The Ammon Venema Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ammon Venema
Welcome to The Ammon Venema Podcast! Join us for rich conversations about life and ideas of how to live a life of purpose and meaning. We seek to find ways to improve ourselves as we try to discover the truth and hope that you can take something away from our conversations.
In this episode we discuss our thoughts on whether human beings are religious by nature or not. We discuss our perspectives on this question. We compare religion and ideology which is particularly rampant in our current culture and discuss the differences between these types of belief. As always please give us your feedback on how we can make improvements as well as what topics you would like to hear us discuss in the future.
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In this episode we discuss our thoughts and takeaways on Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning". After reading this book both Garrett and I would say that it is in the top 10 books that everyone should read at some point. We discuss the Viktor's observations as a survivor of a concentration camp in one of the darkest periods of human history and how profound the impact of your attitude and approach to the circumstances of your life seem to have an incredible amount of impact on the path that your life will take. Join us as we dive into the depths of this rich conversation in an attempt to expand our knowledge and understanding.
As always any feedback is appreciated. You can contact us by sending an email with your thoughts and suggestions to: theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
Today we sit down with our friend, Clayton Bradshaw, to discuss our views on a range of topics such as values, relationships, drugs and more. We discuss our own thoughts on these topics and how we disagree with some of our positions as there is a wide range of positions that people take with any of these ideas. This is ultimately a pure, unadulterated conversation amongst friends that helped each of us test our thoughts against each other's different views. We hope that you enjoy and see if you can find the duck in the episode ;)
In today's episode Brooke joins us once again for what turned into an impromptu discussion on our thoughts surrounding feminism today and the feminist movement overall. We talk about our likes and dislikes. We talk about the good that has resulted from the original movement of feminism and where it may have gone to far as it has evolved throughout the following decades. We hope that you enjoy and let us know your thoughts by sending us a message at theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com
In this episode we shake things up a bit and invite one of my best friends, Dustin Scott, on the podcast to discuss the ideas around the term "Dirty Civilian" and what it means exactly. We discuss the importance of community building and how we as individuals can play our individual role to bring our particular skills and abilities into play for the improvement of those around us. We all know that the less government involvement in our personal lives, the better. To obtain that though we have to build stable communities that can sustain themselves and be reliable without having to survive off the government and therefore can serve as a check to the instances in which it overreaches.
Thanks for listening! This has been an incredibly fun and rewarding endeavor and we are thrilled to bring you along with us! Some more exciting updates will be coming soon so keep your eyes open!
You can let us know how we're doing or what you'd like to hear more of at theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
We are all a influenced by the culture and our environment. The information that we are constantly exposed to shapes our opinions, behaviors and beliefs. What is the impact in this digital age, this era of social media where it seems most people get there information? It seems that this has vastly reduced many people's capacity to think critically about issues and also seems to possess an incredible power to shape thoughts and minds with the bombardment of curated propaganda and public messaging. We discuss this and many more of the cultural climate issues we see today in this episode.
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Why do we go through pain? Why should we go through pain? What is the suffering that we endure for? Perhaps most importantly, is our pain meaningless or is there a purpose behind it and how can we discover what it has to give us? We take a look at C.S. Lewis' "The Problem of Pain" and discuss our thoughts on his deep insights into these very questions and how we can comprehend these unavoidable and fundamental human experience.
Thank you for listening and we look hope you will leave us a review and send us feedback on what you'd like to hear more of at theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com
In this episode we make our introduction into Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" which is the journal of one of Rome's emporers and a staple of those that follow the stoic philosophy. We take some of the thoughts written within the journal and break them down into a discussion of what they mean to us and how we can make use of the wise ideas found in this book in our own lives.
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In this episode we discuss our trip out to Seattle to attend a lecture by Jordan Peterson on his Beyond Order tour. We discuss our thoughts on what he talked about and on the experience overall which included my first official encounter with protestors that were outside protesting the event. It was a privilege to get to be able to go and we hope that you enjoy the discussion.
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Carrying on from our previous episode we bring back the original guest with whom we kicked the podcast off, the newly married Shane Jessop, and his wife Hannah. In this episode we discuss the book "What is a Woman?" which is named after a documentary of the same name by conservative political commentator Matt Walsh. We discuss the information that Matt brings to light and the jarring and sinister revelations behind the origins of the transgender ideology and the information that is kept from even the victims of this mind bending deception. In this episode you will learn of the men behind these ideas and how they were engaged in the most evil and soulless behaviors and experiments you can imagine and we ask the question " If these ideas came from these evil men in support of their evil agendas then how could they possibly bear good fruit?" This question and many more are explored in this episode that you won't want to miss. We hope that no matter who you are, you are able to learn something and begin to wake up to the madness that is gripping our society at the moment. We hope that we can be at least one small voice to help turn this around before the victims of these men's perverse ideologies reaches the point of cataclysmic proportions.
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In today's episode we discuss one of the biggest problems and possibly the most polarizing idea that our society has ever seen. The transgender ideology is by far one of the most, if not the most, pervasive psychological epidemic that we have seen to date. We all find ourselves confronted now in our everyday lives with what seems to be an ideological agenda that seems to seek to undermine our society and to rewrite the very fabric of reality itself. As we notice more and more people being attacked and silenced simply for speaking the truth and being called evil and hateful we delve into this forbidden topic to explore the ideas surrounding this phenomenon which has never been seen in human existence to this degree before and what the dangers keeping silent while reality is distorted by the madness around us.
In our discussion of the final chapter of "Beyond Order," our conversation turns to the topic of suffering and how we can find not only the strength to endure whatever pain life gives us but also how we can transcend that pain and even turn it's potential for destruction into a force that can fortify us further and even open opportunities for us to create something good. How is this outcome achievable? By expressing gratitude even in the midst of our suffering. By doing so we can take control of the outcome of our situation to some degree and use our experiences to create a positive response. Though definitely one of the hardest behaviors to exhibit in such times, the benefits and good we can achieve is truly incredible.
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In today's episode we discuss how resentment, deceit and arrogance are some of the most vile and destructive poisons in a person's life. When we engage in these behaviors we lose the ability to see what flaws in our character need to be addressed in order to put ourselves together more fully. By doing so we externalize our problems and give up all ability to change our circumstances and put ourselves at the mercy of whatever external factor we deem to be the issue. A famous example of this type behavior is perfectly illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis. It serves as a potent reminder of just how deep into hell that path can take us if we allow ourselves to walk down it.
In today's episode we discuss the topic of romance. As our lives move forward we can find ourselves not prioritizing our romantic relationship with our spouse. Even if we don't mean to let it fall by the wayside, oftentimes other aspects of our lives get in the way and distract us. We talk about the importance of making the concious effort to priortize your romantic relationship as it is the relationship that is at the heart of any desire for a family. We disucss why it is important to make the time to connect with each other even when life feels hectic sometimes and even how you should take some time for just you and your partner even after having kids so that you can continue to keep your relationship with each other healthy and strong.
Do you have memories that still bring pain, sadness, fear and grief? In this episode we discuss the reasons for memory and in particular memories that are associated with negative feelings and experiences. Memory can often be a tricky thing and oftentimes becomes distorted. We discuss how old memories that don't seem to leave you alone and upset you are typically trying to tell you something. When such memories resurface it is best to write them down clearly, in detail and see what exactly those memories are trying to teach you so that you can make adjustments to keep you from suffering the same pitfalls in the future. To use a common phrase "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
As always please leave us a review and tell us what you would like to hear more of going forward.
Contact us at: theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com
In today's episode we discuss chapter eight of "Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life". We talk about the effects that beauty from art can have on us and why we are drawn to beauty as a means of honoring and connecting us with the transcendent. We discuss the different types such as paintings, drawings, music, movies and much more and just how integral art is to our everyday lives.
Working hard has always been a big part of achieving our goals in life. In this episode we discuss this simple yet effective rule and how by focusing our efforts towards a particular aim and giving it our full attention and effort can often yield results that we couldn't possibly imagine. Oftentimes when we start focusing our attention on successfully achieving a desired goal it tends to have a compounding effect on our lives and can result in successes in multiple areas of our lives. We hope you will enjoy this episode and can put this rule into practice to start achieving success in your own life.
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There is no shortage of ideologies in our culture today. We disucuss the effect that ideological thinking can have on us as individuals and the effects that this type of thinking has had on our society at large and the importance to break out of the ideological control of those that promote certain ideas for their own personal gain. We discuss how we can try to think more critically how we can determine whether the thoughts we have are our own or part of someone's agenda.
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Our discussion on this chapter deals with living in accordance with your values as best you can in all areas of your life. This can relate pariticularly to your job. Sometimes we can find ourselves in a job that we hate and that may even put us at odds with our personal values. In such a situation we can often keep ourselves there mainly due to the comfort of knowing the job and the environment even though it may feel like we are betraying ourselves as well as being unable to find any meaning in the job that we are performing. The ideas we disucss are is what do you give up when you engage in this type of behavior? What is the trade off for the stability of a pay check and is it worth it? And also how do we find a better path forward that can provide us with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning and that will keep us from doing what we hate? This was a very thought provoking conversation and we hope it will be for you as well.
In this episode we discuss the importance of responsibility and the important role that it plays in living a meaningful life. We also discuss the opportunities that present themselves to you to adopt more responsibility even if it is as a result of someone failing to live up to there's and the opportunities that brings. We also talk about situations that are all too common of hoping someone else will take on the responsibility of speaking up when things aren't going well and how it is no more anyone else's responsibility than it is our own and how we can hopefully change these tendencies to live a more virtuous and fulfilling life.
Email us at theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com with your questions or any suggestions you may have for us and as always thank you for continuing to listen!
In this episode we discuss the third rule in "Beyond Order". We discuss how we avoid problems or specifying what we want out of certain situations or in life generally and the psychological reasons behind those decisions. If we keep our goals and desires vague and undefined then we can avoid setting the parameters for failure. This plays a huge role in our actions in our everyday life as well as our interactions with others in relationship to our goals and when things aren't going as well as we'd like them to. This is particular important and applicable in regards to our intimate relationships. By integrating this rule we can live fuller more successful lives and maybe just maybe get more of what we want and have less disappointment by clearly defining our conditions for success rather than keeping our problems obscured in the fog that lack of clarity brings.
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In this episode we wrap up our discussion on chapter 2 of "Beyond Order" and discuss the necessity of constraining the potential within us to pursue a proposed goal and why it is required for each of us to develop into something useful rather than to remain stuck in a world of endless possibilities but unable to move because movement in itself requires the restriction to a particular direction and the abandonment of others.
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What makes us who we are? What is the potential that we possess within us? What is our purpose? All of us have asked these or similar questions at some part in our lives. In part one of this discussion on rule #2 of Jordan Peterson's "Beyond Order," we discuss the idea surrounding the expanse of boundless potential within us and how that can in theory be taken any direction we choose and how once we choose a path we restrict that potential towards a specific goal or purpose. This sort of restriction is necessary in order to provide a structure in which that potential can be directed and made useful.
As always we want to make this as enjoyable as possible for all of you! Please help us by sending us your thoughts on what we can improve or what you would like to hear at our email: theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
We discuss the first chapter of Jordan Peterson's next book "Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life". In this episode we talk about the importance of accepting the role of the fool when taking on new opportunities that our social institutions offer us and how by doing so allows us to learn and to grow. We also discuss the importance of creativity and novel ideas and how they serve to update and refresh the established societal structures with our ever expanding knowledge and where the proper balance lies between these two aspects of life.
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Why is there so much suffering in the world and in our everyday lives? What purpose does it serve and how can we justify moving forward? In this episode we discuss the necessity of limitation and how because of it we feel pain but also how to find the meaning of our lives in that limitation. Without limitation there can be nothing to achieve and nothing to overcome. While it can oftentimes bring frustration it also gives provides us the means to create a truly compelling story to our life and gives us something to aim for.
Garrett and I disucss this interestingly named chapter in "12 Rules for Life". We discuss how us as humans increase our potential and advance by exploring the capacity we posses to move further and further by engaging with danger in small doses to push the limits of our abilities. The only way that we are able to grow is to willingly engage with the potentially dangerous unknown and to overcome it. By doing so we expand our understanding but also our capacity to thrive and increase our ability to face danger and fear. We hope you enjoy this conversation and let us know your thoughts on how we're doing and with any suggestions you have on how we can do better and what else you might like us to discuss at our email: theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
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We discuss the importance of speaking clearly and in order to communicate effectively and articulately what you mean. By doing so we can cut down on many inconvenient or unnecessary misunderstandings as so many of our problems with others is due to our inablility to communicate effectively or understand one another. We explore this idea and give our own personal thoughts on areas where we could do better with this as well as the dangers of keeping things vague and unclear.
If you enjoy the podcast please give leave us a review and a rating and spread the word to those you know! If you have any feedback for us on where we could improve or a suggestion on what we could talk about that you would find interesting, please let us know by sending a message to our official email: theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
On today's episode Garrett and I discuss Rule 09 of 12 Rules for Life. The topic is about how when talking to a person you should listen to them carefully as they may know something that you don't. Oftentimes in conversations with one another we can find ourselves trying to prove a point, to "win" rather than to listen and learn. We tend to seek only the answers that support our perspectives and views and because of this tend to miss the opportunities of gaining new knowledge that we could acquire if we could only learn to listen. We'll discuss how important it is to truly listen to those we talk to and how the rewards it can yield.
Thank you for listening! We hope you enjoy! A new email for the podcast has been set up so please let us know if you have any ideas or feedback for improvements or topics that you might like to hear us discuss! The email is theammonvenemapodcast@mail.com.
In today's episode we discuss the importance of telling the truth and how deep the effects of a seemingly harmless lie may be. We discuss the impact that lies can have on our personal lives and how the big lies that corrupt and distort our society are made up of many little lies on an individual level and how by participating in those lies you betray yourself. Join us in this conversation a we break down why pursuing truth may be the most important aim you could possibly strive for. Also check out one of our sponsors, ATM Financial Services for all your finance needs at www.atmfs.com.
This episode concludes our conversation on rule #7. We discuss the areas that seem to have held the most meaning for us in our individual lives and what makes the pursuit of those particular endeavors worth the hardship. So often we think that things shouldn't be hard and wish that things sometimes could just be easy but in this episode we explore why struggle is inevitable and more so why it is absolutely necessary to bring about the deepest possible meaning in the things we choose to pursue. We hope this discussion encourages everyone to think about what are the most meaningful pursuits in their lives and the struggles that they have undergone to achieve those goals. Follow the ammon venema podcast on instagram and let us know what you think!
This is one of my favorite chapters in this book. Garrett and I take a deep dive into this chapter and try and figure out what pursuits bring the most meaning in life and the importance of choosing those endeavors rather than over the short term, immediately gratifying pursuits that are all around us. There was a lot to talk about with this discussion so this is part 1 of 2. To be continued...
Oftentimes we see people eager to speak out against perceived injustices and flaws of society and the world around them but how many of us actually look within ourselves to address the flaws that reside within our own Beings? In this episode Garrett and I discuss how we can have the greatest impact for changing the world's insufficiencies by first addressing the personal shortcomings within each of us. Society is made up of individuals after all and the cure begins at the individual level.
In today's episode Garrett and I discuss the topic of parenting and the importance taking on your role as a parent. We discuss the role that a parent is supposed to play in their children's lives and how important it is to not sacrifice the parental relationship in order to become your child's friend. Join us, a couple of childless guys, in discovering what it means to be a parent and the potential consequences of your child doing things that might make you dislike them.
Garrett and I discuss chapter 5 in Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life book. We talk about how we tend to compare ourselves to others and who we think we should be in relation to them rather than focusing on who we were yesterday and taking steps to be better than our previous selves one day at a time. Even if those steps only make us incrementally better, small improvements compound into greater and greater improvements over time and are much more achievable and less daunting of goals.
Friends can have a profound impact on how we live our lives. In this episode Garrett and I discuss the importance of the friends around you and the qualities that you should look for in a good friend as well as how you can be the best type of friend to those around you as well. Join us in our search into how we can be better friends to those closest to us and encourage them to pursue the best.
Garrett and I discuss the second rule in Jordan Peterson's "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos". We talk about the importance of taking care of yourself and discuss why it is so important and how it can impact those around you. We highly recommend purchasing his book if you find you are interested in these discussions. A few places they can be found is on The Daily Wire store or Amazon.
Garrett and I start our discussion of the first rule in Jordan Peterson's "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos". We discuss the topic of the chapter and break down the ideas expressed within to see what each of us discovered in our reading of the chapter and set the tone for the podcast going forward. I hope you enjoy the discussion and find it useful!
This is the first official episode of my podcast endeavor and is just simply a conversation with a dear friend of mine, Shane Jessop. I have known Shane for a number of years and asked him to sit down with me so that we could have a conversation where he could tell us a little about himself and discuss our thoughts on a variety of topics. I hope you all enjoy the discussion and stick with us for many more episodes to come!