The journey from poverty to interviewing a president
Where real advantage comes from, the media landscape, a 5 hour podcast, a beloved Christmas carol and more.
Third Drive Stage
I met Jason Whitlock, a columnist, podcaster and digital TV host for Blaze Media at a friends house in Nashville. He’s a fascinating guy, loves following the truth wherever it may lead, loves sports and cares about his country. He invited me on his show Fearless with Jason Whitlock where we spoke quite a bit about my experiences with Marxist ideology and growing up in three different countries which experimented with that system. You can find it here.
I asked Jason to speak to me on Third Drive Stage, where we interview remarkable people on how to live life well. He agreed. I wish we had a couple of hours to unpack some of his experiences and insights, we will at a later date.
Highlights - Growing up in Indianapolis in the 70s - The role of parents and grandmother in Jason's life - Parental Privilege - The changing landscape of American media - Fearlessness and following the truth wherever it may lead - Interviewing President Donald Trump
Things I’ve learned
Pay close attention to your seemingly disconnected passions and interests. These often come together as a superpower you were meant to bring to this world.
Podcasts
This may suck you in if you’re interested in blockchain/Web3 AND geopolitics, which I realize very few people are. Also it’s an 5 hour podcast, and I actually listened to the whole thing. It’s awesome. Took me a few days to finish it and it was forth it. @tferriss and @balajis on: transhumanism vs. anarcho-primitivism, Web3, Decentralization & counter, new governments and the future of humanity.
Books
I keep the Sabbath as my (in the words of Abraham Heschel) “Cathedral in Time”. A simple and yet transcendent practice I keep ever Friday night to Saturday night. It transforms me, fills me up with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, perspective, creativity and connection. One of the things I do every Saturday, is read a book, article, or listen to a podcast about the Sabbath to immerse myself more fully in it.
As a result I have a collection of favorite books, which I can list later. This week a started a new one: The Sabbath World by Judith Shulevitz.
Awarded the Noted book by New York Times status. I’m not even on chapter 2 and I’m recommending it.
One particular insight is the impact of Sabbath culture on American culture and western civilization as a whole. Turns out American puritans, who founded this country “had such a deep hunger for the Sabbath—for the right kind of Sabbath—that they left England, whose Sabbaths they considered corrupt and lax, and sailed to America, in order to keep the kind of disciplined, godly Sabbaths they believed would transform their earthly existence into a New Jerusalem.”
Quotes
On postmodernism “There is no voice, no perspective that carries more weight than any other, because no one has access to certainty about anything. There is no Story to make sense of stories, no Truth to make sense of truths, no Metanarrative to make sense of narratives. All Claims to the contrary are “totalitarian” and are not to be tolerated. The worst face of postmodernism is that nothing has metaphysical or moral weight; it is the culture of whatever, a nihilism for Everyman.” Steven Garber - Visions of Vocation
Music
In my household the tradition is to start Christmas season, setup the tree and bust out the Spotify Christmas playlist after thanksgiving. My Ultimate Christmas Playlist.
So here’s a little taste of Christmas cheer from my Christmas album with a lyric video to Silent Night, a song written by two guys 200 years ago in Obendorf, an Austrian village. Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr had to come up with something to be sang with a guitar because the organ at their church was not working ( so the legend goes). They came up with Silent Night, which has been translated to 300 languages and is one of the most beloved Christmas Carols worldwide. How’s that for a burst of inspiration.
Have a great weekend, share your thoughts in the comment section and if you liked anything here, forward it to a friend.