Shows
The Daily EudemonThe Gnostic Believes His Paradise is a Historic Inevitability and His Movement Will Bring It AboutParts IV and V of an Analysis of Eric Voegelin's Six Gnostic Traits
Alienation is the Marxist bugbear. He sees alienation everywhere because it emanates from the economic substructure and works its way through the socio-political superstructure. Natural economic evolution would eliminate it, but the ruling classes are suppressing the evolution out of self-interest, so a revolution needs to bring about the evolution.
Show notes here2023-02-0615 minThe Daily EudemonThese Six Traits Make a Person a GnosticA Diagnostic of the Gnostic
Eric Voegelin was to modern gnosticism what Knute Rockne was to Notre Dame football. Rockne didn’t start the ND football program and Voegelin didn’t discover modern gnosticism, but they took their subjects to much higher levels.
The Swiss theologian, Hans urs Von Balthasar was supposedly the first person to draw parallels between the ancient gnostic heresy and modern theories in Prometheus (1937), which examined modern German thought. Albert Camus did a similar thing with modern French thought in The Rebel (1951).[1]
But Voegelin took the strain of thought much...2022-12-0514 minThe Daily EudemonIntroducing Eric VoegelinVoegelin was not charismatic. He was a “gentleman thinker.” He didn’t like small talk and valued his time. His personality didn’t attract a cult-like following. He didn’t establish a school or movement. But he’s important.
Show notes here2022-10-1020 min
The Daily EudemonHow to Kill that Feeling of ThankfulnessShow notes here. 2022-03-2109 min
The Daily EudemonDostoyevsky and Flannery O’Connor Reveal Something Ironic about Our Modern WorldEssences become meaningless in both a perfect and marred world.2021-05-0215 minThe Daily EudemonI Was There When Vegas Came BackI went to Las Vegas last week, spending four nights at the iconic Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. I spent Tuesday evening walking from the Nugget to the Strat, where I surveyed Vegas from 100 stories high for two hours.
The next morning, I covered five miles of downtown Las Vegas on foot, covering huge swaths of area.
On Thursday, I walked the length of the Strip, clocking in over 32,000 steps.
I took a two-hour bus tour and talked with the guide. I talked with Uber drivers. I chatted with all sorts of...2021-04-1915 min
The Daily EudemonAmerican Gardening LiteratureRiddle: What literary genre has historical roots that predate Socrates; features hundreds of American writers including Thoreau, Washington Irving, and Edith Wharton; and is a genre that you’ve probably never even heard of?
Answer: American gardening literature.
Don’t roll your eyes.
It’s a thing.
American gardening literature is a blend
In fact, American gardening literature is a big thing.
I have three volumes of gardening literature anthologies in my home library alone. Amazon has an entire department dedicated to “Gardening & Horticultural Essays.” Yes, just “essays.” It...2021-04-0416 minThe Daily EudemonDevil's Feast: An Ontological Meditation on the PassionBefore creation, nothing existed. There was no matter, no energy, no desires, no images. God then created everything. As a result, everything that is, is from Him, and things have existence only in so far as they partake in the Creator, the source of all being. But when Adam sinned, he detached the world from God. He, in other words, detached the world from being. Through Adam, man lunged away from Being itself and plunged towards its opposite: Nothingness.2021-03-2817 minThe Daily Eudemon20 Books to Make You a Smarter Catholic (or Person in General)Joseph Epstein is the best essayist alive. He’s urbane, funny, self-deprecating. He’s a fine stylist, and he’s remarkably well-read.
I remember William F. Buckley marveling at Epstein’s erudition and wondering how Epstein could have so many anecdotes and references at his disposal. Coming from a guy of Buckley’s learning, that’s high praise.
So it was with great interest that I turned to his essay, “Joseph Epstein’s Lifetime Reading Plan” (found in this book) and his attempt to respond to a recent college graduate’s question: “What books should I read?” This question...2021-03-1424 minThe Daily EudemonThe New Left and the Old OccultThe supernatural and paranormal. Postmodernism and critical theory. What could be the connection?2021-03-0118 minThe Daily EudemonHow to Take a Stance without Taking a Stance“Let me tell you about COVID, the COVID vaccine, and Bitcoin.”
If any person starts telling me about those things, I write them off.
All three of those things are new and huge. As a result, they occupy a weird spot in the world of opinion: Everyone needs to have a stance on them and nobody’s stance is worth anything.
It’s difficult to reconcile such a paradox, but here’s one way: Take your stance, be prepared to shift it, and keep it to yourself.
Beliefs and practices, yes. Dogmas and...2021-02-2122 minThe Daily EudemonBeyond Stoicism. Hesychasm: The largely-forgotten literary tradition that takes Stoicism to the next level
Stoicism is, at bottom, all about silencing the mind. Dispassion in the face of things that otherwise arouse passion. Resignation in the face of things that disappoint. Indifference in the face of things that raise emotions.
Mental silence. It’s a good trait, but human development didn’t stop with the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, and neither did the development of Stoicism.
Stoicism, you see, had a child.
And her name was “Hesychasm.”
Whereas Stoicism is all about quieting the mind, He...2021-02-1417 minThe Daily EudemonThree Lesser-Known Masters in the Zen TraditionChuang-Tzu was not a Zen practitioner. He lived about 750 years before Bodhidharma and was the second greatest philosopher of the Tao (after Lao-Tzu).
He was playful in his approach to the Tao, and it’s that playfulness that mixed with the seriousness of Buddhist metaphysics to create the Zen phenomenon.
Chuang-Tzu was one of the greatest proponents of the Chinese concept of wu-wei: non-doing, non-action. His was a wu-wei born of a profound humility that seeks nothing for oneself, not even self-improvement.
Chuang-Tzu’s profound humility emanates from his perception of the Tao, whic...2021-02-0722 minThe Daily EudemonDid We Just See a Red Swan?Reddit, GameStop, Stimulus, and Two Things to Do If You Want to Survive and Thrive in the Age of the Black Swan2021-01-3115 minThe Daily EudemonWhat is That Twitter Imp Up to?Is Jack Dorsey looking for a social media Bitcoin model? 2021-01-2714 minThe Daily EudemonThe Diocletian TestDo you have a totalitarian impulse? Take the Diocletian Test. 2021-01-2713 minThe Daily EudemonFive Dispositions that Can Make Your Life More Productive and HappyThe philosophy of focusing on a slow and loving existence in the quiet now2021-01-2729 minThe Daily EudemonCivil War, Restoration, Glorious RevolutionFirst Segment: Modern conservative thought.
Second Segment: English history, 1649 to 1688.
Third Segment: Ranters and Other Freak Religious Groups in the 17th Century.
Fourth Segment: Lightning Segments.2020-05-3126 minThe Daily EudemonHistory of the Catholic Church in 30 Minutes2,000 years of history into 30 (35?) minutes. 2020-05-2435 minThe Daily EudemonArthur, Alfred, and Other English Kings. Medium dot ComFirst Segment: Overview of English history until 1649.
Second Segment: Lightning Segments, with emphasis on Medium dot com.
Third Segment: Bars. The good and the bad. 2020-05-1727 minThe Daily EudemonCharles MacKay, Popular Delusions, Radical SpiritualistsFirst Segment: Brief riff off Charles MacKay's 1841 book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and deplatforming in American history.
Second Segment Lightning Segments.
Third Segment: The Reformation, with focus on the Radical Spiritualists.2020-05-1024 minThe Daily EudemonWicked Pope, Moors, Siege of ViennaThis is the last episode in our attempt to help you establish an historical perspective. The focus: 1492 and three events: Moors kicked out of Spain, Columbus and the new world, Alexander VI.
Lightning Segments: Bocephus, Casual Lawyers, J.D. Vance, Siege of Vienna.2020-05-0327 minThe Daily Eudemon1400s, Florence Banking, Heroes, States RightsFirst Segment: We continue our historical review. In this second-to-last episode, we look at the 1400s.
Second Segment: Florence and the invention of the Bill of Exchange.
Third Segment: Money, currency, gold, stimulus.
Fourth Segment: Is every person in the medical field a hero?
Fifth Segment: The Left is claiming states rights. It's a topsy-turvy time. 2020-04-2623 minThe Daily EudemonBonus Episode: The Merits of SnoringThis morning's essay. COVID, Napoleon, Snoring, and the Existential Gap. 2020-04-2004 minThe Daily EudemonThe 1300s: Black Death, 100 Years War, the RenaissanceFirst Segment: The 1300s. The rise of the Ottomans, The Avignon Papacy, the Great Papal Schism, the 100 Years War, the Black Death, the Renaissance.
Second Segment: How medieval wars were like NFL games.
Third Segment: Lightning Segments. 2020-04-1925 minThe Daily EudemonPeak Crusades, Peak Middle Ages, Peak MongolsMichigan's capricious COVID shut down order.
Literary short stories are like scripture: both are dense with significance.
The years 1190 to 1274: Crusades, Robin Hood, Mongols, Thomas Aquinas2020-04-1223 minThe Daily Eudemon1000 AD to 1200ish: Seljuk Turks, Crusades, St. Francis, ClunyFirst Segment: We cover the years 1000 to 1200. Ish. Revival of the Byzantine Empire, Saints Francis and Dominic, the Sunni Seljuk Turks, launching the Crusades.
Second Segment: Lightning Segments.
Third Segment: My Dad during the Korean War. He was kept stateside and didn't like it. He didn't like it because bored officers imposed all sorts of petty rules. Welcome to life in the United States today. Will it get worse after Corona? 2020-04-0531 minThe Daily EudemonThe Dark Ages. Charlemagne. Vikings.Today we cover 622 to 692. The Dark Ages. The Carolingian Empire. Vikings. Magyars. A dark and fascinating era of history.
Lightning Segments.
Pete Singer on Econtalk? WTH?
My theory about why public discourse has become so fragmented: We're wealthy. 2020-03-2933 minThe Daily EudemonThe Years 313-622: Edict of Milan to the Eve of IslamAlmost this entire episode talks about the years 313 AD to 622 AD. It covers Emperor Constantine's Edict of Milan that proclaimed religious toleration, thereby ending Christian persecution, the dissolution of the Roman Empire in the west, and the reign of Justinian in the 500s.
This episode concludes with a lengthy Lightning Segments. 2020-03-2232 minThe Daily EudemonMarcus Aurelius, Pax Romana, the Rise of ChristianityCoronavirus Ramblings. Do you like the social distancing? Then maybe you're an introvert. What you can (can't) do to protect yourself.
The years 27 BC to 313 AD. Octavius becomes emperor. Stoicism. The Roman Peace begins. . . Christianity begins. 2020-03-1526 minThe Daily EudemonThe Death of Socrates and the Rise of RomePart Three in our attempt to develop an historical sense: 399 BC to 27 BC. The Death of Socrates to the First Roman Emperor. Other topics touched upon: Alexander the Great and beautiful Persian women, Pyrrhic victories, Carthage.
Plus Lightning Segments: Scrivener and Hallow Apps, The Storm Before the Storm, contemporary situations that disrupt the post-modern binary-obsessed worldview. 2020-03-0831 minThe Daily EudemonAutobiographical RumblingsMy family moved to a new house today. The future looks bright (cue Timbuk 3), but right now, things are a bit crazy. I muse here about moving, coffee, the "F" words, and other matters. Short episode. Regular episodes resume next week. 2020-03-0114 minThe Daily EudemonGnostics v. Metaxy, GMO v. Non-GMO, Athens v. SpartaWhy does Gnosticism even matter? Because it provides a crucial key to understanding modern and postmodern political discourse. Gnosticism, in today's world, laces the Left, just as Christianity laces the Right.
Lightning Segments: Murder of Playboy model, GMO v. Non-GMO.
586-400 BC: The Babylonian Captivity, the start of the Roman Republic, Cyrus the Great, the Athenian Golden Age. 2020-02-2327 minThe Daily EudemonGnosticism: Fake Religion, Moses, Achilles/JoshuaWhat is the primary ingredient of Gnosticism? Plato: Inability to deal with the Metaxy.
Lightning Segments.
The year 1300 BC to 586 BC: Moses to the Babylonian Captivity. What was happening in Greece during this time? 2020-02-1632 minThe Daily EudemonDeveloping an Historical Perspective: Pre-Modern History1300 BC to 1492: Moses to Columbus. These ten years are designed to give you a rough grasp of western civilization from the beginning of recorded history to the dawn of the modern world. 1300 BC, 589 BC, 399 BC, 27 BC, 313 AD, 622, 1000, 1274, 1453, 1492.
Lightning Segments: Coronavirus and statistics, charity scam, John Simon.
John Simon and Yoko Ono.2020-02-0931 minThe Daily EudemonPsychological Disruptions and the Reformation and Alexander the GreatWhat happens when society undergoes huge psychological shifts? When Europe discovered in 1492 that the world contained another entire continent, the seeds of the Reformation were planted. When Alexander the Great conquered Asia, the seeds of Christianity and its evil twin, Gnosticism, were planted.
LIghtning Segments.Secondhand things.
The virtue of prudence: choosing among competing goods. How to behave. 2020-02-0234 minThe Daily EudemonThomas Sowell, Condorcet, Postmodernism, Francis de SalesSegment One: Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions describes two conflicting visions: constrained and unconstrained. William Godwin and the Marquis de Condorcet fall in the unconstrained. The Catholic Church and Postmodernism fall in the constrained?
Segment Two: Lightning Segments: Jane Austen's lost books, other.
Segment Three: St. Francis de Sales and "weave a little nosegay." Spray a lot of Axe. No matter how you do it, just keep out the smelly thoughts. 2020-01-2633 minThe Daily EudemonMacarius the Great, Silence, Russia, HollywoodAnother saint of the desert: St. Macarius.
Why all the saint days in January? It's cold. The desert is hot.
But January is a lot like the desert. Desolate. Forbidding . . . Silent.
Russia has a long history of hermits. "Mystics of the Northern Forests."
Russia has a long, weird religious history in general. I flush it out here in summary form.
Lightning Segments
Music for Lighting Segments: Sky Hawk Beach by Blue Wave Theory. Used pursuant to the Attribution Sha...2020-01-1939 minThe Daily EudemonBattle in the Desert, Anthony the Great, Limits on Reason and LogicSegment One: Feast Day of St. Anthony is coming up. Everything you need to know about the desert monastic movement of the 4th century.
Segment Two: Some quotes from St. Anthony and their application to today's world.
Segment Three: Lightning Segments.
Segment Four: Logic and reason tell us God and the World don't exist. What do you do with that information? 2020-01-1244 minThe Daily EudemonLanguage and Control: SJWs, Deplorables, ViolenceShow Notes for This Episode's First Segment:
I was reading David Mikics biography of Jacque Derrida. He points out that the first large urban civilizations—like Babylon and Egypt—“used writing as an elite mechanism for social control. The secrets of the realm remained in the hands of the few who had knowledge of script.”
Did universal literacy eliminate this? Maybe in part. But it’s still there.
Have you ever considered proper grammar? All those rules? I’m something of a grammar-phobe, albeit an imperfect one. I’m the kind of bastard that corrects m...2020-01-0535 minThe Daily EudemonLibertarianism and PornDiscussion about how a libertarian can support a porn ban. . . and the real reason why a libertarian may not support a porn ban.
Lightning Segments; The existential threat hangover, the Symbolic World's interview with Sevilla King, Game of Thrones.2019-12-2429 minThe Daily EudemonZeno and Zen, Aquinas, RealismPhilosophy 101: Logic and reason always fall short. There is an act of faith at the beginning of every logical endeavor . . . and it’s an act of faith that can’t be reasoned to. It’s why Zen is wrapped in absurdity and possibly why Thomas Aquinas grew silent at the of his life.
Lightning Segments: Southwest Michigan, Time Restricted Eating, Gavin McInnes2019-12-1529 minThe Daily EudemonHillsdale College, Stoner Talk, Existentialism, Rogan/TaibbiI lived near Hillsdale for 50 years but never stepped foot on its campus. Now that I have, I'm kicking myself for not doing so much sooner.
I back off my philosophy advice from the previous episode. If you're going to pursue philosophy, you need to believe there's truth. If you don't believe that, don't bother. Unfortunately, I suspect most colleges and universities have philosophy departments filled with PhDs who don't believe in truth.
Lightning Segments: Rogan with Matt Taibbi, winter weight gain, other.
Existentialism v. Essence-ism. Two aborted books . . . one living insight. I bei...2019-12-0832 minThe Daily EudemonThe Monk GardensAdvice for a college freshman who is interested in philosophy.
Lightning Segments: Chambermaids, smiling, health care.
Wasting time and existence.2019-11-2439 minThe Daily EudemonLightning SegmentsNothing but Lightning Segments.
Unusual episode today. Discussion topics veer all over the place: vodka-tonics; Portland, Maine; cobblestone streets; Starblush Ale; comedy nights; Nassim Taleb; Newport, Rhode Island.
All of it (after the introduction) in the Lightning Segment format.2019-11-1741 minThe Daily EudemonCopts, Kardashians, and KanyesKim Kardashian was recently baptized into the Armenian Oriental Church. So, she's a Copt. Actually, no. But she's in full communion with the Copts. I flush it out--Copts, Chalcedon, Kardashians, Kanye.
Extended Lightning Segments. Boston, Evander Holyfield's mama, Cure de Ars, more. 2019-11-0336 minThe Daily EudemonHalloweenWhy do I celebrate Halloween? Because it celebrates evil, and we need more evil in this post-modern society. I explain.
Monsters from the Id and zombies.
Lightning Segments.
Shapeshifting: A metaphysical intuition that change is not good? 2019-10-2735 minThe Daily EudemonNatureWhat does the western tradition mean when it refers to "nature"? A lot of current thinkers are ignorant on the subject.
Nature and Post-Modern Leftism.
Lightning Segments.
Nature and the Death of Stalin.2019-10-2035 minThe Daily EudemonStillnessStillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday. Leisure, The Basis of Culture, Joseph Pieper.
Why stillness? More precisely: Why can’t we pursue stillness with a goal in mind?
Lightning Segments: pink gin, hangover thoughts, Einstein the womanizer, People Magazine.2019-10-1328 minThe Daily EudemonG.K. Chesterton and True Religion, LSD and the EucharistG.K. Chesterton says true religion makes abstraction tangible. I flush it out here.
Lightning Segments: Flannery O'Connor, Autumn and Sports, Blank dot Org, Medallion Bailout, Thomas Hoover
Michael Pollan "How to Change Your Mind." Beyond Science: LSD, Physics, and the Eucharist2019-10-0632 minThe Daily EudemonThe Hiatus, LSD, Zen, Mind Control, Lightning SegmentsI missed last week due to my mother's unexpected death. I discuss here a bit of her life, but not for sentimental reasons. It's a snapshot of a slice of American history.
LSD and Zen: I explore a bit more the limits of rationality and its relationship to Zen and LSD.
LSD and Mind Control: I discuss a fascinating topic that is the subject of a new book: Poisoner in Chief.
Lightning Segments: The "One Thing" file.2019-09-2938 minThe Daily EudemonDan Aykroyd, Podcasts and John Senior, LSD and Shifting ConsciousnessDan Aykroyd was on The Joe Rogan Show.
Vodka, aliens, spiritualism.
John Senior from the University of Kansas was ahead of his time, as seen in the podcast universe today.
Lightning Segments.
Rogan on LSD. Me on thankfulness. 2019-09-1541 minThe Daily EudemonNietzsche and the Two Great NarcoticsNietzsche and Slave Morality
Nietzsche and Detachment
Nietzsche and Zen
Lightning Segments
White Privilege II2019-09-0835 minThe Daily EudemonWhite PrivilegeProponents of the concept of “white privilege” are exhausting. I explore the reasons.
Lightning Segments: Bill Kauffman, chamber maids, Skittles, other.
Marxism: Thanos wannabes . . . and other problems with its rejuvenation among today’s youth.2019-09-0131 minThe Daily EudemonAuthenticity and Young PeopleJust two segments this week:
The importance of being authentic without trying to be authentic . . . and the unfortunate fraud in young people.
Lightning Segments: Mackinac Island, rum, weddings, and the genital clamp.2019-08-2530 minThe Daily EudemonSmall Towns and Importance of Place, Francis BaconDo you have to live in NYC or LA to make it? Nope, not any more. And it's a good idea to be rooted.
Lightning Segments: Epstein, more GKC, Prison Unions, Business Insider says the Catholic Church is Right about Contraception
Francis Bacon: Jacque Derrida and Francis Bacon and the Catholic Church2019-08-1134 minThe Daily EudemonThe World of Total Work G.K. Chesterton: His cause of canonization has been rejected. I understand why, but the charge of anti-semitism is ridiculous. And unnecessary to raise. Maybe the bishop was virtue signalling.
Lighting Segments: The notecard, beer markets, Europe’s death wish, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Total Work: Work 24/7 and you’ll never work another day in your life. Well, maybe. I flush it out here.
Music for Lighting Segments: Sky Hawk Beach by Blue Wave Theory. Used pursuant to the Attribution Share-Alike Licens...2019-08-0439 minThe Daily EudemonThe Hour Segments:
Trump and Baltimore.
CBGBs.
Lightning Segments.
The Hour. One hour of “prayer” (term used loosely) in the morning. It really works, and you’ll have plenty of time.
Music for Lighting Segments: Sky Hawk Beach by Blue Wave Theory. Used pursuant to the Attribution Share-Alike License 4.0. 2019-07-2837 minThe Daily EudemonRetreat to GethsemaniI took a spiritual retreat to Gethsemani, the Trappist monastery, home of Thomas Merton. 2019-07-1425 minThe Daily EudemonDetachmentDetachment: The first rule of the spiritual life.
Poverty, chastity, obedience: three facets of detachment. Its connection to Zen. How play let's us live an active life in the detached mode. 2019-07-1430 minThe Daily EudemonMemorial Day Weekend, Drinking in Mexico, Catholic Church and Divine Corruption Memorial Day Weekend: A tradition has come to a close: I’m not bacheloring it this holiday weekend. Please indulge this autobiographical note, with commentary on foreign intervention.
Lightning Segments. My oldest sons have been getting drunk in Mexico. I can (and in this segment do) relate.
The Crock Pot Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is like a crock pot: it can hold putrid gruel or cuisine, but it always holds its form.
Music attribution
Theme song: Skinnin’ Lynyrd by Greg Scheske, a bespo...2019-05-2531 minThe Daily EudemonMental Exercise, Predictive Genetics, Hook-Up Software at Ivy Mental Exercising: Everyone seems to agree: It’s crucial we exercise mentally, normally in the form of meditation. Meditation, even the most secular, focuses on taking yourself out of time and space. Why? Time and space are the realm of the bodily. By practicing meditation, by trying to escape time and space, is there an admission that there is, indeed, a spiritual?
Predictive Genetics: The genetics revolution is here. It’s scary, scary stuff, and the Chinese don’t find it scary at all. The curse of Communism (which compelled Mao to wipe out thousand...2019-05-1930 minThe Daily EudemonBrian Sims and Nuts on Both Sides, Fleeing California, E.F. Schumacher Brian Sims: Yup, he’s a hateful nut. Yup, the Right has hateful nuts too. The thing is, the Right doesn’t have them in positions of influence or power. Moreover, the postmodernist Left is, from its core beliefs, extremist and hateful.
Fleeing California: Dot com millionaires are fleeing California right before they realize their taxable income from their start-ups. Pretty funny . . . and a snapshot why beautiful California will wreck itself.
Lightning Segments: Toilet wine, transgender sports leagues, two Spotify recommendations, how to drink like an adult, Michigan in May, an...2019-05-1226 minThe Daily EudemonNoise, Max Picard, George Gissing, Cardinal Sarah, Caleb Stegall Noise. Our culture is too tolerant when it comes to noise. I explore it.
Noise Part II: Silence and Russell Kirk, Max Picard, and Cardinal Sarah. The Eighth Capital Sin.
LIghtning Segments: I address some listener feedback, treating hangovers, movie critic John Senior.
The New Pantagruel: My article, The Eighth Capital Sin, appeared in the defunct magazine New Pantagruel with Caleb Stegall. I discuss it here. 2019-05-0427 minThe Daily EudemonLGBTs in the Work Force, Easter, and College Loan Forgiveness LGBT at Work: The Supreme Court has taken three LGBT discrimination cases. It’s evidence that Derrida has won: text with no context can be twisted however you want.
Easter: The Resurrection is an historical fact. Shocking claim? Hear me out. Also: Discussion about the Shroud of Turin.
Lightning Segments: Low calorie gin and tonics, Game of Porns, Staring at a Naked Woman, Staring down NOW at the Masters (Note: I don’t say “hundreds of thousands” when referring to the men’s counter-protest at the Masters . . . I say “hundreds or tho...2019-04-2734 minThe Daily EudemonTiger Woods, Seven Nation Army of Actuaries, Twitter's Narrative, Grand Narratives and Post-Modernism Tiger Woods: Congratulations to Tiger and congratulations to golf.
Tiger and the Press: Tiger the Philanderer . . . covered up by the press. A small example of a much bigger problem: the press can’t be trusted.
Insurance Rates: Your credit history has nothing to do with your driving habits? Highly unlikely, the assertion of the leftist Arab congresswoman from Detroit’s assertion to the contrary.
Twitter’s Post-Modernist Narrative: Twitter has a narrative. If your narrative disagrees with theirs, you get banned. But they assure us: they’r...2019-04-2034 minThe Daily EudemonThe Healthy-Fat Binary in Postmodernism and Time Dumplin’ Take 2: I revisit that horrible Netflix movie, Dumplin’. It turns out, the movie is, indeed, an attack on healthism and a celebration of fatness. It’s an attempt to invert the binary. Joe Rogan helps explain it.
Time: Why is everyone so stressed for time? It’s because we’re so wealthy, there’s a ton of cool stuff to do.
Lightning Segments: Spotify music recommendations, big player on Rodeo Drive, moronic sports bars, gay admissions at the University of Michigan.
Music attribution
Theme son...2019-04-1534 minThe Daily EudemonCalifornia LA, Santa Monica, Malibu, Ventura, San Simeon, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Soledad, Altadena, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Anaheim: The entire podcast episode is dedicated to California. Well, the entire podcast, minus a few detours. 2019-04-0734 minThe Daily EudemonThanks a Thousand, Boris at the Grocery Store, The Freakin' Poor, Dogs Thanks a Thousand: A.J. Jacob's’ new book about tracking down the people who make his cup of morning coffee.
Boris at the Grocery Store: A Houston grocery store blew Boris Yeltsin away. I can relate.
Lightning Segments: New drinking terms, starting mindfulness now, draining interactions.
The Freakin’ Poor: Why do we treat the poor like they have no moral agency?
Dogs: Strict liability for dog owners? I think so, even though I know it’s a quixotic crusade. 2019-04-0427 minThe Daily EudemonPostmodernism and a Soviet Philosopher, Postmodernism and Brahman, Stylites Postmodernism: That’s a pretty big umbrella of thought. Please excuse my broad—sloppy—use of the term.
Standpoint Epistemology: You know why whites can’t think like blacks, and men like women, or cis like queers? Because a Soviet philosopher told them it’s so.
Act = Brahman: Think hard about the verb “act.” It might be a word that Derrida himself couldn’t deconstruct. I’m not sure it’s defined by reference to something else. It might stand on its own, like the Hindu/Buddhist Brahman. I flush it out here. ...2019-03-2431 minThe Daily EudemonArtificial Intelligence, Famine, Tyranny, Bill Burr, Cool Dudes
Artificial Intelligence: What it is. How it is a threat . . . or how it might be a threat.
Famine and Tyranny: Courtesy of the State. Free markets merely avoid them.
Lightning Segments: Bill Burr, Going for the Snatch, Other
Cool Dudes: Cool dudes in high school stay cool, I think.
Music attribution
Theme song: Skinnin’ Lynyrd by Greg Scheske, a bespoke expert. Email him here: eidolonaudio@gmail.com
Background music for Lightning Segments is courtes...2019-03-2229 minThe Daily EudemonZen Lent, Tariffs, Adult Video News Awards Drinking and Lent: Why would I give up booze for Lent? It’s practically a sacramental.
Zen Lent: Do you hope to make spiritual progress during Lent? Then you won’t. Your focus is wrong because you have a focus.
Tariffs: They’re a bad thing. It’s Econ 101. I explain why here.
Lightning Segments: Two funny stories, Bill Burr and the Catholic Church, Joe Rogen and the Catholic Church
David Foster Wallace: My introduction to this brilliant essayist2019-03-0932 minThe Daily EudemonMiami, a'Kempis, Miami Beach The Imitation of Christ. What do I think of his classic? It’s a, you know, classic. I think it hits the psychology of devotion well . . . at least as far as 15th century standards go. It was, however, the product of 200 years of bad philosophy known as “nominalism.” I flush it out here.
Miami. I went to the Capital of Latin America for a bachelor party. I was blown away. The bulk of the podcast explains why. 2019-03-0229 minThe Daily EudemonHistory of the Old Testament in 8 Minutes, Gin and Tonics, Three Ho-Hum Derrida Conclusions
The Old Testament. I summarize the OT in about eight minutes. The segment is closer to 11, but I throw in a couple of decidedly un-OT anecdotes.
Words. A short look at a few unusual words.
Lightning Segments. The ideal gin and tonic, The Adventures of Beer Man, Ira Gershwin, More.
Radical Derrida? I know Derrida was radical, but I’m not sure three of his main conclusions—words don’t carry ultimate meaning, no text outside the text, and condemnation of binaries—are all that startling. I explain why, pulling from my personal...2019-02-1628 minThe Daily EudemonSex in the Stall, Deconstructionism on Display, Gay Gnostics, Joseph Epstein
Sex in the Stall. A couple allegedly has sex in the bathroom stall at a NFL games. That’s unbelievably gross. Deconstructionism is partly to blame. The fact that these people are absolute pigs doesn’t help, but deconstructionism feeds them. I explain how.
Communist Gnosticism. Marx, Lenin, and hatred for religion = shuttering of Greek Orthodox Churches in the early USSR. Homosexuality, deconstructionism, and hatred for truth = shuttering of Roman Catholic Churches in contemporary USA?
Deconstructionism. Summarized succinctly. Words carry no meaning. Therefore, anything anybody purports to know is...2019-02-0831 minThe Daily EudemonIntroverts, Deconstructionists, and Gnostics Introverts. An introvert is not a shy person. It’s someone who draws energy from quiet. He has a finite supply of energy for interaction . . . it drains him. A huge revelation for this podcaster. Hat tip to The Matt Walsh Show.
Deconstructionists. Derrida’s attack on binaries was an overreaction to Descartes’ erroneous dualism that denied the sacramental nature of reality. That, anyway, is my theory.
Gnostic Gays: Deconstructionism + Gnosticism = LGBTQ movement. 2019-01-2628 minThe Daily EudemonMass Touching, Austen, Marshall McLuhan, Gnosticism
Touching During Mass. Enough already. Enough with shaking hands, too, at least during the cold and flu season. That custom has ran its course.
Today’s Pride and Prejudice Parlor Scenes. Family members lounging around the living room, each with individual screens in their hands. The end of the family? Or a return of the family to 1800 leisurely norms?
Marshall McLuhan. This Catholic convert would probably take major issue with my conclusions in the previous segment. I introduce the thought of this man who used to be a ho...2019-01-2033 minThe Daily EudemonNock, Deconstructing the Family, MindfulnessThe Mind and Art of Albert Jay Nock. Great book/introduction into the life and thought of the godfather of American libertarianism. The fact that Crunden wrote this as an undergrad? Blows me away.
Deconstructionism and the Family. Why are leftists pro-environment and pro-gay marriage? There’s a connection, though it’s murky and a bit confusing. I try to flush it out here.
Lightning Segments. Dieting, Smear the Queer, More.
Mindfulness. Breaking the mind in two. Proof of the soul? One piece of handy...2019-01-1231 minThe Daily EudemonPope Francis and Brideshead Revisited, Structuralism and Libertinism, Buddhist Emptiness, Hungover,
Haters at Mass. Pope Francis’ suggestion that hateful Catholics stay away from Mass makes sense, but there are three potential problems with it: When is a person good enough to go to Mass? Hasn’t he been a bit, ahem, spiteful in his attacks on his political foes? Maybe Mass is keeping the hateful from becoming the murderous.
Structuralism. The foundations of post-modernism. My first podcast segment on this topic. Structuralists: words form the society; the society tells you how to think; thoughts don’t come from inside of us. Deconstructionists: Okay, but you guys, the stru...2019-01-0524 minThe Daily EudemonAutobiographical Holiday RuminationsLatest episode of TWE: Alternate Feed2018-12-3118 minThe Daily EudemonPagan Practices in Christianity, The Jesus Prayer, Autobiographical Tao Next Week: I plan on producing a podcast next week, over the holidays, but it’ll probably be unusual fare.
Sol Invictus. No, Christmas predates Sol Invictus, but the question of pagan practices’ influence on Christian practices is interesting. I don’t look at the history much, but rather, focus on the premonition of truth that I think was at work.
The Jesus Prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Just twelve words. The path to praying without ceasing (Thessalonians 5)?
Econtalk and Secular Groping. The more we advance, the m...2018-12-2230 minThe Daily EudemonEpisode 22Post-Modernism, Galileo and Mead and Kinsey and Other Frauds, Arthur Koestler2018-12-1626 minThe Daily EudemonOnanism, Off-Color Humor, Seventh Century, Taoist AnarchyLatest episode of TWE: Old Feed2018-12-0726 minThe Daily EudemonBlack Friday, Puritanizing Marijuana, Poustinia, Fools for Christ11.25.2018 Episode2018-11-2926 minThe Daily EudemonLas Vegas and MarijLatest episode of TWE: Old Feed2018-11-2225 minThe Daily EudemonThe Year 650, Thanksgiving, and the Playful TaoLatest episode of TWE: Old Feed2018-11-1225 minThe Daily EudemonTaoism, Europe in 486, Mo-Fo, Russell KirkTaoism: The laid back outlook of Lao-Tse and Chuang-Tzu. Lisieux-like. A very short introduction.
Bogus Historical Atlas: A run-down of a bogus map of Europe circa 486. I wish I could find my copy of that book. It might have been a Rand McNally historical atlas. No matter. None of those “kingdoms” considered themselves kingdoms in 486. Burgundy, Franks, Visigoths: They were all controlled by barbarian generals who considered themselves part of the Roman Empire.
Lightning Segments: Henri Pirenne (introductory lecture), a lost weekend, funny old man stories. (Note: I reference Charles Jackson’s Lost Weekend. but I referred to Charles “Bukowski” by acciden...2018-11-0527 minThe Daily EudemonHalloween, Short History of Early Zen, the Fall of the Empire and BLM, RiggenbachLatest episode of TWE2018-10-2928 minThe Daily EudemonZen, the "Fall" of Rome, Small Talk, Drinking with Commies, MoreLatest episode of TWE2018-10-2128 minThe Daily EudemonEpisode 10.14.2018Introductions to Zen and the Middle Ages.2018-10-1422 minThe Daily EudemonEarly Rise of the Centralized State, Catholic Libertarian?, Primary Obligations 10.7.2018The 24-Hours-in-a-Day Fallacy and Primary Obligations. Is "Catholic Libertarian" an oxymoron? Early Rise of the Centralized State. Symeon the New Theologian. Drunks on Screen. Show Notes http://thedailyeudemon.com/?p=471922018-10-0625 minThe Daily EudemonThe Weekly Eudemon: September 30, 2018Induction, Totalitarianism, Saint Week2018-09-3023 minThe Daily EudemonAutumn, The Virgin Eye, Magic, and MoreThis episode is the revamped TWE. Enjoy.2018-09-2320 minThe Daily EudemonThe Weather Man, Knowledge, and the USSRLatest episode of The Weekly Eudemon2018-09-1622 minThe Daily EudemonBoston, Dostoyevsky, Orwell, NFLLatest episode of The Weekly Eudemon
Show Notes: http://thedailyeudemon.com/?p=469992018-09-0917 minThe Daily EudemonLabor Day Early Release Edition. Chicago School of Economics, Burners, New Marian Iconoclast, Fellow TravelerSegments on medievalist Rachel Fulton Brown, spectrum of libertarianism, Burning Man, and the homosexual subculture at the Catholic Church2018-08-2921 minThe Daily EudemonClerical Crisis, Leaving the Church, and Other Funny ThingsLeaving the Church?2018-08-2620 minThe Daily EudemonMafia Techniques, Celibacy, and Rick NelsonCommentary from The Daily Eudemon, August 13-18, 20182018-08-1919 minThe Daily EudemonSeinfeld, Hayek, Mao, and Other Fun GuysCommentary on TDE posts from the first full week of August.2018-08-1221 minThe Daily EudemonThe Weekly EudemonCommentary from the past week’s Daily Eudemon posts. Test edition2018-08-0512 min