Words and the languages they uphold are among humanity's greatest creations. They allow communication, experimentation and profound self-expression. But how do we adapt to terms whose meaning shifts with different cultures and eras? This week, we look at "salty" and "savage" as prominent words in the online rhetoric/lexicon. How do their 21st century versions reflect their original linguistic roots? What do they reveal about contemporary culture and how we think?
Episode 181: Gratitude in 2017
For countless individuals, 2017 was a year characterized by stress, confusion, trauma and exhaustion. Political tensions persist and expand as pop culture also attempts to cope with considerable changes and disparate ideas about our society and how it should function. In such a difficult year, it's worth exploring gratitude as a personal topic. How can gratitude help transform hardships into opportunities for learning and growth? Is it audacious to pursue gratitude when so many continue to struggle and suffer?
Episode 180: Ecosystems of Information
“This president, like President Obama, will be out of office some day...But this information ecosystem, this is going to be around for the rest of our lives. And I find that more alarming than any particular policy or politician or anything that’s happening right now.”
With an increasingly connected and technologically-developed world, we might expect humanity to share and spread information similarly. But we do not all receive, express or process the same information as our peers. What's more, many of us disregard information that does not agree with our previously held standards and beliefs. This week, we explore a concept described by Ira Glass at Third Coast 2017 as "information ecosystems". How does an ecosystem as an analogy help us to conceptualize the flow of information and ideas? How can we expand and intermingle ecosystems which operate independently of one another? How can we move beyond our own information ecosystems to experience more nuanced perspectives?
Episode 179: Animals, Time and Impulsivity
One of humanity's key markings, be it real or simply pursued, is our distance from those in the animal kingdom. We marvel at our structures, technologies and behaviors as signs of a profound difference. But what do we share with animals? What could we learn from them? This week, Leland Holcomb joins us to explore how our knowledge of time as a concept affects our impulsivity and correlates or differentiates us from animals. Where does being impulsive serve or hinder our ultimate goals? How does impulsivity aid animals in their joy, survival and perception?
Episode 178: Why I Hate Interviews and Love Conversations
Language and speech present a myriad of communication options, styles and preferences between and among people. Some enjoy small talk, others feel comfortable in monologue or staccato volleys of ideas and information. Looking at two broad categories, conversation and interview are terms typically used to describe podcasts and adjacent media. This week, we're joined by Eric Francis to speak on the values and ideas associated with theses terms. Where might conversation and interview approaches fit specifically? What might each command that the other lacks? How do "conversational" and "interview" cultures or attitudes differ from one another?
