

A Drink With a Friend
Tsh Oxenreider
Conversations about a life that values truth, goodness, and beauty above all else. Tsh Oxenreider, a writer, teacher, travel guide, and Catholic convert talks with friends about what it means to live in cooperation with what matters most. Pull up a chair and pour yourself a glass. thecommon.place
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 29, 2021 • 33min
Autumn-ish Art-ing
In the last episode, Seth and Tsh chatted about what makes the art we love fall-ish. They continue the chat to talk about the flip side of that coin: what makes the creating of that art fall-ish? Art is a HUGE table here — yes, there’s writing and music-making, but there’s also homemaking, neighborliness, and doing our work well as forms of artistic expression. What does it look like to do these things in the autumnal season? What does it look like to live sacramentally as the leaves drop?Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Try Hallow free for 30 daysTsh’s Rule of Life workshopThe All of It, by Jeannette HaienThe Way Down documentary series This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Oct 22, 2021 • 34min
Autumn-ish Artists
Stuff has a season, and that includes art. What makes music, movies, books, and visual art fall-ish? Seth and Tsh each share musicians, writers, and visual artists they’re digging as the temps dip and the colors change. Living sacramentally naturally includes living seasonally, so it makes sense to also shift what we read, watch, and listen to as the seasons change.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Black Keys’ Delta KreamTyphoon’s Sympathetic Magic and OfferingsDamien Rice’s My Favourite Faded FantasyAndrew Belle’s Nightshade and Black BearCloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony DoerrGerard Manley Hopkins’ poemsSherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan DoyleSherlock Holmes on audiobook, read by Stephen FryA Hidden Life, by Terrence MalickThe Modern Saints, by Grace Morbitzer This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Oct 15, 2021 • 51min
Talking to Our 20-Something Selves
If we knew then what we know now, would we be better off? Or is there something redeemable about the mistakes we all make when we’re younger? Seth and Tsh answer a listener question about any wisdom they might have for their slightly younger listeners — if they were in their twenties right now, this is what their forty-something selves would tell themselves.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!EmyoArtwork on InstagramThe new season of The Great British Bake-OffSave $10 on your first Storyworth order at storyworth.com/drink This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Oct 8, 2021 • 43min
Screen Fasts #2
Continuing the conversation about screens, what does it look like in our homes to live sacramentally in a culture immersed in the digital world? There’s no one easy answer. Seth and Tsh, both parents of teens and tweens, talk with Erin Loechner about what this looks like for her, as a mom to three younger children.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Erin Loechner’s website, Design for MankindErin’s recent essay, Who We FollowThe Tech-Wise Family, by Andy CrouchDigital Minimalism, by Cal NewportThe Sober Lush, by Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine LibaireEast of Eden’s introduction, by John SteinbeckMunk Debates This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Oct 1, 2021 • 43min
Screen Fasts #1
Seth and Tsh start a two-part conversation about what Seth is learning from a month-long digital detox (Tsh takes one every July, too, so she has her own experiences). What does it mean as writers and creators? Is it even possible to do good, profitable work and not be on social media? In short: what inconveniences are we willing to trade for a more beautiful life?Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Digital Minimalism and Deep Work, by Cal NewportThe Storm is Upon Us, by Mike RothschildAdorning the Dark and God of the Garden, by Andrew PetersonAxel Vervoordt: Wabi Inspirations, by Tatsuro Miki This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Sep 24, 2021 • 43min
Come to Italy With Us!
Buon venerdì! Seth and Tsh finally spill the beans… They’re leading a pilgrimage next summer to Italy, and EVERYONE is invited. Yep — that means you and your friends! They’d love to journey with you to a slice of land that’s not only known for its art and beauty, but it knows how to do beauty well. Tuscany is steeped in an artful way of life, and it’s one of their favorite places in the world. From the art to the architecture to the food to the farming to the people and the slower pace of life… Pilgrimage to Italy next summer to experience the via pulchritudinis.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Silence in the Age of Noise, by Erling KraggIt’s Not Fall, Folks on Spotify + Stockbridge candle from Laurel Mercantile This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Sep 17, 2021 • 46min
Matter Matters
When you grow up hearing that this world will one day fade away, it’s hard to reconcile why, then, there’s so much astounding beauty everywhere. Seth and Tsh unpack why our invisible souls aren’t the only things that matter. (Gnosticism is still around, folks.)Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s blackberriesAs Kingfishers Catch Fire, by Gerard Manley HopkinsGod’s Grandeur, by Gerard Manley Hopkins This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Sep 10, 2021 • 41min
Ordinary Beauty #2
In this episode, Seth and Tsh pull on the thread they started weaving earlier this year, practicing the art and habit of noticing the everyday beauty around them. (After all, it’s not optional if we want to live a sacramental life.) As always — as a listener, you’re invited to nod along and notice your own as well. Join in this time-tested practice!Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!No Fear Shakespeare: HamletHamlet on YouTube: David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew ScottStrange BrewMozart’s RequiemAndrew PetersonVivian Maier’s A Photographer FoundEva to Ave by Santa Clara DesignVirgin Mary, by Sr. Maria Innocentia HummelAmbience videos on YouTube This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Sep 3, 2021 • 47min
Steeped in Stories
The books we read in childhood have the power to transform us lifelong. So what do we do with the classics that are so good yet have those problematic bits because they’re products of their era? Do we avoid giving our kids these great works because they don’t reflect everything we believe in? Seth and Tsh are joined by fellow writer Mitali Perkins, who has passionate thoughts about why what we read in childhood matters. Her own immigrant story was steeped in stories.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Mitali Perkins: Twitter | Instagram | WebsiteMitali’s new book, Steeped in Stories: Bookshop | AmazonThe Chair on NetflixDigital Minimalism, by Cal NewportThe Book of Waking Up, by SethWhy Art Matters, by Alistair GordonA Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year (and Night), by Jane McMorland Hunter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe

Aug 27, 2021 • 50min
Listening to Our Childhoods
There’s a purity to our childhood perspectives, and if we’re quiet enough, we can still hear them whisper to us. What do our first experiences with beauty, goodness, and truth tell us about what’s really there? Seth helps Tsh unpack a process he’s recently experienced as he listened to his nine-year-old self.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. TolkienThe Philosophy of Tolkien, by Peter KreeftDrew Binsky on YouTubeThe Summer of Helga, by SethThe Suns We Orbit: Lessons Learned From Leaving the Church, by Seth This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecommon.place/subscribe