16th- and 17th-century English poet and cleric
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Parables can be a real pain to the brain, but at the same time, Jesus tackles the issue quickly if you're open to it. Solomon says in Proverbs 15: “…wisdom make knowledge acceptable,” that is, sometimes the way you say something makes all the difference. Jesus sometimes chose parables to tell us things that we need to understand. The context of the parable in Matthew 5:13-16 is the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes found in the introduction of the sermon are about kingdom thinking, or the Kingdom Ethic. The Kingdom Ethic is what directs our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. This is the: “Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” type of thinking. This first parable following the Beatitudes is about the practice of this Kingdom Ethic. It is about how Kingdom thinking is actually lived out. If I was to summarize the eight Beatitudes for you, it would be this: “I am not a god. I am a sinner. I am here to serve others by pursuing good. I am moved by compassion, committed to do the right thing before God, in peace, and without compromise.” The purpose of the following parable can be summarized with one word: influence! How does one human being influence another? It was John Donne who said, “no man is an island.” We all have an influence on people, but we do it one at a time. Whether we admit it or not, we all have influence on something or someone and it's either for good or for bad. We cannot live out the Kingdom Ethic in a private world. We cannot live our lives in splendid isolation. In this parable, Jesus uses two metaphors to show how we, his followers, leave our “fingerprints” on the world around us. Some Christians think our job is to curse the darkness, but instead, Jesus has called us to light a candle. It's been said that most Christians have been educated beyond their level of obedience. We need to remember James' admonishment to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers” (James 1:19-25).
Cancer is among the most common and feared diseases in the modern world. Dr. Selwyn Vickers—president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center—joins host Mark Labberton to discuss how precision oncology, data, and faith are transforming cancer treatment. A distinguished cancer surgeon and pancreatic cancer researcher, Vickers explains how groundbreaking advances in genomics, immunotherapy, and AI are transforming once-lethal diagnoses into survivable and even chronic conditions. Together, they explore not only the cutting-edge science of cancer care but also the spiritual, emotional, and social dimensions that affect every patient and caregiver. Resonating with themes of suffering, hope, and resurrection, this conversation offers clarity, compassion, and courage for all who are affected by cancer—from those newly diagnosed, to medical professionals, to grieving families and curious listeners. Episode Highlights “We're getting to a point where we will, in the next five to seven years, have a much better chance to cure people—and to make pancreatic cancer a chronic illness.” “We are in what's somewhat coined the golden age of cancer research.” “Cancer is a disease that creates an existential threat in ways no other illness does.” “If a tumour forms, it means your body's immune system has made a social contract with the cancer.” “We changed the diagnosis in 10–12 percent of the patients who come to us—sometimes from cancer to no cancer.” “Cancer care is a team sport. And our patients often inspire us more than we help them.” Helpful Links & Resources Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center BioNTech – creators of mRNA vaccines for COVID and cancer CAR T-Cell Therapy Overview (Cancer.gov) Tim Keller on cancer and hope Emma Thompson's Wit (HBO) BRCA1 and BRCA2 Genes and Cancer Risk MSK-IMPACT: Next-Gen Tumor Profiling About Selwyn Vickers Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, is the president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and the incumbent of the Douglas A. Warner III Chair. He assumed the role on September 19, 2022. Vickers is an internationally recognized pancreatic cancer surgeon, pancreatic cancer researcher, and pioneer in health disparities research. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He has served on the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Board of Trustees and the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees. Additionally, he has served as president of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the Southern Surgical Association. Vickers is the immediate past president of the American Surgical Association. He also continues to see patients. In 1994, he joined the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, where he was later appointed to professor and the John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery. In 2006, Vickers left UAB to become the Jay Phillips Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Born in Demopolis, Alabama, Vickers grew up in Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. He earned baccalaureate and medical degrees and completed his surgical training (including a chief residency and surgical oncology fellowship) at the Johns Hopkins University. Vickers completed two postgraduate research fellowships with the National Institutes of Health and international surgical training at John Radcliffe Hospital of Oxford University, England. Vickers and his wife, Janice, who is also from Alabama, have been married since 1988. They have four children. Show Notes The ongoing threat and fear of cancer How Selwyn Vickers got into medicine Pancreatic cancer: Vickers's expertise “We are in what's somewhat coined the golden age of cancer research.” Sequencing the human genome “Is there a drug that might target the mutation that ended up creating your cancer?” Cancer as both a medical and existential diagnosis The revolution of precision oncology through human genome sequencing ”It takes a billion cells to have a one centimetre tumor.” Immunotherapy: checkpoint inhibition, CAR T-cell therapy, and vaccines Cellular therapy: ”Taking a set of their normal cells and re-engineering them to actually go back and target and attack their tumors. … We've seen patients who had initially a 30 percent chance of survival converted to an 80 percent chance of survival.” “We know in many tumours there's something called minimal residual disease.” “Immunizing yourself against cancer is a significant future opportunity.” Managing the power of data with AI and computational oncology Cancer-care data explosion: the role of computational oncologists Cancer vaccines: breakthrough mRNA treatment for pancreatic cancer ”Didn't ultimately win. We had to suffer through her losing her life, but was so appreciative that she got much more than the six months she was promised.” Tumour misdiagnoses and the importance of specialized expertise Pancreatic cancer challenges: immune cloaking and late-stage detection In the past, one in four would die from the operation for removing pancreatic cancer Long-term survival Future of cancer detection: AI-based medical record analysis and blood biopsies More accurate blood tests to confirm conditions Using AI to select those who are high-risk for cancer Pastor Tim Keller died of pancreatic cancer. In the past, “your doctor … helped you learn how to die.” ”[God's] given man the privilege to discover those things that have been hidden. And over time we've gradually uncovered huge opportunities to impact people's lives.” The state of breast cancer research and treatment “If you get the diagnosis of breast cancer, you have a 90 percent chance to survive and beat it over a five-year period of time.” ”In general, we're in a great state of understanding how to treat breast cancer, how to detect it early, and then have selective and targeted mechanisms to prevent it from coming back.” Prostate cancer research and treatment Theranostics: using a specific antibody to target cancer cells specifically Pediatric cancer: ”We actually treat more children for cancer than any hospital in America now, but in general, the survival for pediatric cancers is greater than 80 percent.” Emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll of cancer: importance of psycho-oncology How Sloan Kettering developed psycho-oncology to help cancer patients with mental and spiritual health Personal story: how a cafeteria worker empowers patients through food choices “We give back to them the right to choose what they get to have on their tray.” Cancer treatment is a team sport. Wit (film, Broadway play)—actress Emma Thompson plays a cancer patient studying the work of John Donne on death Socioeconomic and racial disparities in cancer care outcomes The healing role of community, support teams, and compassionate listening The importance of listening to cancer patients who are preparing to die The spiritual courage of patients and the transformative power of faith “Our patients often help us. We see the grace with which they often handle that journey.” The inspiration behind becoming a doctor: family legacy and human impact Terminal care: the sacred responsibility of walking with patients to the end Cancer research and treatment as a Christian vocation and expression of humanity Production Credits
Send us a textDescription: An immersive reading of A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne with reflection on medical errors and confession. Website:https://anauscultation.wordpress.comWork:A Hymn to God the Father by John DonneWilt thou forgive that sin where I begun, Which was my sin, though it were done before?Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore? When thou hast done, thou hast not done, For I have more.Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sin their door?Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score? When thou hast done, thou hast not done, For I have more.I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; And, having done that, thou hast done; I fear no more.References:Wu AW. Medical error: the second victim. The doctor who makes the mistake needs help too. BMJ. 2000 Mar 18;320(7237):726-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726. Finkelstein A, Brezis M, Taub A, Arad D. Disclosure following a medical error: lessons learned from a national initiative of workshops with patients, healthcare teams, and executives. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2024 Mar 11;13(1):13.Rodziewicz TL, Houseman B, Vaqar S, et al. Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. [Updated 2024 Feb 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000. PMID: 25077248.
Talking with poet, editor, and literary trickster anon Jasper Ceylon on the art of aesthetic sabotage and poetics in the age of algorithm. From anonymous pen names to deliberate hoaxes published to destabilize the contemporary poetry scene, Jasper dissects the decay of literary standards, using his surreal, very funny and on point fake poetry journal Echolalia, as a critical manifesto serving as both scalpel and mirror. A self-described poetry fan first and foremost, Jasper satirizes the very world he inhabits, exposing identity-first editorial gatekeeping and the global flattening of taste. We talk about the ghost networks of the contemporary (poetry) world, the process in his rebellion; building a complete parallel poetic narrative world to dupe the editors. Instagram poetry and grievance studies, Jasper doesn't pull punches but neither is he cynical. A romantic dissident who wants to save humanity from an algorithm-dominated life of flattening dullness and mediocrity. We go deep on the state of publishing, the cult of identity, AI's role in human (poetic) deadness, on the the fun polarizing Edward De Vere theory of Shakespearean authorship, the disappearance of true literary dissent, and the neoliberal endgame of cultural homeostasis. On men and marginalization, the phobia of criticism in artistic spaces, and the tragedy of becoming cosmopolitan in the most banal sense. On the poetics of evil, on Vanessa Place, the battle between light and dark, the oversupply of menstruation poems and apocalypse. On breaking free of guardrails on the true task of poetry: not to comply, but to break the spell.On Mission And I am conversely just trying to…help people live well, see through some of this programming, make more informed choices, not create infrastructure that isolates people and demoralizes them under the guise of uplifting others. I'm trying to, if anything, onboard people to poetry, but to just get them to think very critically about the practices we currently have in place at this point in time right now.On Being A Poet But.. you just have to understand that as a poet you're gonna fly under the radar for a long while, potentially maybe your whole life. And if you're not cool with that, then become an Instagram poet. But if you wanna do something meaningful and you want to, actually take a serious go at this. You gotta be ready for a lot of disappointment upfront and potentially for the rest of your life.On Poetics of Evil / Vanessa PlaceTo promote evil as the great sort of aesthetic agenda - I would promote the exact opposite… I don't think crucifying people and institutions…under the guise of demonstrating strength is what we're trying to do here, because what is strength, quote unquote in artistic endeavor.Save it for the f*****g battlefield…I think it gets so messy when you take that on as your primary aim, as a creative you're really just a soldier in disguise. And those types can sometimes conceal it very well, but I think they're doing a gross injustice to their fellow man On The Polarizing Debate surrounding Edward De Vere as Shakespeare The De Vere stuff, because no one will listen to me talk about this anytime I try to talk about this in person, to anyone.They give me that same look like they're just mortified. That I would suggest a country bumpkin couldn't write the the most immortal works in our language. But you even post this stuff on 4Chan's lit. board and all that, and they would just melt down over this idea. What seems more realistic? A highly educated, noted poet of nobility with tons of money and connections to the most famous and let's say, accomplished academics in the London circles like Francis Bacon and stuff like that. It's either that guy doing this or a country bumpkin who can't even sign his own name.Jasper's Post Script Additional Notes and LinksMy scorn for Vanessa Place is limitless. But for those interested in the essay discussed in the interview, and the theories that drive some of the very worst figures in poetry and culture-manipulation, consult the following: https://www.academia.edu/2778740/Radically_Evil_Poetics. And maybe treat yourself to one of Place's wretched Yoko Ono-esque conceptual art performance pieces while you're at it.But for a more entertaining diversion re: Shakespeare, avail yourself to some of Alexander Waugh's YouTube content on Edward de Vere (there's a lot of it).For a short-hand summary of the de Vere case, see: https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/top-reasons-why-edward-de-vere-17th-earl-of-oxford-was-shakespeare/. And for a supremely autistic (schizophrenic, maybe?) look at some of the finer details underlying the conspiracy, you might watch something like the following video: Henrie IX: Shakespeare, Edward de Vere, and Henry WriothesleyIn some ways, the potential "easter eggs" of this theory and de Vere's hidden lines in the sonnets and such inspired the ones I hid within Echolalia Review that are waiting to be discovered. Lastly, I cited John Donne at one point as being involved in the Rosicrucian collaborative aspect of the theory (along with Bacon and Marlowe), but I meant John Dee.Pick up a copy of: Echolaliapere ube pressJasper Ceylon SubstackJasper Ceyon BiographyEqual parts “Ezra Pound if he were a Discord user” and 21st-century Ern Malley, Jasper Ceylon takes inspiration from the titans of English-language poetry, as well as its great satirists and provocateurs. As a poet, he's been published extensively in magazines worldwide under his own name and many pen names, including “Adele Nwankwo,” “B. H. Fein,” and “Dirt Hogg Sauvage Respectfully.” He's the author of Pere Ube's literary cherry bomb/megaton nuke, "Echolalia Review: An Anti-Poetry Collection," but he's also been traditionally published as a novelist and critic. Get full access to Leafbox at leafbox.substack.com/subscribe
Throughout Lent, we've been releasing weekly episodes focused on spiritual practices.In the final episode of the series, this Holy Week we're considering the discipline of waiting: how we can prepare ourselves to receive good news. Our guide today is N.T. Wright, the Anglican Bishop and New Testament scholar. He describes how Jesus invited his hearers into a new way of understanding Israel's ancient story of waiting, the cosmic significance of its sudden fulfillment, and its meaning for us in this in-between time of preparation to receive good news: "The ultimate life after death is not a platonic disembodied immortality, but resurrection life in God‘s new creation. And that new world began when Jesus came out of the tomb on Easter morning. That's the good news. Something happened then as a result of which the world is a different place. And we are summoned, not just to enjoy its benefits, but to take up our own vocations as new creation people, as spirit-filled and spirit-led Jesus followers, bringing his kingdom into reality in our world."We hope that this conversation will help you as you wait and prepare to receive this good news.The podcast is drawn from an evening conversation we hosted back in 2016. You can find our shownotes and much more at ttf.org. Thank you for journeying with us through Lent. Learn more about N.T. Wright. Watch The Good News and the Good Life, with N.T. Wright and Richard Hayes. Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Who is this Man? by John Ortberg Related Trinity Forum Readings:Devotions by John Donne and paraphrased by Philip YanceyThe Confessions of St. Augustine by Augustine of Hippo, Introduced by James K.A. SmithPilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie DillardPilgrim's Progress by John BunyanGod's Grandeur: The Poems of Gerard Manley HopkinsA Spiritual Pilgrimage by Malcolm Muggeridge Related Conversations:Liturgy of the Ordinary in Extraordinary Times with Tish Harrison WarrenCaring for Words in a Culture of Lies with Marilyn McEntyreInvitation to Solitude and Silence with Ruth Haley BartonOn the Road with Saint Augustine with James K.A. Smith and Elizabeth BruenigThe Habit Podcast, Episode 26: Tish Harrison Warren with Doug McKelveyThe Spiritual Practice of Remembering with Margaret Bendroth To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org, and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, visit ttf.org/join.
It's a small world. The great David Rieff came to my San Francisco studio today for in person interview about his new anti-woke polemic Desire and Fate. And half way through our conversation, he brought up Daniel Bessner's This Is America piece which Bessner discussed on yesterday's show. I'm not sure what that tells us about wokeness, a subject which Rieff and I aren't in agreement. For him, it's the thing-in-itself which make sense of our current cultural malaise. Thus Desire and Fate, his attempt (with a great intro from John Banville) to wake us up from Wokeness. For me, it's a distraction. I've included the full transcript below. Lots of good stuff to chew on. Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS * Rieff views "woke" ideology as primarily American and post-Protestant in nature, rather than stemming solely from French philosophy, emphasizing its connections to self-invention and subjective identity.* He argues that woke culture threatens high culture but not capitalism, noting that corporations have readily embraced a "baudlerized" version of identity politics that avoids class discussions.* Rieff sees woke culture as connected to the wellness movement, with both sharing a preoccupation with "psychic safety" and the metaphorical transformation of experience in which "words” become a form of “violence."* He suggests young people's material insecurity contributes to their focus on identity, as those facing bleak economic prospects turn inward when they "can't make their way in the world."* Rieff characterizes woke ideology as "apocalyptic but not pessimistic," contrasting it with his own genuine pessimism which he considers more realistic about human nature and more cheerful in its acceptance of life's limitations. FULL TRANSCRIPTAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, as we digest Trump 2.0, we don't talk that much these days about woke and woke ideology. There was a civil war amongst progressives, I think, on the woke front in 2023 and 2024, but with Donald Trump 2.0 and his various escapades, let's just talk these days about woke. We have a new book, however, on the threat of woke by my guest, David Rieff. It's called Desire and Fate. He wrote it in 2023, came out in late 2024. David's visiting the Bay Area. He's an itinerant man traveling from the East Coast to Latin America and Europe. David, welcome to Keen on America. Do you regret writing this book given what's happened in the last few months in the United States?David Rieff: No, not at all, because I think that the road to moral and intellectual hell is trying to censor yourself according to what you think is useful. There's a famous story of Jean Paul Sartre that he said to the stupefaction of a journalist late in his life that he'd always known about the gulag, and the journalist pretty surprised said, well, why didn't you say anything? And Sartre said so as not to demoralize the French working class. And my own view is, you know, you say what you have to say about this and if I give some aid and comfort to people I don't like, well, so be it. Having said that, I also think a lot of these woke ideas have their, for all of Trump's and Trump's people's fierce opposition to woke, some of the identity politics, particularly around Jewish identity seems to me not that very different from woke. Strangely they seem to have taken, for example, there's a lot of the talk about anti-semitism on college campuses involves student safety which is a great woke trope that you feel unsafe and what people mean by that is not literally they're going to get shot or beaten up, they mean that they feel psychically unsafe. It's part of the kind of metaphorization of experience that unfortunately the United States is now completely in the grips of. But the same thing on the other side, people like Barry Weiss, for example, at the Free Press there, they talk in the same language of psychic safety. So I'm not sure there's, I think there are more similarities than either side is comfortable with.Andrew Keen: You describe Woke, David, as a cultural revolution and you associated in the beginning of the book with something called Lumpen-Rousseauism. As we joked before we went live, I'm not sure if there's anything in Rousseau which isn't Lumpen. But what exactly is this cultural revolution? And can we blame it on bad French philosophy or Swiss French?David Rieff: Well, Swiss-French philosophy, you know exactly. There is a funny anecdote, as I'm sure you know, that Rousseau made a visit to Edinburgh to see Hume and there's something in Hume's diaries where he talks about Rousseau pacing up and down in front of the fire and suddenly exclaiming, but David Hume is not a bad man. And Hume notes in his acerbic way, Rousseau was like walking around without his skin on. And I think some of the woke sensitivity stuff is very much people walking around without their skin on. They can't stand the idea of being offended. I don't see it as much - of course, the influence of that version of cultural relativism that the French like Deleuze and Guattari and other people put forward is part of the story, but I actually see it as much more of a post-Protestant thing. This idea, in that sense, some kind of strange combination of maybe some French philosophy, but also of the wellness movement, of this notion that health, including psychic health, was the ultimate good in a secular society. And then the other part, which again, it seems to be more American than French, which is this idea, and this is particularly true in the trans movement, that you can be anything you want to be. And so that if you feel yourself to be a different gender, well, that's who you are. And what matters is your own subjective sense of these things, and it's up to you. The outside world has no say in it, it's what you feel. And that in a sense, what I mean by post-Protestant is that, I mean, what's the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism? The fundamental difference is, it seems to me, that in Roman Catholic tradition, you need the priest to intercede with God, whereas in Protestant tradition, it is, except for the Anglicans, but for most of Protestantism, it's you and God. And in that sense it seems to me there are more of what I see in woke than this notion that some of the right-wing people like Chris Rufo and others have that this is cultural French cultural Marxism making its insidious way through the institutions.Andrew Keen: It's interesting you talk about the Protestant ethic and you mentioned Hume's remark about Rousseau not having his skin on. Do you think that Protestantism enabled people to grow thick skins?David Rieff: I mean, the Calvinist idea certainly did. In fact, there were all these ideas in Protestant culture, at least that's the classical interpretation of deferred gratification. Capitalism was supposed to be the work ethic, all of that stuff that Weber talks about. But I think it got in the modern version. It became something else. It stopped being about those forms of disciplines and started to be about self-invention. And in a sense, there's something very American about that because after all you know it's the Great Gatsby. It's what's the famous sentence of F. Scott Fitzgerald's: there are no second acts in American lives.Andrew Keen: This is the most incorrect thing anyone's ever said about America. I'm not sure if he meant it to be incorrect, did he? I don't know.David Rieff: I think what's true is that you get the American idea, you get to reinvent yourself. And this notion of the dream, the dream become reality. And many years ago when I was spending a lot of time in LA in the late 80s, early 90s, at LAX, there was a sign from the then mayor, Tom Bradley, about how, you know, if you can dream it, it can be true. And I think there's a lot in identitarian woke idea which is that we can - we're not constricted by history or reality. In fact, it's all the present and the future. And so to me again, woke seems to me much more recognizable as something American and by extension post-Protestant in the sense that you see the places where woke is most powerful are in the other, what the encampment kids would call settler colonies, Australia and Canada. And now in the UK of course, where it seems to me by DI or EDI as they call it over there is in many ways stronger in Britain even than it was in the US before Trump.Andrew Keen: Does it really matter though, David? I mean, that's my question. Does it matter? I mean it might matter if you have the good or the bad fortune to teach at a small, expensive liberal arts college. It might matter with some of your dinner parties in Tribeca or here in San Francisco, but for most people, who cares?David Rieff: It doesn't matter. I think it matters to culture and so what you think culture is worth, because a lot of the point of this book was to say there's nothing about woke that threatens capitalism, that threatens the neo-liberal order. I mean it's turning out that Donald Trump is a great deal bigger threat to the neoliberal order. Woke was to the contrary - woke is about talking about everything but class. And so a kind of baudlerized, de-radicalized version of woke became perfectly fine with corporate America. That's why this wonderful old line hard lefty Adolph Reed Jr. says somewhere that woke is about diversifying the ruling class. But I do think it's a threat to high culture because it's about equity. It's about representation. And so elite culture, which I have no shame in proclaiming my loyalty to, can't survive the woke onslaught. And it hasn't, in my view. If you look at just the kinds of books that are being written, the kinds of plays that are been put on, even the opera, the new operas that are being commissioned, they're all about representing the marginalized. They're about speaking for your group, whatever that group is, and doing away with various forms of cultural hierarchy. And I'm with Schoenberg: if it's for everybody, if it's art, Schoenberg said it's not for everybody, and if it's for everybody it's not art. And I think woke destroys that. Woke can live with schlock. I'm sorry, high culture can live with schlock, it always has, it always will. What it can't live with is kitsch. And by which I mean kitsch in Milan Kundera's definition, which is to have opinions that you feel better about yourself for holding. And that I think is inimical to culture. And I think woke is very destructive of those traditions. I mean, in the most obvious sense, it's destructive of the Western tradition, but you know, the high arts in places like Japan or Bengal, I don't think it's any more sympathetic to those things than it is to Shakespeare or John Donne or whatever. So yeah, I think it's a danger in that sense. Is it a danger to the peace of the world? No, of course not.Andrew Keen: Even in cultural terms, as you explain, it is an orthodoxy. If you want to work with the dominant cultural institutions, the newspapers, the universities, the publishing houses, you have to play by those rules, but the great artists, poets, filmmakers, musicians have never done that, so all it provides, I mean you brought up Kundera, all it provides is something that independent artists, creative people will sneer at, will make fun of, as you have in this new book.David Rieff: Well, I hope they'll make fun of it. But on the other hand, I'm an old guy who has the means to sneer. I don't have to please an editor. Someone will publish my books one way or another, whatever ones I have left to write. But if you're 25 years old, maybe you're going to sneer with your pals in the pub, but you're gonna have to toe the line if you want to be published in whatever the obvious mainstream place is and you're going to be attacked on social media. I think a lot of people who are very, young people who are skeptical of this are just so afraid of being attacked by their peers on various social media that they keep quiet. I don't know that it's true that, I'd sort of push back on that. I think non-conformists will out. I hope it's true. But I wonder, I mean, these traditions, once they die, they're very hard to rebuild. And, without going full T.S. Eliot on you, once you don't think you're part of the past, once the idea is that basically, pretty much anything that came before our modern contemporary sense of morality and fairness and right opinion is to be rejected and that, for example, the moral character of the artist should determine whether or not the art should be paid attention to - I don't know how you come back from that or if you come back from that. I'm not convinced you do. No, other arts will be around. And I mean, if I were writing a critical review of my own book, I'd say, look, this culture, this high culture that you, David Rieff, are writing an elegy for, eulogizing or memorializing was going to die anyway, and we're at the beginning of another Gutenbergian epoch, just as Gutenberg, we're sort of 20 years into Marshall McLuhan's Gutenberg galaxy, and these other art forms will come, and they won't be like anything else. And that may be true.Andrew Keen: True, it may be true. In a sense then, to extend that critique, are you going full T.S. Eliot in this book?David Rieff: Yeah, I think Eliot was right. But it's not just Eliot, there are people who would be for the wokesters more acceptable like Mandelstam, for example, who said you're part of a conversation that's been going on long before you were born, that's going to be going on after you are, and I think that's what art is. I think the idea that we make some completely new thing is a childish fantasy. I think you belong to a tradition. There are periods - look, this is, I don't find much writing in English in prose fiction very interesting. I have to say I read the books that people talk about because I'm trying to understand what's going on but it doesn't interest me very much, but again, there have been periods of great mediocrity. Think of a period in the late 17th century in England when probably the best poet was this completely, rightly, justifiably forgotten figure, Colley Cibber. You had the great restoration period and then it all collapsed, so maybe it'll be that way. And also, as I say, maybe it's just as with the print revolution, that this new culture of social media will produce completely different forms. I mean, everything is mortal, not just us, but cultures and civilizations and all the rest of it. So I can imagine that, but this is the time I live in and the tradition I come from and I'm sorry it's gone, and I think what's replacing it is for the most part worse.Andrew Keen: You're critical in the book of what you, I'm quoting here, you talk about going from the grand inquisitor to the grand therapist. But you're very critical of the broader American therapeutic culture of acute sensitivity, the thin skin nature of, I guess, the Rousseau in this, whatever, it's lumpen Rousseauanism. So how do you interpret that without psychologizing, or are you psychologizing in the book? How are you making sense of our condition? In other words, can one critique criticize therapeutic culture without becoming oneself therapeutic?David Rieff: You mean the sort of Pogo line, we've met the enemy and it is us. Well, I suppose there's some truth to that. I don't know how much. I think that woke is in some important sense a subset of the wellness movement. And the wellness movement after all has tens and tens of millions of people who are in one sense or another influenced by it. And I think health, including psychic health, and we've moved from wellness as corporal health to wellness as being both soma and psyche. So, I mean, if that's psychologizing, I certainly think it's drawing the parallel or seeing woke in some ways as one of the children of the god of wellness. And that to me, I don't know how therapeutic that is. I think it's just that once you feel, I'm interested in what people feel. I'm not necessarily so interested in, I mean, I've got lots of opinions, but what I think I'm better at than having opinions is trying to understand why people think what they think. And I do think that once health becomes the ultimate good in a secular society and once death becomes the absolutely unacceptable other, and once you have the idea that there's no real distinction of any great validity between psychic and physical wellness, well then of course sensitivity to everything becomes almost an inevitable reaction.Andrew Keen: I was reading the book and I've been thinking about a lot of movements in America which are trying to bring people together, dealing with America, this divided America, as if it's a marriage in crisis. So some of the most effective or interesting, I think, thinkers on this, like Arlie Hochschild in Berkeley, use the language of therapy to bring or to try to bring America back together, even groups like the Braver Angels. Can therapy have any value or that therapeutic culture in a place like America where people are so bitterly divided, so hateful towards one another?David Rieff: Well, it's always been a country where, on the one hand, people have been, as you say, incredibly good at hatred and also a country of people who often construe themselves as misfits and heretics from the Puritans forward. And on the other hand, you have that small-town American idea, which sometimes I think is as important to woke and DI as as anything else which is that famous saying of small town America of all those years ago which was if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all. And to some extent that is, I think, a very powerful ancestor of these movements. Whether they're making any headway - of course I hope they are, but Hochschild is a very interesting figure, but I don't, it seems to me it's going all the other way, that people are increasingly only talking to each other.Andrew Keen: What this movement seems to want to do is get beyond - I use this word carefully, I'm not sure if they use it but I'm going to use it - ideology and that we're all prisoners of ideology. Is woke ideology or is it a kind of post-ideology?David Rieff: Well, it's a redemptive idea, a restorative idea. It's an idea that in that sense, there's a notion that it's time for the victims, for the first to be last and the last to be first. I mean, on some level, it is as simple as that. On another level, as I say, I do think it has a lot to do with metaphorization of experience, that people say silence is violence and words are violence and at that point what's violence? I mean there is a kind of level to me where people have gotten trapped in the kind of web of their own metaphors and now are living by them or living shackled to them or whatever image you're hoping for. But I don't know what it means to get beyond ideology. What, all men will be brothers, as in the Beethoven-Schiller symphony? I mean, it doesn't seem like that's the way things are going.Andrew Keen: Is the problem then, and I'm thinking out loud here, is the problem politics or not enough politics?David Rieff: Oh, I think the problem is that now we don't know, we've decided that everything is part, the personal is the political, as the feminists said, 50, 60 years ago. So the personal's political, so the political is the personal. So you have to live the exemplary moral life, or at least the life that doesn't offend anybody or that conforms to whatever the dominant views of what good opinions are, right opinions are. I think what we're in right now is much more the realm of kind of a new set of moral codes, much more than ideology in the kind of discrete sense of politics.Andrew Keen: Now let's come back to this idea of being thin-skinned. Why are people so thin-skinned?David Rieff: Because, I mean, there are lots of things to say about that. One thing, of course, that might be worth saying, is that the young generations, people who are between, let's say, 15 and 30, they're in real material trouble. It's gonna be very hard for them to own a house. It's hard for them to be independent and unless the baby boomers like myself will just transfer every penny to them, which doesn't seem very likely frankly, they're going to live considerably worse than generations before. So if you can't make your way in the world then maybe you make your way yourself or you work on yourself in that sort of therapeutic sense. You worry about your own identity because the only place you have in the world in some way is yourself, is that work, that obsession. I do think some of these material questions are important. There's a guy you may know who's not at all woke, a guy who teaches at the University of Washington called Danny Bessner. And I just did a show with him this morning. He's a smart guy and we have a kind of ironic correspondence over email and DM. And I once said to him, why are you so bitter about everything? And he said, you want to know why? Because I have two children and the likelihood is I'll never get a teaching job that won't require a three hour commute in order for me to live anywhere that I can afford to live. And I thought, and he couldn't be further from woke, he's a kind of Jacobin guy, Jacobin Magazine guy, and if he's left at all, it's kind of old left, but I think a lot of people feel that, that they feel their practical future, it looks pretty grim.Andrew Keen: But David, coming back to the idea of art, they're all suited to the world of art. They don't have to buy a big house and live in the suburbs. They can become poets. They can become filmmakers. They can put their stuff up on YouTube. They can record their music online. There are so many possibilities.David Rieff: It's hard to monetize that. Maybe now you're beginning to sound like the people you don't like. Now you're getting to sound like a capitalist.Andrew Keen: So what? Well, I don't care if I sound like a capitalist. You're not going to starve to death.David Rieff: Well, you might not like, I mean, it's fine to be a barista at 24. It's not so fine at 44. And are these people going to ever get out of this thing? I don't know. I wonder. Look, when I was starting as a writer, as long as you were incredibly diligent, and worked really hard, you could cobble together at least a basic living by accepting every assignment and people paid you bits and bobs of money, but put together, you could make a living. Now, the only way to make money, unless you're lucky enough to be on staff of a few remaining media outlets that remain, is you have to become an impresario, you have become an entrepreneur of your own stuff. And again, sure, do lots of people manage that? Yeah, but not as many as could have worked in that other system, and look at the fate of most newspapers, all folding. Look at the universities. We can talk about woke and how woke destroyed, in my view anyway, a lot of the humanities. But there's also a level in which people didn't want to study these things. So we're looking at the last generation in a lot places of a lot of these humanities departments and not just the ones that are associated with, I don't know, white supremacy or the white male past or whatever, but just the humanities full stop. So I know if that sounds like, maybe it sounds like a capitalist, but maybe it also sounds like you know there was a time when the poets - you know very well, poets never made a living, poets taught in universities. That's the way American poets made their money, including pretty famous poets like Eric Wolcott or Joseph Brodsky or writers, Toni Morrison taught at Princeton all those years, Joyce Carol Oates still alive, she still does. Most of these people couldn't make a living of their work and so the university provided that living.Andrew Keen: You mentioned Barry Weiss earlier. She's making a fortune as an anti-woke journalist. And Free Press seems to be thriving. Yascha Mounk's Persuasion is doing pretty well. Andrew Sullivan, another good example, making a fortune off of Substack. It seems as if the people willing to take risks, Barry Weiss leaving the New York Times, Andrew Sullivan leaving everything he's ever joined - that's...David Rieff: Look, are there going to be people who thrive in this new environment? Sure. And Barry Weiss turns out to be this kind of genius entrepreneur. She deserves full credit for that. Although even Barry Weiss, the paradox for me of Barry Weiss is, a lot of her early activism was saying that she felt unsafe with these anti-Israeli teachers at Columbia. So in a sense, she was using some of the same language as the woke use, psychic safety, because she didn't mean Joseph Massad was gonna come out from the blackboard and shoot her in the eye. She meant that she was offended and used the language of safety to describe that. And so in that sense, again, as I was saying to you earlier, I think there are more similarities here. And Trump, I think this is a genuine counterrevolution that Trump is trying to mount. I'm not very interested in the fascism, non-fascism debate. I'm rather skeptical of it.Andrew Keen: As Danny Bessner is. Yeah, I thought Danny's piece about that was brilliant.David Rieff: We just did a show about it today, that piece about why that's all rubbish. I was tempted, I wrote to a friend that guy you may know David Bell teaches French history -Andrew Keen: He's coming on the show next week. Well, you see, it's just a little community of like-minded people.David Rieff: There you go. Well, I wrote to David.Andrew Keen: And you mentioned his father in the book, Daniel.David Rieff: Yeah, well, his father is sort of one of the tutelary idols of the book. I had his father and I read his father and I learned an enormous amount. I think that book about the cultural contradictions of capitalism is one of the great prescient books about our times. But I wrote to David, I said, I actually sent him the Bessner piece which he was quite ambivalent about. But I said well, I'm not really convinced by the fascism of Trump, maybe just because Hitler read books, unlike Donald Trump. But it's a genuine counterrevolution. And what element will change the landscape in terms of DI and woke and identitarianism is not clear. These people are incredibly ambitious. They really mean to change this country, transform it.Andrew Keen: But from the book, David, Trump's attempts to cleanse, if that's the right word, the university, I would have thought you'd have rather admired that, all these-David Rieff: I agree with some of it.Andrew Keen: All these idiots writing the same article for 30 years about something that no one has any interest in.David Rieff: I look, my problem with Trump is that I do support a lot of that. I think some of the stuff that Christopher Rufo, one of the leading ideologues of this administration has uncovered about university programs and all of this crap, I think it's great that they're not paying for it anymore. The trouble is - you asked me before, is it that important? Is culture important compared to destroying the NATO alliance, blowing up the global trade regime? No. I don't think. So yeah, I like a lot of what they're doing about the university, I don't like, and I am very fiercely opposed to this crackdown on speech. That seems to be grotesque and revolting, but are they canceling supporting transgender theater in Galway? Yeah, I think it's great that they're canceling all that stuff. And so I'm not, that's my problem with Trump, is that some of that stuff I'm quite unashamedly happy about, but it's not nearly worth all the damage he's doing to this country and the world.Andrew Keen: Being very generous with your time, David. Finally, in the book you describe woke as, and I thought this was a very sharp way of describing it, describe it as being apocalyptic but not pessimistic. What did you mean by that? And then what is the opposite of woke? Would it be not apocalyptic, but cheerful?David Rieff: Well, I think genuine pessimists are cheerful, I would put myself among those. The model is Samuel Beckett, who just thinks things are so horrible that why not be cheerful about them, and even express one's pessimism in a relatively cheerful way. You remember the famous story that Thomas McCarthy used to tell about walking in the Luxembourg Gardens with Beckett and McCarthy says to him, great day, it's such a beautiful day, Sam. Beckett says, yeah, beautiful day. McCarthy says, makes you glad to be alive. And Beckett said, oh, I wouldn't go that far. And so, the genuine pessimist is quite cheerful. But coming back to woke, it's apocalyptic in the sense that everything is always at stake. But somehow it's also got this reformist idea that cultural revolution will cleanse away the sins of the supremacist patriarchal past and we'll head for the sunny uplands. I think I'm much too much of a pessimist to think that's possible in any regime, let alone this rather primitive cultural revolution called woke.Andrew Keen: But what would the opposite be?David Rieff: The opposite would be probably some sense that the best we're going to do is make our peace with the trash nature of existence, that life is finite in contrast with the wellness people who probably have a tendency towards the apocalyptic because death is an insult to them. So everything is staving off the bad news and that's where you get this idea that you can, like a lot of revolutions, you can change the nature of people. Look, the communist, Che Guevara talked about the new man. Well, I wonder if he thought it was so new when he was in Bolivia. I think these are - people need utopias, this is one of them, MAGA is another utopia by the way, and people don't seem to be able to do without them and that's - I wish it were otherwise but it isn't.Andrew Keen: I'm guessing the woke people would be offended by the idea of death, are they?David Rieff: Well, I think the woke people, in this synchronicity, people and a lot of people, they're insulted - how can this happen to me, wonderful me? And this is those jokes in the old days when the British could still be savage before they had to have, you know, Henry the Fifth be played by a black actor - why me? Well, why not you? That's just so alien to and it's probably alien to the American idea. You're supposed to - it's supposed to work out and the truth is it doesn't work out. But La Rochefoucauld says somewhere no one can stare for too long at death or the sun and maybe I'm asking too much.Andrew Keen: Maybe only Americans can find death unacceptable to use one of your words.David Rieff: Yes, perhaps.Andrew Keen: Well, David Rieff, congratulations on the new book. Fascinating, troubling, controversial as always. Desire and Fate. I know you're writing a book about Oppenheimer, very different kind of subject. We'll get you back on the show to talk Oppenheimer, where I guess there's not going to be a lot of Lumpen-Rousseauism.David Rieff: Very little, very little love and Rousseau in the quantum mechanics world, but thanks for having me.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Evening Prayer for Monday, March 31, 2025 (The Fourth Sunday in Lent; John Donne, Priest and Poet, 1631).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 77Proverbs 291 Timothy 3Learn more about Beeson Divinity School online.Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.
Morning Prayer for Monday, March 31, 2025 (The Fourth Sunday in Lent; John Donne, Priest and Poet, 1631).Psalm and Scripture readings (60-day Psalter):Psalm 74Exodus 38:1-23Mark 1:14-31Learn more about Beeson Divinity School online.Click here to access the text for the Daily Office at DailyOffice2019.com.Click here to support The Daily Office Podcast with a one-time gift or a recurring donation.
We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to Sen. Chris Murphy’s New Yorker interview, Stephen Graham and Adolescence and A Thousand Blows, whether John Donne and William Shakespeare knew each other, whether you should root for blowouts, the novel Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's The Fourth Monday in Lent in the Church Calendar. We are celebrating the life of John Donne, Priest, 1631. March 31, 2025.Praying today with Suzanne in Amherst, TX for Connie.Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office.Today's song: I Am Your Beloved (Brandon Lake, Jonathan David Helser)Psalm 16:5-11John Donne's Holy Sonnet “Batter my heart, three-person'd God”Playlist of songs from Morning Prayer.If you have a prayer request please submit it here. Sign up here for the email list.Morning Prayer and Worship is a production of Steady Stream Ministries, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Thank you for your support. You can go here to find out more.Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount!Join our Facebook group here!Photo by Suzy Hazelwood.Collect of the DayJohn Donne, Priest, 1631, Rite TwoAlmighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with your servant John Donne, that whatever has any being is a mirror in which we may behold you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.Holy Sonnets: Batter my heart, three-person'd GodBy John DonneBatter my heart, three-person'd God, for youAs yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bendYour force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.I, like an usurp'd town to another due,Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,But am betroth'd unto your enemy;Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,Take me to you, imprison me, for I,Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
This service of Choral Evensong, sung by the Cathedral Schola, observes the Feast of John Donne. The officiant and preacher is the Rev. Canon George Maxwell. Choral repertoire includes:Gerre Hancock (1934-2012), Preces & ResponsesOrlando Gibbons (1583-1625), Short ServiceEleanor Daley (b. 1955), Hymn to GodWilliam Byrd (1539/40-1623), Look down, O Lord
Vom Forschergeist zum Forschungsobjekt – Vivian Bearings Konfrontation mit der Endlichkeit Vivian Bearing, 50, ist leidenschaftliche Professorin für Lyrik des 17. Jahrhunderts. Ihr Forscherleben hat sie ganz den metaphysischen Geistigen Sonetten von John Donne gewidmet. Bei einer Routineuntersuchung erfährt sie plötzlich, dass sie todkrank ist: metastasierender Ovarial-Tumor Stadium IV, fortgeschrittener Eierstockkrebs. Eine Überlebenschance sieht ihr Arzt nur, wenn sie sich einer neuartigen radikal-aggressiven Chemotherapie unterwirft. Die souveräne Forscherin willigt ein, wissend, dass sie damit selbst zum Forschungsobjekt der Mediziner wird. Sie muss sich nun mit einem für sie neuen Thema, nämlich dem des eigenen Todes, auseinandersetzen, einem Begriff, der für sie bisher nur als literarische Metapher von Bedeutung war. Energisch kämpft sie mit den Mitteln der Philologie gegen das klinische Einschüchterungsvokabular. Autorin: Margaret Edson Besetzung: Nicole Heesters (Vivian Bearing), Céline Vogt (Vivian/Kind), Horst Mendroch (Harvey Kelekian), Christoph Eichhorn (Jason Posner), Jacqueline Macauley (Susan Monahan), Christa Strobel (E. M. Ashford), Bernt Hahn (Mr. Bearing), Marcus Vick (Labortechniker 1/Assistenzarzt 1), Martin Päthel (Labortechniker 2), Petra Kalkutschke (Assistenzärztin), Uwe Kosubek (Student), Markus Kiefer (Mitglied des Notfallteams), Patrick Schnicke (Mitglied des Notfallteams), Dimitrios Tellis (Mitglied des Notfallteams), Peter Schwab (Notfallteamleiter), Claudia Holzapfel, Markus Kiefer, Peter Schwab Übersetzung: Frank Heibert Bearbeitung und Regie: Claudia Johanna Leist Technische Realisierung: Gertrudt Melcher, Anne Effertz Regieassistenz: Maidon Bader Redaktion: Thilo Guschas Produktion: Westdeutscher Rundfunk / Norddeutscher Rundfunk 2000
Father Paul tells the story of a poet and a preacher with a licentious past whose incredible command of language made him one of England’s greatest preachers.
Some of us have heard the names of 17th-century poets like George Herbert, John Donne, and John Milton. But did you know that John Bunyan also wrote poems? And that there were many female poets too? Join Trinity, Mina, and Sean as they discuss these poets and their exciting lives with Dr. David Parry, Tutorial Fellow in English at Regent's Park College in Oxford, England. Show Notes If you'd like to find out more about the poets Dr. Parry mentioned in this episode, here are their names: John Milton, John Bunyan, George Herbert, John Donne, Lucy Hutchinson, Mary Sydney. "Upon a Snail" by John Bunyan https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/upon-the-snail Some articles by Simonetta Carr about some of the authors mentioned: Lucy Hutchison https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/lucy-hutchinson-%E2%80%93-puritan-woman-changing-times John Donne https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/john-donne-poet-of-grace-and-comfort George Herbert https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/george-herbert-pastor-and-poet
We're back at The Tabernacle in March with another fantastic line-up of speakers! Join us for an inspiring evening of storytelling. Katherine Rundell is a fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford, and a contributing editor at the LRB. Her novels for children have won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children's Book Award, among many others. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize, and Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories
In the first episode of our weekly Lenten series, we invite you to take a moment to slow down, quiet your heart, and hear what God may be saying to you. Throughout the season of Lent, we'll be releasing weekly episodes focused on themes of reflection, prayer, and contemplation.On March 19, 2021 we were delighted to host Christian author, leader, and teacher, Ruth Haley Barton. Barton is founding President/CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of Christian leaders and the congregations and organizations they serve. Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership and Sacred Rhythms. She reflects regularly on spirituality and leadership in her blog, Beyond Words, and on her podcast Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.We hope you enjoy this conversation around her book, Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence. Our attention, Barton believes, has become a commodity that we must protect if we are to avoid being swept away by our distracted age. She invites listeners to engage in these ancient biblical practices to find the rest for our souls that Jesus promises. In this Lenten season, we hope this will inspire you to pursue God's transforming presence in new ways and contemplatively sit in solitude and silence with the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Learn more about Ruth Haley Barton. Watch the full Online Conversation and read the transcript from March 19, 2021. Related reading:A Shocking Lack of Solitude, Cherie Harder Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Blaise PascalJohn MiltonC.S. LewisRichard RohrDallas WillardHenry NouwenShop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. CrawfordRabbi Abraham Joshua HeschelJulian of NorwichInvitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence, by Ruth Haley Barton Related Trinity Forum Readings:Confessions | A Trinity Forum Reading by St. Augustine, introduced by James K.A. Smith.Pilgrim at Tinker Creek | A Trinity Forum Reading by Annie Dillard, introduced by Tish Harrison Warren.Devotions | A Trinity Forum Reading by John Donne, introduced and paraphrased by Philip Yancey.The Long Loneliness | A Trinity Forum Reading by Dorothy Day, introduced by Anne and David Brooks.Wrestling with God | A Trinity Forum Reading by Simone Weil, introduced by Alonzo McDonald.The Pilgrim's Progress | A Trinity Forum Reading by John Bunyan, introduced by Alonzo McDonald.
This week we have an extra special episode, researched and presented by the birthday girl, Pamela Loetterle.We are talking all about Dr John Donne. Born a Catholic and a child genius, we follow his career, love-life and eventual conversion (by Royal Decree) to become the most famous Anglican preacher of his day......who also liked to write saucy poetry.Far more than just the bloke who wrote; 'For whom the bell tolls', Dr Donne was a man who found a way to get to where he wanted to be. Even if he was occasionally a bit of a goth/emo about things.Guest Presenter: Pamela Loetterle Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sara Bergmark Elfgren och Kristoffer Leandoer gäster Lundströms Bokradio för att bokcirkla om fantasyromanen Omöjliga varelser av Katherine Rundell. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. I fantasyromanen Omöjliga varelser färdas vi till en hemlig värld befolkad av magiska varelser och mytologiska väsen. Platsen kallas Arkipelagen och består av en mängd små öar i Nordatlanten. Vi tar oss dit tillsammans med en pojke i tolvårsåldern, Christopher, som i Arkipelagen möter en jämnårig flicka, Mal, som kan flyga. Deras uppdrag i denna ungdomsroman blir att rädda världen.Omöjliga varelser är skriven av Katherine Rundell, född 1987, som rönt stora internationella framgångar som författare. Hon doktorerade på 1600-talspoeten John Donne vid Oxford men skriver nu på heltid och bor i London. Omöjliga varelser är den första delen av tre i samma bokserie.Författaren och dramatikern Sara Bergmark Elfgren och författaren och kritikern Kristoffer Leandoer har läst Omöjliga varelser och samtalar med Marie Lundström. Omöjliga varelser är översätt till svenska av Fredrika Spindler.Skriv till oss! bokradio@sverigesradio.seProgramledare: Marie LundströmProducent: Andreas Magnell
English poet John Donne once wrote, "no man is an island." His point? None of us go through this life alone. No matter where we turn in life, we bump into other people. As husbands and fathers, our most important relationships involve the people under our own roof. Those are the connections we need to strengthen as we continue to move into this year. In today's episode, we'll explore ways we can rely on God's strength to be the relational leaders we are called to be. Buy Kent's new book Don't Bench Yourself here: Don't Bench Yourself on Amazon Support the show and upgrade your fatherhood swag. Shop Range Leather and get 15% OFF with code MJ15
A thank you to my listeners, all over the world, on our 200th episode. The thematic spectrum of Donne's love poetry, continued. Moods of skepticism (“Go and catch a falling star”), hatred (“The Apparition”) and requited sexual and romantic love (“The Good Morrow,” “The Sun Rising,” “The Canonization”).
Donne's are arguably the greatest love poems in English after Shakespeare's sonnets. Donne as a Metaphysical poet. Donne's fascinating and troubled life. A spectrum of types of love, beginning with the satiric and overtly erotic: “Elegy 19” and “The Flea.”
We that acquaint ourselves with every zone,And pass both tropics and behold the poles,When we come home, are to ourselves unknown,And unacquainted still with our own souls.Today's poem is Davies' lengthy meditation on what man can know and what he could stand to learn. Happy reading.Poet and lawyer Sir John Davies was born in Wiltshire and educated at Winchester College and Queen's College, Oxford, though historians disagree about whether he graduated. In 1588, he enrolled in the Middle Temple, where he studied with John Donne, and was called to the bar in 1595. In addition to his legal study, Davies wrote poetry, notably Orchestra, or, A Poeme of Dancing (1596). Davies's other works include a series of epigrams drawn from his youthful misadventures; Nosce teipsum (1594), a poetic treatise on the immortality of the soul; and Hymnes of Astraea in Acrosticke Verse (1599),an acrostic poem spelling the words Elisabetha Regina. Davies also contributed poetic dialogues to Francis Davison's Poetical Rhapsody(1602). His Collected Poems appeared in 1622. It is thought that Davies accompanied King James to Scotland after Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603. Eventually knighted by the king, Davies was made solicitor general for Ireland and emerged as a champion of legal reform in Ireland. He attempted to lay the grounds for a strong civil society, albeit one that benefited England and English rule in all cases. Davies helped cement pro-English property laws and advocated the expulsion of Catholic priests to shore up Protestantism. He was appointed speaker in the Irish Parliament in 1613 and presided over the first Protestant majority. He returned to England and served in the Parliament of 1621. Charles I appointed Davies lord chief justice in 1626, but he died just before officially taking office. John Donne gave his funeral oration. Davies was buried in St. Martin-in-the-Fields.-bio via Poetry Foundation This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Ron Tester, business strategist + my biz bestie is back with us today for our holiday show – where we discuss business memoirs for your reading pleasure. We cover the spectrum from long + involved histories, peppy + inspiring sales memoirs and even a shortish essay about why we should read kids books as adults, This episode is part of the December Daily, where - you guessed it - the show is, gasp, daily for the whole month Books discussed in this episode: My Life at General Motors by Alfred Sloan Sell It Like Serhant by Ryan Serhant Why You Should Read Children's Books Even Though You Are Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell – alternate article if you can't get hold of the book here Super Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson Ron's website: rontestercoaching.com ==== If you'd like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients ==== And don't forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients. This isn't your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you've actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely. Click here lizscully.com/reading to get your book list
This week we're off to Surrey, one of the Home Counties - and a place that is being gobbled up by London year by year!We start by discussing, much to Martin's chagrin, that the 23rd December is actually a Saints Day for about 30 obscure martyrs, recounting just a fraction of who they were and why they mattered. And after that, we dig into the history and folklore of Surrey.We discuss all sorts, including the tiny house where John Donne and his wife lived and had many, many babies, an extremely tall tower built by an Enlightenment-era loon, the heritage and importance of Surrey's heaths and commons, and plenty else, all before Martin digs through culinary history to uncover some... peculiar delicacies... for this week's County Dish.On the folklore front, interspersed with some excerpts from next Saturday's Local Legends interview with the much-acclaimed folklorist and author Jeremy Harte, we talk about Guildford's unfortunate dragon, Lord Lyttleton's Ghost, Joan Butts The Witch of Ewell, and much more besides.Then it's on to the main event: Martin's rather silly story, which is largely based on the truth, "Captain Salvin and his Flying Pig."We hope you enjoy it, and be sure to check back tomorrow for Eleanor's epic Ghost Story for Christmas Eve!The Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays (Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Dying Arts about endangered heritage crafts, and Something Wicked about folkloric true crime from across history) plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Book review: A British Book Awards winner and bestseller by Katherine Rundell. Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell is a witty and intelligent biography. It is a refreshing and illuminating take on the highs and lows of a highly talented historical figure born in 1500s England. ⇨ YOU WILL LEARN: * What this Faber publication is all about * Interesting facts about this scholar, adventurer and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral * Life-story tips from an award winner * Appreciate how our lives are interconnected ⇨ FULL ARTICLE Click to read: https://foreveryoungautobiographies.com/super-infinite/ ⇨ VIDEO PODCAST Click to watch: https://youtu.be/onX29-EV_mc ⇨ FREE GIFT Structure Success video training: Four steps to plan a life-story outline. FREE training, click to sign up: https://wp.me/P8NwjM-3o ⇨ YOUR SAY Do you have a book review recommendation? Leave me a comment below or here https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com/contact/ ⇨ RELATED LINKS Best life stories of 2023: Award-winning books to read over the holidays https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com/best-life-stories-of-2023/ The Boy from Boomerang Crescent: Australian memoir by AFL star Eddie Betts https://foreveryoungautobiographies.com/the-boy-from-boomerang-crescent/ Life-story interview: How to set-up an interview + family interview tips https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com/family-stories/ Tell the truth: The surefire way to out skeletons in the closet https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com/tell-the-truth/ Chapters: 3 questions answered about book chapters https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com/chapters/ ♡ Thanks for listening! Please subscribe if you are new and share or review the show if you found it helpful! Happy writing! ⇨ ABOUT ME G'day! I'm Nicola, the founder of Forever Young Autobiographies. I've been a daily print journalist for decades and know how to create life stories! Now I help others do the same to share with family and friends so that unique memories live on. ⇨ WEBSITE https://www.foreveryoungautobiographies.com ⇨ YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/c/ForeverYoungAutobiographies ⇨ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/foreveryoungautobiographies ⇨ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/foreveryoungautobiographies/
Today's poem is The Canonization by John Donne. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today's classic poem knows that loving hearts create possibilities for us to exist as full and whole human beings. We need as many examples as possible of sweet passion and friendship. It might be the key to our survival.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Send us a textToday we look at the love children of John Donne and Ben Jonson, a group of monarchist soldiers during the English Civil War. Collectively known as the Cavalier Poets, they are numerous. We'll look at some representative poems today by Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, and the ill-fated and unfortunately named Sir John Suckling.Additional music:"Consort for Brass" by Kevin MacLeod"La Violetta" by Claudio Monteverdi; perf. The Boston Camerata, dir. Joel Cohen"In Town Tonight" by Reginald Dixon; perf. Eric CoatesSupport the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Take This Poem wakes up from a nap long enough to share "Holy Sonnet X" by John Donne. When despair and triumph live side by side in 14 lines, heat ensues, as well as iridescence.
THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE: The Crew of the Starstrider prepare for landing. Darcey packs, Sascha and Gabriel perform final checks, Mika and Lee get some alone time, and Saph performs some poetry. Content warning: This episode contains loud noises and ringing sounds (tinnitus warning). The poem featured in this episode is "No Man is an Island" by John Donne. The Pilgrimage Saga is a UK-based podcast by Starstrider Productions. It is produced and created by Francesca Mylod-Ford. Starring: Sena Bryer as Captain Mika Harris James Oliva as Sascha Casana Stacey Cotham as Dr. Armstrong Courtney Perdue as Gabriel Grey Emily Curtis as Darcey Eldridge Rosie Curry as Saph Sound design and editing by Leila Jones-Atkinson Music composition by Joash Kari (https://www.facebook.com/joashkarimusic/) KOFI: https://ko-fi.com/R6R5OA1W REDBUBBLE: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TurpentinePod Script: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1898gqEVwe18G-PDzXRno3O0lMkhYSOCN/view?usp=sharing Other information can be found HERE: www.thepilgrimagesaga.wordpress.com
We discuss a challenge to wear three items of clothing we are not currently using--and explore ways to overcome common obstacles. We also share creative happiness hacks for welcoming overnight guests, and examine how people who tend to be rigid can adjust their rules to reduce stress in changing circumstances. Resources and links related to this episode: New products Four Tendencies quiz Elizabeth is reading: Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (Amazon, Bookshop) Gretchen is reading: Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell (Amazon, Bookshop) Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
durée : 01:30:00 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - - réalisation : Virginie Mourthé
Today's poem demonstrates that, unlike Arnold's sideburns, loving the Bard never goes out of style. Although remembered now for his elegantly argued critical essays, Matthew Arnold, born in Laleham, Middlesex, on December 24, 1822, began his career as a poet, winning early recognition as a student at the Rugby School where his father, Thomas Arnold, had earned national acclaim as a strict and innovative headmaster. Arnold also studied at Balliol College, Oxford University. In 1844, after completing his undergraduate degree at Oxford, he returned to Rugby as a teacher of classics.After marrying in 1851, Arnold began work as a government school inspector, a grueling position which nonetheless afforded him the opportunity to travel throughout England and the Continent. Throughout his thirty-five years in this position Arnold developed an interest in education, an interest which fed into both his critical works and his poetry. Empedocles on Etna (1852) and Poems (1853) established Arnold's reputation as a poet and, in 1857, he was offered a position, which he accepted and held until 1867, as Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Arnold became the first professor to lecture in English rather than Latin. During this time Arnold wrote the bulk of his most famous critical works, Essays in Criticism (1865) and Culture and Anarchy (1869), in which he sets forth ideas that greatly reflect the predominant values of the Victorian era.Meditative and rhetorical, Arnold's poetry often wrestles with problems of psychological isolation. In “To Marguerite—Continued,” for example, Arnold revises John Donne's assertion that “No man is an island,” suggesting that we “mortals” are indeed “in the sea of life enisled.” Other well-known poems, such as “Dover Beach,” link the problem of isolation with what Arnold saw as the dwindling faith of his time. Despite his own religious doubts, a source of great anxiety for him, in several essays Arnold sought to establish the essential truth of Christianity. His most influential essays, however, were those on literary topics. In “The Function of Criticism” (1865) and “The Study of Poetry” (1880) Arnold called for a new epic poetry: a poetry that would address the moral needs of his readers, “to animate and ennoble them.” Arnold's arguments, for a renewed religious faith and an adoption of classical aesthetics and morals, are particularly representative of mainstream Victorian intellectual concerns. His approach—his gentlemanly and subtle style—to these issues, however, established criticism as an art form, and has influenced almost every major English critic since, including T. S. Eliot, Lionel Trilling, and Harold Bloom. Though perhaps less obvious, the tremendous influence of his poetry, which addresses the poet's most innermost feelings with complete transparency, can easily be seen in writers as different from each other as W. B. Yeats, James Wright, Sylvia Plath, and Sharon Olds. Late in life, in 1883 and 1886, Arnold made two lecturing tours of the United States.Matthew Arnold died in Liverpool on April 15, 1888.-bio via Academy of American Poets Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Resurrection Life Podcast – Church of the Resurrection audio
Hosts: Fr. Steve & Rich Budd In today's episode, we talk about what is upcoming this fall at the parish. We hear a reflection on Saint Joseph. And we listen to a poem by John Donne, “Deign at My Hands,” read by Susan Ayers.
Today's poem–#6 in Donne's La Corona sonnet cycle–is an ideal consummation for many of the themes introduced in this week's selections. Now go read the rest of his holy sonnets! Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Today, Donne's best-known poem, but maybe not his last word on death. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Today's poem dramatizes Donne's inner turmoil and conflicting desires, but is not without hope. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Today's Holy Sonnet is the fourth in Donne's underrated (if a poet as great as Donne can have underrated work) sonnet cycle, La Corona. The title translates to “crown” and the cycle's opening line introduces the poems as a woven “crown of prayer and praise” offered to God, narrating and commenting upon significant events in the life of Jesus. Sonnet 4, “Temple,” centers on the sole recorded episode from Jesus' youth. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Words Against Despair with Christian WimanAs poet Christian Wiman explains on our podcast, despair is part of the human condition: “I deal with despair because…I don't know how not to, and it would be an evasion not to. And I think if you don't feel it, then you're not paying attention.”In his new book, Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, the acclaimed poet chases meaning through words, including memoir and poetry. And in this conversation he explains how he has found relief from despair in poetry, even and especially when poets grapple honestly with despair, “they speak of [despair] as a thing that can be spoken of.”Wiman returned to Christian faith in part through a terminal cancer diagnosis–one that he has, to his astonishment, now lived with for over 18 years. His work explores themes of illness, love, faith, and the “almost spiritual joy” of encountering a deadly coral snake. We trust you will find in his poetry, and in this conversation with Trinity Forum's guest host, Tom Wash, a great tonic against despair.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in April 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Christian Wiman.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, by Chrisitan WimanMarylin RobisonDanielle ChapmanWilliam BronkWilliam WordsworthEvery Riven Thing, by Christian WimanMy Bright Abyss: Meditations of a Modern Believer, by Christian WimanPrayer, by Carol Ann DuffyThe Bible and Poetry, by Michael Edwards Augustine of HippoBittersweet, by George HerbertSurprised by Joy, by C.S. LewisRichard WilburJürgen MoltmannWhen the Time's Toxins, by Christian WimanRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Augustine's ConfessionsDevotions by John Donne, paraphrased by Philip YanceyGod's Grandeur: the Poems of Gerard Manley HopkinsBulletins from Immortality, by Emily DickinsonWrestling with God, by Simone WeilRelated Conversations:Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael WearThe Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim AlbertaA Life Worth Living with Miroslav VolfTowards a Better Christian PoliticsChristian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of DifferenceWhat Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi AshworthScripture and the Public SquareHow to be a Patriotic ChristianLife, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip YanceyThe Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American DemocracyFear and Conspiracy with David FrenchTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.
Today marks the beginning of a week of Donne's “Holy Sonnets” (interpreted generously to also include selections from his sonnet cycle, “La Corona”). In this first sonnet, he establishes the themes––human weakness, self-doubt, terrestrial anguish, and divine transcendence and consolation––that will return throughout the series. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Today's poem is a classic staple with Literature teachers for its expressive metaphors; it is a classic staple with me because it's such a cracking-good poem. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
On this week's show, June Thomas (author of A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women's Culture) and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights) fill in for Dana and Stephen. First, the panel tackles It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (the latter also directed and produced the film.) It's a big, glossy melodrama laced with a domestic violence plot, and is the first film adaptation of BookTok star author Colleen Hoover. Then, the three explore Time Bandits, a new television show from Jermaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Watiti starring, among others, a sublime Lisa Kudrow. The Apple TV+ series is based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film of the same name and follows a ragtag bunch of bandits as they thieve and travel through time. Finally, in light of its 20-year anniversary, the trio considers Yelp – does the crowd-sourcing review platform still hold power in 2024? This conversation was inspired by Jaya Saxena's Eater piece, “Everybody Gets a Star.” On this week's exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel goes on the hunt for the wonderful, elusive “perfect cracker.” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: JUNE: A very well-reviewed book from two years ago: Katheine Rundell's Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne. DAN: The Ministry for the Future: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. JULIA: First Class Tailors on Wilshire Blvd., which boasts a 4.7 Star rating on Yelp. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Hosts June Thomas, Dan Kois, Julia Turner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this week's show, June Thomas (author of A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women's Culture) and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights) fill in for Dana and Stephen. First, the panel tackles It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (the latter also directed and produced the film.) It's a big, glossy melodrama laced with a domestic violence plot, and is the first film adaptation of BookTok star author Colleen Hoover. Then, the three explore Time Bandits, a new television show from Jermaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Watiti starring, among others, a sublime Lisa Kudrow. The Apple TV+ series is based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film of the same name and follows a ragtag bunch of bandits as they thieve and travel through time. Finally, in light of its 20-year anniversary, the trio considers Yelp – does the crowd-sourcing review platform still hold power in 2024? This conversation was inspired by Jaya Saxena's Eater piece, “Everybody Gets a Star.” On this week's exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel goes on the hunt for the wonderful, elusive “perfect cracker.” Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements: JUNE: A very well-reviewed book from two years ago: Katheine Rundell's Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne. DAN: The Ministry for the Future: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. JULIA: First Class Tailors on Wilshire Blvd., which boasts a 4.7 Star rating on Yelp. Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. Hosts June Thomas, Dan Kois, Julia Turner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What does it mean to be fully alive and at peace with ourselves and our neighbors in the anxiety and fear of contemporary life?Joining Evan Rosa in this episode is Elizabeth Oldfield—a journalist, communicator, and podcast host of The Sacred. She's author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times.Together they discuss life in her micro-monastery in south London; the meaning of liturgical and sacramental life embedded in a fast-paced, technological, capitalistic, obsessively popular society; the concept of personal encounter and Martin Buber's idea that “all living is meeting”; the fundamentally disconnecting power of sin that works against the fully aliveness of truly meeting the other; including discussions of wrath or contempt that drives us toward violence; greed or avarice and the incessant insatiable accumulation of wealth; the attention-training benefits of gratitude and the identify forming power of our attention; throughout it all, working through the spiritual psychology of sin and topography of the soul—and the fact that we are, all of us, in Elizabeth's words, “unutterably beloved.”About Elizabeth OldfieldElizabeth Oldfield is a journalist, communicator, and author. She hosts a beautiful podcast called The Sacred. And she's author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. Follow her @esoldfield, and visit her website elizabetholdfield.comShow NotesIntentional living community; pulling on monastic lifestyle and framework; read more about Elizabeth Oldfield's micro-monastery here.People passing through the micro-monastery and the sharing of a meal and sitting in silence with othersCeltic prayer book - The Aidan Compline (https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/monday-the-aidan-compline/)Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by Elizabeth Oldfield (http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/fully-alive/421701)How you see your liturgical life, the rhythms of your life however else you might describe you spirituality as providing the soil of this book?A personal writing experience - communicating something of her tradition with the outside worldWhat it means to be fully alive to you?Everything is about relationships and connection; to be fully alive is to be fully connected with the soulBetween Man and Man (https://www.routledge.com/Between-Man-and-Man/Buber/p/book/9780415278270) and I and Thou by Martin Buber - “all living is meeting” (https://www.maximusveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/iandthou.pdf)If all living is meeting, how are we failing in that regard?Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense by Francis Spufford (https://www.harpercollins.com/products/unapologetic-francis-spufford?variant=32207439626274)Sin is disconnection; a turning inward“Elegy on the Lady Markham” by John Donne (https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/elegy-lady-markham-0)“As I Walked Out One Evening” by W.H. Auden (https://poets.org/poem/i-walked-out-one-evening)The Sacred podcast (https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2017/12/06/introducing-the-sacred-podcast)Polarization, division, and the splitting of people - homophily and fight or flight responseJesus going to the margins, ignoring tribal boundaries and turning the other cheekSin and ReconciliationThe Givenness of Things: Essays by Marilynne Robinson, “I find the soul a valuable concept, a statement of the dignity of human life” (https://www.brethrenpress.com/product_p/9781250097316.htm)The soul is interesting and difficult to name but is so valuableRoom for uncertainty and poetry—we beat up our souls, keep ourselves distractedContemporary life is angry and greedyContempt is a poison for our souls and relationships and humanityStress and anxiety as a constantChristian non-violence traditionWe must feel our emotions - process them through the shared rituals of our communitiesDesire by Micheal O'Siadhail (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481320061/desire/)Would you like to introduce your take on greed?Phyllis Tickle, dogged commitment of the scripture - the love of money is the root of all evilThe Parable of the Sower - Mark 4:19 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark 4%3A19&version=NIV)Made gods of wealth, greed, comfort, and connivenceGratitude is a medicine for greedOf Gratitude by Thomas Traherne? (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/works-of-thomas-traherne-vii/of-gratitude/161CCCE8293EE4034F65AB436AB4D3F9)“These are the Days We Prayed For” by Guvna B (https://genius.com/Guvna-b-these-are-the-days-lyrics)Notice and give thanks; misplaced desireAcadia, spiritual apathy, and heavy distractionAttention and discipline are formationThe Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt (https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book)Community as accountability and rituals and set rhythms of lifeDivine Love, ultimate loveBaptism as a reminder of our death - love remainsQuiet space shared with others; honesty, vulnerability, emotional processingProduction NotesThis podcast featured Elizabeth OldfieldEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Kacie Barrett and Alexa RollowA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give
Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip YanceyLife has changed dramatically in the 400 years since John Donne wrote his Devotions. Yet despite the advances of the intervening centuries, we find that, like Donne, we are still subject to sickness and death. We still long for comfort. We still want to know what God is saying to us.Author Philip Yancey has found surprisingly relevant answers to these perennial questions in the works of John Donne. Updating the great poet's work for modern readers in his book UNDONE: A Modern Rendering of John Donne's Devotions, Yancey has given us a devotional treasure, particularly for those in the midst of trial and suffering:God is on the side of the sufferer. And that's so important. When I go to places like Virginia Tech or Columbine in my backyard here in Colorado or various places and talk about pain and suffering, it's just an important point to get across. And I know that's true because God gave us a face. God showed us what God is like in human form. - Philip YanceyThis is a conversation rich with insights into the problem of pain and the human condition, and full of comfort as we get a clearer picture of God in the face of Jesus. We hope that it encourages you deeply and that you'll share it with others.This is podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Philip Yancey.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:UNDONE: A Modern Rendering of John Donne's Devotions, by Philip YanceyWhere Is God When It Hurts, by Philip YanceyIn His Image, by Philip Yancey and Paul BrandDisappointment with God, by Philip YanceyThe Jesus I never Knew, by Philip YanceyWhat's So Amazing About Grace, by Philip YanceyDevotions Upon Emergent Occasions, by John DonneThe Art of Dying, by Lydia DugdaleDr. Paul BrandRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Sacred and Profane Love, the poetry of John DonneWrestling with God, by Simone WeilBulletins from Immortality: Poems by Emily DickinsonMan's Search for Meaning, by Viktor FranklRelated Conversations:A New Year With The Word with Malcolm GuiteMusic, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi FloydPursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda QuinnReading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten WilsonWalking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark BuchananMaking as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto FujimuraConnecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael WearThe Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim AlbertaA Life Worth Living with Miroslav VolfTowards a Better Christian PoliticsChristian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of DifferenceWhat Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi AshworthScripture and the Public SquareHow to be a...
In today's poem, written a century ago, cinema (and Charlie Chaplin) is already supplying metaphors for the work and experience of modern poets. Happy reading.Harold Hart Crane was born on July 21, 1899, in Garrettsville, Ohio, and began writing verse in his early teenage years. Though he never attended college, Crane read regularly on his own, digesting the works of the Elizabethan dramatists and poets William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne and the nineteenth-century French poets Charles Vildrac, Jules Laforgue, and Arthur Rimbaud. His father, a candy manufacturer, attempted to dissuade him from a career in poetry, but Crane was determined to follow his passion to write.Living in New York City, he associated with many important figures in literature of the time, including Allen Tate, the novelist and short story writer Katherine Anne Porter, E. E. Cummings, and Jean Toomer, but his heavy drinking and chronic instability frustrated any attempts at lasting friendship. An admirer of T. S. Eliot, Crane combined the influences of European literature and traditional versification with a particularly American sensibility derived from Walt Whitman.His major work, the book-length poem, The Bridge, expresses in ecstatic terms a vision of the historical and spiritual significance of America. Like Eliot, Crane used the landscape of the modern, industrialized city to create a powerful new symbolic literature.Hart Crane died by suicide on April 27, 1932, at the age of thirty-two, while sailing back to New York from Mexico.-bio via Academy of American Poets Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode, I speak with my colleague, Lars Engle, on the poetry and person of John Donne. There is no poet more attuned to the connections between the sacred and the profane than Donne, and it was a pleasure to hear Donne's poetic voice through Engle's readings. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Inspired by the upcoming 2024 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music (July 9–12), the Ladies are turning their attention to the book of Psalms. In the second of a five-episode series, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel welcome fellow Lutheran lady Sarah Reinsel (LCMS writer, editor and former English teacher) to the Lounge to talk about the literary beauty of psalmic poetry. What makes literature literature and poetry poetry? Are the Psalms poetry? What universal and uniquely Hebrew poetic devices do we see in the Psalms? What do we gain by learning to appreciate their literary beauty more deeply? At the end of the episode, the Ladies introduce an all-new “Write This:” challenge — write your own psalm. Submit your original work by June 12 to be included in our online recap. To learn more, check out the following: 2024 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music - LCMS Calendar Engaging the Psalms: A Guide for Reflection and Prayer - Concordia Publishing House (cph.org) Understanding Biblical Literary Devices– A Key to Correctly Interpreting Scripture | Hoshana Rabbah BlogHoshana Rabbah Blog Sarah Reinsel is a staff writer and editor for LCMS Communications. She studied English at Hillsdale College and earned her master's in medieval literature from the University of St. Andrews. Find an archive of Sarah's LCMS online articles here. Need inspiration? Check out or revisit these authors and poets recommended by Sarah Reinsel during the episode: Augustine of Hippo William Shakespeare John Donne George Herbert Gerard Manly Hopkins Czesław Miłosz Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram! Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at lutheranladies@kfuo.org.
What do John Donne, Paul Simon, and AC/DC have in common? Today's poem. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2024 is: fatuous FATCH-oo-us adjective To describe something, such as an idea or remark, as fatuous is to say that it is foolish or silly rather than sensible or logical. // Our hopes for an apology and a reasonable explanation for the error were met with fatuous platitudes. See the entry > Examples: "... when I was first admitted to the emergency room at Swedish's hospital in Edmonds, a doctor asked me whether I was right- or left-handed, and when I said left, he said, 'That's lucky'—a remark I took to be verging on the fatuous. But since then I've read that a considerable portion of left-handed people ... have their verbal and cognitive facilities located in the right hemisphere of the brain, which would explain my relative ease in talking, thinking, and remembering, despite my hemiplegia ..." — Jonathan Raban, Father and Son: A Memoir, 2023 Did you know? "I am two fools, I know, / For loving, and for saying so / In whining Poetry," wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make buffoons of the best of us, and so it is reasonable that the words fatuous and infatuation share the same Latin root, fatuus, meaning "foolish." Both terms have been part of English since the 17th century, though infatuation followed the earlier verb infatuate, a fatuus descendant that once meant "to make foolish" but that now usually means "to inspire with a foolish love or admiration."
The early part of a year can mean new books to read, or it can mean catching up on older ones we haven't gotten to yet. This week, Gilbert Cruz chats with the Book Review's Sarah Lyall and Sadie Stein about titles from both categories that have held their interest lately, including a 2022 biography of John Donne, a book about female artists who nurtured an interest in the supernatural, and the history of a Jim Crow-era mental asylum, along with a gripping new novel by Janice Hallett.“It's just so deft,” Stein says of Hallett's new thriller, “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.” “It's so funny. It seems like she's having a lot of fun. One thing I would say, and I don't think this is spoiling it, is, if there comes a moment when you think you might want to stop, keep going and trust her. I think it's rare to be able to say that with that level of confidence.”Here are the books discussed in this week's episode:“Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne,” by Katherine Rundell“The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World,” by Jennifer Higgie“The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” by Janice Hallett“Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum,” by Antonia Hylton(Briefly mentioned: "You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue, "Beautyland," by Marie-Helene Bertino, and "Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar.)