Still under lockdown, Sam and Connor discuss "flow". A man with an unpronounceable name, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined and developed the concept in the last half of the 20th century. Whether you're absorbed in work, sport or music you're probably experiencing flow. When musicians, sufi mystics, sportsmen, soldiers and artists are "in the zone" they're usually in a flow state. Religious and secular arts have been coveting and teaching flow as critical parts of their practices for hundreds of years but understanding it in broader contexts could be the secret to happiness itself…
The red-pill diagram we mention Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's TED Talk Explaining Flow
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
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Stay safe, connected and appreciate the small things. Loneliness is a killer so reach out to anyone you can and never feel that feeling alone is abnormal or a burden.
Connor, Joe and one of the Two Joes (this is getting confusing) talk about how society has reacted to recent events… Recorded quite early into the lockdown, we talk about how the economy will be affected and change, that relaxing and being away from work aren't necessarily bad things, how everybody has suddenly joined the neighbourhood watch and ways the situation can be turned positive for those not affected by poverty and poor health. We also discuss the animal trade, clapping for the NHS, the misuse of wartime parallels and how society might change in the coming years. - How modern stoicism can help in a pandemic - "Somme" comments
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
The Forest of Dean is an area in and around Gloucestershire brimming with local heritage and communal history. We talk about the Forest's mining culture, as well as some of its historical quirks, before hosting the world's first (and only) Forest dialect quiz!
We then explore the controversy of the decline of mining culture and its impact on communities, the dilemmas of wild boar and finally solve the age-old mystery of who killed the bears. Finally we finish up with some ghost stories, folklore and ponder whether the Beast of Dean is a load of old bollocks. We'd love to chat more about history, heritage and culture on these podcasts so let us know if you know any spooky stories or interesting places… - The story of who killed the bears can be found, as well as many other of the tales we mention can be found here. - Some dialect poetry about sheep "Varest Ship" by Keith Morgan - Here is some info on free mining and a website on freemining. - A documentary on Freemining. FOREST OF DEAN FREEMINERS. - Some stuff on Dennis Potter here. - The world's strangest place - Littledean Jail - Our thoughts on the topic Edited by Connor. Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Hope everyone is having a nice Easter despite the current circumstances. This will be the first episode we release during the lockdown and we've got loads more on the way…
In this episode Connor, Nye, Joe & Zach take a look at some of the weirdest Easter traditions on Earth; from anti-Satan butter to willow whipping. Finally Zach can rest easy knowing the true date and religious significance of Easter, Connor goes on a rant about neo-paganism and we learn the dastardly ingredients of chocolate eggs. - Butter lamb number 1 - Butter lamb number 2 - Our thoughts summarised
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Spanish Museums would have you believe that Spain once enjoyed a "Golden Age" of interfaith relations. That's right, after the Islamic Conquests and (according to some) even during later Christian rule, all the Abrahamic Religions got along just swell… or did they?
Connor and Joe dig out some old undergraduate essays from their time at university and try to remember their field trip to Córdoba in Southern Spain as they answer this question. Focusing mainly on the Jewish experience of rule under the Caliphates and Christian Kings, it turns out that history is a lot more complicated than people are letting on… Here are some photos of some of the things we reference…
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
This is kind of a sequel to our episode "alcohol & sobriety"
There was once a day when you could smoke in pubs, lager was considered a lady's drink and pints would cost 11p. In this episode Connor, Nye, Kieran and Zach talk about the history and conventions of the public houses - from the very first "pub quizzes" to the history of "lock ins". Since most of us have worked behind a bar and been involved in making beverages we also talk about campaigning for ale, cider mills and some of the moral issues surrounding the bar industry. (It was decided Zach's scream didn't need any special effects) - Henry Weston's Cider - CAMRA - An American Video made in WW2 to help soldiers understand the British pub - Wychwood Brewery (Hobgoblin) - Bespoke Brewery (Beware the Bear)
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Well our plan was to dig into some of the conventional questions surrounding the philosophy of sport… however in true philosophy fashion we ended up bickering for half an hour about how to define sport itself!
After we were finally done with the semantics we explored some aspects of self-realisation through control and harnessing skill. Drawing inspiration from experiences with boxing, e-sports, jujitsu, darts and more, we discussed how sport can challenge and encourage personal growth. Identity is distilled into the expressive form of sports - not dissimilar to art. As we discuss, its all about learning boundaries while incorporating the shadow of the self; both testing and tempering our physical and moral limits. We also talked a little about "accessing" sport and fan culture.
Editing by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
In the last century, the funeral industry in the West has diversified. Traditional Christian funerals are out and football anthems and Twix coffins are in! But are all these trends and pluralities truly revelatory of an emergent revolution in open and thoughtful conversation on death? Or is this just the ultimate way of extravagantly and competitively keeping up with the Jones'? Connor and Joe ponder some of the bizarre quirks of the funeral industry, as well as "funeral poverty", as they answer this question.
An undergraduate essay from Connor, where most of the real thinking was done in greater detail: Twix coffins Sitting at your own wake Death Salon Website Dying Matters Website People don’t know will plans (study):
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Joined by yet another new voice for series 2, in this episode we ponder the reality that we may all be functioning alcoholics. With some of the usual crowd plus our mate / pub-manager / Connor's old boss, Elliot, we discuss our relationship with recreational drinking both culturally and personally.
Armed with some facts, figures and a few personal anecdotes we explore the role of the good old fashioned pub, from the allure of escapism in drinking and the psychology of abstaining from drink entirely. As you may expect there are some tangents too... including some banter about Ronnie O'Sullivan and a debate about libertarianism and the role of the state. We have a lot more to say on this topic so expect to hear more in the future! Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (Allegedly founded a whole century before Connor said it was) Some studies into drinking trends... - Average spend is up - Younger people drinking less An American Video made in WW2 to help soldiers understand the British pub
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Do we have a responsibility to form, maintain and promote rational, evidence-based views? If so, how do we go about doing that without being really annoying?
Joined by new guest, Dan, in this episode we consider what qualifies as a conspiracy theory, why people are drawn to believe in such theories and ask just how similar are they to religion? In doing so, we touch on the history of these kinds of movements and explore some of the reasoning used to justify belief in them. We may well revisit this topic in the future. - An article written by Connor on scepticism and "open mindedness" - And our series 1 pseudoscience podcast - A look at a modern day conspiracy theory - Was Heidegger anti-Semitic? Intro to the debate - The personality test we mention in our awful tangent Edited by Connor. Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin) |
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