David Gornoski

Barouk Almaw Gari, an Ethiopian entrepreneur and Rene Girard fan, joins David Gornoski to discuss his introduction to the works of Rene Girard, his perspective on Ethiopian politics and history, and how Christianity has shaped Ethiopia's culture. How does the Gospel effect each culture in their tribal and sacrificial customs? Barouk takes us through the Gospel-infected culture of Ethiopia and how its culture compares to that of its neighboring countries like Libya. What is the Ethiopian perspective on how the West is moving towards victim-garbed, identity politics? How do we fight against the spirit of the crowd without becoming absorbed into its mimetic rivalry. Listen to the full podcast for the answers and more.

Sir Owen returns in this episode of A Neighbor's Choice to discuss the economic and psychological effects of control in the pandemic and other news. Sir Owen points out that an atmosphere of tribalism makes it difficult for us to come up with solutions to crisis like the COVID-19 virus; he observes that America has become extraordinarily tribalistic. Sir Owen also comments on the latest news surrounding Taiwan and China. What would happen if there was a nuclear explosion in our country? Sir Owen asks while cautioning us on meddling in the affairs of nuclear-powered countries like China. Listen to the full episode for Sir Owen's take on a variety of news reports from around the nation. Subscribe to Sir Owen’s newsletter by emailing him on tamarind@hotpolitics.com Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

If the Democrats care about black lives, why are they silent about the suffering of black lives in Libya that was caused by Obama and Clinton? Join David Gornoski as he dismantles the media and their crony corporate allies who pretend to care about black lives but then proceed to shatter black families, both at home and abroad. The left's concern for victims disappears when a minority person has the wrong political opinion; they are quite obviously fixated on sacrificing their political scapegoat. Since the left is obsessed with Trump's every action, will they even have a purpose when Trump isn't around? Listen to the full episode for all of this and more. Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

Our fixation on identity politics, David Gornoski says, is driving our society towards blame games. "We need to continue to encourage people in thinking for themselves rather than groupthink." David takes us through the idea of original sin--the concept that sin exists universally--and how filtering that idea through group identities is a recipe for conflict. "We should always ground our discussion in the protection of the human person." Why is President Trump considered the villain in the politically correct imagination? David explains that it's because Trump does not position himself as a victim to grab power. How do we preserve the sacredness of the human person without coercing our neighbor or falling into victimism? Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

Amy Povah of the CAN-DO Clemency foundation calls in along with Rufus Rochell to update us on the latest news of clemency appeals for non-violent prisoners around the country. Amy and Rufus describe what home confinement looks like; the two also point out that there is still a chance for those in home confinement to go back to prison. Plus, host David Gornoski explains how the founders sought to codify a system of law that would protect the individual from the collective. David also comments on the news of the shooting of an 8-year-old girl in Atlanta; he directs us towards individual responsibility and urges us to reflect on the existence of unjust laws that allow for horrible murders. Support CAN-DO Clemency at candoclemency.com Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

Shannon Braswell, a Girardian from Washington, sits down with David Gornoski to examine the historical and mythological narratives through the lens of mimetic theory. The two also talk about the social justice movement and its sacrificial undertones beneath the guise of the Christian concern for victims. The conversation moves toward an interesting study of Girardian anthropology that helps us deconstruct the scapegoat mechanism that originated from archaic, tribal cultures. How is the scapegoat mechanism carried forward in our secular culture? The myth of social contract says all conflicting parties suddenly decided to get together but when we study the sacrificial foundations of our culture we know that to be false. Can we understand the left's rage against the founders of this nation? How does the myth of Dionysus help us decipher the class divide and the growing undifferentiation in America? Listen to the full podcast for a fascinating conversation on the relationship between mythology and anthropology and how knowing that is the key to understanding and dealing with our weird modern-day culture.

Dr. Patrick Newman, editor of Rothbard's Conceived in Liberty, calls in to discuss the nature of America's founding and what it means for us today. Dr. Newman proposes that there is a contradiction between the constitution and the declaration of independence; he suggests that this is due to a conflict that had taken place between the federalists and anti-federalists. The conversation then moves to how the separation between the north and south gradually occurred. Listen to the full episode for an exciting conversation on American history and how big government came into existence. Buy the book 'Conceived in Liberty' on Amazon. Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

Host David Gornoski reflects on the founding of America. What can we learn from our nation's history when we examine it through the lens of Jesus' anthropology? David explains how civilizations are usually founded upon violence and how we often rely on violence to sustain our societies. The injection of Jesus' non-violent, self-sacrificial spirit into our culture means that we cannot sacrifice our neighbors any longer. Can we transcend the idea that beating our political opponents will somehow bring salvation? Listen to the full episode to find out how the key to liberty and prosperity is the imitation of Jesus. Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com

New Testament scholar Douglas Campbell joins David Gornoski in a fascinating discussion on Pauline dogmatics and its effect on our worldview. What is the starting point of theology? Campbell says that dogmatics start from the statement "Jesus is Lord." For us to know who the historical Jesus actually was, Campbell suggests that we start with the writings of Paul. The conversation then moves to the parallels between the gospels and mythological narratives. One thing that's often overlooked, David says, is how similar the gospel narrative is to the ancient myths and how that similarity surprisingly results in opposite effects from both. How can a Christian address the dark side of history? "For a Christian, the means is the end," Campbell says while highlighting the non-violent medium of Jesus' message. How can we apply Jesus' non-violent ethos to the places we often overlook? Is Jesus winning when we observe history unpacking right before us? Listen to the full podcast to find out and more. Buy Douglas Campbell's latest book Pauline Dogmatics on Amazon.

Dr. Weiping Yu returns for another segment of Science and U to reflect on the continuing discovery that magnetic fields permeate much of the cosmos. Dr. Yu makes the astonishing claims that even consciousness is coexisting with the universe's magnetism in the same nature. The physicist also comments on the story that molten salt solutions may supply scientists with new insights into nuclear energy. Also returning to the show is Mises' Institute's Jeff Deist who points to how lockdowns, riots, economic depression, and media gaslighting are causing Americans across the country to have nervous breakdowns. On the defeatist mentality that people are expressing right now, Deist says: "Fatalism goes hand-in-hand with coercion." How can we avoid getting into the bad reciprocity of politicizing everything and making everyday life impossible to cherish? How can we be optimistic in this culture of coercion? Listen to the full episode to find out and more. Follow Jeff Deist on Twitter @jeffdeist Email A Neighbor's Choice with a guest suggestion, story tip or question at hello@aneighborschoice.com Find David Gornoski on YouTube Visit the A Neighbor's Choice website at aneighborschoice.com