Five Things I Read This Week

I'm sorry. I normally try to have a theme for you. There is no theme to this week's podcast, but I think it is pretty interesting nonetheless. Have fun! 1. Democratic Socialists of America Leader: ‘If Anyone Was Ever a Socialist It Was Jesus’ by Rev. Ben Johnson from Intellectual Takeout 2. How to Replicate J.R.R. Tolkien’s Education for Your Child by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 3. Effective Pro-Life Strategies for a Post-Roe World by Nicholas Senz from Crisis Magazine 4. How to Write a Book Without Losing Your Mind by Olga Khazan from The Atlantic 5. Three Questions for the New Antiliberals by Nathan Schlueter from Public Discourse All music from audionautix.com.

I am always interested in the world that we live in, and I am interested in how it changes. I have no doubt that the world is even going to continue to change, and no one knows what it will look like in 100 years. However, I think there are some important tendencies in the world right now that will shine a light on what it will look like in the future. 1. A Place Where Conservative Teenagers Feel Free to Be Themselves by Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks from the New York Times 2. Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges by Peter Gray from Psychology Today 3. Were We Destined to Live in Facebook’s World? by Alexis C Madrigal from The Atlantic 4. Sam Harris Asks Questions Jordan Peterson Can’t Answer by Esther O'Reilly from Patheos 5. "The Abolition of Man" at Age Seventy-Five by Bradley J Birzer from The Imaginative Conservative All music from audionautix.com.

I admittedly have a mishmash of articles for you this week, but I think that the unifying theme of this podcast is that we want to make the world a better place. In order to do that, we need good things to aspire towards and caution to avoid the bad things. I think we're going to hit on a little bit of both today. 1. Can the Liberal Arts Save Our Souls? by EJ Hutchinson from The Imaginative Conservative 2. There is No Tomorrow Without the West’s Heroes and Myths by Dylan Stevenson from The American Conservative 3. Holocaust Deniers Must Be Confronted In The Open, Not Banished To The Dark Web by Daniella Greenbaum from The Federalist 4. Why Christians Should Read Detective Fiction by Grayson Quay from Intellectual Takeout 5. Babel and the Perils of Self-Promotion by Walter R Strickland II from Intersect All music provided by audionautix.com.

Meaning matters. As humans, we are wired to look for meaning in our own lives and the world around us. It is remarkable that how we find that meaning in so many different ways and in so many different places. Not all places are created equal though. That's what were going to talk about today.1. Finding Your 'Why' by Robert Stacey from The Imaginative Conservative2. Art, Vocation, and Why We Hunger for Redemption Stories by Hugh Whelchel from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics3. Is the Inability to ‘Adult’ Driving the Teen Summer Job Decline? by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout4. Like Thinking For Yourself? Think Again by Todd Rains from Intellectual Takeout5. The Downsides of America’s Hyper-Competitive Youth-Soccer Industry by Linda Flanagan from The AtlanticAll music from audionautix.com.

As we think about what is wrong with the world, we can start diagnosing multiple potential problems. That kind of came across in my reading this week. There are plenty of things that we need to figure out if we are going to start fixing the world. Therefore, let's start figuring out what's wrong so we can worry about what's right. 1. One-Third of Americans Don't Believe 6 Million Jews Were Murdered during the Holocaust by David Brennan from Newsweek 2. Why Small Places Still Matter by Ryan Terry from The American Conservative 3. How to Disagree by Paul Graham from paulgraham.com. 4. You Are Not Perfect Just the Way You Are by Regis Nicoll from Crisis Magazine 5. Why Society Needs to Cultivate a True Elite Class by John Horvat from The Imaginative Conservative All music from audionautix.com.

I know that there has been a lot of breaking news this week that has the potential to impact American policy for decades. We're going to talk about that, but I want to broaden this discussion a little bit more. Clearly, this is going to be a controversial time, and because of that, I want to do with managing controversy a little bit more generally. 1. When the Content Police Came for the Babylon Bee by Adam Ford from The American Conservative 2. Physician Assisted Suicide and the Rise of Suicide Cults by Grace Emily Stark from Public Discourse 3. Justice Kennedy Retiring, Giving Trump Pivotal Court Pick by Mark Sherman from the Associated Press 4. The Coming Battle to Overturn Roe v. Wade by Emma Green from The Atlantic 5. How to Bring Joy to Your City by Brandon A Cox from brandonacox.com All audio from audionautix.com.

It is not only important to provide an education, but it is important to think about the content of that education. We can teach people about pretty much anything, but we can teach them quite wrongly as well. That's going to be the theme for today. We're going to worry about what is right and what is wrong with education, and we're going to think about how we can make it better. 1. Can Classical Education Help With Fake News? by Joshua Gibbs from the Circe Institute 2. A Brief History of Christian Humanism by Scott Postma from scottpostma.net 3. Ideology and the Humanities by Glenn Arbery from The Imaginative Conservative 4. Who’s on the Right Side of History? by Joseph Pearce from The Imaginative Conservative 5. How Did America Become a Nation of Slobs? by Jeff Minick from Intellectual Takeout All music from audionautix.com.

I find it interesting when we talk about freedom in contemporary culture today because people mean so many different things. Some people take a highly libertarian view while others seek to restrict freedom much more. Others even deny that human freedom is a real thing (we aren't going to talk about that today). Enjoy! 1. An Atheist Explains the True Reason Religion Terrifies Him by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 2. California University Refuses to Speak With Pro-Life Group About Free Abortion Drugs by Grace Carr from The Daily Signal 3. NY Times CEO: Facebook’s Algorithm Will ‘Damage’ Democracy by Eric Lieberman from The Stream 4. How Free Speech Makes The Modern University Possible by Wilson Shirley from The Federalist 5. The Tipping Point When Minority Views Take Over by Ed Yong from The Atlantic All music from audionautix.com

It is no secret that our country is incredibly divided right now, and I think there are some obvious reasons for that that people often times overlooked. I'm going to try to shed some light on that today. These articles might seem to be a bit diverse, but I think I can bring them together for you. 1. Do You Know What an Odyssey Is? by Eva Brann from The Imaginative Conservative 2. Is Jordan Peterson on a Suicide Mission? by Grayson Quay from The American Conservative 3. Today’s Two Main Political Camps Are Pro-Thought Versus Anti-Thought by Stella Morabito from The Federalist 4. A New Poll Finds Most Americans Are Overwhelmed by All the News by Jennie Neufeld from Vox 5. Atheist Community: Too Many Atheists Embracing ‘Troubling’ Morals by Denyse O'Leary from Intellectual Takeout All music from audionautix.com.

I don't really have a great theme for my choices this week, but there are some interesting and kind of controversial things we're going to talk about, so I hope you enjoy it. 1. Aristotle’s Wrongful Death by Frank Bruni from the New York Times 2. Children Under Siege in the Digital Age by Allison Burr from The Imaginative Conservative 3. How Legalizing Abortion Undermines The Basis For A Free Society by Kenny Xu from The Federalist 4. A Pro-Abortion Rights Group Is Asking Candidates If They've Been Accused of Sexual Harassment by Li Zhou from Vox 5. Atheists Are Sometimes More Religious Than Christians by Sigal Samuel from The Atlantic All music from audionautix.com.

I like to think that we can do better. I like to think that we can make the world a better place. Maybe I'm too much of an optimist, and you would probably never get that impression from this podcast, but I think that it is important to remember that for every problem in the world, there is a solution. We may not like the solution, and it may be difficult, but there are ways to improve on problems that we see around us. That is one thing I am going to try to emphasize today. 1. The News Isn’t Fake. But It’s Flawed. by Frank Bruni from the New York Times 2. Better Models, not More Money: Higher Education Solutions by John Mark Reynolds from Eidos 3. Christianity and Progress by Joseph Pearce from The Imaginative Conservative 4. John Cleese Has a Theory on Why Political Correctness Is Rampant in Our Culture by Jon Miltimore from Intellectual Takeout 5. Rep. Kevin McCarthy: ‘Troubling’ Amazon Removed Christian Legal Group From Its Charity Program by Robert Donachie from The Daily Signal All music from audionautix.com.

We have a lot to talk about today, and I think that one thing that is particularly striking to me is how we never seem to listen. I've always found that it never hurts to listen to someone else. I may not accept what they say, and I often times will reject the ideas they have put forth, but listening never hurts, and it often helps. I'm going to try to demonstrate that concept through a rather random assortment of articles in this podcast.1. U.S. Fertility Rate Fell to a Record Low, for a Second Straight Year by Sabrina Tavernise from the New York Times2. Do Millennials Really Love Socialism? by Stephen Walters from Intellectual Takeout3. Influencing Culture through All the Spheres of Our Lives by Hugh Whelchel from the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics4. If The ‘Intellectual Dark Web’ Is Questionable, So Is The New York Times by Joy Pullmann from The Federalist5. Why Baseball Needs To Switch To Robot Umps As Soon As They’re Effective by Nathanael Blake from The FederalistAll music from audionautix.com.

Admittedly, some of the stories I'm highlighting for you this week are a little bit old. However, I didn't use a chance to talk about them on previous episodes, so I kind of put them all together here. There are many troubling trends in our culture, but I think we're going to hit on some of the biggest ones today. 1. Here’s How Few Republicans Are On College Faculties by Walter Williams from Intellectual Takeout 2. King Solomon, The False Mother, and Alfie Evans by Devorah Goldman from Public Discourse 3. Iowa Bans Nearly All Abortions As Governor Signs 'Fetal Heartbeat' Law by Brianne Pfannenstiel and William Petroski from USA Today 4. Don't Celebrate Karl Marx. His Communism Has a Death Count in the Millions by James Bovard from USA Today 5. How To Destroy Western Civilization Without Spilling Your Latte by Tom Gilson and John Zmirak from The Stream All music from audionautix.com.

It has been said that there is no constant in the world except change. I don't know that that's true, but I have heard it said, and there is no doubt that things change all the time. As Christians, we subscribe to a set of truths that do not change. Obviously, that can put us at odds with the world around us from time to time. How do we think about change? Let's explore that. 1. The Liberal Arts vs. Progressive Education by Robert Stacey from The Imaginative Conservative2. The Civilization That Soared and Enlivened the World by Robert W Merry from The American Conservative3. Christian, Choose Hope in an Age of Cynicism by Jason Duesing from The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission4. The Absurdity and Joy of Being a Local Newspaper Reporter by Teresa Mull from The American Conservative5. Why Humans Increasingly Are Unaware of Their Ignorance (And Why it's a Big Problem) by Barry Brownstein from Intellectual TakeoutAll music from audionautix.com.

There is a lot that needs to change in our world today, and as Christians, we need to be prepared for that. There are things we can actively do to move ourselves in the right direction. Let's talk about it. 1. The Death of Self-Education, the Death of the West by Daniel Lattier from The Imaginative Conservative 2. The Legacy of C.S. Lewis by James E Person Jr from The Imaginative Conservative 3. My Son Is Very Smart by Joshua Gibbs from the Circe Institute 4. The Problem With Social Media Isn’t The Media, It’s The Social by Robert Tracinski from The Federalist 5. 21 Books You Don't Have To Read by the Editors of GQ from GQ All music from audionautix.com.

There are some pretty amazing trends in our world today, and some of them really blow my mind. Often times, there is one way that makes an awful lot of sense, but everyone seems to want to move in the other direction. That is kind of what we're going to take a look at today. Like I wrote about on the blog this week, as Christians, we sometimes have to stand against culture. 1. Are We Defining Morality on a Sliding Scale? by Hugh Whelchel from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics 2. With Learning, Take the Scenic Route! by Andrew McDiarmid from The Stream 3. Stanford Study: The Most Religious Kids Do Best In School by Erielle Davidson from The Federalist 4. Going Local by George Yancey from Patheos 5.The Mister Rogers-ification of Christianity by Grayson Quay from The Imaginative Conservative All music from audionautix.com.

The Internet has been a hot topic all over the media in the past week, and I have a lot of thoughts about these things. As a result, even though some of these articles don't seem to obviously connect, I'm going to do my best to show these links together for you. 1. Why We’re So Bored by the Internet by Daniel Lattier from Intellectual Takeout 2. Can You Name a Holocaust Concentration Camp? 45% of Americans Can’t by Liberty McArtor from The Stream 3. How the Typewriter and German Brewers Transformed America by Bhu Srinivasan from the Foundation for Economic Education 4. The 3 Basic Ingredients Needed for Life Happiness by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 5. Zuckerberg Hearings Prove Government Shouldn’t Regulate Facebook by David Harsanyi from The Federalist All music from audionautix.com.

We are back to normal on the podcast, so I've got some news for you today. It is kind of a random assortment, but education, Facebook and a very exciting project will highlight the day. Enjoy! 1. Creativity Scores in America Have Steadily Declined Since 1990. Why? By Kerry McDonald from Intellectual Takeout 2. Schools Once Taught Biblical Literacy. Should They Do So Again? by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 3. How the Government Could Fix Facebook by Julia Angwin from The Atlantic 4. Christianity: Too Violent For Facebook by Rod Dreher from The American Conservative 5. An Unexpected Journal All music from Audionautix.com

I am going totally off the rails today. This is a totally different podcast, and I don't talk about anything I read this week because quite frankly I haven't read very much this week. You might ask why I haven't read very much. I have a really special project to tell you about. I'm going to give you a little bit of background on that story.

I'm sorry I missed you all last week! Time kind of got away from me, and I didn't have time to record this on Friday night. As a result, I have a combination of articles of things I read last week as I was preparing for that podcast as well as things I read this week. I didn't want to throw out the great stuff I found last week, so we are back and better than ever! 1. University Kicks InterVarsity Off Campus for Requiring Its Leaders to Be Christian by Relevant Staff from Relevant Magazine 2. A Tragic Abandonment of Identity: The Secularization of America's Religious Colleges and Universities by Arthur Goldberg from Public Discourse 3. The Triumph of Emotion Over Reason by Zachary Yost from The American Conservative 4. The Media’s Double Standard on Privacy and Cambridge Analytica by Patrick Ruffini from Medium 5. I Would've Aborted a Fetus with down Syndrome. Women Need That Right by Ruth Marcus from The Washington Post All music from audionautix.com.

A lot of interesting articles came up in my reading this week, and a lot of them actually echoed themes that I have been writing about on this website for the past few months. Some of this might be repetitious if you are a regular reader of the website, but I think that it has tons of applications for our world in 2018. 1. Mizzou Removes Margaret Sanger Poster From Its Library by Grace Carr from The Stream 2. Dying for the Truth: Hans and Sophie Scholl by Marie Meaney from Crisis Magazine 3. A Great Stream of Truth: Reading Great Texts by John Mark N Reynolds from Eidos 4. A New Generation Redefines What It Means to Be a Missionary by Saba Imtiaz from The Atlantic 5. ‘Be Yourself’ Is Not a Governing Philosophy by Jon Miltimore from Intellectual Takeout All music from audionautix.com.

I don't know why, but I have been thinking a lot about my future dissertation this week, and as a result, you'll notice that many of the articles I have chosen to relate to careers, self-awareness or (often times self-labeled) intellectuals. Thanks for coming along for another episode! 1. Why So Many People Struggle to Find Their Dream Job by Ryan Ferguson from the Foundation for Economic Education 2. YouTube Quietly Relies on Far-Left Organization to Help Police Content by Jarret Stepman from The Daily Signal 3. People Don't Actually Know Themselves Very Well by Adam Grant from The Atlantic 4. Do Not Get a PhD in the Liberal Arts, Unless… by Daniel Lattier from Intellectual Takeout 5. The Arrogant Ignorance of the "Well-Educated" by Joseph Pearce from The Imaginative Conservative All music from Audionautix.com.

I can't believe we have made it a quarter of the way to 100 episodes! If you have been on this journey with me from the beginning, thank you so much. Today is a bit more of a mishmash episode, but there are some hot button issues in general that I really haven't written or spoken about before, so you might be interested in that. 1. Work: Pushing Back Against the Curse by Josh Herring from Intersect 2. The Rise of Anti-Liberalism by Shadi Hamid from The Atlantic 3. Why Wardrobes Are for Grown-Ups Too by Joseph Pearce from The Imaginative Conservative 4. If You’re Sick of Thoughts and Prayers Because Shootings Still Happen, You Don’t Understand Christianity by Natasha Crain from Christian Mom Thoughts 5. Moral Outrage Is Self-Serving, Say Psychologists by Elizabeth Nolan Brown from Reason All music from Audionautix.com.

I apologize for slightly late release on this podcast, but I doubt many of you listen to it when it normally comes out at midnight anyway on Saturday morning. We have a lot to talk about! 1. Hillbilly Elegy and the Primacy of Personal Responsibility by Walter Donway from the Foundation for Economic Education 2. Humanities As a Way of Knowing by Robert M Woods from The Imaginative Conservative 3. Chesterton on the Dangers of 'Cloudy Political Cowardice' by Chuck Chalberg from Intellectual Takeout 4. The Emerging Pro-Life Majority by Rob Scharzwalder from The Stream 5. North Korea Fanboying Is Why We Can't Trust the Left by Robert Tracinski from The Federalist All music from audionautix.com.

This has been a pretty good week for me. As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, you might have heard that the Super Bowl went pretty well for me. Now, as an Olympics fans, we just had the Opening Ceremonies last night, so my prime time TV watching is pretty much set for the next two weeks. However, we're not just talking about sports today. Partially, yes, but we also touching on education and, of all things, comedy. Enjoy! 1. The Philadelphia Eagles: A Band of Bible-Believing Brothers Whose Faith is Inspiring Millions by Bri Lamm from Faith It 2. Sports Writers Lashed Out at Tony Dungy for Celebrating Christianity. Bad Move by Joshua Gill from The Stream 3. Why Senior Faculty Should Teach First-Year Students by Randall Smith from Public Discourse 4. Are You an ‘Educable’ Person? by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 5. P.G. Wodehouse: Balm for the Modern Soul by Dean Abbott from The Imaginative Conservative All music from Audionautix.com.

21st-century America is an interesting place. They are in the middle of serious change, and I am not convinced that these changes are what is best for our culture. Today, I'm going to talk about five trends that are damaging. The bright side of the show is that there are going to be some solutions proposed as well by some of these articles. 1. 'What’s Wrong with the World?' by Chuck Chalberg from Intellectual Takeout 2. Emphasis on Thinking Skills over Facts in Schools Contributes to Truth Decay by Chester E Finn Jr From EducationNext 3. Return of the MOOCs by Mene Ukueberuwa from City Journal 4. Should 20-Somethings Be Considered Adolescents? by Annie Holmquist from the Foundation for Economic Education 5. The Libraries Bringing Small-Town News Back to Life by David Beard from The Atlantic All music from audionautix.com.

I have kind of a random podcast episode for you this week. I can't say that all of these articles necessarily have a common theme, but I think that there are relevant for those of us who share a Christian worldview, and I did try to bear out these implications specifically and directly in the podcast today. Enjoy! 1. The Problem of Too Many Books by Daniel Lattier from The Imaginative Conservative 2. Massive Study Finds Link Between High Screen Time and Unhappiness by Jean Twenge from Intellectual Takeout 3. Big Brother Facebook Is Watching You by K.V. Turley from Crisis Magazine 4. The 10 Habits of Logical People by Daniel Lattier from the Foundation for Economic Education 5. Why Can't People Hear What Jordan Peterson Is Saying? by Conor Friedersdorf from The Atlantic All music from audionautix.com.

Our world is a crazy place. There's a lot of obviously major issues I could talk about on this podcast that are in the news every day. However, I decided to take a little different direction this week. I think these are still highly significant cultural issues especially for Christians, but you don't hear about very often. They impact your life every day, but no one thinks about them. 1. 6 Cracks in a Secular Worldview by Rebecca McLaughlin from The Gospel Coalition 2. Raising a Social Media Star by Taylor Lorenz from The Atlantic 3. Aliens in America! by Bradley J Birzer from The Imaginative Conservative 4. Friends of a Certain Age by Alex Williams from the New York Times 5. The Loneliness of the Christian Thinker by Tom Gilson from The Stream All music from Audionautix.com.

This is an interesting week on the podcast as some diverse articles fit together into a giant theme. Were talking about the trustworthiness of Christians, the danger of theocracy and how we deal with Facebook. It should be a fun ride. 1. Nurses Keep Healthy Lead as Most Honest, Ethical Profession by Megan Brennan from Gallup News 2. What Would Happen if the Church Tithed? by Mike Holmes from Relevant Magazine 3. Why Theocracy Is Terrible by Russell Moore from RussellMoore.com 4. Facebook Can't Be Fixed. by John Battelle from NewCo Shift 5. Facebook Overhauls News Feed to Focus on What Friends and Family Share by Mike Isaac from the New York Times All music from Audionautix.com.

It's a new year! The podcast is not really going to change very much as far as I can tell in 2018, but I hope you keep coming along for the ride! We have some literary articles today along with some discussion on the value of work, troubling trends in education and the impact of gratitude. Enjoy! 1. Sherlock Homeless by Joseph Pierce from The Imaginative Conservative 2. J.R.R. Tolkien: The Missionary's Ideal Companion by Jaclyn S. Parrish from the International Mission Board 3. The Dystopian Prospects of a World without Work by Joseph Sunde from the Acton Institute Powerblog 4. Whose School Is It? by Tom Jay from Crisis Magazine 5. Does "Counting Your Blessings" Work? by Sonya Huber from The Atlantic All music from audionautix.com.

It's the final podcast of 2017! I don't have an awesome way to track people who actually listen to these episodes, but if you did, thank you very much. It is kind of fun to do anyway, so even if no one listens, I still enjoy it. Today's episode is kind of random. I had a few leftover Christmas articles and a few other articles I thought were interesting. Have a very Happy New Year! 1. We Need Christmas More Than Ever by James Robison from The Stream 2. Charles Schulz's Pushback Against Secularism by Martin Cothran from Intellectual Takeout 3. What Is the Historical Evidence That Jesus Christ Lived and Died? by Dr. Simon Gathercole from The Guardian  4. Students Claim They've Created Browser Extension Measuring How Much 'Fake News' You're Reading by Jared Sichel from The Daily Wire 5. 'Gaming Disorder' May Get Classified As a Mental Health Condition — Here's What That Means by Kevin Loria from Business Insider  All music from Audionautix.com.

Well, we are here on Christmas Eve Eve, and what else should I be talking about other than the big day itself? We are at that weird intersection between a secular world that loves Christmas and a Christian world that actually has a reason for loving Christmas. That's what were talking about today. 1. Christmastime is Here — Cue the Charlie Brown Music by Barbara Lilley from The Stream 2. Why Do We All Watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” Every Christmas? by Hugh Whelchel from the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics 3. 10 Christmas Carols Everyone Should Know by Keith Getty from The Gospel Coalition 4. Americans See More Jingle, Less Jesus in Christmas Celebrations by Cathy Lynn Grossman from USA Today 5. The Reason for the Season by Rev. James V Schall SJ from The Stream All music from Audionautix.com.

We're going into some controversial territory today on the podcast. I haven't done this for a while, but there are things we need to talk about despite the fact that they might make people somewhat uncomfortable. 1. Why I'm Nervous about Driverless Cars by Russell Moore from RussellMoore.com 2. Ex-Facebook VP: Social Media Destroying Society with 'Dopamine Driven Feedback Loops' by Amy B Wang from the Chicago Tribune 3. What the ACLU Gets Wrong About the Separation of Church & State by Mark David Hall from The Imaginative Conservative 4. Planned Parenthood Tried To Cloak Itself In Religion, And Christians Are Having None Of It by Holly Scheer from The Federalist 5. How ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Symbolizes the Triumph of Common Sense by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout All music from Audionautix.com.

Image EDIT REMOVE Christianity has always been countercultural, and that's what we're going to talk about on the show today. We hold a lot of positions that are rapidly falling out of favor in American culture, and as a result, we have to be prepared for the reality that our life is going to look a little bit different than that of our neighbor. Maybe in the past, there was kind of a Christian coating that blanketed American culture, but that is becoming less and less true. Let me show you what I'm talking about. 1. The Desirability of Storytellers by Ed Yong from The Atlantic 2. Are Christians Called To Influence Society? A Note Of Caution by Jonny Mellor from Think Theology 3. Magnanimity: The Balm for Our Brutalized Public Discourse by Stephen M. Klugewicz from The Imaginative Conservative 4. Why I Would Never File A Lawsuit Saying My Child With Cystic Fibrosis Should Not Have Been Born by Mary Vought from The Federalist 5. How Celebration Fuels Achievement by Stu McLaren from MichaelHyatt.com All music from audionautix.com.

Although unintentionally, on the podcast this week we definitely have an educational theme going on. When you think about one common experience that almost everybody in America has, we pretty much all went to school. Even though we might have completed various levels of education, we inherently understand that there is something important to learning and gaining knowledge. Today's podcast is dedicated to that commitment. 1. Appreciating the Importance of Vocational Education by Rev. Ben Johnson from the Acton Institute Powerblog 2. Flat Earth Movement: Controversial Conspiracy Theory Is Booming in the U.S. by Katherine Hignett from Newsweek 3. Teacher Discovers that Young Students Really Can Be Taught to Think for Themselves by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 4. Stop Acting Like Technology Holds You Hostage by Trevin Wax from The Gospel Coalition 5. The Christian University: Steward of Western Civilization by Benjamin Myers from The Imaginative Conservative All music from Audionautix.com.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you had a wonderful day. On the podcast today, we are going to be touching on the holiday itself, the idea of progress and some more about those crazy Christians. 1. Americans Say To Pass The Turkey, Not The Politics, At Thanksgiving This Year by Jessica Taylor from NPR 2. Meet the Woman Who Helped Make Thanksgiving a US Holiday by John York from The Daily Signal 3. How Evil Is Tech? by David Brooks from the New York Times 4. Progress Comes Through Conflict? by Devin Foley from Intellectual Takeout 5. The Early Christians Were Odd, Too by Michael Kruger from The Gospel Coalition All music from audionautix.com.

Human nature is a funny thing, and it is even funnier that we never learn from the past. I know that there is certainly debate as to how cyclical history really is, but the stories I have for you this week seem like a 21st-century perspective on debates that have raged for hundreds or thousands of years. What does that tell me? Probably everything I am about to say has been said before, but I'm going to say it anyway. 1. Childhood Expert: Current Education System Will Soon ‘Disappear’ by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 2. Campus Conservatives Should Check Their Own Trolling by Nick Phillips from The American Conservative 3. Why the Worst Humans Are Able to Rise to Power by Brittany Hunter from Intellectual Takeout 4. Netflix Thinks You’re Bored and Lonely by Trevin Wax from The Gospel Coalition 5. Science: Constant Christmas Music Has Some Extremely Negative Mental Effects by Relevant Staff from Relevant Magazine All music from Audionautix.com.

This week, I was struck by the change in the world as well as the stability. We find ourselves in a seemingly endless tide of change, but we see certain themes shine through that seem to be inevitably tied to our human nature. We will see that in our story today. 1. 'Everyday Objects': Tiffany & Co Selling $9,000 Ball Of Yarn, $1,500 Coffee Can by Joseph Curl from The Daily Wire 2. Why We Still Love Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder On The Orient Express’ 40 Years After Her Death by Jessica Burke from The Federalist  3. Do Americans Shame Too Much – Or Not Enough? by Peter Stearns from Intellectual Takeout 4. The Surprising Revolt at the Most Liberal College in the Country by Chris Bodenner from The Atlantic 5. Our Secular Theodicy by Matthew Rose from First Things All music from Audionautix.com.

Just like we heard at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, the world is no doubt changing. As Christians, we understand that there were certain things that are never going to change, and those are the things that we hold firmly to. All five of my articles today relate to this important truth.  1. Christians and Intellectual Endeavors by George Yancey from Patheos 2. Why Nothing Is Sacred Anymore by John Horvat II from Crisis Magazine 3. CS Lewis: Don't Compromise Your Values to Fit in by Art Lindsley from the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics 4. Poll: 71% of Americans Say Political Correctness Has Silenced Discussions Society Needs to Have, 58% Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share by Emily Ekins from Intellectual Takeout 5. Happiness Is Other People by Ruth Whippman from the New York Times All music is from audionautix.com.

Another month has come and gone. Can you believe Halloween is coming right up on Tuesday? I didn't want to do an entire Halloween episode, but I will slip an article in at the end. We have a lot of fun things to hit first. This is a practical episode I think for 21st century America. 1. Edmund Burke: Champion of Ordered Liberty by John Attarian from The Imaginative Conservative  2. The Political Thrill of Having an Enemy by Shadi Hamid from The Atlantic 3. Big Data Meets Big Brother as China Moves to Rate Its Citizens by Rachel Botsman from Wired 4. The Right and Wrong Way to Close Your Mind by Trevin Wax from The Gospel Coalition  5. Why Millennials are Ditching Religion for Witchcraft and Astrology by Kari Paul from MarketWatch Music from Audionautix.com.

Last week was admittedly pretty random here on the podcast, but this week has a much more connected feel to it. It might seem weird as a millennial to be criticizing millennials, but I think we as a generation deserve it sometimes. 1. Why I Stopped Going to Church by Jeron from Medium 2. Does Morality Depend on Religion? by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 3. The Abolition of Mad Men by Justin Dyer from National Review 4. Why Are Millennials Wary of Freedom? by Clay Routledge from the New York Times 5. How Millennials Became 'Generation Meh' by Teresa Mull from The American Conservative Music courtesy of audionautix.com.

What an excellent week of articles! I had so many possible options to talk about that it was difficult to narrow it down only five. I hope I did justice to these five that I did choose, and they are a bit longer, so please stick with them because I think all five are valuable. 1. Thoughts on Vegas, and Why Men Keep Doing This by Charlie Hoehn from be yourself 2. What Rick and Morty Fans' Meltdown over McDonald's Szechuan Sauce Says about Geek Culture by Aja Romano from Vox  3. Millennials Are So Terrified Of Religion They’re Developing One Around Harry Potter by Amelia Hamilton from The Federalist 4. In a Divided Culture, Church Singing Can Unite and Invite by Brett McCracken from The Gospel Coalition 5. How the Fear of Uncertainty Leads to a Loss of Freedom by Elise Daniel from the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics As usual, all music is provided by Audionautix.com.

This week on the podcast is highly focused on education. I'm not sure why, but I guess those are just the articles I happened to come across. I hope you enjoy it! 1. How Music and Shakespeare Turned Around a Failing School by Annie Holmquist from Intellectual Takeout 2. How Books Designed for Soldiers’ Pockets Changed Publishing Forever by Cara Giaimo from Atlas Obscura 3. What Da Vinci Can Teach Us about Education by Martin Cothran from Intellectual Takeout 4. Tell Me What You Read, And I’ll Tell You Who You Are by Zat Rana from Medium 5  Text Messages: 'Pro-Life' Congressman Allegedly Tells Woman He Had Affair With To Abort Their Child by Amanda Prestigiacomo from The Daily Wire All music courtesy of Audionautix.com.

What a week it was, and my articles this week quite frankly have no uniform theme. Yes, two of them are about Facebook, but they are thematically quite different, so this is going to be a little bit random. I hope you like it though! 1. Uber's Former Self Driving Lead Is Creating an AI Religion by Rachel England from Engadget 2. Millennials, Marriage, and the 'Success Sequence' by Joseph Sunde from the Acton Institute PowerBlog 3. What Has Facebook Done to Political Discourse? by T. Adams Upchurch from The Imaginative Conservative 4. Facebook's War on Free Will by Franklin Foer from The Guardian 5. The Joy Of Traditionalism by Rod Dreher from The American Conservative All music as usual is from Audionautix.com.

I found some great things to read this week. For once, I actually have some good news, so you certainly are not going to get that on your cable news network of choice. Although I start out with a story that seems a little bit negative, stick with me. This is definitely a happy week. 1. Why Our Civil Discourse Is Broken by Annie Holmquist from The Imaginative Conservative 2. Black Lives Matter Leader: What I Experienced At Pro-Trump Rally 'Restored My Faith In Some Of These People' by James Barrett from The Daily Wire 3. The Nuclear War That Almost Was and the Man Who Prevented It by Brittany Hunter from The Stream 4. A Do-It-Yourself Liberal Education by Charles Lipson from RealClear Politics 5. When Adventure Comes Calling: Celebrating 80 Years of The Hobbit by Liberty McArtor from The Stream Thanks again for listening, and as always, all music is provided by Audionautix.com.

Well, we're back again with the second ever edition of Five Things I Read This Week. I had a little bit more free time to read this week, so you'll notice that my sources are rather diverse as some of the articles are rather lengthy. There is definitely some great stuff you don't want to miss you though! 1. Oh Cool, a New App Aims to Make Mom-and-Pop Stores Obsolete by the Relevant staff from (surprise) Relevant 2. The World Turned Upside Down (and what to do about it) by Russ Roberts from Medium 3. Why You Should Stop Trying To Change People’s Minds by David Marcus from The Federalist 4. Dismantling the Idea of the West by Bradley Birzer from The Imaginative Conservative 5. American Ninja Warrior: Villains Need Not Apply by Jessica Snell from Christ and Pop Culture Enjoy! All music is from Audionautix.com, which is an amazing resource.

Well, this is it, the inaugural episode of Five Things I Read This Week. My one and only chance to make a good first impression. The five articles I am going to be talking about are: 1. Educating the Educated: The Why and How of Liberal Education for Adults by Eva Marie Haine from The Public Discourse 2. Why Is Work Good? Six Quick Reminders on Labor Day by Hugh Whelchel from the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics 3. Our Perpetual Political War Is Poisoning Us by Melissa Langsam Braunstein from The Federalist 4. Collateral Damage in Trump’s War with the ‘Fake News Media’ by Daniel Kishi from The American Conservative 5. In A Religiously And Politically Polarized Country, Is There Still Hope For Shared Ground? by Gracy Olmsted from The Federalist I hope you will come back for future episodes!