Social media isn't great for us, neither individually nor collectively. Know what's better? Substack. Not just for writers or creators — for readers and listeners, too! That means you. Writers Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider share why they dig this bright spot on the internet, and why you should, too. It's not perfect, but it’s doing a good thing.* Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider* Buy a round of drinks* Recommended reads* Merch* Go to Greece with Tsh!* Buy Seth’s new book!* Over the Field, by Hadden Turner* La Beef, by Anonymous* The Blue Scholar, Nate Marshall* Flak Photo, by Andy Adams* School of the Unconformed, by Ruth Gaskovski* A Pilgrim in Metropolis, by B. Christof Wachtel* Hearthstone Fables, by Kristin Haakenson 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

The hosts dive into the profound impact of AI on creativity, pondering its benefits and risks in the publishing world. They tackle the human nuances often missing in AI-generated news, raising crucial ethical concerns. A humorous look at our penchant for creating our own problems offers relatable insights into daily life. The desire for tangible experiences in a digital landscape takes center stage, highlighted by the storytelling prowess of musician Anna Tivel. They also reflect on literary wisdom from 'The Rule of Benedict' and its personal significance.

Why is adding beauty to our everyday lives worth the time and effort? Tsh Oxenreider talks with fellow writer Katy Carl about why the ongoing, noble pursuit of beauty (in its truest form) is essential for ALL of us. They also chat about grad school while raising kids, AI (of course), and other such sundry.* Guest: Katy Carl* Host: Tsh Oxenreider* Katy's new book, Fragile Objects* Tsh’s latest: First Light & Eventide* Buy a round of drinks* Recommended reads* Merch!* Mariane Moore’s poem, “I too dislike it”* Katy’s essay on AI* Middlemarch, by George Eliot* Reading Adventure playlist* Ask a question! Email adrinkwithafriend@gmail.com 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

We’re back for a new season of chatting over drinks! Writers Tsh Oxenreider and Seth Haines discuss the old idea of Ignatian examen and how it applies to us moderns. Also, why morning and evening bookends are a great idea.* Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider* Buy a round of drinks* Recommended reads* Merch!* Tsh’s latest: First Light & Eventide* Seth’s upcoming: The Deep-Down Things* How to pray the examen  * Scientifically proven benefits of gratitude* “The Want of Peace” by Wendell Berry* Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles 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

No need to panic; the podcast isn’t ending! It's simply time for a summer break. In this episode, Seth and Tsh chat about some of their favorite finales: the last lines of books, the final songs on an album, the ultimate episodes in a TV series. What makes a good ending? And what helps us forgive a story's less-than-ideal finale? Drink episodes will take a brief hiatus for some offline summer revelry, but never fear—episodes will pick back up again soon!* Seth’s Newsletter & Website* Tsh’s Newsletter & Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Our recommended reads* The Observationalist, by Seth* Pre-order Seth & Amber’s new book, The Deep Down Things* Pre-order Tsh’s journal, First Light & Eventide* Summer 2024: Go to Greece with Tsh!* Damien Rice’s album, My Favorite Faded Fantasy  * A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles * Typhoon, Offerings * A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean* Chuck (on Max and Amazon Prime)* Battlestar Galactica (on Peacock)* The Common Place, Vol. 5 Playlist  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

Stories (the good ones, anyway) tell us more than an entertaining tale—they tell us why the world is the way it is, as well as the way it should be. In this way, fiction is often more real than non-fiction. Everyone should read fiction, especially folks who want to know how the world works and how we're called to make it better. Seth & Tsh unpack why good stories do just that.* Seth’s Newsletter & Website* Tsh’s Newsletter & Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Our recommended reads* The Observationalist, by Seth* Pre-order Seth & Amber’s new book, The Deep Down Things* Pre-order Tsh’s journal, First Light & Eventide* The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway* Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë* Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr* The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett* It Can’t Happen Here, by Lewis Sinclair* The Awakening of Miss Prim, by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera* Free class: The Rise & Fall of the Roman Republic* Tsh’s essay on leaving Instagram, one year later 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

Is reading good books, watching good movies, and preferring good art a matter of subjective taste or objective reasoning? And if it’s objective, does that mean there’s a wrong preference for these things? Even a …moral wrong? Tsh talks with one of her favorite current thinkers and writers, Joshua Gibbs, about what it means to wisely know the difference between mediocre, common, and uncommon things, and why it matters beyond mere taste that we love that which lasts.* Love What Lasts, by Joshua Gibbs* Joshua’s annual summer conference* Joshua’s podcast, Proverbial* Joshua’s blog for CiRCE, The Cedar Room* Joshua’s articles on ChatGPT and terrible family films* Tsh’s Newsletter & Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Recommended reads* The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri (plus Dorothy Sayers’ notes)* The Once and Future King, by T.H. White 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

Both Seth and Tsh's oldest children are graduating high school this month, and just like the cliché, they can't believe how fast time has flown. Here are a few things they'd tell themselves when they were younger and in the early, exhausting stage of parenting younger children.* Seth: Newsletter | Website* Tsh: Newsletter | Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Our recommended reads* There’s ONE spot left for Ireland — will you claim it?* Ted Lasso* The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1, 2, 3) audiobook, narrated by Andy Serkis 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

Continuing with (what the numbers say is) this show’s most popular series, in this episode, Seth shares more of why he became Catholic. If he could sum up a major reason why he and Amber led their whole family into the Church, it's this: matter matters. (…And again, don't worry, it's not to pressure you — Tsh and Seth and just telling their stories.)* Seth: Newsletter | Website* Tsh: Newsletter | Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Our recommended reads* Why is Seth Catholic? Part 1* Why is Tsh Catholic? Parts 1 & 2* Seth’s essay in America Magazine* The Songlines, by Bruce Chatwin* Learning the Good Life, ed. by Jessica Hooten Wilson & Jacob Stratman 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

We've reached a fever pitch with smartphones, and more and more people aren't sure what to do anymore with these computers in our pockets. Is it time to throw them in a river and "downgrade" to older school flip phones? Some folks are. Autumn Kern is one such person, and in this episode, she chats with Tsh about why she'll never go back. She makes the case that smartphones are turning us into gnostics, they're depleting us of our virtue, and they're depriving us of true community, instead giving us dopamine hits of a faux version of connection. The trade-off? A more beautiful life!* Common House* Autumn Kern’s podcast and YouTube channel * Tsh: Newsletter | Website* Pick up a round of drinks* Recommended reads* Come to Ireland with Tsh!* Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport* The Machine Stops, by E.M. Forster* Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman* Marc Barnes on smartphones* The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis* Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy* When the Church Was Young, by Marcellino d’Ambrosio 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