Vernacular

THE FINAL EPISODE + A Big Announcement and our Read/Watch/Listen! Thank you so much for listening to Vernacular for these past six (!) years! It's been a really fun ride and we've learned so much along the way. Our big news today is that we are drawing this podcast to a close, BUT we'll be doing future content over at Creedal: Theology & Culture. You can subscribe to Creedal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Some of our recommendations: Little Women by Lousia May Alcott In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden Island of the World by Michael D. O'Brien City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong Long Bright River by Liz Moore Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes Fulfillment by Alec MacGillis A Time to Die by Nicholas Diat No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers) A Serious Man (The Coen Brothers) Lupin (Netflix) Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) What God is Not (Podcast) The Realignment (Podcast) The Pillar (Podcast) We'd love your feedback! Email us at zac@creedalpodcast.com.

Fall Read/Watch/Listen Recommendations! Some of the recommendations we discuss in today's episode: The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion by Julia Ioffe (GQ) The Heart of Perfection by Colleen Carol Campbell The Searcher by Tana French Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) A Subversive Gospel by Michael Mears Bruner American Kingpin by Nick Bilton Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer "Out of Body" (album by NEEDTOBREATHE) The Dispatch Podcast Didn't I Just Feed You Podcast Lovecraft Country Get Out The Dispatch Money Heist (Netflix) The Trial of the Chicago Seven (Aaron Sorkin film) The Big Picture Podcast The Rewatchables Podcast What God is Not Podcast Maple Tree Inn Max Richter's recomposition of The Four Seasons We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The American Solidarity Party w/Amar Patel Today on the show I welcome fellow Catholic Amar Patel, who is running for Vice President of the United States on the American Solidarity Party ticket. Amar and I talk about the principles of solidarity, subsidiarity, personalism, and sphere sovereignty, why it's important to have third parties, what "success" looks like for his ticket, finding a way out of our toxic two-party culture, and a platform that upholds the dignity of every human life. For more information on the American Solidarity Party, please visit https://solidarity-party.org/. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The False Promise of Safetyism w/Maria Berggren Today on the show Sally's sister Maria joins us to talk us about a recent article (see below) from philosopher-mechanic Matthew Crawford that critiques the prevailing bureaucratic attitude towards COVID as one of safetyism rather than safety. Crawford thinks that safety isn't the highest good, which obviously raises the question: what is? Crawford's Article: https://unherd.com/2020/05/the-hypocrisy-of-safetyism/ We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The Meaning of Words w/Nick Clairmont Today on the podcast, Arc Digital's Nick Clairmont (@NickClairmont1) joined us to talk about the power of words, the changing meaning of words over time, the social construction of language (and what that does and doesn't mean), and more. It's a great conversation that's definitely worth your time! To read Nick's latest piece in Tablet Mag, head to www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/woke-language-privilege. To read more of Nick's work at Arc Digital, head to arcdigital.media. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The Plight of the Uighurs In today's episode, we talk about the Uighurs in northwestern China, who face unprecedented state surveillance, restrictions on religious practice, state-sponsored spies in their houses, and in many cases (1-2 millon!) forced internment in "re-education" camps. If you're interested, check out Zac's new weekly newsletter, The Vernaculist (vernaculist.substack.com), in which he recently dove into this topic in detail. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Race and Grace in Flannery O'Connor's Work w/Jessica Hooten Wilson Today on the podcast we sit down with Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, Louise Cowan Scholar in Residence at the University of Dallas, to talk about charges of accusation levied against Flannery O'Connor, Flannery's cultural and literary milieu, costly grace, and more. Resources: Giving the Devil his Due by Jessica Hooten Wilson Flannery O'Connor the and Christ-Haunted South by Ralph Wood A Subversive Gospel by Michael Bruner Passing by the Dragon by J. Ramsey Michaels We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Race and Friendship w/Trey Lowman On today's episode of Vernacular, we talk to Zac's college friend and wedding groomsman, Trey Lowman, comes on the show to talk about his experience growing up as a Black man in a white community, what it's like to be the "token" Black friend in a group of white people, and living up to white friends' expectations about what a Black man should and shouldn't be. We also talk about friendship and how to navigate issues of race with charity, humility, and grace. Articles we talk about: Reflections from a Token Black Friend by Ramesh Nagarajah I am Confused, Scared, and Afraid by Major Nate Dial, USAF We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Why Black Lives Matter w/Gloria Purvis Today on this Vernacular Podcast + Creedal Catholic crossover episode, Gloria Purvis joins us to talk about racial justice, George Floyd, systemic racism, and our national moment. It's a really good conversation, and Gloria has challenging words for the Church and for all Americans. NOTE: The title of this episode, "Why Black Lives Matter," expresses unqualified support for the singular idea that Black Lives do matter. It is not an endorsement of all of the tenets of the organization Black Lives Matter or an expression of de facto membership of that organization. Resources mentioned: The Color of Law Slavery by Another Name by Douglas Blackmon Throughline's American Police At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle McGuire Eyes on the Prize (PBS) Grant by Ron Chernow Desegregating the Altar by Stephen Ochs Ven. Augustus Tolton Gloria is the host of EWTN's Morning Glory and a Board Member for the Northwest Pregnancy Center and Maternity Home in Washington, D.C. She is an Advisory Board Member on the Maryland Catholic Conference’s Respect for Life Department, and serves on the National Black Catholic Congress’ Leadership Commission on Social Justice. She is also the Chairperson for Black Catholics United for Life, which seeks to increase the size and strength of active Black Catholics participating in the pro-life movement. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon Other shows on the Vernacular Podcast Network: Vernacular | Breaking Pod | The Popped Cast | The Lineup

Unpacking Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" w/ the Ryds Recently we (Sally and Zac) watched Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" for the first time. There's a lot going on in the film, so we called in a filmmaker and an aspiring film critic to help us unpack it all. Follow Chandler's work at chandlerryd.com Check out Lara's recent work at Bright Wall / Dark Room: "Please, Spare Me Your Secrets"We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Spring Read/Watch/Listen Recommendations w/Elena Forsythe We're back with another read/watch/listen recommendation episode! We're sorry for the delay this week...Zac made a catastrophic editing error last week. [insert embarrassed emoji]We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Flannery's Short Stories w/Elena Forsythe We start today's podcast as a quarterly read/watch/listen pod, but we quickly dive down the rabbit hole that is Flannery O'Connor's spectacular literature. As a result, we have a spirited 40-minute discussion about Temple of the Holy Ghost, Parker's Back, The Lame Shall Enter First, and more, leaving no room for our read/watch/listen list!We'll be back in two weeks with our read/watch/listen recommendations!We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

What Qualifies a Film as Art? w/Chandler Ryd Today on the podcast, filmmaker Chandler Ryd (chandlerryd.com) joins Zac to talk about the criteria for film as art. Starting off with Robert Frost's observation that "poetry is that which begins in delight and ends in wisdom," Chandler and Zac talk about how ways in which we can develop criteria for assessing the cinematic pursuits. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Love in the Time of Corona In today's episode we broadcast from our home studio, where we're in social distancing mode. We talk about how we're handling the relatively minor inconveniences so far and how others are dealing with far worse, the good that can come out of a pandemic (yes, really!), and the need to prudentially balance competing public health and economic considerations in a crisis. And here is the article by Nathan Schlueter that we mentioned: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/03/61513/In this difficult time, send prayer requests to zacandsally@vernacularpodcast.com! We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

What's Missing in Salman Rushdie's Arabian Nights In this episode we talk about Salman Rushdie's 2015 book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. We talk about Rushdie's false binary choice between heteronomy and autonomy and advance an alternative that he doesn't seem to have considered. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Food News (February 2020) w/Elena Zac and Sally sit down with Elena to talk about replacing insect fact with butter, designing better tomatoes, eating fermented basking shark, an immersive Batman dining experience, the Impossible Whopper, and much more. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Heavy Lies the Crown (The Crown, Season 3) w/Jordan and Catherine Short In this episode we sit down with Jordan and Catherine to talk about Season 3 of Netflix's docudrama The Crown. We talk acting performances, best episodes, best moments, episode MVPs, and whether or not this season exceeds the high standards of the previous seasons. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Winter Read/Watch/Listen Recommendations! It's that time of the season again when we give you some of our top recommendations for what to read, watch, and listen to! In this episode we'll talk about The Crown (good), The Two Popes (bad), Colleen Carroll Campbell, North Korea, a new serial podcast on an oil boom in Texas, and bad plumbing. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Episode Notes In today's episode we're talking about abortion--more specifically, how we're moving away from the language of "safe, legal, and rare" to an ideation of abortion as an unqualified good. This is a short conversation, but you may be interested in our longer discussion of this topic that we recorded originally in 2016. See our episode from January 22 of last year (2019) called From the Archives: 46 Years After Roe: https://pod.link/990809952/ep/1000428214082 Links: Alexandra DeSanctis in The Washington Post: How Democrats Purged 'Safe, Legal, and Rare' from the Party Caitlin Flanagan in The Atlantic: Losing the Rare in ‘Safe, Legal, and Rare’ Ross Douthat in The New York Times: The 'Safe, Legal, Rare' Illusion Maggie Astor in The New York Times: On Abortion Rights, 2020 Democrats Move Past ‘Safe, Legal and Rare’We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email: zacandsally@vernacularpodcast.com | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Reviewing Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker w/Chandler Ryd [SPOILERS ABOUND]In this episode Chandler joins the show to talk about the ninth serial installment in the Star Wars saga, "Rise of Skywalker." We talk about Zac's theory of the five levels of Star Wars fandom, J.J. Abrams as a franchise director, "The Last Jedi" vs "Rise of Skywalker," Disney's effect on the franchise, the "Guardianization" of Star Wars, and discontinuity in the Star Wars canon. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Holiday Food news w/Margaret Perry Today is our last release before Christmas Day, and Margaret Perry joins us on the show to talk about Holiday Food News! On the conversation list: mashed potato recipes, peppermint bark, and taco-scented wrapping paper (among other things), and we close out the episode with a Trader Joe's true fan litmus test, which we all fail miserably. We'll be back during the 12 days of Christmas with more content--in the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas!We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The Popped Cast: Merry Madness of Christmas Music! March has March Madness. December has Merry Madness! In this crossover edition, we hop onto The Popped Cast to talk with hosts Josh and Maureen Goldman about the best Christmas songs of all time. Sixteen candidates go head-to-head in a bracket tournament until we declare one the winner!If you like what you hear, check out The Popped Cast wherever you get your podcasts, or head to https://pod.link/1382870305. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Making Room for Christ(mas) In today's episode of Vernacular, we talk about some ways that you can "make room" for Christmas despite all of the distracting noise of the season. We talk about hospitality, generosity, sharing of your things, hosting guests, maintaining family rhythms, avoiding Black Friday, penitence, the 12 days of Christmas, caroling after Christmas (gasp!), and devotional practices. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Fighting Cancer, "Improved" Gene Editing, and More Bioethics News In this episode we review some bioethics news (links below) and talk about a new book about fighting cancer (and when enough is enough) and advancements in gene editing that some are talking about as "a significant step towards [being] able to make just about any kind of DNA change that anyone wants at just about any site in the human genome."Prime Editing (NPR) Article on Dr. Rebrikov's efforts at altering "deaf" gene (Nature) First Cell Review (NYT)(If you're interest in reading Dr. Raza's book, we encourage you to check it out at your library. Or you can buy it from Amazon here. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Food News (October) w/ Elena We take advantage of Elena's visit to record an episode about the Food News you never knew you needed for the month of October. Liquor-filled tide pods? Check. Dave Chang's take on international food aisles as bastions of racism? Check. Cat Advent calendars? Check. We also have our first-ever on-air taste test, trying out Clif Bar's new Spiced Pumpkin Pie flavor. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Does "Ad Astra" fulfill its ambitions? Lara & Chandler Ryd and Josh Goldman join Vernacular this week to talk about James Gray's Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, and Liv Tyler (sort of). We share our observations and criticisms of the work, commiserate about the perils of voice-over, pick our favorite cinematography excerpts, and talk about space baboons. It's a fun conversation about a movie that doesn't quite cut it for most of us.We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Fall Read/Watch/Listen Recommendations! The September Equinox happened this week, which mean's it's time for October baseball, stiff breezes, early sunsets, and honeycrisp apples! In this episode we share some of the things that we've been reading, watching, and listening to (or plan to) as the leaves start to turn crimson--we have some ideas for media to accompany your pumpkin spice lattes and Oktoberfest ales this season. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Food News w/Zac and Sally In a departure from our regularly scheduled programming, we take a lighthearted look (inspired by the sadly defunct "Food News" from Grantland) at food news from around the country. Take a listen to hear about "Grocery Happy Hour" in Finland, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwhich craze (and why Zac used to think Popeyes was a Catholic establishment), Starbucks' newest idea, and the pumpkin lineup at our beloved Trader Joe's. Let us know if you like this episode--we had fun and would love to do it more often!Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

The Philosophy of NBC's "The Good Place" w/Alexi Sargeant In this episode previous Vernacular guest Alexi Sargeant (freelance writer and Managing Director of the Aquinas Institute at Princeton University) joins us to talk about NBC's "The Good Place" and what it tells us about our final destination, ethical quandaries, and the art of being human. For more info on Alexi's work, follow him on Twitter. You can also read his article about "The Good Place" here. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Dad Pod: Talking Fatherhood w/Nate Seibt In this episode of Vernacular (Zac is thrilled about the title), Nate Seibt returns to the podcast to talk about the joys and failures of fatherhood. Zac and Nate swap stories of bedtime struggles, obedience trials, transitioning from the workplace to the home on the end of day commute, and what they would tell their pre-dad selves about what fatherhood is all about.We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

Episode Notes In this episode, Sally sits down with fellow moms Maureen Goldman (of The Popped Cast) and Caitlin Brian to talk about their current joys and challenges as moms. Tune in to hear about picky eating, discipline, and raising rambunctious youngsters. Maureen mentioned her latest project, Working Mom Savvy!We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

Resisting Throwaway Culture w/ Dr. Charlie Camosy In today's episode of Vernacular, we sit down for a conversation with Dr. Charlie Camosy about his recent book, Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can Unite a Fractured People (New City Press, May 2019). We discuss how the Consistent Life Ethic (CLE) can challenge people of all political stripes to reevaluate their long-held beliefs on some of our most polarizing topics--including abortion, immigration, reproductive technology, prison reform, and even animal rights. It's a great conversation and an even better book.Buy Dr. Camosy's bookWe'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

Today we have a special bonus episode of Zac's new theology podcast, Creedal Catholic! See below for show notes, and if you like what you hear, go ahead and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon Preaching, Bishops, and Staying Catholic w/Meg Hunter-Kilmer Meg Hunter-Kilmer, the "Hobo for Christ" (piercedhands.com), joins Zac to talk about how Catholics can encourage their priests to be better at preaching, the importance of storytelling in the Gospels, scandal in the Church, the failures of bishops, why she's still so excited to be Catholic, six books every Catholic should read, and the incredible story of Blessed Peter Kibe. The books Meg mentions: 1. The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ by St. Alphonsus Liguori 2. On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard 3. To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed 4. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre 5. Modern Saints, Vol. 1 by Ann Ball 6. Modern Saints, Vol. 2 by Ann BallYou can follow Meg on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!Please consider supporting Creedal Catholic and the rest of the Vernacular Podcast Network on Patreon!Copyright 2019 by Vernacular Podcast NetworkSupport Vernacular by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/vernacular

Accidental Minimalism It's been well over a month since we arrived in Colorado, but we still don't have our furniture and other household items. It's actually a good thing though! In this episode, we talk about what we've learned in this accidental experiment in minimalism: a) you can always do with less, and it's easier than you think; b) having less forces you to be oriented outward towards friends and neighbors; and c) having less makes you more grateful. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by HallowsSupport Vernacular by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/vernacular

Book, TV, and Podcast Recommendations for Summer In this episode, hot on the heels of our big Colorado move, we break down some of the reading, TV, and podcast material that has been consuming our time lately. Among the recommendations: a C.S. Lewis trilogy, a great new crime fiction mystery series, a couple of great theology books, a hagiography by a Nobel Prize winner, a bingeable murder mystery podcast, and HBO's new Chernobyl miniseries. If you like our work, please consider supporting us at patreon.com/vpn!Other Vernacular Network podcasts mentioned on this podcast:The Popped CastCreedal CatholicBreaking PodWe'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

Upping your Coffee Game In this episode we're joined by Nathan Seibt (follow Nate on Instagram here), who talks with us about his passion for coffee, what the average Joe needs to know about a cup o' Joe, and offers some practical ways to step up your coffee game. Some of the resources Nate mentioned are below: Stumptown Coffee Roasters7 Ways to Level Up Your Morning Coffee RoutineBrew the Perfect Cup: The Complete GuideWhere the Wild Coffee GrowsWe'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

The Book Club Returns! In this episode, we sit down with Theresa Breslin, a repeat guest on the podcast, to talk about the latest series from J.K. Rowling, who is writing the Cormoran Strike under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. We talk about Rowling's masterful character development, the arc of the eventual 9 books in the series (only four have been published so far), the romantic tensions between the central characters, and more! But don't worry--if you haven't read the books yet, we fastidiously avoid spoilers. If you're interested, book links are below: Cuckoo's Calling The Silkworm Career of Evil Lethal WhiteWe'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

How We Learned to Distrust Social Media Social media is everywhere. If you're reading this, chances are that you have at least one account on a major social site. We do! But in this episode we scratch the surface a little bit on the ideas driving social media, and the results aren't that encouraging. Listen along to hear about perverse incentive structures and the problems with advertising. We're not Luddites though, so we close with three ideas to help you better use social media. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | PatreonOutro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

In this special bonus episode, we're so excited to introduce you to the latest show on the Vernacular Podcast Network. It's called Breaking Pod, and it is an episode-by-episode discussion of Breaking Bad (the TV show). We'll be back in two weeks on this feed with your regularly scheduled Vernacular programming, but for now, enjoy episode one of Breaking Pod. And make sure to subscribe to the show's feed at the links below. Listen to Breaking Pod on its own feed now: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Pocket Casts | Overcast | TuneIn | Castbox In this inaugural episode of the show, Zac and Josh break down the entire first episode of what Zac claims is "the best television show ever made." Zac unveils what he thinks is the central question of the entire show, Josh disagrees with Zac on the answer to that question, and we listen to (and critique) several key episode scenes. What did we miss? Email us: breakingpod@vernacularpodcast.com Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts Watch Breaking Bad on Netflix Our awesome theme music is "Vaculator Blues" by The Mini VandalsFind out more about all of the shows on the Vernacular Podcast Network by visiting vernacularpodcast.com!We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon

In this episode, Haley Stewart joins us to talk about her latest book, The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture. We talk about what a throwaway culture is and how it poses problems to our humanness, Haley's time living with her family on a community farm without running toilets, and practical tips for you (and your family!) to practice living more fully in spite of the materialism around us. You can find more of Haley's work on her website. If you're interested in the new show Zac mentions in the intro, check out Breaking Pod on Apple Podcasts and Google Play. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter Outro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

Today we're wrapping up our collaboration between the Vernacular Podcast Network and The Center for Public Justice (CPJ). What's this partnership all about? You can read (and hear!) more in Part 1, but the gist of it is that we’re teaming up with the people behind the Families Valued initiative to talk about the struggles that modern families face and to learn how we can better support families through private enterprise, charitable initiatives, and public policy.In this final episode, we chat about leisure as the basis of culture, paid parental leave and current legislatie efforts to achieve it nationwide, the importance of unplugging, and principles for crafting policy and corporate rules to protect families. For more information, reach out to us at head to Vernacular Podcast or visit familiesvalued.org. To support us, visit patreon.com/vernacular. We'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email | Instagram | Twitter Outro music: Heroine Queen by Hallows

Today we're continuing our collaboration between the Vernacular Podcast Network and The Center for Public Justice (CPJ).  What's this partnership all about? You can read (and hear!) more in Part 1, but the gist of it is that we’re teaming up with the people behind the Families Valuedinitiative to talk about the struggles that modern families face and to learn how we can better support families through private enterprise, charitable initiatives, and public policy.In this second episode in our three-part series, we sit down with Rachel Anderson, Resident Fellow of CPJ and the director of Families Valued. We talk with Rachel about the sources of stress for today's families, including the shift from home-based economies to economy-driven homes, parents working outside of the home, and our loss of work's proper place in our lives. For more information, reach out to us at zacandsally@vernacularpodcast.com, head tovernacularpodcast.com, or visit  familiesvalued.org. To support us, visit patreon.com/vernacular. Our music: “Laugh and Cry” (intro); “Heroine Queen” (outro)

Today on Vernacular, we are announcing (and launching) a three episode collaboration with the Center for Public Justice. The Center for Public Justice (or CPJ) describes itself as “an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Working outside the familiar categories of right and left, conservative and liberal, CPJ seeks to help citizens and public officeholders achieve justice.” Last year, CPJ launched the Families Valued initiative, a project that promotes organizational and public policies that better support family life and respect the family responsibilities of all workers.In this collaboration between The Vernacular Podcast Network and The Center for Public Justice, we’re teaming up with the people behind the Families Valued initiative to talk about the struggles that modern families face and to learn how we can better support families through private enterprise, charitable initiatives, and public policy.Supporting today’s families is a bipartisan imperative.According to 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans are waiting longer than ever to get married, yet delaying marriage has done nothing to drive down divorce rates. As marriage rates have declined over the past three decades, divorce rates have steadily risen. And while marriages face challenges of permanence, married couples are having fewer children.In a 2013 survey by Pew, only 49% of people listed “having kids” as a main reason for getting married; a summer 2018 Pew survey found that71% of parents under 50 described themselves as “not likely” to have kids or more kids.And yet, despite these symptoms of pressure, today’s families overwhelmingly describe family as the primary source of meaning in their life. In a 2017 survey, 69% of adults listed family as a source of meaning in their life--more than double the amount of the next highest answer--career. This is why it’s important for us to find ways to support families. We shouldn’t have an economy that makes it necessary for82% of parents to work outside of the home. We shouldn’t have to fight for paid parental leave ata majority of private companies. And we shouldn’t make quality healthcare a luxury that parents can’t afford for their children. We need churches, employers, community organizations, courts, and legislatures to support the family at all stages of life. And that’s why we’re happy to announce this collaboration with CPJ’s Families Valued initiative.For more information, reach out to us at zacandsally@vernacularpodcast.com, head tovernacularpodcast.com, or visit  familiesvalued.org. To support us, visit patreon.com/vernacular. Our music: “Laugh and Cry” (intro); “Heroine Queen” (outro)

In an appropriate sequel to our Valentine's Day marriage episode, today we're talking about how to better deal with difficult people. In less than twenty minutes, we talk through four big ideas to help you love the people who give you the hardest time in life: 1. Process externally but not publicly2. Embrace the humanness of the other3. Communicate clearly and set boundaries4. Keep forgiveness front and centerLet us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | EmailAlso: don't miss our sister podcast The Popped Cast, which you can find on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this Valentine's Day edition, we answer a listener question from our parenting episode and dive into how marriage can and should enrich our lives and make us more fully human. We talk about how marriage cultivates virtues like patience, self-control, grace, and love, and offer a few suggestions on how you can help your spouse cultivate these virtues. We talked about Andrew Peterson's Dancing in the Minefields in this episode.Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | EmailAlso: don't miss our sister podcast The Popped Cast, which you can find on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Here's to parents everywhere. In this episode we tackle the difficult topic of parenting from our limited experience as the parents of three young children. How do our kids make us more human? What do we have to learn from them? How do they help us practice the virtues? What can young parents resolve to do when the start every day anew? If you, like us, are "in the trenches" with young children, know that we are right there with you! If you're an older parent, share some wisdom with us that we can pass on to listeners. Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | EmailAlso: don't miss our sister podcast The Popped Cast, which you can find on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support

This episode originally ran on February 4, 2016. //FROM THE ARCHIVES// On the occasion of the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we examine abortion's legal history in the United States, focusing on the flawed reasoning in SCOTUS decisions and the faulty data on which they have relied, abortion's medical, emotional, and psychological risks to women, the sad reality of sex-selective abortion, Planned Parenthood, and public opinion on the topic in America today. Joining us on this episode are experts from Americans United for Life and the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. Donate to: AUL | CBHD | March for Life | Save the Storks | Susan B. Anthony ListLet us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | Email Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support

We're back for 2019! After a two month hiatus for parental leave, we're back with a discussion on some things that on our mind as we begin the new year. We talk about hospitality goals, books we want to read (and why everyone should read more), work-life synergy, and going to therapy. We'll be back soon with more episodes and are working hard on a great lineup of content for this year! Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | EmailAlso: don't miss our sister podcast The Popped Cast, which you can find on Anchor, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support

In this episode, Zac and Sally develop five challenges for themselves (and for you, if you're up for it!) to celebrate the holidays this year in a more human way. If you have more ideas, let us know below! Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | Email Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support

You may have never guessed you'd hear an episode about sports on Vernacular, but here it is! We break down four ways in which sports intersect with being human, and end with a recommendation to go play some basketball at your local YMCA. Along the way, we talk about the Greek Olympics, Zac's conflicted feelings about being an NFL fan, and Green Street Hooligans.  Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | Email Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support

What does reading have to do with being human? Is it essential to a human life or simply a good idea? Does it matter what we read? Is nonfiction superior to fiction? How can we make sure that we don't simply read things that confirm our worst opinions? We explore all of these questions and more in this episode. Let us know what you think: Instagram | Twitter | Email Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vernacular/support