fly now, and yet each one of them was stretched by renewed expectations and swollen with silent, private experiences. Yes, time is a puzzling thing, there is something about it that is hard to explain”. It’s positively bewildering. Indeed, the difficulty in explaining it is only increased as one reaches the heights of the Magic Mountain, that strange Alpine crag in which the famed sanatorium is nestled, and the confederacy of the tubercular confined. There, so many miles above the unexalted flatlands of the continent below, and so far beyond the stunted reach of our human imagination, the “temporal” becomes inexplicable, and the time becomes something unreal. Its smallest unit of measurement, after all, is neither the minute, the hour, nor the day, but the month. Yes—atop the Magic Mountain, time is a puzzling thing.
“The earth is all before me: with a heart joyous, nor scared at its own liberty, I look about, and should the guide I choose be nothing better than a wandering cloud, I cannot miss my way”. Let us mount that wayward nimbus, upon whose broad back we leap to climb, if only to seek the sunrise of a fresh and glorious day. Let us follow that venturesome spirit, by which, in heat, the verdant land is shaded, and, in solitude, the quiet empyrean conveyed. This much we know—we shall not be led astray. We shall not find ourselves on paths unprofitable down which the aimless stumble. One simply cannot err when light of trouble, and heavy with bliss.
“I welcome truth, I fondle it, in whosesoever hand I find it; I surrender to it cheerfully, welcoming it with my vanquished arms as soon as I see it approaching from afar”. With the exception of love, and perhaps beauty, truth is the only power to which, once beaten, we can’t but gladly submit. We smile as we bow our heads in its royal presence, and cheer the conquest of its arrival. It’s the supreme force, greater than any other, before which we unhesitatingly genuflect, and to which we happily commit our lightsome fate. Truth, steady in its march toward us from the dusky haze of the horizon, is but one consequence of good, earnest, and lucid conversation. This, I think, is conversation’s art, and its end.
“To my taste, the most fruitful and most natural exercise of our minds is conversation. I find the practice of it the most delightful activity in our lives. In their academies, the Athenians, and even more the Romans, maintained this exercise in great honor”. In our own times, however, we’ve all but forgotten this delightful art—this melodious exchange of ideas, and interplay of opinions, in which classical tongues were so fluent. We no longer feel the spark by which it once tickled our nerves, nor the heat with which it once warmed our lagging spirits. It was, once, the activity from which our minds—ever inquisitive, daring, and new—derived their greatest pleasure. Now, sadly, conversation is held in but small esteem. We retain, at this point, not even its vestige. Perhaps, in this desperate state, Montaigne can restore conversation to its Grecian glory or, failing that, its Roman strength.
‘The Europeans,’ answered Imlac, ‘are less unhappy than we, but they are not happy. Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured, and little to be enjoyed’. Alas, is this not the divine punishment for our original transgression?—the terrible consequence of our old, Edenic sin? Were our first parents not warned against tasting of the fruit with which that tempting tree was laden? Were they not then told, having eaten it, and having satisfied both hunger and curiosity in a single bite, to expect sorrow, pain, and a joyless life of toil? That much is to be endured, and little enjoyed, thus strikes us as no revelation. Still, we delight in Samuel Johnson embellishing this ancient theme. Let us follow the wisdom of Imlac, Johnson’s brilliant creation, as he guides us toward understanding, happiness, poetry, and love.
“Every profound thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood. The latter may perhaps wound his vanity; but the former will wound his heart”. For those of us still engaged in the grand, century-old philosophical autopsy of Friedrich Nietzsche, an inexhaustible examination for which, truly, the pathologist is as much needed as the psychologist and the priest, we can’t but notice the full and unscathed shape of his heart. Press your ear to this vital organ, and listen to its deathless beat. Neither during his lifetime, nor thereafter, was it ever at risk of being wounded; no mind proved itself sufficiently sharp. Never did it face the threat of injury by which less inscrutable hearts—hearts like ours—are made to suffer.
“Be like them! Become mediocre!”—is henceforth the only morality that has any meaning left, that still finds ears to hear it. But it is difficult to preach, this morality of mediocrity!” Difficult to preach, yes, but also difficult to swallow. And he who tastes this bitter pill can’t but cough, and, after having cleared his throat, ask with shallow breath the following: Is there no stronger morality by which one’s enfeebled self might be affirmed? Is there no higher standard to which one’s sinking spirit might aspire? Perhaps there is. Perhaps these are the musings of a “master”, of a nobleman whose morality is ultimately his own.
“A great poem is a fountain forever overflowing with the waters of wisdom and delight; and after one person and one age has exhausted all its divine effluence, another and yet another succeeds”. Our thirst for such high poetry is, in a word, unslakable. We’ll bedew our lips with no lesser type. For this, we thank God, or some superintending muse, for allowing great poetry to spring from a well at once bottomless and eternal, limpid and strong, into which, from one generation to the next, we dip our hands, and cup that eloquent liquid of life.
“Poetry is a sword of lightning ever unsheathed, which consumes the scabbard that would contain it”. Tis’ an unalloyed, ethereal blade, a bold dagger around which no mortal sheathe could wrap. Tis’ an electric sword, a flaming rod of steel, a keen weapon wielded by the tireless Uriel. He is, after all, the immobile, unblinking angel, the stolid cherub by whom our re-admission to Eden is forever barred. Until he relents, let us marvel at the poet’s hand setting the sky ablaze.
“A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness, and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why”. May we never know how highly perched above us the nightingale nests, nor in what tenebrous darkness the sweet poet sings. Suffice it for us, for now, simply to be moved by the intimacy of their music, and to warm ourselves in the embrace of their undetectable touch.
“I have seen the softness and beauty of the summer clouds floating feathery overhead, enjoying, as it seemed, their height and privilege of motion, whilst yet they appeared not so much the drapery of this place and hour, as forelooking to some pavilions and gardens of festivity beyond”. Might we not also gain admittance to this distant, empyrean place? Might we not forego our rusted clay and join that white plumage in which the sweet dew of divine precipitation gathers? I think we might.
"The incommunicable trees begin to persuade us to live with them, and quit our life of solemn trifles. Here no history, or church, or state, is interpolated on the divine sky and the immortal year". Let us, at long last, heed their arboreal whispers, and embrace their silent grandeur. Beneath the protection of their ample shade, between the columns of their rigid bark, we’ll build our nests, live as neighbors, and, better still, love as friends.
"That virtue only makes our bliss below, and all our knowledge is, ourselves to know". In other words, if this couplet were to be condensed into an utterance more succinct, "Know Thyself". So saith the inscription on the wall of the famed temple at Delphi, so saith the less-than pagan Pope. Enjoy this final installment of his "Essay On Man".
"Man, like the generous vine, supported lives; the strength he gains is from the embrace he gives". Join me for this--Pope's penultimate installment to his famed, "Essay On Man". The themes upon which the divine Pope, that mitred-master of the couplet, proceeds to dilate are many: God and Nature; instinct and reason; man and beast; government and state from its infancy, till now. Enjoy.
"Know, then, thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man". So read, in part, the inscription above the Apollonian Temple at Delphi; so says the near-divine Pope, by whom his touch of English eloquence was added to the lapidary Greek. We humans exist in a middle state, somewhere between the lofty angels and lowly beasts. We're a troubled stream flowing from a purer source, yet this source is not for our minds to fathom. Simply drift with me as we chart the wandering sea.
"Laugh where we must, be candid where we can; but vindicate the ways of God to man". This is a vindication, mind you, not a justification--as John Milton might have it. Whether or not you wish to contemplate the subtle differences between the two, or simply bask in the light of their poetic brilliance, I leave to you. Either way, enjoy this reading. I hope you find it restful.
"The Devil hath not in all his quiver's choice, an arrow for the heart like a sweet voice". Indeed, so dulcet a dart must be loosed by a gentler hand. It must be guided by an aim more eloquent than his. It must, if it's to strike that vital part, and penetrate that pulsing organ entombed in the breast, climb onto the honey-laden bow from which, with both melody and grace, it'll swiftly fly. Allow me to relieve the eager tension of this string and deliver that which divinity alone most adores: a sweet voice. Relax and enjoy this reading of Lord Byron's "Don Juan".
"Ye stars! which are the poetry of heaven! If in your bright leaves we would read the fate of men and empires--'tis to be forgiven, that in our aspirations to be great, our destinies overleap their mortal state". A pilgrimage for the ages: yours, to the terra incognita of sleep, and Childe Harold's, to the land for which, at one time or another, a Roman or a Gaul, a Caesar or a Napoleon, fiercely contended. Join me, as I follow our hero through his reveries on nature, his engagements in war, and his yearnings for a lover beside whom he'd stop at nothing to wake.