Shores Of Ignorance: Recent Episodes
Shores of Ignorance
[60:18] Taking Full Responsibility[63:38] John Lennox: The Explanatory Power of the Cross[67:37] Why Does the Devil Even Matter?[70:30] The Materialist Problem[75:02] The Devil Is Inside the System[77:20] Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem[79:21] Clearly Seen by What Has Been Made[81:58] Born Again: A Different Lineage[83:52] Hell Is Outside of Time[85:50] FarewellResources:• M. Scott Peck — People of the Lie — https://www.amazon.com/People-Lie-Hope-Healing-Evil/dp/0684848597• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — The Gulag Archipelago — https://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Abridged/dp/0061253804• John Lennox — https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbTzmq0ShJA/• Kurt Gödel — Incompleteness Theorem — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems• Veritasium — Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeQX2HjkcNo• Teresa of Avila — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vilaFact Checks:• ✅ Solzhenitsyn quote — Verified• ✅ Teresa of Avila quote — Verified• ✅ Gödel's incompleteness theorem — Verified• ✅ Mormon Jesus/Satan brothers teaching — VerifiedFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavShores of Ignorance — https://shoresofignorance.comSpotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/2BnhB2qVLP4gdRjy7R0uo0Apple Podcasts — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219Sovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt and Michael open with a toast to Glenn Hansard, who passed away that morning at 56. Matt reflects on how musicians he's never met have shaped his life in real, relational ways. This sparks a conversation about what it means to have a relationship with someone you've never met.The conversation deepens into attention. What are you fixing your eyes on? They explore the bronze serpent in the wilderness, Jesus telling Peter to look at him, and how Instagram's algorithm quietly answers that question for most people. Michael shares that his why needs an upgrade after years of survival mode. Matt argues that don't die is not a sufficient reason to live. You need something positive to move toward.They close with the extraordinary privilege of being alive right now. A handwritten Bible from 1402 was chained to a cathedral shelf. Today you can read it on your phone in seconds. The options for where to fix your eyes are nearly infinite, which makes the question more urgent than ever.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Cheers to Glenn Hansard[03:59] Seeing Glenn Live vs. Eddie Vedder[07:06] Relationships With People You've Never Met[10:10] The I-to-We Dynamic[14:14] Art, Value, and the Revelation of God[16:56] Scrolling vs. Sitting With a Record[20:18] Fix Your Eyes on Him[25:04] Social Media Isn't Social[29:30] Attention Can Be Consumed[32:52] The Transition Into the Information Age[35:20] Don't Die Is Not a Why[40:21] Cessation Keeps Your Gaze on the Thing[45:47] Grayscale Mode and Other Phone Tricks[48:17] Pearls Before Swine[51:34] To-Go Advice and Time Bombs[55:30] The Sower and the Seed[57:41] In Due Time[61:17] The Process of Becoming[65:27] Reframing Trouble as Adventure[69:31] The Victory Comes Before the Battle[72:23] Is There Such Thing as Luck?[76:11] Chained Libraries and Extraordinary Access[80:57] What Are You Fixing Your Eyes On?Resources:• Once (film) — https://imdb.com/title/tt0907657• The Swell Season (documentary) — https://imdb.com/title/tt1732483• Glen Hansard — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Hansard• The Chosen — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chosen_(TV_series)• House of David — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_David_(TV_series)• The Lord of the Rings — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings• Tim Scott (YouTube cathedral tour) — https://youtu.be/8IsbKH-EsAY• Chained Libraries — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chained_library• Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21) — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+21%3A4-9• 1 Peter 5:6-7 — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+5%3A6-7Fact Checks:• ✅ Glen Hansard passed away July 29, 2026 — Verified• ✅ Bronze serpent story (Numbers 21:4-9) — Verified• ✅ Jesus references bronze serpent (John 3:14-15) — Verified• ✅ David anointed young, king of all Israel at 37 — Verified• ✅ Chained libraries existed — Verified• ⚠️ Iodine will kill you — Needs context (large quantities yes)Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavShores of Ignorance — https://shoresofignorance.comSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
version=ESV• Declaration of Independence — https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript• Goodhart's Law — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law• Roma Craft Tobac — https://romacrafttobac.com• Dekulakization — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DekulakizationFact Checks:• ✅ Summer solstice timing — Verified• ✅ Marx opium quote — Verified• ✅ Kulak elimination and famine — Verified• ✅ Matthew 7 passages — Verified• ✅ Goodhart's Law — Verified• ✅ Declaration unalienable rights — Verified• ⚠️ 52 states — US has 50 statesFind us here:Shores of Ignorance — https://shoresofignorance.comx.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt and Michael wrestle with a question that has been hanging over both of them. Why have they stopped paying attention to the news? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? They land on the idea of a Cartesian crisis. Nobody trusts anything anymore. Every headline is met with an actually from someone who thinks they have the real truth. They explore how skepticism can lead to nihilism or to wisdom, and why character assassination has replaced actual argument. Then things get interesting. The conversation turns to what it means to truly love someone versus simply labeling them, why we have lost the definition of racism, and how dress codes and tattoos are really just signals we send to the world about who we want to be. They contrast David Bowie and Bob Dylan as two models of subversion, one grounded and one spinning off into the void. They talk about Jung, individuation, and why growing up means learning to reincorporate what you once rebelled against. And they end with a story about a fake recruiter that captures just how deep the trust crisis really goes. Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Opening Banter[02:03] The Cartesian Crisis[04:57] The Actually People[09:57] Skepticism and Nihilism[14:32] What Is Racism Anymore[23:52] The Ark of the Covenant[27:41] Love vs Labeling[35:32] Dress Codes and Stereotypes[45:21] Show Up and Speak Up[47:16] Jung and Individuation[49:42] Bowie vs Dylan[54:33] Be Confident Not a Dick[60:04] Getting More Conservative[65:38] The Recruiter Scam[69:47] Joe Biden's Book[74:03] God Is Who He Says He Is[78:48] OutroFind us here:Shores of Ignorance — https://shoresofignorance.comx.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— Accurate• ✅ Jordan Peterson on trust/eBay — Discussed in lectures/interviews• ✅ Goodhart's Law — Correctly attributedFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt and Michael dive into America's 250th birthday and ask why we're so reluctant to celebrate it. They explore how patriotism became politically coded, the strange guilt of prosperity, and why the founders' vision of property rights and freedom of speech created unprecedented human flourishing.The conversation spirals through the Dunning-Kruger effect, democracy as truth-discovery, and the Orwellian rewriting of history. They touch on the intolerance of tolerance, what it means to hold two truths at once, and Michael's grandfather's immigrant story of escaping the mines through sheer will.The episode lands on a hard truth. If you stop celebrating what's good, you shouldn't be surprised when you get less of it.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Semiquincentennial[02:22] Ashamed to celebrate[06:20] The guilt of prosperity[08:09] Property rights and risk[12:48] Slavery and the founders' dilemma[17:23] Two hands, two truths[20:27] Truth as alignment with reality[23:28] Dunning-Kruger and self-assessment[27:42] Democracy as surprise discovery[32:50] The intolerance of tolerance[36:10] Protecting daughters[41:22] State experiments and voting with feet[45:38] Public discourse as self-editor[48:55] Orwell and rewriting history[55:31] False selves and aspiration[62:54] Foresight across centuries[66:23] The Taylor Lorenz meme[68:26] Disincentivizing aspiration[71:33] The best constitution in the worldResources:• 1984 by George Orwell — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman — https://www.crossway.org/books/the-rise-and-triumph-of-the-modern-self/• Lincoln (2012) — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/• Real History with Matt Walsh — https://dailywire.com• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_DeathFact Checks:• ✅ US free speech protections are among the strongest globally• ⚠️ Washington runaway slave ad claim needs primary source verification• ❌ SpaceX valuation corrected from $14T to ~$1T (actual ~$350-400B)• ✅ US Constitution is oldest active codified constitutionFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt shares raw reflections on a year and a half of job searching, moments where he shied away from hard conversations, and what he learned by writing out 25 years of career history. Michael brings in Brother Lawrence, the toddler's astonishment at everything, and the difference between turning an icon into an idol. The conversation lands on a powerful truth: the kingdom of heaven isn't a deferred reward. It's here and now, found in recognizing the person in front of you, doing the dishes with gratitude, and loving without expecting anything back. Matt closes with a vulnerable story about raising his kids through a contentious divorce and the unexpected gift he never knew to ask for.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Matt's Back From the Dead[02:22] What's the Proper Posture When Nothing's Working?[05:37] Wallowing vs. Scapegoating[11:28] 25 Years of Career Regrets[17:32] If You Build It, They Will Come (They Won't)[22:23] Seek First the Kingdom of Heaven[27:54] The More You Think About Yourself, the More Miserable You Become[32:47] Discernment and the Maturing Conscience[44:12] Learning to See What People Are Pointing At[50:27] Brother Lawrence and the Astonishment of a Clean Dish[54:14] Hey Matt, Here's Your Smoothie[60:07] Turning Icons Into Idols[64:27] Raising Kids Without Keeping Score[74:13] The Kingdom Is Here and NowResources:• Brother Lawrence — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Lawrence• The Practice of the Presence of God — https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Presence-God-Brother-Lawrence/dp/0883681053• The Scapegoat (René Girard) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Girard• Rdio — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rdio• Field of Dreams — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt and Michael dive into three recent news stories that have them asking the same question. What is this madness? They break down the California mayoral race, the Karmelo Anthony murder trial, and the Somali World Cup referee denied entry to the US. But the headlines are just the entry point. The real conversation is about something deeper. Why does it feel like half the country has stopped operating in good faith? Why do people defend narratives at the cost of reality itself? And what happens to a culture when it unhooks itself from any higher ideal?Matt brings in John C. Lennox's argument that atheism, taken to its logical conclusion, unwinds rationality completely. If your brain is the product of a purposeless process, why would you trust it to do science or even to claim you are rational? The guys connect this to Nietzsche's warning about unhooking the earth from its sun, and to C.S. Lewis's insight from The Screwtape Letters about directing malice toward neighbors and benevolence toward strangers we will never meet.They also get personal. Michael talks about being in love with the idea of his wife and kids versus actually loving them. Matt quotes Teresa of Avila. God, I don't love you. I don't even want to love you, but I want to want to love you. The episode lands on a hard truth. Without a shared goal, there is no progress. And right now, we do not even agree that there should be a goal.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Banter and allergies[01:02] Three stories[09:14] The team sports problem[15:23] Beyond a reasonable doubt[18:26] John Lennox and rationality[28:40] The emerging reality[36:42] Dead people on Social Security[41:27] The log in your own eye[50:48] Removing God and totalitarianism[59:04] Objective truth and Lady Justice[64:22] C.S. Lewis and imaginary benevolence[69:26] Dispensing with reality[75:43] The luxury of worrying[80:13] Words and definitions[93:45] Jesus says look at meResources:• John C. Lennox — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennox• Hillsdale College — https://www.hillsdale.edu• Man on Wire — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/• The Screwtape Letters — https://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652934• Lincoln — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/• Am I a Racist? — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32305780/Fact Checks:• ✅ Roland Fryer published research on police use of force• ⚠️ Somali referee story. Verify current details• ✅ US 250th anniversary is July 4, 2026• ⚠️ Jung quote on neuroses. Widely attributed but exact source unclear• ⚠️ Blackstone ratio. Often misattributed to JeffersonFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Matt and Michael start with breath work and singing, and wander into why good things become mechanical, why we turn truths into idols, and what it costs to actually participate in the world. Then the strange phenomenon of calling accomplished people dumb, and the DNC's refusal to learn from defeat.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[00:00] Breath Work and Singing[03:28] When Tools Become Idols[12:34] Dumb Idols and Broken Hearts[37:37] Why We Hate Successful People[62:14] The Cost of Participation[74:06] The DNC Won't LearnResources:• James Nestor — Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art• C.S. Lewis — The Weight of Glory• Ayn Rand — Atlas Shrugged• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — The Gulag Archipelago• George Orwell — 1984Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
(cross) — Verified• ✅ More historical corroboration for Jesus's resurrection than almost any other ancient event — Broadly accurate among historians• ⚠️ Exodus 32 slaughter command — Needs context; Matt conflates with 1 Samuel 15• ✅ No other major religion has God dying for humanity — Broadly accurate• ✅ Dostoevsky wrote best before epileptic seizures — Documented in his lettersFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— Expression of infinite regress, exact origin uncertain• ✅ C.S. Lewis radio broadcast — Only known surviving audio recording exists• ✅ Orwell's 1984 — Oceania, Eurasia, Eastasia are the three superstates• ✅ Carl Trueman — Professor at Grove City College, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern SelfFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— Verified. Weinstein has discussed this concept in interviews and podcasts.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— Needs context. 24 Apollo astronauts left Earth orbit. 3 died in Apollo 1 ground fire.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
book — https://www.amazon.com• Dead Internet Theory — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Internet_theory• CS Lewis on idols — https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/120717Fact Checks:• ⚠️ Billy Corgan / Bill Burr half-brother claim — Appears to be a hoax or meme, not verified• ✅ Roland Fryer Harvard study — Confirmed, though Fryer faced controversy and left Harvard in 2019• 📖 Dante's Inferno structure — Bottom level is for treachery, not flattery specifically. Flattery is in the 8th circle. Matt may be referencing a specific interpretation.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
Variation[29:55] 15 Years of Friendship[34:30] Family as Placeholder[41:00] Getting It Wrong[53:10] God Just Is[64:14] Road Trip to MarfaResources:• G.K. Chesterton — https://www.chesterton.org• Jordan Peterson — https://www.jordanbpeterson.com• Iain McGilchrist — https://www.iainmcgilchrist.com• Lord of the Rings — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/• Karate Kid — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538/• Alex Honnold (Free Solo) — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7775622/Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
something, to have a destination even when you know you'll get lost along the way. Matt shares a personal story about apologizing to his teenage daughters for holding onto outdated rules. Michael reflects on 20 years of business mistakes that finally feel like wisdom. Together they ask: Can we trust people who aren't perfect? Can we be good if we're also bad?The episode culminates in a raw reflection on Easter and the resurrection. Not the sanitized version, but the brutal reality of what it means for God to enter human suffering completely. Christ is risen. Everything changes.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[0:00] Learning the Hard Way[4:14] The Tone Is Different Tonight[7:03] Neuroses and Legitimate Suffering[10:50] The Cost of Wisdom[14:16] Telling Stories That Don't Match Reality[17:20] What We Cannot See[20:17] Fear and Pain[24:33] The Paradox of Effort and Goodness[27:02] What Are You Avoiding?[31:06] Lord of the Rings and Business Vision[35:55] The Innocent Man Who Suffered[41:35] Seasons and Transitions[46:40] The Resurrection Changes Everything[57:11] Goodness and Measurement[66:50] Trust and Correcting Toward[72:37] Repentance and Safety[81:24] Do You Have Something to Correct Toward?Resources:• David Ramirez — https://www.last.fm/music/David+Ramirez/_/The+Hard+Way• Carl Jung — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung• The Chosen — https://thechosen.tv• Rdio Music Streaming — Postmortem: https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/17/9750890/rdio-shutdown-pandora• C.S. Lewis — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.S._Lewis• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn• Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov — https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0374528373• Charles Taylor, A Secular Age — https://www.amazon.com/Secular-Age-Charles-Taylor/dp/0674986912• Proverbs 4:7 — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+4:7• Hebrews 12:11 — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12:11Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
with Socratic and Christ-like humility. They unpack nihilism versus meaning through Lord of the Rings archetypes. They examine why David's census brought divine punishment. The seed must die to become a plant. The question is not whether you will die. It is whether you will die for something that matters.Cheers y'all 🍻Chapters:[0:00] Artemis 2 and The Death of Awe[8:11] DNA: 10^77 Against Random Mutation[17:16] Nihilism, Narcissism and The Big Lebowski[29:32] Lucifer versus Socrates versus Tom Bombadil[46:14] Self-Organized Criticality Explained[48:41] The Seldon Crisis and Binary Outcomes[58:28] David's Census: Taking Knowledge For Yourself[66:11] The Seed Must DieResources:• Foundation series (Isaac Asimov) — https://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293354• Self-Organized Criticality (Per Bak, 1987) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organized_criticality• The Denial of Death (Ernest Becker) — https://www.amazon.com/Denial-Death-Ernest-Becker/dp/0684832402• Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse) — https://www.amazon.com/Steppenwolf-Novel-Hermann-Hesse/dp/0312278675Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/notable-quotations• Midnight in Paris — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/• The Patriot — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187393/• Person of Interest — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839578/Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links — https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links — https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods — https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici — https://mediciroasting.com
— Confirmed• ⚠️ Archimedes displacement story — Michael conflated detailsFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt's Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael's Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com
to Christianity — Anthropic───Fact Checks• Women vs. men reproduction rates — Partially Verified (varies by era/source)• Valentina Vasilyeva: 69 children — ✅ Verified (Guinness World Records)• 94% of women opposed suffrage — ⚠️ Disputed (specific figure unverified)• St. Bartholomew skinned alive — 📖 Church Tradition (Tertullian, limited historical verification)• Apostle John survived boiling oil — 📖 Church Tradition (not biblical, early church accounts)• Brain cells playing Doom — ✅ Verified (Cortical Labs' DishBrain, 2023 — though Pong more commonly cited than Doom)
Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
— winking at MichaelFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
(essay on the insufficiency of hedonism) - https://peterkreeft.com/topics/desire.htm- Matthias Desmet - The Psychology of Totalitarianism (mass formation psychosis theory) - https://a.co/d/05vGsclb- Bandits (2001) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219965/Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
the Surveillance State[18:00]Epstein Files and Collapsing Narratives[25:00]Kurt Cobain: Suicide or Murder?[32:00]AI and the Unknown World Ahead[38:00]Two Responses to Uncertainty: Fear vs. Excitement[45:00]The Fourth Turning: Institutional Cycles[52:00]Voter ID, Representation, and the Will of the People[58:00]Living Through the DismantlingFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
the Kingdom of GodReferences:No one gets away with anything - https://youtube.com/shorts/xbNtDcgipmE?si=1hQSVzkO0SsiuFA3Indexicality - https://youtu.be/tvwPKBXEOKE?t=885Carrington Event - https://grokipedia.com/page/Carrington_Event@spaceweathernews on X - https://x.com/SunWeatherManFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Tonight on SOI:What unites us?Are we more united than we think?What’s the temperature of our culture?Do we want to know the truth?MinnesotaICEHeadline ManipulationIs there a right way to respond to things? (Pass the salt)AI and relationshipsReal thoughts are flawed thoughtsDo I have any original thoughts?Descarte - I think therefore I amHow many times can you listen to a good song? Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereigngoods.shopCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Squeeze and orange, get orange juice - https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/2011197220406640816?s=20
We kick off 2026 with a discussion about reality, tribalism, and the vibe shifts post 2020.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We close out 2025 examining regret, success, and service—why failure is human, death is the cost of life, and how serving others reveals who we truly are.The Abolition of Man - https://a.co/d/j7kjtIKSteve Jobs on Failure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKIFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
The internet often makes us feel like non-player characters in the world. We explore this phenomenon and what correctives might look like. Things as simple as a compliment or an acknowledgment can transform an NPC into a main character, like the black and white changes to color in the Wizard of Oz.References:Michael at Bitcoin Park - https://youtu.be/JjVazsu0RCw?si=GNkX8ugE3wUfupBW55 things at 55 - https://x.com/Camp4/status/1992958445885198805?s=46Drinking out of hoses - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsXhIgQsTUw/?hl=enFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Alison Vaclav joins us to discuss: Language as a parasiteLanguage is the barrier to all knowledge Naming thingsHow do we learn to trust someone?Empathy management Trauma tourismFirst thoughtsBreaking expectationsPain is mostly fearWhat is fear?How do you let go of fear?DeathWhere do ideas, questions, and answers come from?Find us here:Alison Vaclav - https://www.pagemageworkshops.comx.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
It’s easy to see when something holy or sacred is violated, it’s harder to say what holiness and the sacred are. An AI representation of dead relatives leads to a conversation about specifying and naming that which is ultimately sacred and good.The AI video and tweet referenced in the conversation - https://x.com/BretWeinstein/status/1989413085753577593?s=20Darkhorse episode about AI facsimiles - https://www.youtube.com/live/rwchVSW4B9g?si=PaZ3zMx1Px-rhnX_Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We discuss Chase Hughes’ concept of frames and scripts, using personas in design, and beauty in art and the concept of Deathworks developed by Philip Rieff.Chase Hughes - https://www.instagram.com/chasehughesofficial/?hl=enFrames, scripts, and personasIntent is required for beauty to existPhilip glass, Tacit (Matt got it wrong, it’s John Cage and the piece is called 4’33”) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4′33″Can art be malicious?Deathworks - art as mockerySeeing the ugly is is sometimes necessaryLord of the rings - “Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?”Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:The brokenness of the worldFinding hope after you’ve lost itAsking your real questionsFalling short of the lawRemembering to playYou are not ChristYou are called to participate in the mystery of GodFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
The world is full of people suffering from the effects of their own unlived life. They become bitter, critical, or rigid, not because the world is cruel to them, but because they have betrayed their own inner possibilities. The artist who never makes art becomes cynical about those who do. The lover who never risks loving mocks romance. The thinker who never commits to a philosophy sneers at belief itself. And yet, all of them suffer, because deep down they know: the life they mock is the life they were meant to live.”— Carl Jung“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 1899Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Identity is relational, to love is to will the good of the other, relationship requires submission, and the loss of humility and forgiveness in modern culture.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
There is only one self-justifying thing, and without it, claims of good and bad, right and wrong, are simply the expressions of personal preference.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:How’s it going? Is there a true answer to that?Some people like to stay in sufferingPolitical (Oppositional validation)Personal (fear of tradeoffs)Intellectual (Falling in love with it - Gollum, Notes from Underground)Death, grief, and the ways Michael and Matt process emotions.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Will we ever know the reality of what’s happened?- Reality isn’t a team sport- What does it mean to pursue truth?- What’s in between the fool and the prideful intellectual?- Recursive injury- Are humans purposefully diabolical?- How does one become a monster?- Forgiveness, and it’s rarity in our culture- If he really knew what he was doing he wouldn’t have done itFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Remembering Charlie Kirk: The reverberations of his life and assassination in our culture.“When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts” - Charlie Kirkhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/0vL5uZBLk7sCharlie Kirk - https://x.com/charliekirk11The rise of the Modern Self - https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Triumph-Modern-Self-Individualism/dp/1433556332Cliffe knechtle - https://x.com/askcliffe?s=11Colin Wright’s graph - https://x.com/SwipeWright/status/1966288413939659079Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
- Isaac Asimov, Fiction, and the Future of AI- How is trust built?- How can we live in a world where we don’t know what’s true?- Can robots feel pain?- What is heartbreak?- You need the Divine to functional experience anything- Pretending to be good always deteriorates - Astrology as a replacement for spirituality- Paradox: He who will save his life will lose itFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
How can we protect ourselves from doing evil in the name of good?“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers KaramazovThis week on SOI:- AI vs Reality- Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift- The culture of compliant- Is there a man behind the curtain?- JFK, 9/11, Covid, and conspiracy theories- Does evil exist?- Evil is always done in the name of Good- Buhdism vs Christianity- The Chinese Farmer parable- The Pieta - the good mother fails - the pieta by michelangelo- The People of the Lie - https://www.amazon.com/People-Lie-Hope-Healing-Human/dp/0684848597Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Life from entropy- Love your neighbor as yourself- Drifting away from revelation- Perception of tools and objects- Your aim defines how you perceive your life- Marriage, dating, and a culture of disposable things- The Ouroboros - The feminine is what is, the masculine is what becomes - Have kids young - give your parents to your kidsReferenced links:Richard Feynman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifk6iuLQk28)Entropy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxL2HoqLbyA)Breath book (https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615)The Origins and History of Consciousness (https://www.amazon.com/Origins-History-Consciousness-Mythos-Princeton/dp/0691163596)Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Life itself is an act of faith- If we ask for what we want, will God give it to us?- Opting into personal responsibility in the modern age- Could we make parenting decisions without privation?- Can you make art with out restraints?- Writing in genres- What will you sacrifice your life for?Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Why is reality preferable to a dream? Vanilla Sky and The Matrix reflect our innate desire to be awake rather than asleep, despite the obvious appeal of the dream like state.This week on SOI:Europe and TrumpVanilla SkyThe MatrixWhat is real and what is not real?Death and mourning, relationships don’t dieThe bastardization of TruthThe Lord of the RingsWhy sacrifice and faith as necessary to live in realityColemak (Keyboard layout - https://colemak.com)Shavian (English alphabet - https://shavian.info)
This week on SOI:- Matt’s mom Jeanenne joins the Shores- Jeanenne’s journal that Mike read, and then named her “Poetgirl.”- We are each an I, not a we. Gollam is a we.- Poetgirl, poema- We are either a male soul or a female soul- We are each a poem written by God- What has caused the revolt against sexuality- What makes your life force increase, and what makes it decreaseFind us here:Jeanenne McCloskey - https://www.rivendellcounseling.com / https://merefemininity.substack.com/p/poetgirlx.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- AI can’t do what humans do because humans aren’t reasonable (Rick Rubin) - https://www.instagram.com/p/DK4isVTz93G/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==- AI turns data into a conversation.- Storytelling is our native language. - Hollow vs. Hallow- What does it mean to feel good or bad- T.S. Eliot, Hemingway, Fitzgerald- We are a collection of identities, responsibilities, and titles- Fatherhood as an actFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Is this WWIII?- How does the death of God effect the news and reporting of what’s true?- Iran, Israel, Covid, etc - how do you know what’s true? Who can we trust to tell us the truth?- Without God, narrative allegiances become rigid- A functional story requires honesty- Being who we are is relational- How does tolerance become intolerant?Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- The voice of failure- Love vs. death- The unifying spirit- The LA riots- The spirit of Love helps you see clearly- The spirit of evil is self extinguishing - Can you negotiate with evil?Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- The trouble of belief- Is reality a fact or a story?- How can we tell what’s true in the age of AI- The paradox of the information age- Truth requires faith- AI religions- Transhumanism- How we use pronouns- Respect for what is external vs what is internal- Redefining words to control the worldBill Maher’s Monologue on Trump dinner - https://youtu.be/RxlopbcfXpQ?si=kCWxR2LtjC_a9GJFThe Abolition of Man - https://www.amazon.com/Abolition-Man-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652942Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
- Two movies one screen (Scott Adams) Our perceptions are faulty What do you sacrifice to? The only way to move forward is to admit you’re wrong You “grasp” ideas the same way you “grasp” objects with your hand To be ultimately permissive turns to totalitarian exclusion Work will set you free* Are you worshiping life or worshiping death?Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
“Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.”- C.G. JungMSTR True North - https://www.mstrtruenorth.comPeter Thiel interview - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast/id1184022695?i=1000704801264Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
"Here then is my plea to my fellow Americans. Do not take the bait. Do not feel it necessary to come to a conclusion. Do not even feel that it is your job to follow all the news. Many who think that they follow all the news follow only one slant, and so are more misinformed than those who intentionally look away from the entire circus.Try to observe without interpretation, avoid certainty, and as you return to your senses quite literally, remind yourself that what you think you know may not, in fact, be true."Quote from Heather Heying - https://x.com/thedarkhorsepod/status/1913433827055452535?s=46 The bias of an information rich environment The atomization of information How can we bridge the cultural divide? Heightened sensitivity to shame, lowered sensitivity to hubris Perspective bias Expansion of the opinion haver class* Raising kids in a world so different from oursFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Can we be in relationship with things, ideas, people, politics, and still stand outside someone else’s unique relationship with those very same things?- Dropping the lens of perception- Finding the gold in people- Bill Maher meets Trump- What is good art?- Identity is a co-residence of heart- Gandolf not coming to a conclusion- Accepting and extending invitationsMatt’s forthcoming book - https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/introducing-good-morningMatt’s dad’s eulogy - https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/a-good-manBill Maher monologue - https://youtu.be/RxlopbcfXpQMegyn Kelly on Kid Rock - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Bw453hCBIFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Trials, tribulations, temptations, tension. These are the X that marks the spot for where our understanding is limited and we don’t see clearly. If we forthrightly explore that space, we find that what we considered trials, were really invitations.The Cutting Edge - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104040/Weights and wings - https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/desert/streams-in-the-desert-april-9th.htmlStreams in the Desert - https://www.amazon.com/Streams-Desert-L-B-Cowman/dp/0310210062Veritasium on Entropy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxL2HoqLbyALex and Chamath on failure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFQUDCgMjRcViktor Frankl - https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429XConsider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.(James 1:2-4)Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- The co-opting and devaluing of words- Does emotional intelligence exist?- Not knowing a words definition doesn’t indicate that you don’t know what it means- Reduction of meaning as a way to avoid life- Depression, anxiety, racism- Black Lives Matter- The coining of new terms like “lived experience”- Making implicit things explicit again- Finding yourself unable to defend obvious things like protecting women- The simultaneous desire to avoid and also rewrite history- Matt’s desire to grow his heart, not his understandingFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Matt and Michael break their three day fast with whiskey and a podcast.This week on SOI:- Michael’s brain is working differently- Fasting- Routines- Turn down inputs and find God- Perceptions vs reality. Guilt vs using perception as an excuse- Resentment- Job, the leviathan- The biological drives of men and women- Chess, to win or to live with people who like playing chess- Parenting after divorce- Spaghetti DriersFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - http://mediciroasting.com
“We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he ‘wants a woman’. Strictly speaking, a woman is just what he does not want. He wants a pleasure for which a woman happens to be the necessary piece of apparatus. How much he cares about the woman as such may be gauged by his attitude to her five minutes after fruition (one does not keep the carton after one has smoked the cigarettes). Now Eros makes a man really want, not a woman, but one particular woman. In some mysterious but quite indisputable fashion the lover desires the Beloved herself, not the pleasure she can give.”- C.S. Lewis, The Four LovesThis week on SOI:- What is romance?- Sex as a part of Eros- G.K. Chesterton - “'I did try to found a little heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy.’”- Sex after marriage- Polyamory- The hiddenness of soul wounds- Memory is like a vibrating string- Peterson w/ Katy Faust - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast/id1184022695?i=1000698177286- Aella on Triggernometry - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shB6ovnjYEsFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Midlife crises- Wrestling with the question of “Who am I?”- The end of the enlightenment - Cultural lack of curiosity- Protecting the structures of identity- Identity becomes aesthetic and absurd when it lacks a center - The Fifth Element https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGfYLRCJZ1c- 22 Senators all read the same script - https://x.com/yalligatorgar/status/1896975161062253017- The Abolition of Man - https://www.amazon.com/Abolition-Man-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652942- Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say - https://www.amazon.com/Speak-What-We-Feel-Frederick/dp/0062517538- You have to be able to say things that are untrue- You can’t live life in reverse, can you can’t just live the back halfFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Matt’s experience cleaning his windows- Engaging the world vs receding from it- The feeling of failure- The allure of counterfactuals- The human need to tend to life- Resentment and the story of Cain and Abel- The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now- Discovering who you are, and what you’re capable of- Falling short is how we discover who we areFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskeyx.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
The age of tolerance has given way to the primacy of the in group. Principles, friendship, even family, matter less than allegiances. This week we grapple with how our culture got here, and what we might do about it.- The spiritual nature of division in the West- You’re included in my circle, but I’m not included in yours- The disturbing social division of politics- How do we tolerate our neighbors in the age of tolerance- If relationships aren’t foremost, what is?- The hierarchy of beliefs and ideologies - The end of the enlightenment - The false god of science- Evil is that which believes its knowledge is complete- The need for a shared belief in a higher power to address simple ideas like, what is best and what is helpful for people- Student loan forgivenessFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI:- Do we see reality? Or are we in the Truman Show?- How to conceive of ideas like good, evil, honor, and righteousness - Believing children are worthy of their full potential, without evidence- The 1619 Project, and the suicidal direction of acting as if we are bad- USAID, and the man behind the curtain- What is the value of “acting as if” something is true?- Why did Gen X and the Millennials never take office?- Hope for those who have hopeMike Benz - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rXdCTkipx2Iu5dX1Gh0s5?si=0ffa07e0d89b434dClinton/Goze - https://x.com/notmyfault99/status/1889472320387031103?s=42Eric on Piers Morgan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXHXHRTK-MFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
This week on SOI: Elon, DOGE, and USAID - https://x.com/rapidresponse47/status/1887151291895267553?s=42 Trump and Gaza (King Solomon: “Cut the baby in half.”) “If we are not being pulled by a promise, we are being driven by fear “ - Bill Johnson / (Clip) https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFOCPVXP0AM/?igsh=MXd3bW1sZ3RlbWU0dA== The coddling of the American mind - https://www.thecoddling.com Getting better at anything requires suffering Being decisive What is the relationship between wisdom and fear The difference between fear and reverence Our experience with firearms and freedom Danger as a negative vs growth and resilience* Becoming more risk averse as we get olderFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Our podcast friend, Matt’s dog Lukah, passed away last weekend. We pay our respects and reflect on grief and a man’s bond with his dog. Then we talk about Elon Musk, George Orwell’s 1984, and the difficulty of morality.Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Elon salutes Hitler? The Left has become “the boy who cried wolf,” and Americans seem to be over it. The problem is that there’s a danger in that - we don’t want the boy who cried wolf to die all alone when the wolf actually comes. We consider possible solutions to this danger, and contend that the only solution is spiritual, not legislative.After You’ve Loved Someone (Boy cried wolf lyrics) - https://youtu.be/8VuelSN0kug?si=HqJRqPycp794oE1HMalcolm Gladwell Episode - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TzvJ0BBdP8wB8eDVc3poE?si=466efd36994b4530Find us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
“It is sometimes so bitterly cold in the winter that one says, 'The cold is too awful for me to care whether summer is coming or not; the harm outdoes the good. But with or without our approval, the severe weather does come to an end eventually and one fine morning the wind changes and there is a thaw. When I compare the state of the weather to our state of mind and our circumstances, subject to change and fluctuation like the weather, then I still have some hope thatthings may get better.”- Vincent Van GoghFind us here:Alison Vaclav - https://www.instagram.com/pagemageworkshops/x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
From the Pharisees to Jesus, from the cable channels to podcasts, from the Oscars to Instagram, the arbiters of fact, truth, and celebrity seem always to loose their grasp as the world rejuvenates around them.Show Notes: Wesley Huff on Joe Rogan: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0alzUZNnXcEL9MJzE9KD9P?si=qqE2YbplQDeuEsynf7ONegC.S. Lewis Quote: https://x.com/tillwehvfaces/status/1876961046486823178Jordan Peterson Lecture (“They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work”): https://youtu.be/dt-BeOTiNvk?si=bU8ngyk0blHLEzGaFind us here:x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
"The beauty of doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly. Only when you do something is it almost impossible to do it without mistakes. Therefore people who are contributing nothing to society, except their constant criticisms, can feel both intellectually and morally superior."-THOMAS SOWELL-x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Our last episode of 2024! We look back on the year, and the super-cycle that was 2020-2024, and talk about the possible renaissance that 2025 may bring. Stick around til the end for an unexpected heated debate about whether love languages exist.x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Tonight we apply the philosopher’s thought experiment of The Ship of Theseus to the issues of meaning, and Matt tells the story of rebuilding his father’s table.Plutarch in his Life of Theseus:The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and strong timber in their places, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.Matt’s Table - https://www.instagram.com/p/DByxMOkptd-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==The Table of McCloskey (Substack) - https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/the-table-of-mccloskey?r=12nd17Chateau de Purnon - https://www.youtube.com/c/Ch%C3%A2teaudePurnonx.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We discuss Fyodor Dostoevsky’s advice about lying, Matt’s desire to be a good father, sourdough bread, and turtles all the way down.“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself. The man who lies to himself can be more easily offended than any one. You know it is sometimes very pleasant to take offense, isn't it? A man may know that nobody has insulted him, but that he has invented the insult for himself, has lied and exagerated to make it picturesque, has caught at a word and made a mountain out of a molehill he knows that himself, yet he will be the first to take offense, and will revel in his resentment till he feels great pleasure init, and so pass to genuine vindictiveness.”- Fyodor Dostoevsky x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
How do you have productive conversations with people who disagree with you? How do you discuss things that are hard? Good question. We appeal to grace and humility.Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius?subtitle=enThe History of Glass - https://youtu.be/2oDXbFcHliM?si=shDdxQjAU2zgsh95x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We discuss the reactions to the 2024 election results over the last week, and the way women’s rights were handled by the two campaigns, the media, and on social media.x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
Americans have spoken in a stunning referendum. We try to understand what this 2024 election result says about our country, and discuss what it means to be an American.Show Notes:Bureaucracy swapped with Democracy: https://x.com/Banned_Bill/status/1853842945767592429Konstantin Kisin’s 10 Reasons: https://x.com/KonstantinKisin/status/1854151133385613690x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We’re under a week away from one of the wildest elections of our lifetimes. We make some predictions, and talk about how we see the race. Two years ago we had a rule that we wouldn’t talk about politics on SOI - and yet, here we are.Show References:Darkhorse podcast - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6z2NBMHmqbIJeUDJuYmSSH?si=89e24d2c141b407cHeather’s article - https://naturalselections.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=webTrump on Rogan - https://youtu.be/hBMoPUAeLnY?si=EOGdPLokUX8DEka4Honestly with Ben Shapiro and Sam Harris - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SAycEtcQVIK4v5JRnTrFC?si=276503238b9e4460x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2A
We grapple with the question "is there a 'best' way to live?" We make our way through subjects of energy, adventure, wisdom, tradition, marriage, fatherhood, and ultimately decide that Peter Pan is not to be aspired to, but growing up certainly is.Matt’s Essay - https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/theres-no-right-way-to-play-a-song?r=12nd17 Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2Ax.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclavAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
The western world seems to be locked in an ideological battle between freedom and creativity vs safety and assurance.x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclav Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
When truth is moved from the external to internal, the world becomes inverted. G.K. Chesterton says that a man should be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth. If we jettison our highest ideals every virtue and every vice races to the bottom, and extinguishes."The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good. It is full of wild and wasted virtues. When a religious scheme is shattered (as Christianity was shattered at the Reformation), it is not merely the vices that are let loose. The vices are, indeed, let loose, and they wander and do damage. But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage. The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other andare wandering alone."- G.K. Chestertonx.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclav Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods CafeMedici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Our cultural zeitgeist lasts for only about a week these days. What’s the current theme, and when will we ever know what’s truly going on?x.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclav Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Politics is no longer Left vs Right - it's Truth vs The Big Lie. The Big Lie happens to be currently wearing blue garb, but it will discard it as soon as its usefulness has run out.The Government is Lying to You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6NmjK2pgiQx.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclav Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Discipline is freedom, and revelation is only possible in the ultimate case. We discuss the truth tellers and dissidents who are willing to pay the price of saying what they believe to be true, and make the case for hope against the case for hedonism.Show Notes:At the end Matt references Rescue The Republic - https://jointheresistance.orgAkira The Don - https://open.spotify.com/artist/14ep6TM2JzapH5nk7vaora?si=aEcladceThOJm8RIGFyD0Qx.com/mattmccloskey x.com/michaelvaclav Sovereign Goods - www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoods Cafe Medici - mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOo…9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvacla
What does it mean to check out, to arrive, to relax, to finally “get there?” We contend that to decline the creative life is to accept an early death.https://x.com/mattmccloskeyhttps://x.com/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SovereignThreadGoodsCafe Medici - https://mediciroasting.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorWqoBTJtkkDUpUirL9vebSCBHLRHBatyDqs9eDe2OliQmjTc2AAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We discuss the nature of speech, censorship, fear, growth, and freedom.Erwan’s Tweet: https://x.com/ErwanLeCorre/status/1829605956814324094Eric Weinstein Interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/833-eric-weinstein-are-we-on-the-brink-of-a-revolution/id1347973549?i=1000668014150Bret Weinstein Interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joe-rogan-experience/id360084272?i=1000668364497All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
In Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC, she said that “My girl Kamala Harris… is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.”We discuss the Cartesian crisis as coined by Bret Weinstein, and what we’re to do when it seems like everyone is watching a different movie about reality.Bret defines the Cartesian crisis - https://x.com/thedarkhorsepod/status/1776277113852907986All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We discuss the allegory of Plato’s Cave, and how the information age has personalized each of our shadows on the wall.Conversation inspired by this Darkhorse episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2nt1OerbCQSMws8NW8Zr4H?si=01c94c3b6a0f4fecAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Matt sat in his car as tears formed in his eyes. It was probably grief, but where did it come from? Was it a thought, a memory, or something harder to explain?References:The Master and His Emissary - https://a.co/d/bqzulUQPeople of the Lie - https://a.co/d/2faPxsZMetaphors We Live By - https://a.co/d/i7rZKd0C.S. Lewis - https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/3058-to-love-at-all-is-to-be-vulnerable-love-anythingAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
One of Michael’s axioms is “There is an objective reality, and I have a subjective experience of it.” Matt objects to this statement, and they unpack issues of objectivity by way of art, creativity, lies, stories, fiction, god, and humility.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. - Carl JungPolitics, culture, relationships - what is the suffering that has been substituted with crazy?All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
What do you do when lies are all around you? Take the risk of telling the truth.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We discuss the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the hope that can be seen through the cracks in a weakening narrative, and what 200 episodes of Shores has meant to us.“You cannot gaslight an entire nation of free people into hating each other this completely for this long……pretending that everyone who sees a buck naked emperor is a charlatan is no longer working very well.” - Eric WeinsteinEric Weinstein quote: https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1813439562234150935Darkhorse analysis of the assassination attempt: https://open.spotify.com/episode/49Oy1xwAaJ9GQOl75lZSXF?si=794e3d9284974793All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear!” ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine ComedyAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavSovereign Goods - https://sovereignthreadgoods.etsy.com?coupon=SHORESMedici Coffee - https://mediciroasting.com/collections/coffee
We may be victims of our circumstances, but we may also be prodigies of our circumstances.Dostoevsky Quote - https://x.com/coffeewclassics/status/1803477508580356351?s=46Abolition of Man - https://a.co/d/0i2VWvLZAll In with Trump - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qrvFuvlvecGC1tict7kgc?si=a4645412fb6b4fcbSovereign Goods - https://sovereignthreadgoods.etsy.com?coupon=SHORESMedici Coffee - https://mediciroasting.com/collections/coffeeAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Biden, Trump, RFK Jr - What problems does the future hold, and can we see and agree on them? In part this is a problem of perception, and in part the result of everyone standing with daggers out.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We discuss bitcoin, climate change, recycling, vaccines, covid, relationships, lord of the rings, and how the Truth is relational, explorational, and adventurous.I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you… the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both.- C.S. LewisAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don'twant their illusions destroyed.- Friedrich NietzscheReferences:C.S. Lewis Quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10198766-patriotism-has-then-many-faces-those-who-would-reject-itChris Cuomo Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3cdErzfQnIAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Hemingway’s meditation on the futility of masculinity, the role of men and women in society, solar flares, and the risk of creativity.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
(Note: 3 minutes in Matt’s mic stops recording, so his voice is a little quiet. We realize this and turn it back on at minute 8)Life cannot be understood, it can only be lived, and related to.“[I]n our own time and place, [avoiding God] is extremely easy. Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track. Concentrate on money, sex, status, health and (above all) on your own grievances. Keep the radio on. Live in a crowd. Use plenty of sedation . . .”- C.S. Lewis“It's not that students don't "get" Kafka's humor but that we've taught them to see humor as something you get -- the same way we've taught them that a self is something you just have. No wonder they cannot appreciate the really central Kafka joke - - that the horrific struggle to establish a human self results in a self whose humanity is inseparable from that horrific struggle. That our endless and impossible journey toward home is in fact our home. It's hard to put into words up at the blackboard, believe me. You can tell them that maybe it's good theydon't "get" Kafka. You can ask them to imagine his art as a kind of door. To envision us readers coming up and pounding on this door, pounding and pounding, not just wanting admission but needing it, we don't know what it is but we can feel it, this total desperation to enter, pounding and pushing and kicking, etc. That, finally, the door opens...and it opensoutward: we've been inside what we wanted all along. Das ist komisch."- David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other EssaysAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
“Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived, or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?”— Hunter S. ThompsonSovereign Goods - https://sovereignthreadgoods.etsy.com?coupon=SHORESAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
From Covid to Gaza to your parents divorce, what is the difference between truth and fiction, or a lie and pretend? In a world of conflicting stories, how do you know which story is true?Sovereign Goods - http://sovereignthreads.shop/All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Truth, fact, science, religion. We're all bothered. What is ending, and what have we missed in our arrogance?SOI on relationship - https://on.soundcloud.com/uNyo7eavFUow3LwU8SOI on objectivity - https://on.soundcloud.com/ksCqptaSiUW9sVxG7 Veritasium The man who killed millions and saved billions- https://youtu.be/QQkmJI63ykI?si=4ZWPbiPekeah9oPrSovereign Goods - http://sovereignthreads.shop/All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Inflation sucks, bitcoin is the answer.Links referenced in the show:Sovereign Threads - http://sovereignthreads.shopBroken Money - Lyn Alden - https://a.co/d/dgZ7yPhThe Hidden Cost of Money - https://a.co/d/66xAsrEThe Bitcoin Standard - https://a.co/d/36kniqYBitcoin is Time - https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Life can be at once wonderful and frustrating, full of joy and full of war. What are we to make of all of that, and how are we to live? We suggest that the answer has something to do with faith.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We celebrate the birth of Matt's daughter, Eletta Claire. You came like a sure fire, with unpredictable timing, unstoppable intent, and precise aim. You joined us with a calm precision entering space and time, relaxed, as if arriving pre-curtain.Eletta - Truth - VeritasIf that is your banner, what is there to fear?You are the boundary between anticipation and completion.I look forward to applauding your curtain draw.Love, DadAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear!”― Dante Alighieri, The Divine ComedyAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
"Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become... What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task."- Viktor FranklAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
From the structures of a relationship to the games that we play, how do we discover and use rules for better or for worse. When done well, a script can be flipped, and a life can be transformed.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
What are you responsible for? You might have your responsibility assigned to you, and yet you may transform yourself and the world by taking responsibility for something out of your own desire, and your own personality.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
By way of Good Will Hunting, C.S. Lewis, and 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, we explore what might be possible with the right orientation.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Like Ted Lasso, Viktor Frankl, and Joseph with his coat of many colors, your attitude has the power to transform the worst circumstances into unimaginable goodness.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
“The line between good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart.”- Aleksandr SolzhenitsynAll Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
We discuss the new year, the information bubbles we live in, and ask what we want to choose to focus on in the midst of the forces that desire our attention. This leads to a conversation about the necessity of death, and the life that deaths realization inspires.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Just show up. Get your body there, things will work out.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Everything interesting that happens in life is downstream of something that we want. The more aware we are of what we want, the more of what we want we get. We discuss the role of luck in our outcomes, and how we can beat luck because we can respond to it.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
A conversation about the unbelievable likelihood of a Biden v. Trump rematch, turns toward the promise of the future, the risk of hope, and the sadness of foregoing difficulty rather than doing things we like.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
What does it mean to be in proper relationship to the things that you want, and how does discomfort announce areas in your life where there is an opportunity for growth?All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
In this episode we discuss grief and suffering, creativity and art, truth and paradox.All Matt’s Links - solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - solo.to/michaelvaclav
The two most ubiquitous human experiences are death and birth, and yet we humans have no idea how to handle either.
Michael’s wife Alison joins us for a conversation about art, shame, remaining creative as we grow up, and how masculinity and femininity each wrestle with those things in their own ways.All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyAll Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavAlison on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alisonvaclav/Mama Bloom Austin - https://www.instagram.com/mamabloomaustin/Page Mage Workshops - https://www.instagram.com/pagemageworkshops/
Through discussions on death, meaning, religion, prayer, ancestors, and metaphors, we explore how everything is relational. We contemplate the concept that God isn't a fact, but a relationship, and how we can deepen our relationships with others and the world around us.
Matt's father, Michael T McCloskey, passed away without warning on April 18th, 2023. In this episode we discuss fatherhood, death, suffering, and play selections from episode 2, which Michael McCloskey was on.Read Matt's eulogy for his father on his substack: https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/a-good-manMatt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
I'll be honest, we struggled to make our point clearly in this episode. Here's what AI says we talked about: Michael and Matt discuss the importance of self-awareness and growth in individuals, families, and communities. They believe that striving to improve oneself and acknowledging one's potential is essential for creating a better world. Michael expresses his hope that this mindset can spread throughout the country, leading to positive changes on a larger scale. Overall, they emphasize the power of love and the importance of trying and learning from failuresWatch this episode on YouTube or Spotify: https://youtu.be/SNTxlh66x84Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Easter has always been curious to me. What is the meaning of this story? On it’s surface it seems almost benign. It has never carried the same weight of other holidays. Even our imagery around it is passive and confusing. Pastels, eggs, a bunny. Yet it is the single day that differentiates the Jews from the Christians, and informs the basis of the entire western modern culture.We explore the story of Easter, and in particular the part of the story in which man kills god.Watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChcLMXiaHcjfXHAwLxPzD8gMatt’s Essay on Easter:https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/easter-we-killed-godMatt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavThe Origins and History of Consciousness (Erich Neumann) - https://www.amazon.com/Origins-History-Consciousness-Mythos-Princeton/dp/0691163596The Gulag Archipelago (Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1784871516/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jordanbpetery-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1784871516&linkId=06531289f54f6554dab9b39c1bb2e6d5
Big news! The Shores is now on Video. You can watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify.James Jackson Leach joins us for our first video episode. We discuss business, child rearing, the future of Austin, and so much more. James is an entrepreneur, father, and businessman. He owns Morte Subite (a belgian beer bar in downtown Austin) and Longhorn meat market, among others.Find James online:https://jamesjacksonleach.comhttps://jamesjacksonleach.substack.comMatt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
This week our friend and musician Andy Davis joins us to discuss art, artificial intelligence, vision and transcendence.Andy Davis - http://www.andydavisonline.comMatt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
In Grey Town, Napoleon Bonaparte continues to move further and further outside of the city to the point where he can no longer be reached. In a recent interview Sam Harris seems this way - moving further away from those who would challenge him. We discuss the way of thinking that lacks redemptive spirit, and the responsibility that requires respect, which enables individual rights.Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavReferences:Matt's thoughts on the idea of completeness - https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/its-ok-its-alrightSam Harris interview - https://youtu.be/Qyrjgf-_VdkThe great divorce - https://www.amazon.com/Great-Divorce-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652950A wrinkle in time - https://www.amazon.com/Wrinkle-Time-Quintet/dp/0312367546David Sack on Respect - https://twitter.com/davidsacks/status/1635888160701046784?s=42&t=uUAQApxVipInVr2sarwbFA
Jan 6, Covid lab leak, the proxy war with Russia, unidentified flying objects, and fatherhood after divorce. Gaslighting seems to be all around us, and demoralizing those who care to pay attention. Perhaps in relationship to the truth, we are all estranged fathers.https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Crisis-Boys-Struggling-About/dp/1948836130/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678328981&sr=8-1 - Warren Farrellhttps://www.amazon.com/Irreversible-Damage-Transgender-Seducing-Daughters/dp/168451228X/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgaGgBhC8ARIsAAAyLfFWCfFqO91EvfdLjDJIkf4hdOKaxDYENgVfucaeACxI0eSKWdauhhgaAo9SEALw_wcB&hvadid=477525236358&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028315&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8309418566870990920&hvtargid=kwd-1033150246705&hydadcr=22592_11320428&keywords=irreversible+damage+transgender&qid=1678329084&sr=8-1 - Irreversible Damagehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521?i=1000602784236 - What’s the fundamental purpose of civilization?
Our good friend Charlie Parkin joins the Shores this week. We explore the power of story telling, differences between men and women, the US and the UK, and how to answer questions with your life, rather than your words.Charlie Parkin on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlieparkin121/Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Matt loses his job. We discuss the darkness (and lie) of failure, how our creative consciousness has the ability to switch perspectives, for better or worse.Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclavReferences:Hunter Gatherers Guide to the 21st Century: https://www.amazon.com/A-HUNTER-GATHERERS-GUIDE-21ST-CE/dp/1800750943/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1677119606&sr=8-1Darkhorse Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521Screwtape Letters: https://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-C-S-Lewis/dp/0020867409/ref=sr_1_9?crid=9J1ZLBEH2DI6&keywords=screwtape+letters&qid=1677119673&sprefix=screwtape+letters%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-9Jordan Peterson on failure and aiming: https://youtu.be/ZwGDnSWmqhM
To the extent that we do not tell our own story, or decline to say what we really think, or remain silent in shame or fear or anger, we deprive the world from knowing itself, and delay heaven by increments. To know ourselves, those who carry the story with us must speak the parts they know. Tell us your story, that I may know myself.
Your desires are in service of something, even if you don’t know what that is. You can discover what it is and even ask yourself if you want that. Which means that there’s a higher order value than you can imagine.Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavMatt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskeyMichael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav
Growth is a zig zag, not linear (Markets, companies, practice, learning skills). You plateau, then pull back, and then advance.
We explore the ways in which the utopia is a suggested alternative to violence, and the destruction of categories is the inevitable response to the failure of the utopia to function.
Pick something that you could do that you would do; that’s how we started this podcast. We made a decision that this was important to us, and then we made it our reality.In this episode, we talk about…0:35 - Michael’s toilet3:02 - Dripping faucets8:29 - Practice12:10 - Identifying interests15:43 - Cycles20:45 - Future accomplishments24:55 - Truth and desire29:38 - Hoarders37:40 - Death and rebirth43:07 - Cognitive power46:18 - Self-model48:43 - What if…?52:49 - True values55:44 - Decision making59:30 - Time to admit1:01:06 - Ideas1:05:00 - GiftsReferences:Matt McCloskey | Twitter https://twitter.com/mattmccloskeyMichael Vaclav | Twitter https://twitter.com/michaelvaclavZen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance | Book https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry-ebook/dp/B0026772N8Tenet | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723592/Chef | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/
Conversation helps you figure out what you think about things. Often you don’t know what you think about things until you attempt to articulate them. When we talk, It isn’t as though we have a set of knowledge that we’re simply passing back and forth, the whole process of discourse is revelatory.
Practice. It’s a deeply profound act. We do it because we want to improve at something, and yet, the act of practice is always a journey into insufficiency, degradation, decomposition, deterioration, and the voluntary illumination of failure.Show Notes:1:20 - Intro4:22 - Skills6:11 - Practice7:32 - Flow State11:30 - Intention14:25 - Family17:43 - Yoga20:19 - Mornings22:01 - Rules25:12 - Neuralink29:02 - Humility31:57 - Meaning35:38 - Disciplined education40:58 - Dating49:03 - Tech and relationships55:22 - Validation1:01:12 - TwitterResources:Cats in the Cradle https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/cats-in-the-cradle/
In a social environment in which what one should think is considered obvious, most people don’t know what they actually think because the cost of knowing what you think becomes ostracization or silence.Show Notes:1:08 - ChatGPT7:20 - Technological impact11:45 - Information bubbles14:39 - Shaping A.I.17:45 - First-hand perception20:39 - Social contract23:47 - Twitter files27:14 - Information suppression30:38 - Incentivized ignorance36:56 - Self-censorship42:13 - Societal renewal47:42 - Knowledge repeating54:30 - Honest ideas1:02:02 - DisagreeabilityResources:ChatGPT openapi.comHER | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/Hunter Biden’s Laptop | NY Post https://nypost.com/2022/11/21/cbs-confirms-hunter-biden-laptop-is-real-769-days-after-post-broke-story/Power of the Powerless | Vaclav Havel https://www.amazon.com/Power-Powerless-Citizens-Against-Central/dp/0873327616
With gratitude, you have to intentionally make yourself pay attention to what you’re grateful for. Things are good but you’re not seeing it, so you have to tell yourself, no we’re going to go look, we’re gonna pay attention. Maybe a possible definition for Heaven is, at some point things are good and we see it, we understand it.Show Notes:3:01 - Thanksgiving5:57 - Attention8:03 - Gratitude11:12 - Parenting15:56 - Pain for gain22:09 - Fear25:51 - Perception29:54 - Wimhoff breathing33:45 - States of being38:10 - Relativity41:56 - Balance48:37 - Heaven55:30 - StrengthResources:The Flow State - https://www.headspace.com/articles/flow-state
There is a gap between the severity of world events and our general reactions in the West. Why is this? We believe an erosion of truth takes place from those we’ve trusted to deliver it to us, and this has led to a growing distrust in the media and political and public health classes.0:50 - Winter2:41 - Mirrored reality6:51 - Media reliability13:31 - Eroded truth19:47 - Distraction by lies23:03 - Ad hominem26:36 - Absolute authority29:41 - Extreme personalities34:19 - Social caricatures38:58 - Complicated topics41:51 - Ideological pundits44:40 - Tradeoffs49:20 - Personal responsibility55:52 - Societal exceptions58:20 - Population growth1:01:08 - 2030 outlook1:08:06 - Wake-up call1:12:20 - Public vs. private1:16:17 - Final thoughtsRecycling Realities | Article https://www.cbsnews.com/news/plastic-recycling-failed-concept-us-greenpeace-study-5-percent-recycled-production-up/The Fifth Element | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119116/
First-hand experience results in a level of respect that information alone can’t achieve. The irony is that while access to all the information in the world lies at our fingertips, there is no shortcut to experience. It makes us wonder whether or not real truth actually exists without it.2:42 - Focus5:59 - Stay the course8:45 - Break even11:51 - Communication13:52 - Redemption17:01 - Necessary evil20:11 - Rick Rubin22:53 - First-hand experience26:28 - Neuralink30:17 - Guns33:57 - Responsibility & power38:35 - Response42:35 - Public symbols44:57 - Persona48:05 - Effects of truth51:15 - Signal & noise1:01:02 - Honing in1:05:09 - ArticulationThe Last Dance | Netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80203144Key and Peele: Anger Translator | YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qv7k2_lc0MRick Rubin | Twitter https://twitter.com/RickRubinThe Matrix: Neo Fights Morpheus | YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhrNgXJ__n8Stephen Colbert | The Colbert Report https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458254/East Coker | T.S. Elliot https://www.britannica.com/topic/East-Coker-poem-by-Eliot
If you are uncomfortable, you tend to be creative. If you are comfortable, you tend to be destructive.
You have to discover your values. It isn’t as though you create them. You don’t define them out of pure will and thin air. You discover them. And if you remove people’s ability to search then you remove their ability to discover and create.Show Notes:3:00 - Intro5:48 - Convergence9:49 - Manifestation13:45 - Belief16:50 - Monetary velocity20:00 - Value27:38 - Discovery29:11 - Elections34:15 - Ignorance38:58 - Expansion41:54 - Importance48:05 - Appreciation52:23 - Sacrifice55:30 - Judgment1:01:35 - TruthLinks to resources:Elon Musk Buys Twitter https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63402338Austin Powers Goldmember | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295178/Liar Liar | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119528/Kai Lenny | Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kai_lenny/Daniel Lanois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lanois Bret Weinstein | DarkHorse Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521Eric Weinstein | The Portal Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-portal/id1469999563C.S. Lewis Quotes | The Four Loves https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/14816053-the-four-loves
Forgiveness, like love, is both a feeling and a choice, and neither the feeling or the choice must come first. The feeling emerges from the choice or a choice can be inspired by a feeling. Show notes:1:30 - Intro2:38 - Forgiveness6:25 - Love9:12 - Trust12:15 - Actions16:22 - Emotional abuse19:30 - Self-love22:05 - Existence26:05 - Creation31:25 - New relationships36:18 - 80/20 rule39:09 - Milestones42:51 - Progression45:15 - Time and place48:38 - Sacrifice51:20 - Relativity54:48 - Risk vs. benefit58:50 - ImpactLinks to resources:Mumford & Sons https://www.mumfordandsons.com/The Gulag Archipelago https://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Experiment-Investigation/dp/0813332893
The truth is something like every plan played out to conclusion. And in the end, Love wins, and all is redeemed.Show Notes:1:42 - Control3:45 - Poker10:39 - Self-love17:20 - Life story25:56 - Truth36:33 - Course changes39:20 - Sacrifice42:22 - Ultimate truth49:45 - Objective truth57:00 - Evolutionary experience1:01:36 - Relational truth1:08:02 - LegacyLinks to resources:Lex Fridman Podcast | Daniel Negreanu https://lexfridman.com/daniel-negreanu/Jonathan Shedler | Twitter https://twitter.com/JonathanShedler
We are living through a turbulent time of crisis, there's much to fearful of, and yet more to be hopeful for.Show Notes:1:15 - Intro4:12 - The Fourth Turning10:40 - Nord Stream Pipeline12:41 - Qualitative tightening16:44 - Inflation19:08 - The housing market22:20 - Russia and Ukraine26:00 - Energy crisis29:05 - James Madison’s flute33:40 - 2024 Election37:30 - Compounding decisions44:10 - Arrogance49:47 - Germ Theory50:57 - Reality55:38 - The Supreme Court58:20 - The future1:05:04 - New thingsLinks to resources:Drinking Alcohol Reduces Dementia https://bestlifeonline.com/news-alcohol-dementia/#:~:text=Drinking%20This%20Much%20Alcohol%20Can%20Slash%20Your%20Dementia,have%20particularly%20protective%20effects%20against%20dementia.%20iStock%20The Fourth Turning | William Strauss & Neil Howe https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464TRIGGERnometry Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/triggernometry/id1375568988Wokal Distance | Twitter https://twitter.com/wokal_distanceLizzo Playing James Madison’s Flute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeQY8EPBBI8Thor: God of Thunder https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/The Dark Horse Podcast | Steve Patterson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-we-living-in-a-dark-age-bret-speaks-with-steve-patterson/id1471581521?i=1000577976955
Every person and business has a brand, whether that brand is being articulated or not. Who we want to appear to be, the story we want behind our faces, this is our brand.
Show Notes: 0:07 - Intro 1:20 - Selling stories 3:35 - Red Bull 6:05 - Transcendent ideas 10:40 - Why people buy 12:30 - Drawing attention 14:20 - Spokespeople 23:20 - Public identification 26:32 - Embodiment 31:58 - Self-creation 38:54 - Brand identity 43:28 - Fitting in vs. individuality 48:08 - Loner creativity 51:10 - Ego in power 56:36 - Grace
Resources: Nike https://www.nike.com/ Apple https://www.apple.com/ Red Bull Athletes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCblfuW_4rakIf2h6aqANefA REI https://www.rei.com/ Carhartt https://www.carhartt.com/about Black Rifle Coffee https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ The Four Loves | C.S. Lewis https://www.amazon.com/Four-Loves-C-S-Lewis/dp/0156329301 Elvis Biopic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3704428/ Carl Young Myth Quotes https://www.azquotes.com/author/7659-Carl_Jung David Goggins https://davidgoggins.com/ Earnest Hemingway https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernest-Hemingway The Kardashians https://www.hulu.com/series/the-kardashians-7840bf30-f440-48d4-bf81-55d8cb24457a Maverick | Top Gun 2 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745960/
The art of storytelling can explain something so much more deeply than what we might consider facts, and that becomes a religious endeavor.
Show Notes: In this episode, we talk about… 0:36 - Intro 1:24 - Spirituality 4:15 - Dogma 13:46 - Psychology 17:48 - Creativity 20:18 - Religious purpose 23:55 - Significant stories 26:13 - Enslavement 31:52 - Consciousness 36:45 - God over generations 42:28 - Science 46:50 - Human values 50:30 - Generational indoctrination 55:54 - The Bible
Links to resources: Little House on the Prairie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071007/ The Gay Science | Frederick Nietzche https://study.com/academy/lesson/nietzsches-the-gay-science-summary-quotes.html Genes and Memes | Richard Dawkins https://richarddawkins.net/2014/02/whats-in-a-meme/ Harry Potter Series https://www.imdb.com/list/ls003814436/
In order to grow, we must die to who we were yesterday. Who we are today is not who we will be tomorrow, the next day, next year, or ten years from now. What does it mean to die to ourselves? How do we do it? Today, we discuss how dying to ourselves aids in our personal growth and the growth of those around us.
Our divine gift, and responsibility, is to make decisions, and to suffer them. In every decision there is a mourning for what you had to slay.
Show Notes: 1:57 - Clarity 5:21 - Distinction 8:33 - Partners 11:33 - Marriage in religion 15:05 - Limitations 19:29 - Sexual revolution 23:53 - Civilization’s future 28:20 - A self-extinguishing game 33:47 - Consequences 40:05 - Time preference 42:47 - Wisdom 46:45 - Experience 50:05 - Dictation by authority 54:42 - Consciousness 59:17 - How to remember 1:02:53 - Human power
Links to resources: Jordan Peterson Quotes https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/282885.Jordan_B_Peterson Rob Henderson Dating Apps Stats https://www.robkhenderson.com/past-newsletter/blog-post-title-one-l8s72-e6gsw-gmerh Elon Musk Quote https://www.liberalforum.org/topic/359843-civilization-will-die-with-a-whimper-in-adult-diapers-says-elon-musk/ Bret Weinstein The WEIRD World https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weird-world-is-killing-us-evolutionary-biologists/id1524832743?i=1000535210588 The Matrix https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/ Eric Neumann: The Origins and History of Consciousness https://www.amazon.com/Origins-History-Consciousness-Mythos-Princeton/dp/0691163596 Thor https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/
It’s not uncommon that we use a word accurately, yet struggle to provide a concise definition when asked. Tonight, we talk about the word respect, and try to work out a precise definition. Along the way we explore responsibility, growing up, raising children, and running a business.
Show Notes: 1:37 - Non-linear time 5:03 - Children 12:30 - Responsibility 20:32 - The Presidency 22:40 - Positions and institutions 31:20 - Limits 33:31 - Group representatives 38:50 - Teaching opportunities 43:50 - Consequences 47:10 - Defiance 52:30 - Self-reflection 55:16 - Defining respect
Resources: Jordan Peterson https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/ Full Metal Jacket https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/ The Three Musketeers https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Three-Musketeers
What is the difference between a worldview and an ideology? How do you decide the difference between good and evil? - Your frame of reference changes everything.
Show Notes: 0:40 - World views 6:40 - Ideals of the West 10:45 - Frame of reference 14:10 - Good vs. bad 18:00 - Human propagation 22:10 - Leaky faucets 26:41 - Ideologies 31:02 - Building worldviews 36:31 - Memes and genes 45:02 - Changing default behaviors 53:47 - Political ideologies 58:00 - Tolerance 1:06:40 - West vs. Communism 1:16:10 - Acting on belief
References: The Four Loves: C.S. Lewis https://www.amazon.com/Four-Loves-C-S-Lewis/dp/0156329301 Man’s Search of Meaning: Viktor Frankl https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-ebook/dp/B009U9S6FI Memes and Genes: Richard Dawkins https://www.wsj.com/video/richard-dawkins-on-the-cultural-meme/5C1154F8-36EB-4797-AFE9-C60226055FB1.html Ibram X. Kendi Quotes https://www.anquotes.com/ibram-x-kendi-quotes/
Speaking truth amounts to nothing if that truth does not lead to action. In a time when the world is filled with an overwhelming variety of different ‘truths,’ it’s difficult to know who to believe, and even more obscure is knowing what action to take. Today, Matt and Michael discuss the power of speech to shape the world, for better or worse.
2:12 - Introduction 4:00 - Speaking and truth 12:04 - Lies dehumanize 18:17 - Honor amongst thieves 25:40 - Clear communication 31:45 - Preservation vs. change 36:00 - Authenticity 41:19 - Telling the truth 47:03 - Humility in speech 53:52 - Politicians 1:00:30 - Freedom to disagree
Frederick Buechner on lying and the power of speech https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2022/7/22/lying Wishful Thinking - Frederick Buechner https://www.amazon.com/Wishful-Thinking-Seekers-Frederick-Buechner/dp/0060611391 1984 - George Orwell https://www.amazon.com/1984-George-Orwell/dp/1443434973 DarkHorse Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521 Joe Rogan Experience - https://open.spotify.com/show/4rOoJ6Egrf8K2IrywzwOMk Awake, Not Woke - Noelle Mering https://www.amazon.com/Awake-Not-Woke-Christian-Progressive/dp/1505118425 Tulsi Gabbard https://www.tulsigabbard.com/ Dan Crenshaw https://crenshaw.house.gov/
Let your light shine. If you have something good to say, tell people about it. But that’s hard, and that’s why it has to be encoded in a parable (don't light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl). We discuss entrepreneurship, mentorship, wisdom, and tradeoffs.
Alison joins us for a beautiful conversation about marriage, love, and hope, on the 20th anniversary of Michael and Alison’s marriage.
Michael and Matt ask themselves, “what would your future self say to you?” Did Tom Petty or Michael Jordan know what they were capable of before finding out? Recorded July 6, 2022
The ordinary becomes extraordinary, on the shores. Men and women, sport and competitions, tyranny and sacrifice. The totality of life is unquantifiable and incomparable. Recorded June 15, 2022.
Compare yourself in a self-referential way, to your self, your lineage, you history, of your family and your country. Not to social media and those around you portraying a snap shot of themselves at their best. Recorded June 8, 2022
What happens if you disregard the value of loving one person for the rest of your life? We discuss instagram activism, time horizons, Chesterton's fence, institutions, and marriage.
We cannot learn without pain. We create stories and act them out to test their validity. We need to be challenged (pain) to experience growth. Recorded May 11, 2022.
You need humility and gratitude to contend with the fact that the rules are outdated and even inappropriate, but are protecting you from things you don’t understand, and lessons that you don’t want to have to re-learn. Recorded May 4, 2022
What do you do with yourself? How do you spend your time? It’s an existential crisis. How do you classify work at work? Is just showing up to a physical space considered work? Are things outside of “work” that contribute to your “work” "work?". Recorded April 27, 2022
In this conversation we were past the shores. We were at the first sand bar. Maybe going to the second sandbar, didn’t make it, had to retreat to the first to stand and catch some air.
Recorded April 21, 2022
Categories are a helpful tool to negotiate reality, but every category is wrong at the edges. Recorded April 13, 2022
Recorded March 30, 2022. We discuss how we have to compartmentalize in order to be responsible, but in complex systems, that always leads to something not being accounted for.
There seems to be something truer than the objective, and it’s wrapped up in time, felt in your very awareness of the future, and only properly discussed with metaphor.
"For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited." - C.S. Lewis
“Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost” - Khalil Gibran
“Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.” - Arthur Schopenhauer
Love is a generative, renewing force. It changes everything. It reveals you, and you will transform yourself to keep it, and transform your world to serve it.
When it's a Love for a woman we call it romance. It is similar for ultimate love - Godly love.
Perhaps religion is an attempt to explain and codify the transformation of ultimate Love.
Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert https://youtu.be/86x-u-tz0MA
A Conversation so Intense It Might as Well Be Psychedelic | John Vervaeke https://youtu.be/DLg2Q0daphE
This episode begins with a conversation about survivorship bias, data, narrative, and politics, and then shifts into a discussion about Hope. What is hope, why does it matter, and how does it relate with truth, rules, and decision making?
You have to be able to ask questions, how else to you become competent? We discuss the Russia/Ukraine situation, the relationship between data and narratives, justice and forgiveness.
Much love to you all.
Freedom is preferable to safety, rules are arbitrary, you need tension between the line drawers and the line blurers.
There has been a lot of of talk about MDM: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformaiton. We dig into the different meanings and why this is so disturbing. We look at how terrorism is being redefined.
https://www.cisa.gov/mdm
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/02/07/dhs-issues-national-terrorism-advisory-system-ntas-bulletin
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LB9DkxkwNK2em5lphKHfo?si=vmq2v-hNSLqcUQmK3JpKiQ
We talk about order and chaos, the out there, religion, outdated stale language, and what it means to thrive.
People love to share, whether it's a post on social media, or telling a friend or lover about your hopes and dreams, it seems to be a human necessity.
Your conscious creative spirit is capable of unimaginable good, and unimaginable bad. What are you to do when you find yourself in possession of such a powerful tool?
The way you choose to explain the world has drastic effects on your ability to improve it. We discuss critical theory through the example of cheerleading, propaganda, and the abstraction of sports from war and free speech from violence.
We kick off a new century on Shores of Ignorance. We discuss the origin of the name of the show, and what our mission is. We discuss a passage from Viktor Frankl on success, and ask what it means to be good, and what it means to be evil. Then we discuss what the emergence of new memes in the cultural narrative, and what that might be saying about where we are and where we're headed.
Two years ago we committed to recording a conversation every Wednesday night. This is our 100th. That is a huge milestone. It's hard to know what this is becoming, but we're sure happy to be here. Lots of love to you all, happy 2022, and happy 100th 🥃.
Your future is a fractal of infinite infinities. The creative force that you have as a divine conscious being, is to purchase reality with your attention.
“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” - Viktor Frankl
If you could see into the future, would you want to? Time and uncertainty are fundamental to the human experience, and our ability to shape the future is a super power.
Thanksgiving is the holiday that marks the beginning of the end of the year. We reflect on what we are thankful for and discuss what we're hopeful for in the new year.
All winners channel energy more efficiently through time and space. A valuable lesson that applies to football and crypto currency, as well as your daily schedule.
This episode was recorded in Marathon, TX on our second annual Shores of Ignorance retreat, where we spent time reflecting, planning, and thinking about the future.
Episode Links:
Pomp/Saylor Episode https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pomp-podcast/id1434060078?i=1000541221946
Virginia's election, Daniel Craig's James Bond, Web3 and individual sovereignty, order, chaos, and Parrhesia.
"Speaking truth in the face of danger, being forthright in your speech. It’s the essential component to a life worth living." - Peter Boghossian on Parrhesia.
Mass psychosis, bitcoin, lime disease, religion, covid19.
Mass formation, with Mattias Desmet https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PEcnjcKAUnhAZd4LOKcAU?si=a34bf4285b9940ee
Breedlove https://open.spotify.com/show/25LPvm8EewBGyfQQ1abIsE?si=T0df5Hk1QeKz9fRlJCgwcg
Darkhorse Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/57R7dOcs60jUfOnuNG0J1R?si=f9622da2ccc44e56
Pomp https://open.spotify.com/show/2QwpFjzJ0ZteqmMqw2xIfA?si=g_vASXunSDO3BdDsV8A6GQ
Honestly with Bari Weiss https://open.spotify.com/show/0GRPAKeSMASfbQ7VgNwYCR?si=700a80ab917e44c3
Denise Shull (Wendy Rhodes, Billions)”Market Mind Games” https://www.amazon.com/Market-Mind-Games-Psychology-Investing/dp/0071756221/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1635528298&sr=8-1
What does it mean for something to be true, and do we really care to know? We discuss objective truth, the conflation of safety and morality, and the meme-ification of everything.
Recent vaccine mandates have divided the country even further, but not necessarily along the lines you might expect. We discuss risk assessment, free markets, and the freedom to opt out.
Matt reads an excerpt from an essay he wrote about being born. We discuss the power of language, and it's necessity in engaging the truth.
We discuss a tweet from Austin’s mayor Steve Adler, highlighting the COVID narrative battle happening in our schools.
Set a goal, set up a net, kick a ball into it, set up some opposition, develop yourself, have the opposition develop itself, and that is maximally meaningful… and produces ape shit enthusiasm.
Michael’s father, Mickey, passed away on July, 23rd, 2021. We discuss his life, death, fatherhood, and family. Death is mysterious, beautiful, and tragic.
“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
Man’s search for meaning
When you ask why enough and scale the answers over space and time you end up in religious language.
Be careful how you condense the past. Orient yourself in the story at the intersection of the past and the future. It’s better to be incorrect about something true, than to be correct about something false. Recorded May 19th, 2021
We live a story. There’s going to be danger, there’s going to be surprise, there’s going to be risk. There’s going to be times when you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Just like every book you’ve ever read, or movie you’ve ever seen, or story that anyone’s ever recounted to you that anyone cares a damn to listen to, it will contain all of those elements. If it doesn’t it’s not worth listening to. And if your life doesn’t contain those elements it’s not going to feel worth living. Recorded May 12th, 2021
“See it for what it is” - You can only sat that once motion stops. Otherwise it’s in the process of becoming. Is it the lovers who stay up all night exploring each other, or the ones who are annoyed with each other over one small thing nested in a 100 layer articulation of some disappointment that they don’t dare admit? It’s both at once. We don’t know, until the game has been called. It is becoming, until it is. And it only can be called through death or eternity. Recorded May 5th, 2021.
Love is motion towards an ideal. Hell is when the movement stops. It is misery to have the ideal clearly defined, and to see clearly all that is and was, and have the space between those two things be measurable. Recorded April 28th, 2021
What do you love about your home that makes it worth improving? (Matt’s mic was off for the first 12 minutes). Recorded April 21, 2021.
Love can make you the hero or the fool, and perhaps it is most powerful when you become both at once. Recorded April 14th, 2021.
When emotions are fresh, reasoning about them can threaten to stall the emotional expression that needs to happen. Recorded March 31st, 2021
On Saint Patrick’s Day, Alison joins us to discuss the one year anniversary of the pandemic. Recorded March 17th, 2021.
What you give your attention to is what will manifest into reality. Hyper vigilance is not a psychologically tenable position to hold over any long period of time. Recorded March 10th, 2021.
We discuss money and value, and of course bitcoin and non-fungtable tokens. Recorded February 24th, 2021.
We discuss the importance of ideas battling each other through free speech, and what the alternative is.
Inspired by Jocko Willink we discuss Mindsets and what it means to creatively engage with life.
This is not a political podcast, but we have a new President, and that's something to talk about. As usual we have more questions than answers.
The world is so full of potential, there's more to do and experience than you could ever exhaust. We talk about thinking differently about the way we engage with all that opportunity.
In our first episode of 2021 we discuss the inherent difficulty of life, the potential of the future, and how our consciousness plays an active roll in determining what parts of that potential manifest into our lives.
2020 is finally drawing to a close, and we're finally learning how to breathe properly.
Show notes:
James Nestor’s book - https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AX7OG8I0AU2U&dchild=1&keywords=james+nestor+breath&qid=1609264391&sprefix=James+nest%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1
Wim Hof - https://www.amazon.com/Wim-Hof-Method-Activate-Potential/dp/1683644093/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3SR8T8V0GANSV&dchild=1&keywords=wim+hof&qid=1609264426&sprefix=Wim%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-2
Eric Nueman - https://www.amazon.com/Origins-History-Consciousness-Mythos-Princeton/dp/0691163596/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15QC7U41THF9R&dchild=1&keywords=eric+neumann&qid=1609264466&sprefix=Eric+Neu%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1
Joe Rogan - https://open.spotify.com/episode/58Drs6tKeuq82hMTbcDC0G
Elon musk - https://youtu.be/fjLa834mv8Q
Part 3: In this 3 part series, we explore what it means to lie, and what it means to live a truthful life.
Part 2: In this 3 part series, we explore what it means to lie, and what it means to live a truthful life.
Part 1: In this 3 part series, we explore what it means to lie, and what it means to live a truthful life.
Recorded September 23rd.
BLM, 1619, and the New York Times, all backed off of their most controversial positions. What gives?
Recorded September 16th.
What is Critical Race Theory, and how does it interact with our relationships, our institutions, and our country.
Show Notes:
Critical Race Theory https://newdiscourses.com/tftw-critical-race-theory/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory Sherwood Thompson https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Diversity-Justice-Sherwood-Thompson/dp/1442216042
Whitehouse declaration https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/M-20-34.pdf
OMB = Office of Management and Business https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Peter Boghossian - Grievance Studies https://areomagazine.com/2018/10/02/academic-grievance-studies-and-the-corruption-of-scholarship/ https://heterodoxacademy.org/academic-grievance-studies/
James Lindsay on Joe Rogan: https://youtu.be/FtNW3I1FZ5o
Coleman Hughes: The intellectual roots of Wokeness https://youtu.be/2CMaxEqaccM
Derrik Bell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Bell#Scholarship https://lawdawghall.blogspot.com/2012/03/derrick-bell-whos-afraid-of-critical.html?m=1
Recorded September 9th.
School, COVID, Quotas at Oscars and artistic freedom, and defunding critical race theory instead of the police.
Recorded August 19th. Instead of a yard sign that say "I'm so gonna vote" I want a sign that says "I'm so glad you get to vote"
Recorded August 12th. How do you stay informed without going crazy? Tiger King has come to Matt’s house. Max Weber suggested that the state should have a monopoly on violence.
We've been behind uploading our episodes, this one was recorded on August 5th. 2020 has been a year of so much input, we've felt a little bit like over watered plants.
We’ve struggled recently with what to say, which topics to engage, and how to approach them. The result of that struggle has been a lack of engagement. I can hear it in our voices, and I don’t like it.
This week we invited Alison back to join the conversation and she pushed us to break the lines we’ve been avoiding. When I listened back to this episode I felt encouraged again about what we’re doing here. I was reminded again why I like doing it.
I hope you enjoy.
Part of achieving understanding is making room for it. Much like spring cleaning, when you purge a lot of your stuff, you can then re-examine what remains. The resulting psychological state is one of renewed and refreshed clarity.
It is helpful in a period of waiting to ask, what might I remove. What could I give up as a way to prepare myself or open myself to the things I don’t know yet.
Are we seeing some kind of breaking point? We've noticed that comedy can make way for clarity out of confusion. Not that we're funny, that's not what we do here.
Travis county Co-parenting class: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/dro/parenting-class
Bret Weinstein's DarkHorse Podcast - Black Intellectual Roundtable https://youtu.be/pHGt733yw3g
"We, as a populace, are overreacting in haste to highly interpretive narratives around circumstances that we do not fully understand & seem not to want to fully understand. It is crucial we take a stand for setting the records straight." - @JeremyPhilosoph https://newdiscourses.com/2020/07/mob-social-justice-dangerous-precedent-charging-amy-cooper/
We made a commitment, and did not keep it. Matt and Michael discuss the Declaration of Independence, Bret Weinstein's refreshing plan to save the republic, the sovereignty of the individual, and the proper orientation between government and personal potential.
Glad to be back.
Unity 2020 https://medium.com/@ArticlesOfUnity/the-articles-of-unity-f544f930d336
The Declaration of Independence https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
A poem by Michael kicks off a conversation about information theory and the mechanics of communication.
The message spoken, That which is received Are they the same? Do we hear only what we anticipated or expected? Distortion in the one speaking and the one receiving. Yet we desire understanding? Conversation and communication, Endless yet wonderful, Unless to deceive. What do you desire?
A corona update turns into a conversation about the relationship between narrative and reality in our lives. What are we waiting for? What is actually happening? And what is the narrative that is being told?
Show references: Speaker Nancy Pelosi | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) https://youtu.be/D4n9MvLeIuA
Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Fortitude | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) https://youtu.be/RTGBJMDcras
Joe Rogan Experience #1470 - Elon Musk https://youtu.be/RcYjXbSJBN8
Introduction to Information Theory https://youtu.be/BCiZc0n6COY
Seek and you shall find. Ask and you shall receive. You might hear these phrases and dismiss them as a petition to the supernatural, but the ideas seem to be woven into the fabric of our consciousness, science, and even our lives on social media. They emerged as a theme in our conversation by way of particle physics, and thoughts about growing into new specialties.
Show Notes: Harry Cliff on Lex Fridman's podcast https://youtu.be/8A-5gIW0-eI
Higgs Field https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_field
Neurolink - Elon Musk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-vbh3t7WVI&feature=emb_title
Biohacking with Jamie Metzl https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/30-ross-douthat-the-rave-before-the-fall/id1469999563?i=1000471686956
Gary Vaynerchuk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Vaynerchuk
Roger Penrose https://youtu.be/orMtwOz6Db0
Another Pod from the Quar! This is a lively conversation continuing on our theme of Character and exploring into the deep metaphors around fertile soil. Lots of great people, ideas, and quotes referenced, and we tried to link to as many of them as we could remember below!
Character can be traced back to the Greek charassein, meaning “to sharpen, cut in furrows, or engrave.” This word gave the Greeks charaktēr, a noun meaning “mark, distinctive quality” (a meaning that was shared by the Latin character).
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Artificial Intelligence podcast by Lex Fridman https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artificial-intelligence-ai-podcast-with-lex/id1434243584
Roger Penrose (Lex Fridman interview) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/85-roger-penrose-physics-consciousness-infinite-universe/id1434243584?i=1000470085508
The master and his emissary - "All language is metaphor" "Any one thing can be understood only in terms of another thing, and ultimately that must come down to a something that is experienced, outside the system of signs (i.e. by the body). The very words which form the building blocks of explicit thought are themselves all originally metaphors, grounded in the human body and its experience.... the right hemisphere can see that metaphor is the only way to preserve the link between language and the world it refers to" (Pg 118)
Jordan Peterson - The Phycological significance of the Biblical Stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
Carl Jung on Neuroses https://academyofideas.com/2019/01/carl-jung-value-of-anxiety-disorders/ https://academyofideas.com/2019/02/carl-jung-overcoming-anxiety-disorders/
"Your job isn’t to do the growing. Do the work of creating fertile soil, and the work of keeping the weeds out."
"You have to be honest about the things that can bring the ship down"
Last week our discussion about freedom and structure led us into thoughts on character in times of adversity. This week we pick up that thread to see where it takes us. Join us on this journey to the shores of ignorance.
What is the relationship between freedom and structure, and how is Character build and revealed while interacting with that relationship?
In the midst of uncertainty and fear we sat down to talk about how we can find hope and beauty in these times.
We figured out podcast distancing and recorded our first remote episode. Of course we talked about Corona, and the uncertainty and questions that seem to be causing so much anxiety right now.
(Recorded February 26, 2020) Matt and Michael sit down to talk about presence and respect in family, friend and work relationships, community, parenting, consciousness and sense of time.
(Recorded Wednesday March 11th)Alison Vaclav joins us for a discussion about ritual, responsibility, and hope amidst the anxiety and fear of the Corona pandemic and an election year.
This is part 3 of a 3 part series where we sit down and talk with our children. In this episode we talk with Evelyn, Hannah, and Hazel, the 3 youngest kids in the group of 8 children between Michael and Matt.
What starts as a brief history about starting a business leads us hesitantly into the political landscape. It feels dangerous, but a lively and hopeful conversation arises by confronting the uncomfortable.
Linked References:
Elon Musk Documentary: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07KSCZJX4/ref=share_ios_movie
The Madness of Crowds - by Douglas Murray https://www.amazon.com/Madness-Crowds-Gender-Race-Identity/dp/1635579988/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=CjwKCAiA-vLyBRBWEiwAzOkGVOgVL1pyLf32wCVqnKRwdyEY1-iC9vt1tJa1bWE-yOtsaP7nYU87iRoClDwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241911533435&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028315&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13423149574048494668&hvtargid=aud-840076997981%3Akwd-800380625&hydadcr=24633_10399728&keywords=the+madness+of+crowds&qid=1583153779&sr=8-2
The Woman Defending Harvey Weinsteinein https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000464899201
Jeff Bezos Quote: "I observed people who are right a lot, and I noticed a few things about them. People who are right a lot, they listen a lot. And people who are right a lot, change their mind a lot. And people who are right a lot, they seek to disconfirm their most profoundly held convictions, which is very unnatural for humans. We like to observe the evidence that confirms our preexisting beliefs. And people who are right a lot, work very hard to do that unnatural thing of trying to disconfirm their beliefs. Changing your mind a lot is so important. You should never let anybody trap you with anything you've said in the past Sometimes you get new data, and when you get new data, you should change your mind. By the way, sometimes you don't get new data and you just reanalyze the situation and you realize it's more complicated than you initially thought was, and you change your mind. It's frustrating to watch politicians because they're not allowed to change their mind. As soon as they change their mind, they get accused of being flip-floppers. When reality is: Anybody who doesn't change their mind a lot is dramatically underestimating the complexity of the world that we live in."
This is part 2 of a 3 part series where we sit down and talk with our children. In this episode we talk with Estella and Emerson, the 2 middle kids in the group of 8 children between Michael and Matt.
Zarghun Dean joins the conversation about determinism (Episodes 14 & 15). This is Zarghun's second time on our podcast. Previously on Ep 3 he joined us to talk about Fatherhood and Divorce. We're so glad to have him back for this conversation.
Zarghun Dean joins the conversation about determinism (Episodes 14 & 15). This is Zarghun's second time on our podcast. Previously on Ep 3 he joined us to talk about Fatherhood and Divorce. We're so glad to have him back for this conversation.
This is part 1 of a 3 part series where we sit down and talk with our children. In this episode we talk with the 3 oldest of the group of 8 children between Michael and Matt.
This is the second half of our conversation that started in ep 14, so listen to that one first. Episode 14 and 15 are based around a discussion Brett Weinstein and Sam Harris had about free will on Brett's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521?i=1000459815266
The breakdown in this podcast on free will is really good. I feel like they take it to the logical conclusions in which they decide what to believe. I don’t know if this is the right words. But Sam really shows that what he believes is impractical and he tries to get out of it by referencing our psychology as experiencing something like free will but it’s not really. Brett deftly points out that if there is no free will then the conversation and all of Sam’s points are pointless. Brett does agree that it is hard to get around determinism and almost says we have to accept free will no matter how limited it is. I think Brett would argue more on how much freewill we have or assume to have than that it is a completely deterministic reality. Brett mostly see the problems of a fully deterministic perspective and how impractical it is.
Paul Vanderclay response: https://youtu.be/5dm7lTDdBOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yIjoIy3Fk Talk about Manifest image and Scientific image (Wilfrid Sellars)
Sam Harris, Ben Shapiro, and Eric Weinstein (free will) https://youtu.be/jzXePwgeIBI
Daniel Bonevac - Manifest and Scientific Images https://youtu.be/aVoWTnpF5ew
Sam’s Argument - Free Will https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B007GCYUX8&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006
45 min def of free will brain scans show that the decision is made ms before we know we made a decision. Assumptions of free will. Could have behaved differently. We are the conscious source of our thoughts
Benjamin Libet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet 11:10 imagine a perfect device. What? At 14 minutes he mentions voluntary and involuntary and that this does not really matter We are observers
Free Wiil - Sam's website April 5, 2012 https://samharris.org/free-will-and-free-will/
Sam Harris and Richard Lang
Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are mutually compatible and that it is possible to believe in both without being logically inconsistent.[1] Compatibilists believe freedom can be present or absent in situations for reasons that have nothing to do with metaphysics.[2] They say causal determinism does not exclude the truth of possible future outcomes.[3]
This episode is based around a discussion Brett Weinstein and Sam Harris had about free will on Brett's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521?i=1000459815266
The breakdown in this podcast on free will is really good. I feel like they take it to the logical conclusions in which they decide what to believe. I don’t know if this is the right words. But Sam really shows that what he believes is impractical and he tries to get out of it by referencing our psychology as experiencing something like free will but it’s not really. Brett deftly points out that if there is no free will then the conversation and all of Sam’s points are pointless. Brett does agree that it is hard to get around determinism and almost says we have to accept free will no matter how limited it is. I think Brett would argue more on how much freewill we have or assume to have than that it is a completely deterministic reality. Brett mostly see the problems of a fully deterministic perspective and how impractical it is.
Paul Vanderclay response: https://youtu.be/5dm7lTDdBOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yIjoIy3Fk Talk about Manifest image and Scientific image (Wilfrid Sellars)
Sam Harris, Ben Shapiro, and Eric Weinstein (free will) https://youtu.be/jzXePwgeIBI
Daniel Bonevac - Manifest and Scientific Images https://youtu.be/aVoWTnpF5ew
Sam’s Argument - Free Will https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B007GCYUX8&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006
45 min def of free will brain scans show that the decision is made ms before we know we made a decision. Assumptions of free will. Could have behaved differently. We are the conscious source of our thoughts
Benjamin Libet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet 11:10 imagine a perfect device. What? At 14 minutes he mentions voluntary and involuntary and that this does not really matter We are observers
Free Wiil - Sam's website April 5, 2012 https://samharris.org/free-will-and-free-will/
Sam Harris and Richard Lang
Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are mutually compatible and that it is possible to believe in both without being logically inconsistent.[1] Compatibilists believe freedom can be present or absent in situations for reasons that have nothing to do with metaphysics.[2] They say causal determinism does not exclude the truth of possible future outcomes.[3]
Part 2 of our 2020 conversation. Feel what you feel so that you know what you feel. Cursing & retired words. We need wisdom that doesn’t downplay the youthful. Twitter is poisonous. Instagram doesn't seem to be. Limiting yourself makes you creative. Cimarron, and the creative process.
Eric Weinstein - The Portal https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-portal%2Fid1469999563&token=889e1d-1-1578868157551
Brett Weinstein - The Dark Horse (interview w Sam Harris) https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fbret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast%2Fid1471581521&token=91392f-1-1578868157551
Trump Article - Rocky picture https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Ftrump-campaign-trolls-wapo-over-trump-rocky%E2%80%A6&token=dec845-1-1578868157551
Cimaron - Matt McCloskey https://Matt-McCloskey.lnk.to/uaf7ZgOh
Twin mice - slow aging https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FQRt7LjqJ45k&token=e93238-1-1578868157551
Iain McGilchrist - Master and His Emissary https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMaster-His-Emissary-Divided-Western%2Fdp%2F0300245920%2Fre%E2%80%A6&token=b9b9b7-1-1578868157551
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFlow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics%2Fdp%2F006%E2%80%A6&token=52d6af-1-1578868157551
T.S. Eliot - Four Quartets https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFour-Quartets-T-S-Eliot%2Fdp%2F0156332256%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fcri%E2%80%A6&token=2db3c2-1-1578868157551
It’s a new decade: Reflections, forward and backward. Sould you make your bed? Michael doesn’t know who Paul Rudd is. Adversity keeps us young. Order and Chaos. Feel what you feel so that you know what you feel. We feel young, but we’re not young. We’re interested in fasting.
Eric Weinstein - The Portal https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-portal%2Fid1469999563&token=889e1d-1-1578868157551
Brett Weinstein - The Dark Horse (interview w Sam Harris) https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fbret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast%2Fid1471581521&token=91392f-1-1578868157551
Trump Article - Rocky picture https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Ftrump-campaign-trolls-wapo-over-trump-rocky%E2%80%A6&token=dec845-1-1578868157551
Cimaron - Matt McCloskey https://Matt-McCloskey.lnk.to/uaf7ZgOh
Twin mice - slow aging https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FQRt7LjqJ45k&token=e93238-1-1578868157551
Iain McGilchrist - Master and His Emissary https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMaster-His-Emissary-Divided-Western%2Fdp%2F0300245920%2Fre%E2%80%A6&token=b9b9b7-1-1578868157551
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFlow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics%2Fdp%2F006%E2%80%A6&token=52d6af-1-1578868157551
T.S. Eliot - Four Quartets https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFour-Quartets-T-S-Eliot%2Fdp%2F0156332256%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fcri%E2%80%A6&token=2db3c2-1-1578868157551
Part 2 of our conversation with Michael's wife Alison. We discuss childbirth, dance, dreams, music, memory, and the ancient roots that underly them all.
We decided to split this conversation into 2 parts, so be sure to start with part 1!
Michael's wife Alison joins us for episode 10 of Shores of Ignorance. We discuss childbirth, dance, dreams, music, memory, and the ancient roots that underly them all.
We decided to split this one into 2 parts, so stay tuned for part 2!
Mark Stoney is an amazing musician and artist from the UK. He shares about the recent passing of his friend Seth Gibbs from stomach cancer. Seth was a prolific musician in the Austin scene. He will be missed.
Mark also gets into the hardships of being a musician and how he came to a point where he had to change.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoney_(musician)
https://stoney.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/stoneystuff/
Check us out at:
You Tube: (We are experimenting with filming the podcast) https://youtu.be/4r81KzpyeFQ
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
Podbean https://shoresofignorance.podbean.com/feed.xml
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1CMujQWq3CXuNIUeA55f8j?si=3Lx3BdObTb682a7nuCcAlg
A great conversation with David Ramirez. He is a local Austin Musician who talks with us about persistence, meaning through the creative process, and life as a musician.
http://www.davidramirezmusic.com https://www.instagram.com/davidramirez/?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=11qy22t80swwv
Check us out at:
You Tube: (We are experimenting with filming the podcast) https://youtu.be/4r81KzpyeFQ
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
Podbean https://shoresofignorance.podbean.com/feed.xml
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1CMujQWq3CXuNIUeA55f8j?si=3Lx3BdObTb682a7nuCcAlg
Nicole McCharen is a certified birth doula and a co-active coach and has been working with mamas for over 15 years. In this episode, we talk with Nicole about here experiences in the birthing world and mamas.
https://www.mama-bloom.com http://www.givingaustinlaborsupport.org
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
Podbean https://shoresofignorance.podbean.com/feed.xml
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1CMujQWq3CXuNIUeA55f8j?si=3Lx3BdObTb682a7nuCcAlg
Life is messy and wonderful. Natalie Boone and Matt McCloskey (co-host) share about their very recent break-up.
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
Podbean https://shoresofignorance.podbean.com/feed.xml
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1CMujQWq3CXuNIUeA55f8j?si=3Lx3BdObTb682a7nuCcAlg
Matt and Michael explore creativity, discipline, and fear with Phillip Edsel a musician, photographer, and entrepreneur. Phillip met Matt at MOMOS in Austin in the early 2000s. They talk about maturing as musicians and making a living as an artist. He has two bands Courrier and New York Movie (linked below). Also check out his Instagram for some amazing photos of people in motion and his morning thought. He also has a podcast called Morning Thoughts.
Courrier https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/courrier/333532169
New York Movie https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fbasecamp.com%2F&show_artwork=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fusers%2F198688230&visual=true#
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/edsel
Podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-thoughts-by-philip-edsel/id1293565872?mt=2
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
In this episode, Matt and Michael talk with Zarghun Dean the founder of Tribeza magazine about his experience starting a company. He ran Tribeza for about 10 years and then sold it in 2009. Zarghun and Matt also share about divorce and how they have navigated being single fathers
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2.
Matt and Michael interview Mike McCloskey, a licensed professional counselor (and Matt's father). They discuss therapy, what it is, what it's for, Mike's 40yr career, and subjects of suffering, shame, wisdom, and joy.
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2
Matt and Michael discuss the why's and hows and what's of their new podcast Shores of Ignorance.
Check us out at:
Instagram: @shoresofignorance
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shores-of-ignorance/id1438899219?mt=2