Audacious Compassion

Our final episode. We appreciate all of you very much, and want to thank you for listening and sharing your questions and situations with us. Don’t forget that you can find us elsewhere: Gregory’s actual play podcast Tabletop Garden. Future Proof Games, our indie game studio and the Future Proof Podcast. We make games that … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 029 – Toothpaste and Lemonade"

Another short episode this month, and our final scheduled episode until we receive a prompt. We focus mostly on some media that’s been inspiring us: Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle and the crushing feeling of looooong-running projects. Hbomberguy‘s massive Twitch stream of Donkey Kong 64 in support of the Mermaids charity. Famous folks like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 028 – January 2019 Update"

No full episode this month, but we give an update on how we’re doing and plug our other work: Melissa’s publishing a trip diary of their Christmas trip to Nuremberg! Gregory has been working on revamping and improving their Patreon. Gregory has a new podcast called Tabletop Garden, where you can listen to short roleplaying … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 027 – Holiday Update 2018"

We talk about how to persuade people to be compassionate. This is a combined October/November episode, with a transcription coming soon! Our prompt came from a friend of the show: So yeah, like, I play a lot of video games, like you do, and I consider myself open-minded and respectful of other people while playing. I … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 026 – Schrödinger’s Ableist"

We talk about demonstrating active compassion in the face of systemic injustice. Our prompt came from a friend of the show and was paraphrased from a verbal conversation: I really like your show, but I have a hard time figuring out how to apply your ideas. I work in an industry where I see active … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 025 – Ramen Philosophy"

We talk about being compassionate toward a group of anonymous people that you perceive as immorally complacent. Content warnings for this episode: mention of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. We also talk about The Norwood Suite by Cosmo D; Fallen London by Failbetter Games; and Melissa’s Fallen London fiction, “The Bazaar Correspondent“. If … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 024 – Enjoying That Hamburger"

We discuss recognizing when people are making assumptions about the role family should have in your life and how to deal with that. Content warnings for this episode: discussions of depression, family problems, and self-harm. We also talk about #loveindies week, which we participated in, and He, She and It by Marge Piercy. Please share … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 023 – Be Dramatic"

No episode this month! We didn’t receive a listener prompt, and we’ve decided not to make a habit of coming up with topics just for the sake of making an episode. If you have a question or topic surrounding everyday compassion, write us@avery-weir.net. Share the podcast with a friend, and let us know if you … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 022.5 – A Brief Message"

We discuss bikeshedding, which is when people discussing solutions for a large, complex problem bog themselves down in minutia. In this episode, we examine a situation in which a discussion about redesigning healthcare in the United States becomes hyper-focused on one aspect of American health and lifestyle. Content warnings for this episode: discussions of anti-fat … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 022 – Two Spaces Per Tab"

We discuss proxy arguments, where people are having a disagreement in place of a wider ideological argument. In this episode, we look at the current state of the Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange. Why are people getting suspended left and right? Why does IPS seem to have more problems than other similar sites? What can they … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 021 – Unironic Devil’s Advocate"

How can you accept your feelings and still make intentional choices when you’re in an unpleasant situation? Our prompt comes from a listener: Dear Y’all, Help me not hate my puppy. My teenage son called me in a panic recently because our puppy had bitten him on the finger. It turned out that it was a … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 020 – Cute Cat Photo"

How do you show compassion when a tragedy happens to someone you don’t know well? Our prompt comes from a listener: How to express compassion when someone you know, but not that well, is going through something rough. The instigating situation is the husband of one of my coworkers passed away, and some of my other … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 019 – Bobblehead of Starbuck"

How do you understand and handle your own rash emotional reactions in everyday situations? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Yvette Colomb (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): I’ve always had a short fuse. I’ve been quick to rise and lose my temper, but on the flip side I’m quick to get over it when … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 018 – A Perfectly Good Strategy"

How do you manage your own and others’ grudges and longstanding grievances? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Tinkeringbell (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): About 8 years ago, we had some serious get-a-lawyer trouble with a couple of neighbors. I was in university at the time, and I have a general knowledge of what … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 017 – Holiday Cheer"

How do people in a community choose to be disruptive or considerate? Our prompt comes from an anonymous listener: Dear Y’all, I am a teacher struggling a bit with empathy for my students. Some situations are fairly minor. For example, I strongly dislike a student who constantly comes late to class and then takes up time … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 016 – I Don’t Even Have Cutlery"

How do you deal with someone who makes assumptions about people based on hasty categorization? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Xander (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): A close relative was recently engaged to this very sweet and friendly woman (aged 24) who happens to have a rather bad trait. She’s very quick to … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 015 – Four Pints in a Gallon"

How do you understand requests for attention and help others understand your boundaries? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Mark (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): Basically, I don’t have enough time. I have so many things I want to do (books to read, stories to write, pictures to draw, etc.) that I … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 014 – Weird Abusive House Ghosts"

We’ve had a year of Audacious Compassion episodes! Let’s review some of the recurring themes in our chats! We discuss: Having meta-conversations about an issue, Courtesy vs. kindness in the context of power, and Self-reflection to determine what your feelings actually are about an issue. We also talk about Restaurant to Another World and the … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 013 – Dull Food Piece"

How can you be compassionate (and act compassionately) toward someone with hateful views? We’re a little late this month, but our topic is a good one. It comes from an anonymous user, who asks: How about compassion for someone with very different and opposite world views? For example, I have an Islamophobic coworker. I know … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 012 – Your Soul Leaving Your Body"

How do you communicate in a group of friends with conventions that grate on your nerves? Our topic today is from our friend Zoë: How do I deal with a group of friends who engages in a behavior that you find frustrating (like, constantly interrupting or talking over each other) but no one doing it … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 011 – Compassion for the Pooches"

How do you empathize with people who seem cruel or rude? How do you recognize that “monsters” are people, too? Our topic today is driven from some recent experiences of our own: How do you empathize with people who seem to be cruel or rude? In other words, how do you empathize with jerks, and what’s the value … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 010 – The ‘Why People Do Bad Things’ Thing"

How do you avoid repeated arguments with a person even when there’s nothing to argue about? Sometimes you realize far too late that you actually agree and that you’re just miscommunicating. Our prompt comes from Thom Root (@invisime) on Twitter: Thom: A coworker and I can’t stop violently agreeing with each other. AC: Is this … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 009 – That Dudebro Shoulder-Bumping Thing"

We supply our own problem: how to be compassionate toward people who change or learn slower than you think they should? Is it anyone’s problem but your own? What should we do with the problems we’re having with our own family? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 008 – Peeved Partner in the Piedmont"

How does compassion look when you’re powerless to fix a situation? How do you avoid just repeating, “That’s rough. I’m sorry this is happening”? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, please write to us@avery-weir.net. You can also follow or contact us on Twitter! This episode is driven … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 007 – I’m Sorry This Is Happening"

What does compassion look like in a frustrating team setting? What does “compassion” even mean and how do you want to practice it? How do you deal with frustration and people who bother you? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, please write to us@avery-weir.net. You can also … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 006 – Working With the Fonz"

How can you help people when their problems seem like part of an enormous, intractable system? It’s been a tough month for a lot of people and sometimes problems seem beyond us. However, we can each make a difference as long as we learn how to genuinely help and make sure to look after ourselves. … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 005 – A Pretty Talented Panda Bear"

We talk about coercive discussion, where someone seems to be trying to provoke you into talking about a topic that will likely lead to an argument. Our prompt today: I’m at the water cooler and my coworker wants to talk about how wonderful Trump is. I’m a minority and voting for Hillary. How do I … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 004 – Bone Brigade"

In this episode, we talk about situations where it’s hard to discern someone’s request for change and to give it a direct yes or no answer. Here’s an excerpt of the email we received: He has complained about this a few times, so I finally (having learned about Non-Violent Communication!) asked him if he were making a request for me … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 003 – Baby FaceTime"

How do you handle when people ask you for help and it’s not clear what they want? What about when you’ve tried to help them before and it hasn’t worked? A friend of the show is troubled by “people (usually students) who ask for help, don’t change their behavior, ask for help, etc. Repeat ad … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 002 – Don’t Mention Fish"

This is the first episode of Audacious Compassion, a podcast where we talk about how to practice empathy in difficult, everyday situations. In this episode we discuss minor domestic annoyances. We’ve got two different examples. One is a partner leaving cups places other than near the dishwasher in the kitchen. The other is, when you … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 001 – Go Buy a Caddy"