The Troubadour Podcast

Send us a textWhy Jordan Peterson is dangerous. On this fourth installment of my grapplings with Peterson I explore Peterson's rule "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today." For the first time I express some serious disagreements with Peterson, though I definitely agree with much of his underlying reasoning for the rule. After giving an overview of his method for expressing the underlying reasoning for this rule, I dive into where we diverge. I'll give you a hint: It has to do with the character Raskolnikov in the book Crime and Punishment. The poem I chose was "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, as I believe there is much mending to do with Peterson's view here.

In this podcast, Sean Doherty and the host discuss the poem 'Business is Business' by Berton Braley, questioning whether big businesses truly care about the little man. They delve into contrasting perspectives on business, exploring the ruthless nature of capitalism and the complexities of tech giants like Google and Facebook. The conversation also touches on the positive impact of businesses on wildlife conservation and the influence of tech giants on media democratization.

Send us a textRather than bringing us together, the case of Alfie Evans, the 23 month old boy who was taken off life support in the UK and died on Saturday April 28th, has further polarized our views in the west. This has been a devastating journey for both Tom and Kate, Alfie's parents. It has "shattered their family." It has devastated all of the #alfiesarmy. Death is an instructor. We must face it courageously and with heartfelt desire to exit the chaos of such a tragedy, better, stronger, more capable. No one wants a child to die. In life, children, adults, innocents do die. What we do about it, how we experience it, and how we express our grief defines us as humans.

Send us a textPoetry refines your view of the world, and sometimes gives you fun arguments to help you with the ladies. Only a poet can make a flea erotic.

Send us a textA reading and discussion of the poem "Death, be not proud" By John Donne Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Send us a text"The Westerner" by Badger Clark doesn't seem at first very spiritual, but upon consideration like many poems about building your own world the poem rests on many spiritual ideas.Ayn Rand once said in a TV Interview she did that she is not afraid of death because "it is not I who will die, but the world that will end."This I think has a lot to do with her unique form of philosophy. In her younger years she was enamored with Nietzsche and his idea that God is Dead. @jordanbpeterson has been reviving this idea, but with a unique view on what Nietzsche might have meant.Today we will explore this poem The Westerner as well as some of the ideas inherent in an individualistic atheist who "builds as they only dreamed."

Explore the mysterious disappearance and sudden return of Mr. Boomerang after 20 years, as he baffles the community with his unexpected reunion with his wife. The Departure of Mr. Boomerang narrates his unexpected departure and Mrs. Boomerang's loneliness. Contemplation and Decision at the Doorstep delves into emotional conflict. Transformation and Isolation showcases Boomerang's journey and Encounter in San Antonio depicts his reunion with his wife.

Send us a textYou've probably heard the observation "you are the product of the five people" you spend the most time with." Sounds good, right? Just surround yourself with 5 great people and voila! You'll be great too. Doesn't work like that though. If we blindly drop one friend we are just as likely to attract a new friend of the same exact type and replay the past. In this episode we explore Peterson's 3rd rule from his book "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos." The rule is "Make friends with people who want the best for you." To do that, however, we must attempt new strategies at finding new types of friends. To help illuminate the ideas in this chapter I discuss: The Poison Tree poem by William Blake Jason and the Argonauts by Apollonius of Rhodes The myth of Phaethon and the sun chariot. I wish you luck in your exploration. And if you fail, 'yet nobly dare.'

Send us a textFor today's Sunday Morning Poem we will be exploring "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Or, on living rather than merely existing.Few poems say so much in so little space. This is a poem that touches on the very core of being human. We'll be talking about:The role of affirmations to a humanist atheistImportance of community to individualistsAnd a converse with verse on "Ulysses"

Send us a textSunday Morning Poem: "Directive" by Robert Frost. Subscribe to the podcast here! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/p... Continuing our discussion of breaking the monopoly that religions hold on important emotional concepts such as Exaltation, Reverence, Glory, Serenity, and even Peace, today we will be discussing Robert Frosts directive on finding inner peace and serenity in our chaotic world. Some who come from a strong religious background will not be able to help to see that this is just a religious poem. I do not think so. I believe it to be deeply humanistic. Poetry and literature are the ways forward to a proper civilization. True the House of God (or as Frost puts it "the house that is no more a house," is no longer needed. We instead must not drink from a poisoned well that promise of becoming a ghost and whisking into a paradise. The paradise is here and now on this earth. We must seek that "brook that was the water of the house." That is the original source for that house that is no longer a house. To get there is not so easy a path as sliding down a slight incline The way forward is to go backwards.