Podcasts about narnia

F&F welcomes bestselling author Alice Hoffman. The crew discuss the brand new fourth installment in Alice's acclaimed and beloved Practical Magic series, THE BOOK OF MAGIC (an instant NYT bestseller). They also talk about magic and fairy tales and witches, about the different skills invloved in writing fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, and magical realism, and they talk about Alice's work for breast cancer resarch and treatment. Then they shitft gears to celebrate Patti Callahan's new book ONCE UPON A WARDROBE. Hear about Patti's research and inspration, her passion for all things CS Lewis and Narnia, and about the power of imagination and stories to bring us hope and a deeper understanding of our world.

You may know Ben Barnes from Westworld, Shadow and Bone, Chronicles of Narnia, Dorian Gray and more! But you will soon know him as a singer song writer! You won't want to miss this amazing conversation between Sammy Jaye and Ben Barnes - they talk about his love of acting, sharing his true self through his music, the journey of his career, dealing with rejection and much more! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

LOOK OUT! It's only Films To Be Buried With!Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with actor and musician BEN BARNES!A fantastic chat with Ben and Brett, ranging from fun and funny to honest and heartfelt, with all the rich, cinematic goodness you could wish for. Ben has been in a TON of films and programs in his career which you can dig through in the links below, and he goes through a lot in this episode including good pal Will Poulter, Shadow & Bone, Westworld, Narnia, Los Angeles vs London, swag, on set scare tactics and his own music, but SO much more. You'll love it - whether you know Ben or not, this one will bring you pure joy.BEN LINKSSPOTIFYIMDBTWITTERSONGS FOR YOUINSTAGRAMBRETT GOLDSTEIN on TWITTERBRETT GOLDSTEIN on INSTAGRAMBRETT GOLDSTEIN on PATREONTED LASSOSOULMATESSUPERBOB (Brett's 2015 feature film)CORNERBOYS with BRETT & SCROOBIUS PIPDISTRACTION PIECES NETWORK on FACEBOOKDISTRACTION PIECES NETWORK on INSTAGRAMSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/filmstobeburiedwith. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Patti and I discuss Once Upon a Wardrobe, finding the source of Narnia and its inhabitants in C.S. Lewis' life, creating such a strong sense of place, how her title and cover came about, having her book launch the new Harper Muse imprint, the beautiful letter she received from Lewis' stepson about this book, and much more. Patti's recommended reads are: The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher Support the podcast by becoming a Page Turner on Patreon here.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.     Thanks to Maggie Garza of HTX Real Estate Group for sponsoring this episode. If you enjoyed this episode and want to listen to more episodes, try Julia Claiborne Johnson, Judithe Little, Renee Rosen, Emma Brodie, and Julia Kelly. Once Upon a Wardrobe can be purchased at the Conversations from a Page Bookshop storefront.      Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The trio is lacking the usual but joined by Melanie to discuss Demi Levato wants to change the name of E.T.'s, making $21.25 an hour to watch the Simpsons, Dave Chappell, U.S. bought Alaska $7.2mil today in 1867, Venezuela navy fought a cruise ship, Suicidal Tendency account was taken down by social media, machine gun kelly got pelted at a local show with bottles and branches, Bobby Flay new deal, George Takei speaks about Shatner's space flight, the new Hellraiser will have a new female lead character, Chronicles of Narnia's reboot being acquired from Disney, there will be Hobbits of different "races", t.v. show ideas, and a list of facts from Rob.   This weeks episode is sponsored by the wonderfully mischievous people at Oddassity Use “MADTRIO” for 10% off your entire order through Oddassity.com

Published 71 years ago (almost to the day), C. S. Lewis's children's book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe deserves the respect it has long received. Accessible to young readers and inspiring to readers of any age, the story of Aslan's restoration of the land Narnia vividly portrays essential truths about the nature of good and evil. I'm Rachelle Ferguson of Kittywham Productions, and Unknown Friends is my weekly book review podcast. Visit the Unknown Friends homepage at www.kittywhamproductions.com/podcast. To learn more about me and my work as a Christian playwright, explore my website at www.kittywhamproductions.com. Support the podcast and unlock bonus content: www.patreon.com/unknownfriends Get in touch with me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rachelle.ferguson Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kittywhamproductions Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, leave a quick review, and share with your book-loving friends!

Welcome to Day 1761 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom God's Glory – Daily Wisdom Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps. We are on Day 1761 of our Trek, and it's time to explore another nugget of wisdom, which includes an inspirational quote along with some wise words from Gramps for today's trek. Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. We are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insights, and boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend; this is Gramps. Thanks for coming along on today's trek as we increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2016%3A16&version=NLT (Proverbs 16:16)  How much better to get wisdom than gold, and sound judgment than silver!    If you apply the words you hear today, over time, it will help you become more healthy, wealthy, and wise as you continue your daily trek of life.  So let's jump right in with today's nugget: Today's quote is from C. S. Lewis, and it is: A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. God's Glory Is it any wonder why C. S. Lewis is one of the favorite and most respected authors of all time?  His allegorical books ‘The Chronicles of Narnia' have been read for many generations and were made into popular movies.  His quote for today is not only allegorical; it is a profound truth.  There is nothing that humans can do or say that diminishes God's glory one iota.  Just because a person refuses to acknowledge and worship God does not change God, it only shows the ignorance of that person.  God's glory cannot be diminished by humans.  We are His creation, and imagers, so the only thing that a person should and can do is show forth God's glorious image.   A crazy person may say there is no sun, but that does not its brilliance and majesty or change the fact that the sun is evident to all.  Similarly, just because a person says there is no God, or does not acknowledge that God is real does not minimize He greatness.  God's glory is evident to all. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+14%3A11-12&version=NLT (Romans 14:11-12) For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,' says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.'” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. As you ponder this nugget of wisdom for yourself, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.' If you would like to listen to any of our past 1760 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.  I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day's trek will be downloaded automatically. If you would also like to receive our weekly newsletter called ‘Wisdom Notes,' please email me at guthrie@wisdom-trek.com. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most of all, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek together, let us always: Live Abundantly (Fully) Love Unconditionally Listen Intentionally Learn Continuously Lend to others Generously Lead with Integrity Leave a Living Legacy Each Day I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to 'Keep Moving Forward,' ‘Enjoy your Journey,' and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday'! See you Tomorrow for more daily wisdom!

IN THIS REPEAT: The FOURTH episode in the six-part series on The Faun's Bookshelf. Part six releases 10/20/21. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following is the fourth show in a mini-series of podcast interviews on The Faun's Bookshelf. The previous episode went into detail about chapters four to six of the book. This show provides an overview of the last half of the book (chapters seven to twelve). As before, Dr. Charlie Starr, the author of the book returns to talk with Dr. Sarah Waters and William O'Flaherty. Get a taste of how myth is defined, what monks have to do with Narnia, and how Lewis view "the North." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Listen to Episode 3 of Faun's Mini-series Listen to Episode 2 of Faun's Mini-series Listen to Episode 1 of Faun's Mini-series Learn about the March 2022 Event at Presbyterian Heritage Center Purchase The Faun's Bookshelf Listen to Single Episode on The Faun's Bookshelf Listen to other shows with Dr. Charlie Starr  Hear other podcasts with Dr. Sarah Waters Other Useful Links: Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis

On this ID the Future award-winning actor Max McLean joins host John West to discuss his new film, The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis. West and McLean discuss how McClean came to do stage plays focused on Lewis's work, and how he and filmmaker Norman Stone came to create a feature-length dramatic film in the midst of the coronavirus shutdown. McLean tells about Lewis's long and winding conversion from agnosticism to Christianity, and then he and West focus on those aspects of Lewis's conversion centered on science, evolutionary theory, and rational theism. Key to Lewis's move from agnosticism to idealism and eventually Judeo-Christian theism—his friend Owen Barfield and the question of the origin of reason. Lewis Read More › Source

My guest on this episode is music industry veteran, Jay Gilbert. Jay wears a lot of hats. He's a musician, photographer, marketer, speaker, and music executive. Jay has worked as a creative consultant to many record companies and artists. He hosts The Music Biz Weekly Podcast, is a Co-founder of Label Logic, and runs the weekly music newsletter Your Morning Coffee.Label Logic helps artists, managers, and labels grow their audience and optimize their presence across all platforms. Jay's newsletter is curated to give a weekly snapshot of the new music business. It's everything you need to know, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.I talk with Jay about his shift to being a content creator. We talk about life as a musician, working in the music industry, and being a photographer. We also talk about his management company, and his advice for creators wanting to build their audience. Jay also shares some behind the scenes stories, and much more.In this episode, you'll learn: Simple hacks to grow your newsletter Defining and reaching your target audience Low-budget tricks to instantly add new subscribers Jay's #1 metric for becoming a successful creator Links & Resources ConvertKit Ben Barnes People Jeff Moscow Travis Tritt Ali Abdaal ConvertKit's Creator Sessions Music Connect (MRC) Chartmetric Viberate Soundcharts Pollstar Cherie Hu Amber Horsburgh Glenn Peoples Bobby Owsinski Bruce Houghton Hypebot Sound & Vision Music Technology Policy Nancy Wilson Roblox Jay Gilbert's Links Follow Jay on Twitter Your Morning Coffee newsletter Ben Barnes 11:11 on People.com JayGilbert.net Label Logic The Music Biz Weekly Podcast Episode Transcript[00:00:00] Jay:The harder I work, the luckier I get. You make your own luck. You see these people, and you're like, “Wow, that guy just blew up on TikTok or, Twitch, or on Spotify, or Apple Music!” Sometimes that happens. Not very often, and it usually it's a lot of hard work.[00:00:26] Nathan:In this episode, I talk to Jay Gilbert. Jay's a music industry veteran. He's been at it for a very long time. What I love is that he's also made this shift into being a content creator, as well as being a musician and a photographer. So many incredible things. He's got this newsletter about the music industry called Your Morning Coffee, and he's grown into over 15,000 subscribers.It's the thing that everyone in the music industry is reading every Friday morning. We talk about how he grew that, his passion for the music industry, how the industry has shifted, what's working, what's not. He also runs a management company called Label Logic where they're partnering with, artists and managers, and doing these album releases, and so much else.He's got all these behind the scenes stories, and a lot of advice that is not only for the music industry, but also for any creator looking to build an audience, and endure long enough to get noticed, and to build a brand and everything else. It's really good towards the end.I also sneak in some selfish questions about what would he do to grow ConvertKit; what's his advice for ConvertKit entering the music industry.Jay, welcome to the show.[00:01:39] Jay:Hey, thanks for having me, Nathan. Good morning.[00:01:41] Nathan:Good morning.We'll dive into some of your background, what you're working on now, but you actually had a pretty big project launch today.What did you launch today?[00:01:54] Jay:Well, when you launch a big project, sometimes it's like a wedding. You have all this planning, planning, planning, and then boom, there it is. It was pretty exciting this morning. We've had to keep quiet about this project. It's Ben Barnes, who is a pretty famous actor, but most people don't know he's a brilliant singer songwriter and pianist.We've recorded this really great record. We've got some amazing videos, given his relationships in that area. They're quite special. We launched a window of exclusivity this morning with People Magazine.So, if you go to People.com, you'll see. the video is debuting. It's pretty special, and we're really excited about it. It gets released tomorrow. The song's called 11:11, by Ben Barnes. It's pretty cool. I think you'll dig it.[00:02:53] Nathan:Nice. Yeah. If anyone doesn't recognize the name, Ben Barnes, he plays Prince Caspian. I've been a fan of the Narnia series and all that for a long time. I think my kids actually just rewatched Prince Caspian two weeks ago.[00:03:09] Jay:Have you seen shadow and bone yet?You got to check out shadow and bone. My, my wife and I binged watched it. And he's, he's brilliant in that, but it's a really cool series.[00:03:21] Nathan:Nice. Okay. So maybe with that, of like a snapshot of, of what you just launched, Let's talk about, a little bit about, logic[00:03:32] Jay:Sure.[00:03:33] Nathan:You know, what types of projects you do. And then we can go back to like the road to get.[00:03:38] Jay:Yeah, well, Label Logic was born out of my partner, Jeff Moscow, and I working in the major label ecosystem for years and years. And we finally got to a point where we were meeting one day for coffee and said, you know, we started our own.So we both worked at universal for a long time. He was there 20 years.I was there 18 years. I worked at Warner music, for five years managing Amazon's business for we at ADA, globally, which was fantastic. but we decided to do our own things. It's about seven years ago, give or take,[00:04:16] Nathan:Yeah.[00:04:17] Jay:We started talking to. Some clients that we had at universal and we sort of became the label infrastructure for some management companies.One of our long-term clients and friends is doc McGee, who you might know, manages kiss. And he managed, you know, Motley, Crue and Bon Jovi and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Anyway, doc is a mentor, a friend and a client. And we came in and one of our first projects was working with him and his stable of artists.And what was exciting about that is that you'd have some artists that were new developing artists. They're never played live before all the way to people filling up arenas. And so the release cycles would change out and it was very dynamic and very exciting. So. That's what Label Logic is all about. We typically are sort of the label infrastructure, for managers, some artists, you know, we also work with some labels and distributors.I think one of our most exciting projects was taking and creating this thing called resilience music Alliance, with the principals there and they signed the artists. We did, you know, the marketing and digital strategy and help them get all the planes flying in formation. And w you know, we won a Grammy last year, so it was really exciting just going from zero to 60, you know, just building something with your own two hands.[00:05:46] Nathan:Yeah. So what is the, for someone who's outside the music industry and they're like this. Just magic. Somehow you find artists and then somehow that goes all the way through to your album releases. When he grabbed me, things like that, like, what are the specific things that, that you're helping out on and playing in?What, what's your role there?[00:06:06] Jay:Yeah, good question. It really is the unsexy nuts and bolts things about setting up a release, everything from securing ISRC codes to shooting the album cover to making sure the, the album is recorded and delivered on time. It's all the creative surrounding it. You know, all of the banners and videos and press release and bio, and there's so much of this to do.That we organize it all. And then we help, excuse me with partners. You may need a publicist. You may need somebody to work sync licensing. You may need somebody for March, right? There are all these different things that you need to do. And we basically, we like to say that we're planners, but we're also problem solvers because every single project is different and has different needs.We recently launched a new album by Travis Tritt. Fantastic record. His team is button. They are experienced. So we took on really more of a, more of a planning role putting together the marketing plans. But then we have some artists that have never released music before. So it's a little more handholding, you know, all those certain things, because it's not about gaming the system today.It's really more about optimization. People always come to us and they say, well, I got to get on this plane. or I want my YouTube numbers to be up and we have t-shirts printed that say a playlist is not a marketing plan, right. Because our playlist important. Sure. They are, but that's down the road.There's so much to do before that. And really when I talk about optimization, when it comes to YouTube or DSPs like Spotify, apple music, Pandora, Deezer, it's not about gaming the system. It's about optimum. Right. And when you do that optimization, whether it's with your website, DSPs, press, any of that good things typically happen.[00:08:02] Nathan:What's an example of some of that optimization that, works rather than, you know, maybe what people are latching onto is is a magic bullet.[00:08:12] Jay:Yeah, couple of obvious ones. Let's take YouTube and Spotify, Spotify, because you can do more with Spotify than any other DSP. As far as you can change out your image, your banner image, your, your avatar, your artist image. You can add, I think 140 images. to your profile, you can put your social links, you can put your bio, there's, all these things that you can do that you can't do.Other places, not all of them.[00:08:38] Nathan:Yeah.[00:08:38] Jay:So, you know, you'd be surprised how many times we'll go look at somebody's Spotify profile and it's an old image and there's somebody in the photo that's not even in the band anymore, or it's just, it's just dated. And you look at the bio and it's, it's dated one of the first places we look, is someone's Spotify profile.Is it updated? YouTube is a really great example. Optimizing for YouTube is so easy and yet a lot of artists miss it. YouTube is not just a place to go drop your music. YouTube is something that, you know, through their community, through your, your artist page. So many things that you can do with that, the common mistakes we see is an obvious one.You know, the name of the videos should be artists titled. Artists title version, and they're mixed up and they're all over the place you want to optimize for that search, right? You want to, for example, the thumbnail, sometimes you go in and look at people's videos and there's literally a picture of somebody blinking is the cover of the video.[00:09:44] Nathan:Right. Cause this is what will, what YouTube selected randomly.[00:09:47] Jay:Yeah. And, and as you know, you can, they'll give you like three or four choices and you can pick one of those, but you can upload any image you want to be on though. And so we have actually a deck that we put together on YouTube and we show these examples of like, here's Lizzo and look at this. It's perfect.It's a beautiful photo of her. And it's, and then you look at the description, you know, is there a smart URL in there? You know, so. I don't recommend people put Spotify, apple, Pandora, Deezer, Amazon music, just put a smart URL in there. Have somebody click on that and then they can choose the platform, whether it was.Downloads, probably not physical, digital, YouTube website, all of that stuff. It's so easy to do. And then also in that description, anything that somebody might care about, who, who shot it, who produced it? Show me the lyrics, you know, give me put all that information in there. So it's, it's searchable. there that's, those are a couple of simple examples of optimization.[00:10:44] Nathan:Yeah. You know, it's interesting. one of the earlier guests that have the show, his name's Ali doll, and he's a YouTuber and he's got 2 million subscribers who's channel and he's just built this incredible, business. And I always think about YouTube as like him optimizing, you know, video like thumbnails and all of those details.Like obviously Lizzo is doing the same thing or really her team is doing that. Right. But it's, it's the exact same. game just in two different industries.[00:11:13] Jay:Yeah, it is. And another way to optimize YouTube, for example, and you can watch what you know, Justin Bieber's doing, and you can learn a lot from those things. one of my favorite writers and marketers is Amber Horsburgh and she did kind of a breakdown of. Some of these marketing campaigns, including Justin Bieber.And one of the things that you see is something we stress all the time. YouTube optimization. You don't just post your concept video or whatever your music video, you still have like five videos, six videos, meaning, you know, you want to have that concept video, but you also may want to lyric video. You may want a stripped down video.You may want a live video, right? there's so many like a pseudo video. It goes by a bunch of different names, but I know you've seen these where it's just the album art. And the audio bed. And sometimes people look at those and go, well, why that's not a video? Why is that on YouTube? Well, that's because YouTube is the number one destination to listen to music.It's not Spotify. Right? It's, it's YouTube people create playlists from those, you know? so it's really important to. Optimized for all of these platforms. And that, that means socials, you know, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, as well as the DSPs, as well as all of these. And again, it's not gaming the system.The problem we run into sometimes is people will come to us and they'll say, oh, well, you know, I, I bought these spins or I bought these lights. Well, now you're in trouble because number one, you can get pulled off of Spotify, right? in January 750,000 tracks were pulled off of Spotify for using bots and spin farms.Right. So[00:13:05] Nathan:Quickly,[00:13:06] Jay:Very careful[00:13:07] Nathan:Someone spinning up a whole bunch of computers and bots to go listen to the song on Spotify to be like, look, I now have a million plays.[00:13:17] Jay:Right?[00:13:18] Nathan:Um[00:13:18] Jay:Yeah. But they're not real, right.[00:13:20] Nathan:Yeah. Okay. I I've definitely seen that on Instagram, Twitter. But like, yeah, it makes sense that, that it exists on[00:13:28] Jay:Yeah[00:13:29] Nathan:First thing that you look at when, when I, like, when we're looking to book an artist for a creator sessions or, or some, one of our other projects, you know, you're, you're, it's that first source of credibility of like, oh, wow.That has two to 2 million plays this. Person's getting a lot of traction.[00:13:44] Jay:But what we look at instead of looking at those numbers, we look at engagement and when you look at engagement, sometimes you see the audience grow and that's going up, up, up. But if you don't see the engagement growing along with it, Then you know, that those aren't real people, because when you use bots and spin farms to Jack up these numbers, yes, it's dangerous because it can get you in trouble, but it screws with all of your, data, which is so important, right?The, what you really want. is Engagement. You want people to like, yeah, you want people to follow, but you want people to listen, share comment. That's real engagement, man. You get that. Uh that's that's the prize.[00:14:29] Nathan:Yeah. So let's go back. as you're getting into music, what, like, in the, in the early days, what was the hook for you? What, what brought you to the whole industry?[00:14:39] Jay:Oh, my gosh. Well, my, my family's musical, you know, my brother, you know, he's a Writer record producer, graphic design artists. my mom played piano. My grandfather played sax and big band. You know, I started a little high school band and ended up, you know, touring in bands and playing, writing, recording. So I kind of got to know how the sausage was made and, and I loved working in record stores.I worked for an indie record store. I worked for tower records for five years. There's so much fun.Um and[00:15:08] Nathan:Been in the industry.[00:15:09] Jay:Yeah, I've always been in music and, working at universal was just such a joy. learned so much. yeah, I've always been surrounded by, by music ever since I was little kid.[00:15:21] Nathan:What's something as a,[00:15:24] Jay:Oh[00:15:25] Nathan:If you're talking to an outsider, maybe a common misconception they have, know, someone who's a fan of music then you're like, oh, this is actually how it works that you find yourself explaining or,[00:15:37] Jay:Oh, my gosh, we could talk for days.[00:15:39] Nathan:Yeah.[00:15:40] Jay:I wish people understood that the harder I work, the luckier, I get, you make your own luck. You know, you see these people and you're like, wow, that guy just blew up on TikTok or, you know, Twitch or on Spotify or apple music. Sometimes that happens not very often.And it usually it's a lot of hard work, you know? I asked an ANR person before the. You know, how do you choose who you signed to your label today with all of this data? And he said the same way. I always do. I look for that line up around the block for people to see him play, right? So it's, it's a new music business and we can now see with all this data what's going on.But I think the common misconception is there's a similar. There isn't a silver bullet, you know, it's, it's a lot of hard work and it's a lot of finding your tribe. And I say that a lot because you need to find your audience. I talk to people all the time about finding that audience and they think they know who their audience is.If you talk to any manager, artists, they, they they'll have a sense. Like, well, my demo, my artists or my, my fan base, I mean is 25 year old. But there are three audiences, right? There's one sales streams and downloads. So the commerce side to the butts in the seats. So when you're touring, who's actually out in the crowd, right.And then three, you know, kind of the social side of it. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, those three audiences, rarely aligned completely. And there's always something to learn. I was talking to an artist recently who thought that. Their crowd was 25 year old, females, because that's who they saw in the crowd.But if you look at the other data, that's not who's quote unquote consuming their music. So there are a lot of misconceptions, but, I heard this really great line about data and analytics. It's like a lamppost. You can use it to aluminate or you can use it to lean on. And most people use it to lean on, like, see, I told you that's, that's what I thought my data is.But really, if you go in and look at all this, analytics, you'll find that there's always something you can learn in there about your audience and how to reach your audience.[00:17:57] Nathan:I like that because I catch myself doing that of like, Let me go dig for the data that proves the point thatI already my existing worldview and that they were having that debate. Yeah. See, this is what proves it. And you can go back and, and[00:18:14] Jay:Right[00:18:15] Nathan:The data say almost whatever you want.If you come at it with that[00:18:18] Jay:Yeah, absolutely. And today there's so many great places to find data like real great data. Like for example, you know, it used to be called SoundScan right now. It's called MRC connect. Same thing. You can get real numbers for sales, streams, and downloads. That is so helpful. And you can see data from previous releases and kind of get a sense of that.There are these great platforms like chart, metric and vibrate and sound charts, where you can go in and see what playlist was I added to which ones, where I dropped off of what position was I in? How many times was it skipped? You know, there's so many great data platforms out there, but it's almost like there's too much, you know, you need to kind of focus on what, what do you want to do?You know, some people want to route a tour, So that's really easy. You can kind of see what markets you're over-performing in. You can download data from Pollstar and see if you played in those markets before, you know, how did you perform? So we're really big on data, but you kind of have to look at it carefully and decide what you're trying to learn from it.If that makes sense.[00:19:30] Nathan:How do you think about the intersection, between the different platforms? Like, if you're actually say we're promoting it to her or, a new album release or something like that, what are you recommending as far as where artists build, you know, build their audience. and then, yeah. How do you think about the intersection when it actually comes time to drive?[00:19:49] Jay:Yeah. And that's, that's a great question because it's so different for every artist in every release, right? So you kind of have to look where, where is my. You know, they may, maybe they're still buying physical. Maybe you're a jazz artist and that's a, still a, an album format. So you want to look at Amazon.You want to look at places, indie retail, where people are buying the full album and they want to experience that way. then you look at maybe EDM or country, every kind of genre and mood has its own nuances. I think it's really important to find out who your audience is, what their behaviors are. And then a real simple thing is when it comes to social media, so many artists today, they have so many choices and it's not just writing and recording and touring.Now they got a post on socials and create videos and comment. I mean, it's so much, so what we tell people is take a step back. What are you killing? Yeah, right. And a lot of them it's Instagram, right? Some of them it's TikTok focus on that. You don't have to be all things to all people, you know, find out where that crowd is, where your audience is and really work that, and then kind of grow it from there.And hopefully you'll get to a point, like we were talking about Lizzo, where you have a team surrounding you that can attack all those different platforms.[00:21:16] Nathan:Yeah, think there's a tendency. I see this in founders and entrepreneurs and marketers, like all across the board. I've, we're so used to failing at things like trying things and failing. They like tried this didn't work and in order to continue to be a founder or a marketer and you have to try the next thing tried that didn't work tried that didn't work, this, it worked.[00:21:38] Jay:Yeah[00:21:39] Nathan:So then I tried this and it didn't work and this, and it didn't work. And you're like, hold on. But what about the thing that did work and, you know, we move on so quickly and we see like every case study of[00:21:49] Jay:Yeah. And it's so different per artists. So the thing that you just described as spot on, but let's say we did that for Ben Barnes. Well, our next artist, we got to start from scratch because the things that worked for Ben probably aren't going to work for Travis Tritt. There they're totally different animals.So I love trying things. I love trying new platforms and, you know, there are a handful of things that really work across everything. And so you kind of start with those in your marketing plan, like. Tools is bands in town. Now everybody knows bands in town. It's got like 55 million people have this app on their phone and it says, Hey, Nathan, you know, the accidentals are coming to your town in a couple of weeks and you're like, oh cool.And then you can buy your ticket and stuff. They look at your music library, but what a lot of people don't know is that you can go in there and look at how many people are attracting. Right. And usually it's thousands. You know, you look at these artists, they don't even know they have thousands of trackers and bands in town.Well, you can reach out to them for free and say, Hey, I've got a new release coming out. or I'm going to be in a, there's a tour and I'm going to be in your area. But what's really exciting about bands in town is that I can look at like competitive artists fan bases. So if I know that my artists. You know, then maybe there, they would appeal to the Chainsmokers crowd.I, for 5 cents an email, I can target them and say, Hey, you guys dig the chain smokers. You, you might dig this too. So there are a lot of little platforms like that, like you were talking about, which is so important. You got to try. All the time. And you know, as Paul Stanley said, the road to success, isn't from here to success.It's failure, failure, failure, failure, success.[00:23:37] Nathan:Yeah, for sure. Are there any trends going on in the music industry now that concern you things where like, as, as you've watched it develop, you're like, I'm not sure where this is headed and I'm not sure that it's going to be good for the artists. Good for the fans and any of those things.[00:23:51] Jay:Not a lot. I think it's, it's changed while we've been having this conversation. The music business is evolving so quickly and you know, I do a weekly podcast and newsletter for the music industry and we break down the stories every week and it's so fascinating to me. How quickly it's evolving. And, you know, for example, you see companies like hypnosis and primary wave and BMG buying up all of these rights.And you're wondering like, well, they're paying these huge multiples what's going on here. And some of these heritage artists are getting hundreds of millions of dollars. And then in the last couple of weeks, you've really seen these stories about interpolation. Coming out, meaning that instead of using a sample, they're just using the melody of a Olivia Newton, John or Taylor swift song in a new song.And it, no one's getting sued because they're crediting the writers and they're paying the publishing and you may find two or three interpolations in one song. Olivia Rodriguez recently, there's so many. Of these things that are evolving so quickly, TikTok, it just blows my mind sometimes how fast you can gain an audience there, but it's one of the hardest platforms to gain real engagement.So you can gain those numbers, but how do you hold onto them? It reminds me of some of these artists that are on these talent shows, you know, American idol, the voice America's got talent, whatever you got to grab that audience. Once they're off that show, you have to engage them quickly or it's gone. cause you'll have huge numbers from being on those shows.But if you don't engage with that crowd and keep them interested in, you'll still have those big numbers of YouTube subscribers and followers. But the engagement just drops right off the cliff. So as far as the trends that concern me, I think the biggest thing we touched on, you know, people who try to buy likes, follows spins.I just, I think that's horrible and it's so dangerous for their career. we always tell people. We manage 20 careers. you're, you're managing one yours. You need to take that really seriously. And, we, we advise against trying to game the system. I have a friend of mine who's really big in SEO search engine optimization and, he's very good at it.And he always tells me. These people come to me and they've messed with their website, for example, to get it to come up in search. And he laughs and he says, look, Google's got, Google has like 200 highly trained engineers working on this stuff. And you think you're going to trick them with your little, you know, metadata trick, you know, maybe for 10 minutes, but it's always best to have a plan, have a marketing plan.Optimize for everything. you do that and avoid some of these pitfalls. Yeah. Those are the things that concerned me. It's just people trying to, find a shortcut.[00:26:58] Nathan:Yeah, that makes sense. you dropped a bunch of things in there that I, I want to talk about and dive into, but maybe starting with the music back catalogs that are being purchased, those rights, I'm always super curious about things like that, because. You know, as a creator, you're working on things that feel like they're in the moment.And I have a few friends who are successful authors who are pretty prolific, like they'll write a book year, a book every other year. one friend said like, basically like putting out annuities where you have this, this thing and add you as you add to your catalog. It just. Let's say this book is going to sell $50,000 worth copies its long tail every year.Like clockwork, time you come out with a new one, it adds that there's another 50,000 a year, plus it gives it a little bump. And so you see creators who are these big spikes, and then that's kind of it. You also see creators who are continually adding to the back.[00:27:54] Jay:Yeah.[00:27:55] Nathan:Like explain more for anyone who doesn't understand on the music side, why these catalogs are so valuable and why, you know, people are paying[00:28:04] Jay:Yeah.[00:28:04] Nathan:Of millions, hundreds of[00:28:05] Jay:Yeah Well, it's just math at this point. What's happened is with streaming. Now there's some predictable. There's some planning involved. So if you have a catalog, you know, you look at like Stevie Nicks sold hers, or at least a big portion of it. And Bob Dylan, there's a predictability now that there wasn't before on how much revenue that's going to generate on, on two sides, one the publishing, right?For the, for the songwriters and then the master, you know, so with that predictability comes, some of them are just banging. You know, they come in there and they say, okay, this catalog is worth this much money. And this is how much it makes over a year. Let's say it makes a hundred thousand dollars a year.Well, we're going to pay you for 10 years or 20 years worth and cut you a check right now. So we call those multiples and some of these companies are paying super high multiples and almost jacking up the price. It's kind of a land grab in some respects. So. It really doesn't help a new developing artist a lot right now.But if you've co-written songs with people and you've got music out there, There, there is money to be had there. If you want that big payoff, some people are selling off their publishing. Some people are selling it off for a term. Some people are selling their masters off and it makes sense for somebody let's say Stevie Nicks, cause she's in her seventies.Now it's a state planning and she can, you know, get all of that money and help her family and whatever. So I'm not necessarily against. At all. but what I really love is watching how these companies are now going to exploit that catalog. And I mean that in the best possible way, exploited, how are they going to generate the right revenue?And that interpolations that I talked about a minute ago. That is one way, you know, there was a story last week, and they talked about primary wave having, you know, these writer's camp. And using their top 40 or 50 tracks that they have the rights to, and having these writers write songs surrounding those melodies.And again, those writers will be credited those writers and the publishers and all of that, but that's kind of the new trend too. So yeah[00:30:35] Nathan:Yeah that's fascinating. it'll be interesting to see how it keeps developing Another thing that you talked about a little bit is, uh your newsletter, which I want to get into, what, like so many people consume content, what was the thing that made you switch and say Hey, I want to be to be one of the, people on the creator side, commenting on the industry and building an audience[00:30:58] Jay:Yeah[00:30:58] Nathan:That's like, it feels like you've been more of a behind the scenes guy for a long time. And now there's a little bit of at least you're going to be a front of house for all the behind the scenes people.[00:31:11] Jay:Yeah, no, that's, that's a good point. I think what happened was I had left Warner music group and I was deciding do I want to start my own company. Do I want to go back working for a major? And I got this email from Sean Rakowski who used to be the head of sales for ADA. And all it was was about a dozen of.These songs and albums that he had found that were really good. And he was sharing it with a hundred people. So I called him up and I said, this is cool, but you know, why are you doing this? And he said, well, I'm kind of between jobs. I don't know where I'm going to go right now. And I just don't want people to forget me and the light bulb went on and I went, I'm going to do that.So I did something you're not supposed to do. And that is, I created an email and just basically sent it to a couple hundred people in my. my contacts, you're typically supposed to ask for permission, but I just decided, you know what, I'm just going to do this and what do I love Well I love music and technology.So I'll just do a recap, every week and what I knew at the time. was that People don't like to read. I love reading stories on technology and music, but not everybody does, but they want to know what's going on. So I put an image and then just a two, to three sentence blurb. So even if you don't read those top dozen stories in your morning coffee, you can read that little blurb and go, oh, okay.Well, this is going on. You know, here's some changes that here's some platforms that are coming up. This is what's going on with the music modernization act or NFTs or whatever. And. All of a sudden. It started to grow. And that little newsletter to a couple hundred people is now over 15,000 people and we have advertisers and now we have a weekly podcast, we've been doing for a year where we break down the stories.So I didn't have this grand plan of, I'm going to create this newsletter for the industry. And no, I just didn't want people to forget me while I was deciding. What my next career path was going to be, and it was a happy accident. I just stumbled into it. And then next thing you know, some of my favorite artists subscribed to it.Some of my favorite managers subscribed to it and they'll send me notes. What do you think about this? And then. The last thing I'll say on it is it wasn't intended for business. It wasn't intended for me to make money from, but what's happened is people will read your morning coffee and then they'll call me up and they'll go.I think I need to hire Label Logic to be my label infrastructure for this. And so it's brought us business, but that, wasn't what it was intended for originally.[00:33:43] Nathan:Yeah, it's fascinating how that worked. Cause you, you position yourself as the expert, the person with the pulse on the industry I mean, it's not even like a deliberate thing. You don't have to say that you just. Are the[00:33:56] Jay:Cool[00:33:57] Nathan:Sent, like sending out the content and people are like great, thanks for doing that.So I didn't have to go compile it from different sources. And, and you find that you have your own platform.[00:34:07] Jay:Yeah[00:34:07] Nathan:Some, what are some of the things that worked as far as, growing it, maybe deliberate things that you put in, beyond the, organic growth and sharing[00:34:17] Jay:Yeah, I think that, the thing that really helped us is really like, if you're a wedding photographer or a real estate agent, all of your business practically is word of mouth. And a lot of the growth that we have for your morning coffee comes from people just getting it, and forwarding it to their staff, you know, I'm saying, Hey, have you seen this?And that's where we've seen that growth.I think the things that I did that really. helped Keeping it to those blurbs and not trying and having that image. People are very visual. I've seen other newsletters that are just a mountain of text.[00:34:53] Nathan:Yeah[00:34:53] Jay:Not many people are going to dig through that. So I wanted to make it.Very accessible to somebody who's really busy at an airport. They can just look at it on their device and and get a sense of what's going on. The other thing that, again, by accident, I started reaching out to some of these writers, like you had mentioned earlier, speaking with Sherry who, I reached out to Sherry, you know, I've had her on the podcast, we've had conversations.I have a great deal of respect for her in her writing people like, You know, Amber horsepower. I mentioned, Glen peoples, Bobby O Sinskey, you know, Bruce Hoten over at Hypebot. After a while I started developing these conversations in relationships and I would be on their Podcast. They would be on mine.I would write articles for Hypebot Hypebot would promote your morning coffee of the newsletter, a very symbiotic kind of relationship with all of these writers. And the level of debate and the level of communication has just enriched my life. Having these conversations with people, you know, like Amber and Glen peoples and saying, well, what do you think of this?I dunno, what do you think of this? You know, for example, I, I met this really smart young marketer, Maddie Elise, who runs her own company and she was doing some really great analysis on bots and spin farms. Like how can you tell if you've been bonded and we got into these conversations and she posted some really great articles online.I put them in your morning coffee. It's been a wild ride, but it's, it was unexpected that I would have these conversations.[00:36:36] Nathan:Well, It's amazing how Yeah. Like in any industry, Like working in sales, the music industry has all connections and relationships.[00:36:45] Jay:Yes[00:36:46] Nathan:Could spend forever people one on one Hey I'm I'm coming to your city I'm in LA I'm in Nashville I'm in Atlanta Like now we're in a you know like trying to get one connection into the next and coffee and everything else to try to build up that now. Or you can kind of take take a step back and say, all just going to start a newsletter and then get like, thousands and then people that follow it. And then[00:37:10] Jay:Yeah[00:37:11] Nathan:You would like really slowly be like working up relationships to get to the point that you've talked to is like oh, Hey, I wrote this thing.Would you mind throwing it in the newsletter And like,[00:37:22] Jay:Yeah[00:37:23] Nathan:Also come on on my podcast, let's chat. And it's just this shortcut to relationships and amazing.[00:37:27] Jay:Yes, absolutely. And I'm a big fan of networking, music business association conference, one of the best on the planet. You know, you go there. The, the great meetings are the ones, while you're waiting in line at Starbucks, you know, you meet all of these people. And it's then like at the last music business association conference, I was standing in line talking to some publicists.Well, publicists are so great because they're on the pulse of everything. There are people like, you know, over at shore fire or the great team at rock paper, scissors who matches technology and music in their publicity campaign. And now they're sending things to me. Hey, have you heard about this new platform?Hey, you might want to interview this person because they've got this new thing. And so it, it becomes this thing, but you had mentioned like sitting down and having coffee with people. That's what I did with Amber Horsburgh I've. I read some of her deep cuts, things that she has online. She has done marketing at a high level.My partner, Jeff and I have done marketing at a high level. We called her up, met at the one-on-one coffee shop and just had an amazing.Chat, as you know, when you sit down with somebody who's enthusiastic about the same things you are, whether it's music, sports, whatever, you can talk all day. Right. And I love meeting these people and that's kind of how, like the, your morning coffee Podcast.My, my cohost is Mike Etchart, who did sound envisioned radio. He and I can sit and talk for hours about. This, these stories. So every week we do the podcast, we record it Sunday morning at nine 30 and it goes live on Mondays. We talk for a half hour to an hour before we hit record. We just sit there and, oh my gosh.Did you see that documentary on 1971? No. Hey, have you heard that new record by, you know, Ben Barnes, whatever it is. And because we have such a passion for it. And I think that comes out in the newsletter. It's not a dry kind of thing. and the last thing I'll say on that is the other side, these relationships I've developed are like with attorneys who write stories.There's this one guy, Chris castle, who has a website called music technology policy. And I. You know, put some of his great articles in your morning coffee, cause they're really smart ass, you know, sassy stuff and had him on the podcast. And now I'll call him up from time to time, you know, like what do you think of this?And it's just, this whole kind of network is it's really.[00:40:02] Nathan:Yeah, that's amazing. Is there a favorite moment or something like that, where, uh or opportunity that the newsletter has created for you? Like, we talked about a lot of connections and stuff like that, but one where, you know, you're like, Oh wow, this is, this is a fantastic opportunity that wouldn't have come.If I hadn't built it.[00:40:20] Jay:Oh my gosh, so many of them, but I'll tell you, at a high level, getting to speak to people that I admire respect that that's thrilling. But one great example recently was for our one-year anniversary of the, your morning coffee Podcast. we had Nancy Wilson from heart on and did an hour long interview with her.Now I grew up in. I grew up on heart, Nancy and I shopped at the same record stores. I saw them play live many, many times, huge fan. so that was pretty cool and knowing her as well as I do her career, her music, all of that. Mike and I had an amazing, interview with her and that's something that we just wouldn't have had, without this via.[00:41:10] Nathan:Yeah, that, that kind of thing is so fun of like, almost getting to have a conversation, you know, as peers and all of that with someone that you're like[00:41:21] Jay:Yeah.[00:41:22] Nathan:However many years ago would be freaking out Right. now[00:41:25] Jay:Right. I was in the, I was in the crowd, right. Cheering along, and now we're having a conversation about things and that's probably the most thrilling part of your morning coffee. The newsletter and Podcast is the level of debate. The level of people that will call me and say, I disagreed with that piece.Or I'd like to write an op ed or, you know, Th that's pretty thrilling because look like we said, this music industry's changed while we've been on this call. So if you want to keep up with it, you can follow some of these great, writers. And, you know, you mentioned Sherry who, you know her, I subscribed to her Patrion.I love the research that she does. And I've learned so much from that. But if you don't want to read everything by all of these marketers, then there are. Vehicles like your morning coffee, where you get it for free every Friday, you just glance at it and get a sense of what's going on. And then if there's, there's something that really interests you, you click on it and you can read deeper.[00:42:28] Nathan:Yeah. Yep. I like that. Um what are some of the things that you're looking to do next for your morning coffee of how to, how to grow it further? What's sort of the milestone.[00:42:37] Jay:Yeah, we're I really want to grow it. and we're looking at, you know, networks that we could be a part of. we've got advertisers now, which is nice. you know, we're not going to get rich from it, but it's nice that we have, and we can pick and choose, you know, who those advertisers are. We're not going to advertise for baked beans.We have some really great digital music sponsors my goal. Two things. One, I really want to grow the audience. I'm thrilled with the growth that we've had. and the quality cause I use MailChimp. So I can go in there just like constant contact or any of these other great platforms. And I can see who's who's subscribing which ones they opening, you know, what are they clicking through?What device are they on? And I love it when people who I admire and respect are. And I want to grow that as well. So grow it, grow the quality of it and, you know, just continue to build that audience.[00:43:39] Nathan:Are there specific activities that you're thinking of to grow it where you're like, oh, this was working. So I'm going to do more of that, whether it's ads or promotions or, any of those things[00:43:49] Jay:Yeah, I, it sounds pedantic, but we always say you do more of what's working and less of what doesn't And I know that sounds silly, but we do that with every platform. You look at YouTube or you look at your socials and go, wow, that post really over-performed, Well do more of things like that. And I'm looking at like with your morning coffee, there are certain articles that I just know are going to get high clicks.People love lists. You know, here are the seven things that Nathan thinks you should do. People love bullet point lists, but I try not to, do the cheap applause thing, I could do the whole thing full of that, but there also has to be something in there for you to eat your vegetables.There has to be a little bit of analysis. You know, the one that comes out tomorrow, there's a breakdown of, you know, the first half of the year versus the first half of last year. Not everybody wants to dig into the data like that. So I try to make. it You know, balanced that way. the other thing I'd like to do is partner with.Other people, for example, one of the reasons I have such a high, you know, viewership is the folks over at Hypebot every week they put my newsletter and Podcast in their newsletter that goes out to a lot of people. so they're, a great partner for us. We love, we love HighSpot, but if I can get more people, you know, you're standing on the shoulders of giants, so to speak, I would love to have, the.Orchard Ingrooves ADA, you know, Warner music group, Group use your morning coffee and send that out to their artists, labels, and managers, that sort of thing. That would be the next step.[00:45:33] Nathan:Yeah, that. makes sense. like those partnerships end up being so big. And I've seen that with a lot of newsletters where they're doing cross-promotions or they're saying,[00:45:42] Jay:Yeah.[00:45:43] Nathan:Hey do a takeover Where, like,[00:45:47] Jay:Right.[00:45:48] Nathan:You know, Jay's writing the entire newsletter for us this week. If you want to follow more of what he does, you know, and you need to this newsletter swap or a bunch of things.[00:45:57] Jay:Yeah, those takeovers are really important. I did one last week with symphonic distribution, I did a little Instagram takeover and immediately had, hundreds of new subscribers to the newsletter. we always tell people there's two reasons why nobody is buying or streaming your new release.One is they've never heard. of you Two they've heard of you, but they didn't know it was out. Those are two things that you can correct with proper marketing, touring advertising, those types of things. And it's the same with the newsletter is I need to get it in front of people because, every week I get a note from somebody like, oh, I just discovered your podcast, or I just discovered your, newsletter.You know, and I don't have big budgets to advertise, you know, put it in billboard magazine or, whatever. but that's my goal.[00:46:54] Nathan:Yeah I like it. some of my favorite podcasts interviews are Witten. The host starts asking really selfish questions like[00:47:02] Jay:Okay[00:47:03] Nathan:Direct advice that they want. So I'm going to do that now. So uh ConvertKit right So we're creating a marketing platform, email marketing platform for creators where Uh like quick context We're 70 people on the team[00:47:19] Jay:Wow[00:47:19] Nathan:Year in revenue, in like mostly in the blogger podcast or newsletter space, but then the last year has been this push into, into music. So we've got a whole range of artists from Leon bridges to Tim McGraw. we bought, a platform called fan bridge, at the beginning of this year, but we're like new to the spaceAnd so coming in. What advice would you give either to, you know, ConvertKit or to any of these, you know, I'm sure there's plenty of other players who are, trying to come into the music industry, really serve artists, be good citizens of the community. Like what advice would you give as far as how to grow, How to get more artists on the platform and[00:48:02] Jay:That's a great question. I think the first thing you do is you collaborate and we tell people all the time, if, when we're taking an artist in to meet with a digital service provider or a platform you listen first and you say, How can we partner? How can we collaborate? Not what can you do for me? So some of the obvious things, right, would be, the music business association, right?Portion, her team over there are phenomenal. You have conversations with them, you sponsor their events, you get involved in their live streams and that community. Right. I think that's, that's kind of where you start, as you become. A partner, you know, you collaborate, people who, all these people that you mentioned that have these great, you know, newsletters, whether it's, you know, Sherry who, or Amber Horsburgh or, you know, Bobby, Osinski, all of these things.You, you reach out to them as you're doing you partner with them, you see, like, how can we collaborate together? How can we work together? How can I help you to grow your audience? And once you become. Part of that network, part of that community. Let me back up. my old boss used to tell me, everybody wants to give you advice.Nobody wants to give you a job. So when you go to somebody, don't ask them for something, right? And this isn't directed at you. This is at the larger audience. Don't go in and say, Hey, I need this. Can you do this? For me? People are busy, right? They've got a thousand emails that they're, they need to respond to.But if you ask somebody for their advice, they're like, well, hold on a second. What was that? You need my advice. I'll give you my advice. I found, and I speak at colleges all the time and I mentor and I have interns. And one of the things I tell college students all the time is find someone who's doing what you want to do.Whether it's be an engineer, producer, tour, agent, whatever, find the people that are doing it, reach out to them and say, Hey Nathan, I'm a college student. Can I just get 15 minutes of your time? Chat. I need your guidance. I need your advice on something nine times out of 10, they'll say. Sure, absolutely. And that's at your fingertips right now.And as a company and as a platform, you need to let this community know what problems of theirs are you going to. You know, not your capabilities, not like the business speak while we're a full service platform that, you know, these KPIs and blah, blah, blah. No, it's gotta be, we're going to help you grow your audience by doing this, we're gonna help you, spend less money on your marketing and advertising by doing this, we're going to help you put more butts in the seats by doing this.If you can solve their problems and communicate that. quickly and easily, that's a challenge. but joining all of these, like, like music business association, You know, and going to these panels, like at music tectonics and some of those, that's where those people live and breathe. And, and let me just tie it up in a bow by saying that one of the things we did over the pandemic was we formed this artist management collective and there's, I don't know, give or take 25 managers and on any given zoom call, we'll have probably half of that.We, we talk about what, what publicist are you using now? What video editor are using now, you know, do you use it? Who, who should I call for a tour agent for Americana, you know, and we, we help each other, but we also will bring somebody on from TikTok or bring somebody on from roadblocks and tell us about your platform.You know, w how can you help these artists managers? So that's a long-winded way of saying there's no silver bullet, but. Those relationships, those, those conversations, then that word of mouth will spread and that'll help you build your platform.[00:52:06] Nathan:Yeah Well, I mean, it's exactly what we've been talking about of relationships in the community That's what all of this comes down to and and you know podcasts are especially big for that right Because we have to have conversations like this, and that's what you've seen on, on your Podcast.[00:52:24] Jay:Yeah[00:52:24] Nathan:Makes me wonder, do you think If you're talking to a newsletter creator?Who doesn't have a Podcast. What's the, message that you would say to them of, you know, you're like, Yeah. the Podcast has been good because of these things. Or are you like, what are you doing? Like start[00:52:43] Jay:Yeah[00:52:44] Nathan:Newsletter, go hand in hand. He got us started both. What, what do you think?[00:52:47] Jay:It depends. I think here's the thing. I was reading this article the other day, that the average Podcast, this is average, right? There's 850,000 podcasts out there, but the average one is seven episodes long. That's it. And reaches about 175. people That's an average thing. I mean, yeah. You've got the New York times daily that has a staff of 75 people and it's crazy.And then you've got the Joe Rogans of the world that have these huge audiences, but that's the outlier. That's an anomaly. So I tell people are you really in this? Do you really want to do this? And do you enjoy doing it? So I do, two to three podcasts. every week And I love it. I absolutely love the conversations.It's something. I have a passion for most of the newsletters that I read. There is a Podcast, you know, Sherry who has a podcast, Amber Horsburgh has a podcast. Mike Warner, has a great podcast. Then you look at how often do you want to do it? You know, like your morning coffee is every single week music biz, weekly that I co-host is every single week.You may not have the time to do that. So maybe you do one every two weeks or one every month. I'm a big fan of podcasts. I think that people go for walks, they exercise, they travel, they commute. They do a lot of things where they couldn't necessarily read a newsletter. And this is kind of, you're reading the newsletter to them.So it's so easy to get syndicated. But the only thing I would suggest for somebody who's going to start that is stand on the shoulders of giants with us. We partnered with Hypebot So immediately out of the gate, we've got an audience. We didn't have to start from zero So if you can partner with a brand or partner with another outlet to grow your audience, that's the way to go.[00:54:44] Nathan:Yeah. Yep. I like that. Some of that you said to kind of touched on the idea of longevity, you know, of the average Podcast being seven episodes long. sad, but not surprising, like[00:54:56] Jay:Yeah,[00:54:57] Nathan:What's your message to, creators about longevity. And it's both the artists you're working with, you're giving advice to those college students who hit you up for the 15 minutes of advice all the way through to those building an audience online, in a newsletter type environment[00:55:14] Jay:Yeah. That's a great question. I think the bottom line is you need to find what lights you. up And I tell, not just college students, but I tell professionals this all the time. What is that thing that you wake up in the morning and you just can't wait to do, and you'd do it for free. If you could, is it photography?Is it, it engineering or being a, you know, a manager, whatever it is. There's some There're things that are Personal to you that you love to do. And I always tell people, you have to do more of that. The money will come, but you have to add value first and then the money comes. You don't go looking for the money.That's a common mistake. A lot of people make, I I started your morning coffee without any expectation of any business, money, ads, anything, and it's just been a joy. And I look forward to doing. it Every single week, I've got it, like 90% ready to go. Cause it goes out at 4:00 AM on Friday. So tomorrow, I'll be up with my coffee and I'll hit that.Send button to those lists. that's not work to me. That's I can't wait to do that. And then Sunday morning, Mike Etchart and I are going to record the podcast. I can't wait to do that. So if you can find something in your jobI love coaching. I love teaching. I love working with developing artists and showing them what's worked in the past what hasn't workedand to your point earlier, trying a lot of different things See, see what's working. and What's not, you know, I think that's key because so many people are chasing the dollars and they're miserable. You know, find what lights you up.[00:56:53] Nathan:Yeah, cause chasing the dollars, especially cause they tend to take a long time to come. Any creative business is slow going. So, if you're looking at the dollars as the metric that's going to keep you going, then you are going to end up giving up after the seven episodes.[00:57:12] Jay:Yeah.[00:57:13] Nathan:Something in that[00:57:15] Jay:Yeah.[00:57:16] Nathan:I realized, we should start to wrap up, but I didn't even ask you about photography. That's a huge part of who you are as a creator. We don't have time to get into it a lot, but I just love to hear how photography intersects with the rest of your creative work.[00:57:31] Jay:I've been shooting since I was a teenager. What happened was I went to a concert. I shot it and the images didn't turn out well at all. And that put me on this quest of “Why don't my photos look like the ones in the magazine?”[00:57:45] Nathan:Yeah.[00:57:46] Jay:I got my own darkroom, started reading books. Long story short, I've been doing photography my entire life. I have a photo studio here. I've shot album covers from the Temptations, and John Wayne, and Rick Springfield, and many, many others. I absolutely love it. It's my creative outlet. I can go in on the weekends, shut the door, turn off the phone.My partner, Chris Schmidt and I, we do these shoots and we absolutely love it. It's also intersected with the business. So, photo shoots for clients. We've done videos for clients. It's a labor of love. It's like you find what lights you up. Photography lights me up. I would do it for free if I could.I absolutely love shooting live shows. I love shooting studio shoots. If you check out JayGilbert.net, you can see some of my work over the years. You'll see photos from shooting Van Halen in 1978, all the way to shooting stuff last week with the immediate family.So, thank you for bringing that up. I certainly have a passion for it, and I hope that your viewers and listeners know what their passion is. Even if they can't do it for a living, continue to do it. Life is short.[00:58:59] Nathan:Yeah, I love it. Well, I had a great time going through your whole collection over the years.[00:59:06] Jay:Thank you.[00:59:07] Nathan:There's some that are really, really fun.[00:59:10] Jay:Thank you.[00:59:11] Nathan:Listeners should definitely check that out. Where else should people go to subscribe to the newsletter? Listen to the podcast? All of that?[00:59:17] Jay:It's the easiest URL on the planet. It's YourMorning.coffee. You can sign up for the newsletter. It's free. You can sign up for the podcast. It's free. If you ever want to dig deeper into what Label Logic's all about, it's Label-Logic.net. It might be kind of fun just to look through there.Jeff and I have been doing this for decades, so you'll see some of your favorite artists that we've done some campaigns with.[00:59:48] Nathan:Yeah that's good.Well Jay, thanks so much.[00:59:51] Jay:Yeah, it's my pleasure, Nathan. Thanks for having me.

Liam O'Brien stops by to discuss his nerd journey, from his first gaming console, the Vectrex, to playing Dungeons and Dragons professionally with Critical Role. He also shares his long list of favorite games and dishes on the game that makes him rage quit.

Muslims and Mormons and Muad-dib oh my! Guests Ali Karjoo-Ravary, professor of Islamic studies at Bucknell University, and Michael Haycock, Christian Life Coordinator at Georgetown University, dish out all the nerdy takes on the intersection of religion and sci fi / fantasy. We discuss the Islamic influences in Frank Herbert's Dune, Christian themes in CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and how religious minorities are represented in sci fi. Learn more about: Ali's Writing: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/10/11/paul-atreides-led-a-jihad-not-a-crusade-heres-why-that-matters https://ajammc.com/author/alikarjooravary/ Michael's Writing: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/peculiarpeople/2014/06/second-life-and-the-second-estate/ https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-earth-and-the-inhabitants-thereof-non-humans-in-the-divine-household/ https://www.patheos.com/blogs/peculiarpeople/2018/08/sorry-to-bother-you-the-human-body-as-technology/ Further Reading: Ali's Picks: Arabian Nights and Days, Naguib Mahfouz The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty (and the rest of the Daevabad Trilogy) Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson The Bird King, G. Willow Wilson The Haunting of Tram Car 015, P. Djèli Clark The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, Usman Tanveer Malik Frankenstein in Baghdad, Ahmed Saadawi Michael's Picks: The Folk of the Fringe, Orson Scott Card Wandering Realities, Steven Peck The Infinite Future, Tim Wirkus +++ Leave a Review! bit.ly/interfaithish Social: www.instagram.com/interfaithish/ www.facebook.com/interfaithish/ twitter.com/interfaithish Email: interfaithish@gmail.com

David Radford of the Gray Havens comes on the show to share details about the band's new album Blue Flower, including how it was made, how it was affected by the pandemic, and how it was influenced by C.S. Lewis's memoir Surprised by Joy. This episode is sponsored by Katie Lighty, whose new single "Never" available now. Click here for more information. The JFH Podcast is hosted and produced by Chase Tremaine and executive produced by John DiBiase and Christopher Smith. To meet the people behind the show, discuss the episodes, ask questions, and engage in conversations with other listeners, join the JFH Podcast group on Facebook.

If you like what you hear and want to support the show, visit https://www.patreon.com/BSWthepodcast, and become a Patron today! Your episodic tithes of a dollar or more will give you a chance to gain early access to each episode, listen to unaired conversations, unlock the Patron feed, and much more. The Bible Says What!? the book is now available! Click here! Stop by thebiblesayswhat.com and check out all the latest merch and giveaways! Thanks to the cosmic powers of the internet, it is now possible to buy me a beer or coffee online. Simply go to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/BSWthepodcast and click the appropriate buttons. As always, thank you for listening, sharing, and supporting the show. Please send all of your questions, hate mail, and guest suggestions to bswthepodcast@gmail.com. Other ways to tune in: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FrIcfAfHHRr9ZkKSR11BQ/featured?app=desktop iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bible-says-what/id1383942979?mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iizrha4gh56jgb3s5d2cx6hwejm Follow the show on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/791536591381847/?source_id=351267068703016. Today's guest can be found @https://gospel-app.com/

Student Leadership University's mission is to develop and equip student leaders to think, dream, and lead. We strive to instill future tense thinking, character-driven decision making, ownership of biblical values, and a commitment to influence through service.Show Notes:Graduating high school is like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities.Nugget 1: Don't wait till the fourth quarter to make the decision that you want to win the game.Living beyond the yearbook starts before your Freshman year.Nugget 2: The next chapter of life isn't a break from the rest of your life…it's simply the next step in your pilgrimage toward your heavenly home.Nugget 3: You can lose yourself in the meaningless... OR become captivated with the source and beauty that is behind, and the cause of, all meaning.Nugget 4: In addition to studying, social life, and part-time work...generously give yourself away in service to a particular cause or ministry.Nugget 5: The people you surround yourself with reflect the person you are becoming...so surround yourself with friends that will continually build you up.Nugget 6: Most of us have spend most of our time around people who look, act, worship, and think like us. Befriend and learn a lot from someone who is different from you.Bonhoeffer came to the US and found a different version of Christianity than where he came from. This impacted his courage to go back to Germany and have the courage to die for what was right.Diversity is good, intentional diversity is even better.Nugget 7: There isn't a substitute for the local church…so find one and commit yourself to it (except during spring break, summer break, and Christmas break; during that time go home and see your parents!).Being involved in a local church is not an option for the college Christian.Make sure you doing church visits when you do college visits.You don't graduate from church when you graduate from high school.Nugget 8: Don't take yourself too seriously…so rebel against trying to be a pretend version of yourself that you think everyone will find attractive. In other words, laugh when you trip over nothing while walking to class, choose being kind over being cool, and at the end of the day be a goofball!This is one of the best moments of your life. When college is gone, it's gone.Don't have regrets, but don't be reckless.Want more encouragement for graduating seniors? Brent wrote a blog digging into this topic. Read it here!Connect with SLU:Links:InstagramRegistar for SLULearn more about The LIFT TourLearn more about YPSHostsBrent's InstagramBrent's TwitterJeff's InstagramJeff's Twitter

Ever since Netflix announced they were developing Chronicles of Narnia movies and series, fans have been speculating that the streaming... The post Should the Fans Revolt if Netflix Expands Narnia? | Talking Beasts appeared first on NarniaWeb | Netflix's Narnia Movies.

IN THIS REPEAT: An interview with Katherine Langrish about From Spare Oom to War Drobe. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do you remember what it was like reading one of the Narnia stories as a child? Was it twenty, thirty, or more years ago? Award-winning author Katherine Langrish (whose works include the Viking Trilogy) vividly remembers reading her first Narnia adventure when she was nine years old. She shares her thoughts in this podcast interview with guest host Dr. Sarah Waters. Learn why The Chronicles of Narnia plays such a special place in Katherine's heart as she reflects on each of the stories in her book and highlights of these thoughts are in this interview. Special thanks to Sarah for hosting this podcast episode. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purchase a copy of From Spare Oom to War Drobe (from Amazon) Visit Katherine Langrish's Website Visit the Seven Miles of Steel Thistles blog by Katherine Hear other podcasts with Dr. Sarah Waters Other Useful Links: Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis  

Tim Alberino returns to finish the Genesis 6 discussion and get a final picture of what he thinks the world looked like pre/post flood. We also tackle the strange happenings taking place during this time in history and what might have been roaming the earth back then. Were the centaurs and other mythological creatures communicating with us like tales from Narnia? Tune in now to take another fascinating peak into the mind of one of the experts in the Gen6 arena. Guest: timothyalberino.com contact: blurrycreaturespodcast@gmail.com blurrycreatures.com Socials instagram.com/blurrycreatures facebook.com/blurrycreatures twitter.com/blurrycreatures Music Kyle Monroe: tinytaperoom.com Aaron Green: https://www.instagram.com/aaronkgreen/ Mastering: ironwingstudios.com Outro Song: TimeCop1983: timecop1983.com

The following is the fourth show in a mini-series of podcast interviews on The Faun's Bookshelf. The previous episode went into detail about chapters four to six of the book. This show provides an overview of the last half of the book (chapters seven to twelve). As before, Dr. Charlie Starr, the author of the book returns to talk with Dr. Sarah Waters and William O'Flaherty. Get a taste of how myth is defined, what monks have to do with Narnia, and how Lewis view "the North." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Listen to Episode 3 of Faun's Mini-series Listen to Episode 2 of Faun's Mini-series Listen to Episode 1 of Faun's Mini-series Learn about the March 2022 Event at Presbyterian Heritage Center Purchase The Faun's Bookshelf Listen to Single Episode on The Faun's Bookshelf Listen to other shows with Dr. Charlie Starr  Hear other podcasts with Dr. Sarah Waters Other Useful Links: Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis

In this packed edition of TJP, Dru shares a convo with Stephen Russell from Faith Builders about Scripture. They touch on the history of the church, tradition, community, and using the Chronicles of Narnia in family devotions. But before the interview, the crew has it out about religious exemptions for vaccines and Rebekah shares her latest opus on The Kingdom Outpost. Come for the new sound effects, stay for the mere devotion! Support Jazmine: https://gofund.me/d96ff7ea Rebekah's article: kingdomoutpost.org/the-cross-spiritualized-suffering-or-lifegiving-wholeness More about Steven here: fbep.org/about/personnel/stephen-russell

Today I'm joined by the brainy and delightful bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author Lindsey Sparks, who got me to read a book that approximately one million people have recommended to me. Lindsey calls “A Discovery of Witches” a grown-up Twilight meets the Da Vinci Code, which I think is spot on. She also blew my mind when she explained how a good sci-fi or fantasy novel will stand on its own when all fantastical elements are pulled out of it, which in turn made me rethink what I have liked about the few books in those genres I've read. One warning: we delve into the topic of miscarriage in this episode, and how it can be a trigger for many readers, and how hard it is to avoid. I've moved this part of our conversation to the end of the podcast, so if this is a topic you aren't up to, you may want to tap out at about the 20 minute mark. You'll still get the book chat, but you can skip over the part you are sensitive to.   Support the Best Book Ever Podcast on Patreon   Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram   Guest: Lindsey Sparks Website/Facebook/Facebook Reader Group/Instagram/Podcast   Do you know a young person who'd like to appear on the 2nd Annual Kids/YA Gift Guide Episode? GO HERE!   Discussed in this episode: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Julie's appearance on Lindsey's podcast “No Shelf Control” The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings Dead Witch Walking: Book One of The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling The Ending Series, co-authored by Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Sparks Lindsey Pogue on the Best Book Ever podcast True Blood Television Series Dead Until Dark: (Sookie Stackhouse Book 1) by Charlaine Harris Guilty Pleasures: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel (Book 1) by Laurell K. Hamilton The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Virgin River by Robyn Carr Virgin River TV Show The Elemental Mysteries by Elizabeth Hunter The Martian by Andy Weir A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you're shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

IN THIS REPEAT: Lewis was a veteran of WWi and he was informally involved in WWII. Learn more about the in this interview with Paul McCusker. - - -  Paul McCusker is the Creative Director at Focus on the Family. Many know him for his involvement in Adventures in Odyssey where he has written over 300 shows; and of course he helped create the Radio Theatre Production of The Chronicles of Narnia. In 2013, they released C.S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity. This is the focus on this podcast with William O'Flaherty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purchase C.S. Lewis at War Listen to Paul with Douglas Gresham on Focus on the Family Visit Paul McCusker's Website Visit Focus on the Family Radio Theatre Website Listen to All About Jack interview with Douglas Gresham Visit Christian History Institute/Christian History (podcast sponsor) Other Useful Links: Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis  

In today's episode, we share some important news. After a year exploring the world of Narnia through the eyes of young adults, Beyond the Lamppost, as we know it, will end. Although this is a difficult goodbye for now, we hope to drop topical episodes in the future. Keep subscribed! Also, we share some telegrams! We discuss the album, Into the Lantern Waste by Sarah Sparks, and dive into a topic we've wanted to unpack for a while: Susan's fate in The Last Battle. As always, special thanks to Jacob Harada for providing our theme song! Check out more of his music at jacobharada.com. Until next time, fellow Narnians! Mentioned in this episode: Into the Lantern Waste by Sarah Sparks on Spotify Into the Lantern Waste by Sarah Sparks on YouTube "The Problem(s) of Susan" by Matt Mikalatos "Beloved Narnia" from Trumpet's The Lion, the Witch And the Wardrobe

David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 2 of that Finale. Listener Survey: https://forms.gle/X4zq7Uk69KmYo1v3A

Do Colleen and Rebecca know anything about The Chronicles of Narnia? Why does it matter? 

Today, Janell and Ruby sit down with Mishelle Oh. Mishelle shares about how she grew up in a Buddhist environment and how her aunt helped bring her family to Christ. She also shares how questioning lead her to Christ. It's a truly beautiful story that we hope you still stick around for! ___We would love to thank our Patrons for all their amazing support! Special thanks to our friend, Michele Tupen. To learn more about supporting Finding Something REAL via Patreon, click here!Mentioned in this EpisodeFSR s4e34 Introducing RubyHungry GenerationMishelle Oh's testimony CS Lewis Chronicles of Narnia

David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 1...

In the first episode of the third series of The C.S. Lewis Podcast, professor Alister McGrath speaks to Ruth Jackson about how Lewis' famous works of fiction came to be written. They also tackle some of the criticisms that have been levelled against the books, such as sexism and racism, looking at the impact of these issues on today's culture. For more from the podcast http://www.cslewispodcast.com

C.S. Lewis wrote more than 30 books which have collectively sold over 100 million copies, including the Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters. But of those thirty books, there was only one which Lewis described himself as “almost my favorite among my books,” yet he was disappointed that “in general [the book] has been almost totally ignored by the public.” The book was his prophetic text titled The Abolition of Man. It's an important book but one that many readers find dense and challenging. Thankfully, Michael Ward, one of the world's leading C.S. Lewis scholars, has stepped in to help. His groundbreaking new book titled After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's ‘The Abolition of Man was just published by Word on Fire Academic. Today, Brandon Vogt sits down with Michael to discuss Lewis' original text and how Michael's new guide and commentary help readers make sense of Lewis's argument. Learn more: https://www.wordonfire.org/humanity NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!

This episode we bully Victoria for not having ever seen any movies! How can you not know who James McAvoy is! You haven't even seen NARNIA? Are you HUMAN? Featuring the new BIG 9 segment and other references to other things you may have heard of! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/femmenoir/support

Hello! Thank you for listening to our teaching series through the book of 1 Corinthians. You can watch today's episode - including the Narnia clip - on YouTube here. Today we focus on the first three verses of chapter 12 as we begin a period of study concerning the Holy Spirit. Does the Holy Spirit give spiritual gifts today or not? Does it really matter? Can't we just agree to disagree?Finally, please would you help us with 3 things:1) Consider becoming a supporter of this podcast here to help us develop this media further; 2) Forward this episode to your networks and, if you haven't already,3) Rate & review Into the Pray on whatever platform you get your podcasts on. Many thanks. Maranatha!

HELLO! I am back! I apologize for the LONG break, but since we are all mostly human I'm sure you will understand. This week we are discussing the prequel to the Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew. Essentially the Genesis of how Narnia came to be, this story centers around a biblical retelling in reverse, allowing us to view biblical concepts in a more fantastical perspective! One that allows more empathy and emotion than what we might be usually given in moral-driven stories. Happy reading! Follow our instagram @readingintoitpod or email us at readingintoitpod@gmail.com. Love you!

Kresta in the first hour talks with Marsha Williamson as she searches for Dante's Divine Comedy in the novels of CS Lewis. In the second hour, Kresta and Joseph Pearce unpack the Christian imagery of Narnia.

Download Numbers 22-24 We are in the World Stream reading from the Lexham English Bible. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Streams | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, thank you for these reminders today of what we don't want to end up like in our pilgrimage. It's odd and it's sobering but that is why there are so many unpleasant stories of hearts gone wrong in the Bible. It reminds us of what to pray for protection against. Therefore, deliver us from evil. Amen. This is a strange story told with Balak, the King of Moab, as the core motivating figure today. Balak's motivation is that he is in utter terror surmising that his land and people will be completely lost to the Israelites whose army of fighting age men stands at around 600,000. Vastly outnumbered and with no hope of staving off the Israelites, he resorts to hiring a professional cursor to put a bad curse on the Israelites. In Balak's mind, this will throw the Israelites into duress and confusion. So Balak hires Balaam to do this dubious deed and offers to pay him a camel's-load full of money to do so.  Balaam, enroute to meet with Balak encounters an angel who warns him, [barring the path] to not go and engage in such an endeavor.  Strangely enough, Balaam's donkey sees the angel but Balaam didn't - for awhile! The talking donkey had you feel like you were back in Narnia there didn't it?!  Something we want to be clear on is that Balaam is not an Israelite.  He is from the region where Abraham had come from 700 years or so prior.  That area was known for its diviners, astrologers, magicians; people well-versed in the dark arts. You can see why God needed Abraham OUT of there if God was going to work with him and start a nation that was going to be a "Star"; a Light to the Gentiles. That area today is still a source of religion gone amok, save for the Kurds among whom many are Christian.  Those who care to search our Balaam's origins, his family, his father, his home region - the hunt takes one rather quickly right into a world that the Bible urges us not to venture into; witchcraft.  Thus, this is Balaam, whom Balak wanted on the job to cast a bad spell and see Israel cursed so that misfortune would come over them. The scene is certainly a peculiar development with multiple offerings and oracles and intended curses from Balak turning into inevitable blessings being foretold over Israel. And Balaam does not stray from what God ordered him to declare!  So Balak tries again and Balaam intends to remain principled and keeps prophesying for God when perhaps he should have just departed the venue. Be that as it was Balaam/Balak tarried and offered more sacrifices and responded again to Balak's apparent desire to see Israel cursed. And yet again, only blessings are declared for Israel. How could it be any different?  Israel is finally coming to the Promised Land after centuries of longing and waiting and only an ignoramus would think that God is going to change his agenda now based on the misaligned and dark desires of a pagan king who comes from a line of descendants that trace back to disgrace (Gen. 19:30ff

After the previously-planned interview fell through at the last minute, David sat down to record a solo episode to talk about his newborn son, Sidecar Day, blue flowers in Narnia, and also to make his tongue-in-cheek case as to why C.S. Lewis is better than J.R.R. Tolkien.

In this episode we are going to talk about the importance of injecting a little adventure into our lives.  C.S. Lewis once said, "Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny."  Sure, adventure can mean climbing peaks in Peru or Nepal… but there are other ways that we can inject a little novelty and adventure in our daily lives… even if you live in the burbs, like I do!  In fact, I make the case using some good ol' research-backed arguments, but I also share a way that I've been experiencing a little “adventure” lately.  And it doesn't cost me a thing… but it's been a way that I've been finding some rest and restoration.  And as you'll hear… it's also been teaching me A LOT about life and business.  Check it out… and then join me in finding a little “adventure” no matter where you live! EPISODES MENTIONED: Ruth Soukup | Surprising Secrets For Living the Good Life - (click here)  Beating the "MEH" with LAURA SANCHEZ-GREENBERG - www.mitchmatthews.com/308  A Hiro's Journey - mitchmatthews.com/322 The Rest vs. Restoration Experiment - mitchmatthews.com/330 MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: For some ADVENTURE might mean a trip to the big city... or it might be going to the other side of the planet. "Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny." - CS Lewis  Amelia Earhart once said, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." "You can't define adventure... and what it means to you... until you've wrestled with it.  True adventure happens beyond what you might think is safe... or obtainable.  That's where you see miracles happen.  Adventure is the distance between the present and the fulfillment of your dreams!  And how you navigate the "in-between" is the great unknown.” - Clay Croft - Creator of the Expedition Overland  (Find out more here:  www.xoverland.com) BUT... you might be saying...  "THAT IS NOT ME!!!  I LIVE in the burbs... I have a house filled with kids, schedules, dogs, cats and a bird... I can't be traipsing around the globe looking for ADVENTURE!!!" I get it... I'm right there with you!!!   Here's a brief history of “Adventure and me”: I grew up a scared kid... but I learned a motto... "I may be scared... but I'm going to do it anyway!"  Or... a shorter version is... "Do it scared!" I grew up afraid of heights... but at the same time... I've climbed the tallest mountains in Montana and some of the tallest in Colorado! I was afraid of leaving home... so I hated my first summer camp experience... BUT when I got older... I moved to England at 18 and went back when I was 20. When my bride and I lived in Montana (two places)... we'd camp in the mountains countless weekends… then we had cubs... and decided to move back closer to family.  We first spent a year in Chicago... and then we landed back in Des Moines and we've been here for over 20 years! ADVENTURE NOW: As a result… I live in a suburb of a moderate sized city... in a state where the highest elevation is 1,670 feet.  Literally, it's: Hawkeye Point Hawkeye Point which is the highest natural point in Iowa at 1,670 feet (510 m). It is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of Sibley on the eastern side of SR 60 and approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of the Iowa-Minnesota state border. My favorite part is the directions say,  “The high ground lies 100 feet (30 m) due south of an old silo.” But remember:  ADVENTURE isn't a location... it's a mindset! Also remember… "Stay curious. It will lead to a life of adventure!" - Mitch Matthews It's sooooo important... and this is backed up by SCIENCE!!! I'm betting you remember Episode 308 - Beating the "MEH" with LAURA SANCHEZ-GREENBERG. www.mitchmatthews.com/308  (More from Laura below.) In that episode, we talked about how novelty is critical.  Mixing things up.  Trying new things.  Stretching yourself.  Growing.   So sure... if you can go climb a mountain... DO it!!! BUT if you're in a suburbs in the flat lands… (like me)... you need to find other ways to experience adventure! DEFINING ADVENTURE For OUR purposes, let's define adventure as: Staying curious Pursuing novel experiences  Stretching... growing... putting yourself in situations from time to time... where you might actually fail. Yvon Chouinard... rock climber, world adventurer and founder of Patagonia once said,  "It's not truly adventure until something goes wrong." You might get some of that at work... or at home.  You might say... I've got a teenager... stuff goes wrong all the time! LOL! BUT seriously... what if you introduced some adventure WITH your teenager.  What if? My Invitation: Pursue some adventure... Try something new Do something where you might fail Stay curious. Walk in awe. See where it takes you! Dreaming BIGGER... thinking BETTER and doing MORE is all about living an amazing life and that's what I want from you... if you're living in Nepal... or Fiji... NYC… or a really nice little  suburb. Adventure is out there... we just have to find it. Amen? RESOURCES: In the episode, I mention that past DREAM THINK DO guest Laura Sanchez-Greenberg had provided some SCIENCE and RESEARCH to back up today's episode… so I wanted to provide it here… in her own words. She shared... “Novelty and “sustainable happiness” studies suggest that doing new things is good for our well-being and some authors have suggested that fulfilling our need for novelty is a basic requirement for optimal functioning (Gonzalez-Cutre et al 2016).   Research here tied to the self-determination theory (SDT is the so-often-attributed to Daniel Pink's Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose triangle from his book “Drive” – this model is actually research by Deci and Ryan (1980, 2000) which Pink translated.)  The research notes that novelty is a basic tenant of being self-determining.  Without novelty, then you wouldn't know if you were self-determining as it would just be more of the same.  In simpler terms: How do you know if you are choosing for yourself (autonomy), if you are competent (mastery) if nothing changes? Some suggested things to read:  The Importance of Novelty » Brain World (brainworldmagazine.com) The Role of Novelty and Adaptation in Well-being - The Positive Psychology People Laura continues… “I'd say pointing to Barbara Fredrickson's work “Positivity” is also good.   The bottom line is, although there is novelty specific research, the word itself takes on all the research that's there and gives it name.   When we change our view, our brain activates, it learns, it absorbs.   So the important role that awe plays in happiness, that nature plays in happiness, importance of learning in happiness… all of these are related to novelty – we change our environment, learn something new, feel awe… all novelty.   So “novelty” is a catch all for so much of the research (I use the word as a shortcut).  Super nerdy research: Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology - Google Books (Chapter 34) Acts of Kindness and Acts of Novelty Affect Life Satisfaction: The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol 150, No 3 (tandfonline.com)  In the Suburbs… grab your lip smacker… put out a bird feeder and let that Cardinal surprise you; better yet, let the seeds call it to you in winter where the red pops on the snow background (they don't migrate). Smell coffee. Take a peek at a chipmunk… take a walk and for a minute, check out how bark on a tree can form art… all sorts of novelty.” 0:02 Let's go on an adventure 1:24 Episode starts 5:30 Mitch's background in adventure 14:34 One adventure you can take every day 19:58 How Mitch gets his adventure in 26:25 Mitch's Narnia moment 36:06 Adventure is a mindset 39:23 Closing thoughts  I want to hear from YOU! What do YOU think?  Is finding some adventure… some novelty important?  Did you need to be reminded of that?  (I know I do!!!)  What's one way you want to inject some adventure into your world?  What's a way to experience a little novelty?  Share something you love to do… or something you're going to try!  I can't wait to hear from YOU!  Comment and let me know.

The Gray Havens are an American Christian folk pop husband and wife duo, David and Licia Radford, from Crystal Lake, Illinois. On October 8th they will be releasing their new album, Blue Flower, so David Radford came on the show to talk to Andrew and David about how C.S. Lewis inspired their recent work.

Do you remember what it was like reading one of the Narnia stories as a child? Was it twenty, thirty, or more years ago? Award-winning author Katherine Langrish (whose works include the Viking Trilogy) vividly remembers reading her first Narnia adventure when she was nine years old. She shares her thoughts in this podcast interview with guest host Dr. Sarah Waters. Learn why The Chronicles of Narnia plays such a special place in Katherine's heart as she reflects on each of the stories in her book and highlights of these thoughts are in this interview. Special thanks to Sarah for hosting this podcast episode. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purchase a copy of From Spare Oom to War Drobe (from Amazon) Visit Katherine Langrish's Website Visit the Seven Miles of Steel Thistles blog by Katherine Hear other podcasts with Dr. Sarah Waters Other Useful Links: Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis  

Hear now, the word of the Lord from Ecclesiastes 7:1-14. A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity. 7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. 13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, ESV The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Well, my wife and I have several children and we've had children in our home through foster care at various times. One thing that we've learned about children is that you love them so much. Yet sometimes it can be frustrating to watch the way that they live their lives, because they don't always know what is good for them. Sometimes, for example, children want to play rough and they're in a good mood and want to play rough, and they're excited about playing rough and the rough game escalates and you warn them, say that's not going to end well. They play rough and suddenly someone gets a scratch or a bump and then the world is over. It seemed good in the moment, and yet it was a bad choice when they look back on it. Sometimes the rule is you can't have dessert without eating the vegetables and they don't want to eat the vegetables. The vegetables don't seem good to them. So, they sit at the table and refuse to eat the vegetables, and then they are upset and can't fathom why they wouldn't get the dessert. It's hard to learn what is good in life. Indeed, as I consider my own life, I'm still struggling with these basic lessons. I usually eat my vegetables, but I think of the fact that I want to grow in wisdom. The Bible is very clear about how to gain wisdom, about the good things to do to gain wisdom. So, I have to ask myself, is my delight truly deeply from the soul in the law of the Lord? Do I meditate on God's word day all the way through until night? Or I want to be someone who is characterized by peace? I want to be anxious for nothing. Again, the Bible tells us what is good, how to pursue that. But I have to ask myself, is it true that in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, I make my requests known to God? So, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. You see even for what we know to be good? Sometimes in the moment, we struggle to truly believe that it is in fact good. The Bible tells us why this is, that there is a corruption deep in our souls that bends us or inclines us or orient's us or distorts our perception in such a way so that we don't always see good for what it is. We don't recognize it for what it is and sometimes we call evil good. Well, how do we fight this? Well, fighting this begins by an acknowledgement of our ignorance, to say, I don't know what is good for me and I need to help. It begins also by a refusal to trust our own intuition to discern between good and evil. It requires us then to be quick to remind ourselves that God alone knows what is good. That's our big idea for today that God alone knows what is good. So, in the passage that we're looking at today, the preacher is going to talk about good things. 1. Dying Well 2. Living Well 3. Trusting God in Life and Death. Dying Well So let's start with dying well in verses one through six. Before we get into the first six verse, I want to remind you about the verse right before the section that we're looking at in Ecclesiastes 6:12. We talked about last week that the first six chapters of Ecclesiastes really marked the first half of the book, and in the first half of the book, the preacher is essentially surveying absolutely everything under the sun to try to investigate whether there actually is lasting good that we can find in this world. He does this thorough, complete, exhaustive search of the world and discovers that there is nothing truly good in this world. So, the way that the first half ends in verse 12 is with two questions. Look at the first question. Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? Ecclesiastes 6:12, ESV Who knows what is good? Well, in the passage that we are looking at today, as if to answer this question and versus one through 14, the word good appears 11 times. Eleven times the word good appears in 14 verses. Do you want to know what's good? Well, the preacher is about to tell us what is good. However, it's not at all what we think it would be. So, in verse one, we find this principle, this proverb right out of the gate. A good name is better than precious ointment. We say, great, fantastic. I can do this. Pursue a good name, a good reputation. Got it. Check. What else you got for me? Then we go to the next half of verse one and Derek Kitchener and his commentary writes, "There's really nothing that prepares you for the body blow that follows in the second half of the first verse" A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1, ESV Well, there are a lot of attempts to explain how these two halves of verse one fit together, and some people don't think that they fit together at all. But I think Michael Eaton is surely right when he says that this is a comparison. As a good name is better than precious ointment, so the day of death is better than the day of birth. They're comparing it. You know, the one you don't have to be really instructed on the one that one sort of an easy principle, but the second one, you need to understand that this is just as good. In fact, more good for you to think about the day of your death and the day of your birth. But why is this the case? Well, it's certainly not that God prefers death to life, it's certainly not that death itself is better than life. God is the ever living one. God is the one who has life in himself. God is the giver of life. God sent his own son, Jesus Christ, into this world to raise up the dead to new life. God loves life, and he hates death. Death is the last enemy that will be defeated. Death is not better than birth. That's not what he is saying, but we get something of what he is saying in verse two. What is he really mean? Well, verse two he says, It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.Ecclesiastes 7:2, ESV . This idea of laying it to heart means to consider it, to ponder it. When we think of our heart, we think of our emotions, our feelings. However, when the Old Testament talks about the heart by far most often, it's talking about the way that we think in the Old Testament. The heart is the seat of your thinking, not your feeling. In fact, many times when you read about the mind or the thoughts, you are really reading a word that in the original Hebrew actually is heart, and it's just translated into something that will better understand since we think about the mind as the seat of thinking. The heart is the seat of thinking in Hebrew thinking, and the preacher wants us to lay this to heart to grapple with this, to consider this that a funeral is better than the house of feasting. Well, what should we be considering? While verse three, Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.Ecclesiastes 7:3, ESV . There's again the heart. Now literally this is by evil of face, or sadness of face. This is the phrase that is used to describe when Joseph comes into the prison cell and sees the Pharaoh's cup bearer and his baker there. They've had this dream that's disturbing and they don't know what to make with it. Will they have evil of face, is what it says. They're disturbed, they're vexed, they're not sure what to make of this. So, Joseph asked them, what's wrong? the preacher says it's by this vexation, this disturbed nature of your face that the heart is made literally good. When we are disturbed by sorrow and we are disturbed by the funerals that interrupt our lives, this is good. This sorrow is good, not because death is good, but because this forces us to consider the end of all mankind, our own end, our own mortality, the fact that we too will die. That any good that we encounter in this Earth, the mirth, the feasting, the laughter, all of this, is fleeting, it's temporary, it's passing away, and it can't ultimately satisfy us. So, verse four, The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 7:4-6, ESV The preacher wants to make us think. The preacher wants us to grapple with not just in general big questions, but the ultimate questions, what is life and what is going to happen after death? You know, there's a common question that people ask each other. Maybe you've asked it, or maybe you've considered it. If you knew that a week from today, you were going to die. That next week, the next Lord's day, next Sunday would be your last day of living. How would you spend the next seven days? What would you do? Particularly, how would what you would do over the next seven days differ from the ways that you would ordinarily spend those seven days? If it was just another ordinary week where you got up and went to work and did everything else that you normally do? Well, probably you wouldn't spend that week doing ordinary, normal things. You'd maybe try to check things off of your bucket list. Things that are exciting and adventurous that maybe you've always wanted to do but have always been content to put off for one day someday. Well, there aren't that many one day, some days left seven to be precise, so you want to get down to checking off those items off your bucket list. Or maybe you'd want to have a conversation, a conversation to reconcile with someone with whom you've been estranged. Or a conversation where you tell someone you love them in a way that you're not sure that you've ever expressed to them, to let them know how much they mean to you. If you knew that you were going to die in a week, your life would change over the course of this week. The preacher here is asking a similar, but a very different question. He's saying if you laid it to heart that you were going to die someday, how would that change the rest of your life, whether you have a little or a long time left to live? Not just if I introduced you some concept that you didn't realize that you were going to die, probably you do know that you're going to die. All of us know theoretically that our days are numbered and then we must die someday. But if you laid it to heart. If that thought truly captivated your mind and your heart. How would that change the way you would otherwise ordinarily live? How would it redirect the course of life that you would naturally go upon if death were no consideration for your life? These are big questions, these are important questions, and as a church, we need to be a place where these questions are things that we are talking about. We want Harvest Community Church to be a place where we take these big questions seriously because they are of the utmost importance. These are very literally matters of life and death, and of eternal life and eternal death. The Bible instructs us we should be like the wise. The wise recognize that the things that appear to be good in this world are nothing but vanity. They're a mist, they're a breath. They are here today and they are gone tomorrow. They cannot provide enduring, satisfying joy. They can only distract us for a little bit of time, and we are left back with the utter dissatisfaction we have in life. No closer to finding the satisfaction and the ultimate good that we are looking for. Especially the celebration and the feasting and the laughter in the singing. These can distract us from the fact that we will die. Certainly, the preacher tells us elsewhere, there's a time and a season for everything. There is a time for celebration. There is a time for feasting and for laughter and for singing. The preacher doesn't want us to be miserable. But he's saying it is good, it is best for us to be considering our mortality. Again, these questions are more than simply trying to understand the fact that we will die. Once we lay it to heart that we will die, not just know about it, but lay it to heart. Well, that raises another set of questions. How then should we live? If we live with a view toward our eventual death, how then should we live now? Living Well This brings us to our second section. Number two, living well now in versus seven through 13. In the length of this section there are a number of proverbs, and some people just think these are just sort of random rapid fire proverbs, just considering one idea after another with no connection. But I think we can see some degree of connection and I characterized the connection in this way. The preacher is talking about our reactivity and specifically how we should prepare ourselves to react as the life and circumstances change around us. A reactivity? Then second, our proactivity, regardless of the circumstances, how should we proactively live in life? Then third, our counter activity, what should we press back against? How should we cut against the grain? How should we swim against the current of how we would otherwise ordinarily live, if we did not lay it to heart that we too must die? As our days are numbered and the clock is ticking. So, the preacher starts with reactivity, how should we react to the changing circumstances that we encounter in life? So he starts in verse seven saying, Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. Ecclesiastes 7:7, ESV Now, the preacher is not simply saying don't oppress people and don't take bribes. That's obvious. We know that, he knows that, he knows that we know that, he doesn't need to say that. What he's rather saying is when you encounter corruption and when you encounter oppression, you should be prepared for it. It shouldn't drive you to madness because you should know that it is coming. Now again, this doesn't mean that we're passive about it, that we ignore it, that we just dismiss it or make justifications for it. But the preacher doesn't want us to be vexed about it. Prepare your heart to understand that this is a dark, sinful, broken world. Then verse eight, he says this, Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8, ESV At the end of something is not more pleasurable than the beginning. Usually when we start something, you know, we just started our children's ministry on Wednesday night, this last week, and it was a tremendous amount of fun. Everyone was excited. Everything went really well. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm. It's more fun to start things than to end things, because then things mean that it's done or it failed, or it didn't work out the way you thought it would. The preacher says it's not more pleasurable, but it's better because when you come to the end of something, you don't have the same blind optimism as when you start. I think this children's ministry is going to revolutionize our children's discipleship. Children will be impacted for eternity, and I think that's true. But the preacher says, slow your roll, don't have too high of expectations. This is a difficult dark world. It's better for you to think about the end of things and to be patient with whatever comes then to be proud and arrogant about what you were able to achieve in your life. Prepare your reactions accordingly. In verse nine, Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.Ecclesiastes 7:9, ESV Why is this? Why does anger lodge in the heart of fools? Well, anger comes with unmet expectations. When you want something, you expect something, whether you say it out loud or you just expect it because, of course that's what you would expect, you don't need to say it. When those expectations are unmet, that's when anger suddenly rises, rushes to the surface. Well, the preacher saying the wives don't have these kinds of high expectations. The wise know that this world is broken, they know that this world is full of vanity. When you have low expectations, it's much more difficult to become angry because you weren't expecting better. Ten in verse 10, the preacher gives us one more reactivity statement, preparing yourselves for your reactions to the changing circumstances of life. He says Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.Ecclesiastes 7:10, ESV Now this comes up a lot, we think a lot about the good old days. The French have this remarkable statement, "Oh, the good old days when we were all so unhappy." You see we tend to wear rose colored glasses about the past. Oh, I was so happy then, things were so easy then, because we've forgotten about how difficult things were then, just as things are difficult now. It's a lie to have nostalgic views that sugarcoat everything that happened in the in the past. Evil is always with us; vanity is always with us under the sun. There's another reason that there's a problem with nostalgia. It's that pining for the past won't fix anything in the present. It is not from wisdom that you say this. Well, again, this is the preacher coaching us on a life live well, of how we should train our reactions to the changing circumstances of our world. In addition to this, the preacher then goes on to talk about our proactivity. Regardless of what happens, regardless of what you face, how should you proactively build your life? What he talks here is about the proactivity toward stability in life and particularly he's going to talk about financial stability in life. Pursuing financial stability is not sin. It is wisdom, it is wise stewardship. Now he's not talking about success where you spend every waking moment toiling after the next dollar. He said already that that is an appetite that will never satisfy you. If you're idol, if your life is spent chasing after money. He's not talking about that. Trying to get as rich as you can so that you can live with the pleasures that you want to live with. He's talking rather simply about stability. So, verse 11, Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. Ecclesiastes 7:11, ESV When we think about inheritance, I think a lot of times maybe you don't, but at least I do, I think a lot of times about the way that very often inheritance means just sort of a transfer of cash. Even when there are assets like land or other property, a lot of times those are liquidated so that it can, so that the inheritance can be more easily divided between people. But in the ancient world, there was one thing to transfer down from generation to generation, land. Land was the source, the foundation of what you would do to be able to work the land to make money. You couldn't manufacture more land, so either you had land to be able to work and to make your wealth or you didn't. So, gaining inheritance was a big deal in terms of a foundation for stability to be able to grow your wealth and to become stable in that society. The preacher says wisdom is good with an inheritance. It's an advantage to those who see the sun. It's an advantage in some way. What is the advantage? Well, he tells us in verse 12, For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. Ecclesiastes 7:12, ESV You need both he's saying, you need wisdom to live wisely and you need some kind of financial stability. Again, it's not sin to seek financial stability, its wisdom, it is wise stewardship. Again, he's not talking about seeking all the money you possibly can to make yourself wealthy. He's talking about stability. One of the ways we know this is where he goes next. He talks about counter activity. How should we counter, how should we cut against the grain, how should we swim against the current, against the corruption of our souls that makes us desperate for good in this world that isn't to be found? Especially that we too often find with money. We see that as the good sometimes that will make us truly happy. But in verse 13, the preacher reminds us that we've got to keep our eyes on what is true. Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?Ecclesiastes 7:13, ESV God is the one who has made creation and he originally made it straight, but then he made it crooked. Now what's he talking about here? Well, he's not talking about God despite us messing up creation so that we suffer. He's talking about the just judgment that has come in the form of a curse against creation because of human sin, because the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. We talked about this before, but I'll remind you the word that comes up so often in Ecclesiastes, the word vanity. That's a Hebrew word, Ecclesiastes written in Hebrew. Very early on before Christ came into the world the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek. The Greek word that they use to translate this word vanity is the word that Paul uses in Romans 8:20-21 to talk about the vanity of creation itself. That God has made crooked what was originally created straight. So Romans 8:20-21, For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.Romans 8:20-21, ESV Neither wisdom nor money nor anything else in this world can overcome the futility of the curse. So, the preacher says we need to live well by preparing our reactions to disappointment in this life. By proactively seeking not to advance ourselves to the stars financially, but stability to get through this life. Then always counteracting the impulse, the desire, the draw to try to put too much stock, too much hope, too much faith in this world. What the preacher is saying, part of living well, part of living with the end in mind with our impending death in view, is thinking in advance. That's part of it. Preparing your heart for your reactions in response to corruption and disappointment. To planning your finances proactively so that you know that the purchases you want today will not bring you the satisfaction that you are seeking. So, it leads you to rather prioritize savings and wise stewardship of the resources that God has entrusted to you. It means fighting the impulses and the desires and the passions and the lusts of your soul toward foolishness and evil by counteracting the lurches of your heart toward what will not truly satisfy. Live well, the preacher says, live as well as you can. But even so, he says, fix it in your mind that living well will not be your salvation. This will not be the life hack that gives you perfect satisfaction and joy. That's what stoicism promises, not Christianity. You cannot ultimately make straight what God has made crooked. We are all waiting for the time when Jesus Christ will return to accomplish that, to make a new heavens and Earth, to make straight forever what has become crooked. So the preacher is telling us to live then, well. Live from the first principle that everything in this world is vanity. He's not preaching simply self-denial, just live a really difficult life. He is rather telling us, deny yourself what is vanity in this life and exchange what can never be lost, what can never be corrupted for the eternal good that will come by the promise of God through faith. Trusting in God in Life and in Death The preacher underscores this point in verse 14, where he summarizes what he's getting at in this first half of the chapter. The preacher says this, In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. Ecclesiastes 7:14, ESV Now, here are a couple of more instances of that word good that appeared 11 times in these 14 verses. We didn't look specifically at all of them, but in verse 14, it says in the day of prosperity, literally in the day of good, be joyful or literally be in good, in good spirits, be joyful. In the day of adversity, here it's the opposite of good, in the day of evil, consider God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. God has made the day of good, and he has made what the preacher calls here the day of evil. It's important to note we've mentioned this a couple of times, evil in Hebrew does not always mean moral evil and it doesn't mean moral evil here. The preacher is not charging God with moral evil. Evil means calamity or disaster. It's the ultimate extent of what it means that there is vanity in this world, that everything has been subjected to futility and frustration. What the preacher is saying is that God has ordained both from the hand of God, both good and bad come. Why? So that man may not find out anything that will be after him. Now, I mentioned that much of this chapter is written to answer the question that was raised at the end of the last chapter. The first question of chapter 12, who knows what is good for man? There's a second question and that question was this in Ecclesiastes 6:12 for who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? Well, now we find an answer to that question, too. God is established both good and the disaster, the calamity of this world, so that no man may find out anything of what will be after him. We are utterly helpless. We are completely dependent upon God. This is where God has put us to lead us to trust in him. The wise live, according to two fundamental truths. Number one, the day of good is not permanent in this life. We don't chase it. We don't cling to it as it comes. We enjoy it as a gift from God. Recognizing that very soon life will change. Number two, that while we are not in control of what comes each day, God is. The wise live according to a principle not of control, of trying to live my best life now, but a principle of trust that God alone knows what is good. That's the big idea, God alone knows what is good. One of my favorite books is a book by C.S. Lewis. It's a book called Perelandra. It's maybe not one of his better known books, not like The Chronicles of Narnia, but it's a fictional book. It's in the space trilogy, it's the second book in the space trilogy. In Perelandra C.S. Lewis imagines what would it be like if God created a new humankind on another planet? So he creates the first man and the first woman on another planet. This is assuming that everything that's happened in the Bible, everything that has happened in our history has already happened. What would it be like if God started with a new human race that was related to ours? So as a part of this interrelation, God sends a Christian from this world, a man named Ransom, sends him to this other world, this planet named Perelandra. Perelandra is a planet that's covered with water, oceans everywhere. For them, the forbidden sin is not to eat from a particular tree, it's that in this world of water, they have to trust God for where they are going to sleep. They have to sleep on the vegetation that floats on the oceans. What they are forbidden from doing is to try to seek security and stability for their own by sleeping on the few set of fixed dry islands that are in that world. That's the constant temptation whether they should rebel against God in that way. So, this Christian ransom has to convince and talk and plead with the Eve of that planet, she's called The Green Lady, to tell her not to commit that sin. What's so interesting about this book is how her perfect innocence and absolute ignorance of anything related to sin or death often teaches Ransom. Then Ransom from his knowledge of sin and death is teaching The Green Lady. So, one of the best scenes in this is when The Green Lady, talking about all the swimming she does in her life says, "How can one wish any of those waves not to reach us, which the Lord is rolling towards us?" How would you not want, if the Lord is rolling it toward us, how would you not want one of those waves to reach us? Then Ransom, knowing the difficulties of his own life in this world Earth says, "Have you no fear that it will ever be hard to turn your heart from the thing you wanted to, the thing that the Lord sends? The Green Lady learning says, "I see, the wave you plunge into and be very swift and great. You may need all your force to swim in it." You mean, hey, the Lord might send me a good like that? She doesn't see it as anything that would harm her. She sees it as a good to be stretched in that way. But Ransom, something of a pessimist here says, "Yes or like a wave so swift and great that all your force was too little." The Green Lady says this, "But it often happens that way in swimming. Is not that part of the delight? That sometimes we are sent waves that are too much for us?" The only reason she can say this is because she knows from whose hand every wave comes, and she trusts that if the Lord sends that wave to her, even if it overwhelms her and her strength is not enough, that's part of the delight. Application The application from this passage, keeping the end in mind the eventual day of our death and trying to live well in light of that, trusting the Lord is this seize the day. Seize the day by specifically relinquishing control over your life. Many commentators in Ecclesiastes observed this theme of carpe diem, seize the day, throughout Ecclesiastes. There's always a twist. Usually, when people talk about seizing the day, they talk about living for today, seize the day, live for today. But this theme in Ecclesiastes means seize the day by refusing to live for today. So, the first way we see seize the day, is seize the day by living with sober recognition that you will die. Don't wait another day to contemplate your mortality. The fact that you must die. If you ever have a chance to look at art from the 16th and 17th centuries, especially portraits and paintings of people, you will frequently find a human skull painted into the painting. Sometimes it'll be on the desk of the person being painted. I mean, these are nobles or kings or scientists or philosophers, great men and women, and they're painted with a skull, either on their desk or on a shelf, or sometimes they're holding it in their hands. That was called a memento mori, Latin for a reminder of death. What they wanted to say is as significant as my life feels to me right now, as great as my accomplishments or achievements or position may be, I too will die. Well, we need a memento mori in our lives. We need a reminder of death now. I'm not saying you have to get a human skull and put it on your nightstand. That might be creepy when you wake up in the shadows of the night. But nevertheless, we need reminders that we will die. Indeed, this is part of the reason that we call this day the pinnacle of our week, the Lord's Day, when we are gathered together. Part of what we are gathered together is to remember that this world is not our home, this world is not all that there is, and then we too will die. Over the years, as we see beloved saints die and we bury them, and we were reminded again of our own death. Lord's day by Lord's Day, we gather together to remember the timeless one. Who entered into this world, who took on flesh so that he might suffer under all of the vanity and the frustration, the futility that we must undergo. That the Lord Jesus Christ might take upon himself our sin so that we might be saved. We gather week by week to remember him and to worship him. Seize the day. The Bible says that because of our sin, God's wrath is against us, and God's wrath is infinite and it is everlasting so that unless you make peace with God, the Bible says that you will suffer in hell forever, bearing the curse of God's infinite wrath for all eternity. Oh, sinner, don't live for today. Don't live for pleasure and feasting and laughter and mirth and partying and entertainment. Do you not know that one day your soul will be demanded of you? Do you not know that the righteous judge of all the Earth will surely demand that you give an account for how you have stewarded not just the wealth he is entrusted to you, but your life itself? God sent Christ, his son, the sinless one into this world. In your despair as you think about what am I going to do? Where will I run from the Lord? How will I escape his judgment? Christ the Savior calls to you. There is hope. He excuses nothing of the heinousness of your sin, He doesn't minimize it, He doesn't sweep it under the rug. Christ came into this world to take all of the wrath of God against you, upon himself. To drink to the dregs, the cup of God's wrath against you. He went there out of love and mercy for you. You don't have to despair, you don't have to be without hope, because Christ alone has satisfied every bit of God's wrath. To show you the great love of God for you. Will you flee from the calamity and disaster and evil of your sin to find refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you turn away from the vain laughter of this world and turn to the true and solid lasting joys and pleasures of the master? Seize the day. Turn from your sin. Trust in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that you would give us Jesus Christ. We pray that he would be the hope that every Lord's Day he the potentate of time, the one who set apart one day out of seven each week that we might gather in the pinnacle of our week to rejoice in the presence of the Lord. We pray that you would give us Christ, to know him, to love him, to embrace him as our eternal, everlasting good from this time forth and forevermore. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Just Talking Film Actor William Moseley joins JUST TALKING to discuss his latest film Saving Paradise. What attracted William to Saving Paradise? — it wasn't a pencil factory! –surprisingly Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men! If William looks familiar to you it's because you might know him as Peter Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia. Rumor has it there's a Chronicles of Narnia TV series on the way—will William be making a cameo appearance? You have to listen—he tells all on the show. Watch Saving Paradise on all streaming platforms, https://www.jaysilvermanproductions.com/saving-paradise. Strike a Chord Singer/ Songwriter Lili Joy a season 16 Team Blake Sheldon The VOICE contestant joins STRIKE A CHORD to bring the joy of her new single Dandelion. Since the last time Lili Joy was on the show there's been a few changes. The trademark blue wig is on hiatus for starters. BUT Lili Joy has been writing/creating new music during the pandemic—“if there's one good thing to come out of this… just time to like create….” It's been a time warp. Lili went to bed as a sixteen year old and woke up eighteen! Her new single Dandelion asks the existential questions about growing up. What should I do?” “What should I be?” ALSO, check out Lili Joy's cover of 1960 Patsy Cline's track Crazy—Lili, you're not crazy—we're CRAZY for YOU! Listen to Dandelion: https://soundcloud.com/user-686612984

In this episode, Joel sits down with Dave Whitcroft of KDMusic, who lives in Northern Ireland, to discuss his new song "The Grace", writing songs for the church, and their favorite Chronicles of Narnia book. 

As we approach the end of Season 4, David is joined on the show by Michael "Gomer" Gormley. Among other things, they discuss Ted Lasso, tea, and the Atonement. Also, find out what Gomer would do if he ever became the Pope!

As analogias de todas As Crônicas de Narnia de C. S. Lewis.

New York Times bestselling author, Patti Callahan, returns to the show to talk about her forthcoming book, "Once Upon A Wardrobe", which will be released on October 19th.

This week on Binge Boys, Lon and Hal take a moment to discuss their energy before jumping into what's new in the world of streaming! They discuss Paramount Plus betting it all on Star Trek, A new CBS reality show in remarkably poor taste, WB's Game of Thrones convention, and a salute to the great, recently passed Michael K. Williams. Then, the boys preview the recently released trailers for The Matrix Resurrections, Unidentified with Demi Lovato, and Midnight Mass. This week the boys binged: Worth (Netflix) Cinderella (Amazon Prime) Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal, and Greed (Netflix) Be sure to give us a review on iTunes (5 stars please)!  Follow Lon on Instagram & Twitter and sign up for his Streaming Newsletter! Follow Hal on Instagram & Twitter check out his Twitch Channel Theme song by Jason Kaye Produced By Travis Reaves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

IN THIS REPEAT: The book, A COMPASS FOR DEEP HEAVEN is discussed with the those involved in the project.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C.S. Lewis wrote a trilogy of books BEFORE his beloved Narnia series that many overlook. Whether you've read them or not, you'll want to listen to this podcast interview about a book that wants to help you better understand Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. Dr. Diana Glyer returns as a guest for the All About Jack podcast to talk about, A Compass for Deep Heaven, a title she edited with Julianne Johnson (who is also on the show). Additionally, Rachel M. Roller, who wrote one of the essays, is a guest as well. While the book began as a project for students at Azusa Pacific University, it matured to be a resource everyone can enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purchase A Compass for Deep Heaven Purchase Out of the Silent Planet Purchase Perelandra Purchase That Hideous Strength Visit the Website for A Compass for Deep Heaven Visit FB Page for A Compass for Deep Heaven Visit Diana Glyer's Personal Site Listen to Interview about The Company They Keep Listen to an Interview about Bandersnatch Listen to a discussion of the TOLKIEN movie (Diana was one of the guests) Knowing and Understanding C.S. Lewis YouTube CHANNEL  Listen to All About Jack on iTunes Purchase C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell Visit ScrewtapeCompanion.com Visit EssentialCSLewis.com Purchase The Misquotable C.S. Lewis  

Dan Ray continues to share the story of how his book 'The Story of the Cosmos,' came to be, and introduces the theme of the book: how things that appear very different, like astrophysics and fantasy, are in fact intimately connected.

A few months ago, John and Greta from The Tolkien Road podcast did a series of episodes on religion in Tolkien's Legendarium. David invited him onto the show to talk about those episodes and to encourage the Pints With Jack listeners to listen to them.

Author Rod Bennett joined David to talk about a presentation on he gave at a big Christian rock festival about C.S. Lewis' relationship to "Pulp Fiction".

David was invited onto "Ready to Stand" by host Cullen Herout to talk about Lewis' views on humility and pride.