Dennis & Julie

Dennis and Julie begin with …learning from older folks.  Are “only” children more mature than children with siblings?  Julie has many older people in her life and finds it to be very enriching.  It is key in life to find good people.  It’s sad how the elderly are treated in today’s American culture.  Other topics include:  taking interest in, and appreciating, art and classical music; sometimes yo...

Dennis and Julie have reached 100 episodes.  Dennis reflects on one’s nature… are you a fighter… do you help the fighters?  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” …is a quote routinely attributed to Edmund Burke, falsely so.  The quote can be traced back to the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, who delivered an 1867 inaugural address at the Univer...

Dennis and Julie begin by discussing nicknames, being “real” versus being “deep,” and the ability to read people.  Truth doesn’t favor race, creed, gender, or income.  The only systemic racism in America is coming from the Left.  For Dennis, when debating… winning doesn’t matter… what matters is …what is true.  They ponder the existence of the demonic.  “The line separating good and evil passes no...

Dennis and Julie start by discussing idiosyncrasies, pistachios, germs, loving classical music and hating tattoos.  Life has a way evolving you… youthful, preconceived notions can shatter with time.  There is tremendous value in learning from observation.  There are infinite “things” to take interest in… you’re not bored, you’re boring …you may not know what your “things” are unless you try them. ...

Dennis and Julie examine the free market of ideas.  Virtually everyone has a podcast …is that a good thing?  It’s a good thing that one must earn their audience.  It is also good to have such variety... that you can follow what you like.  It’s great to find your niche… but is that splintering us as a society?  It seems like there’s more access to information everywhere… but are we less informed? ...

Dennis and Julie discuss surrogacy.  Why would one say that surrogacy is immoral?  Is there a religious argument against surrogacy… what about concubines in the Old Testament Abraham/Hagar?  They discuss the legalization of prostitution… trafficking is evil, but prostitution is a sin.  People don’t fight real evil.  When it comes to adoption – do girls seek out their birth mother more than boys? ...

Dennis and Julie discuss the importance of enjoying what you do.  Getting yourself into more than you think you can handle can lead to great things.  Push yourself… be ambitious.  You can live a full life, or a safe life… not both.  Taking silly risks is bad… but conversely, waiting for “safe” can be paralyzing.  Dennis talks about his son’s sobriety – his son said that hitting rock bottom was whe...

Dennis and Julie celebrate how wishing someone a Merry Christmas IS inclusive… and lament how paralyzed people have become… they don’t know how to respond to “Merry Christmas.”  NBC did a documentary on Prager U …mainstream news is so distorted.  Julie shares: “Theses or Feces” University administrators are so unimpressive.  The height of narcissism is one saying that having a Christmas tree is no...

Dennis and Julie examine the similarities and differences of Christianity and Judaism.  There is a symbiotic relationship… and a necessity for both.  Judaism is particular to a people and a land… and Christianity is universal, meaning not particular to any land or race.  Judaism needs the universality of Christianity… and Christianity needs to be rooted in Judaism. Music: Straight to the Point c 2...

Dennis and Julie discuss compartmentalizing.  Some topics are holiday dinner wreckers: politics, religion, and family issues.  Manners certainly matter… some people just cannot read the room or control themselves.  There are two types of unhappy people, and unhappy people who want others to be unhappy – narcissism.  How rare a commodity is self-awareness?  Take for instance the slow driver is the...

Dennis is in St. Louis and asks Julie… why has being successful not gone to your head?  They spend time defining success versus accomplishment.  Many American kids when asked what they want to be when they grow up answer: famous.  Fame is wildly overrated… what matters is that you’ve touched people with good values.  They discuss the inversions in modern American society… we have privileged people...

They discuss an auto debacle Dennis had in Minnesota regarding leaving a note.  Which leads to Julie sharing that her dad’s check was stolen from the mail.  Crime appears to be on the rise, and there is more sympathy for the criminal than ever… is this social justice… a consequence of secular society?  While explaining why he left a note… Dennis asks… which is better… doing the right thing for the...

Dennis and Julie discuss getting rid of social media in one’s life.  Social media has its benefits… does it facilitate goodness?  Are you living or posting… or both?  We are more connected than ever… yet loneliness levels continue to rise.  Dennis recommends Julie read The True Believer by Eric Hoffer.  NYT’s columnist David Brooks wrote a piece in Atlantic about the moral crisis in the country… D...

We are living in a morally corrupt culture.  Dennis and Julie review some of the protests and reactions to the Israeli/Gaza conflict in America.  Vivek Ramaswamy went after the RNC and Ronna McDaniel in the 3rd Republican debate.  With the influx of the Muslim population… America is changing, Europe is changing… do most Muslims want Israel annihilated?  How much of our upside-down culture should b...

Dennis laments the title of his book Still the Best Hope.  People need respites.  If you think you’re always right… you will live an unfulfilled life. It is important to know your own blind spots and trust others who do not share them.  Fame is fleeting.  The differences between males and females are special and necessary.  If you believe it, you can achieve it… this is nonsense.  Guardrails are m...

Does saying one went to Harvard carry the same weight it did two years ago?  Will you pressure your children to attend an elite university?  The cancer of Leftist thought is eroding once respected institutions.  How bad do things need to get before average Americans wake up to the danger of the Left?  Every country has issues… most of the United States’ issues are contrived.  If you are great at s...

Dennis postulates that much of life’s pain comes from surprise… that’s why it’s so important to have a realistic view of the world.  People tend to think they are immune from things that happen to “the other guy,” but you are “the other guy.”  Dennis recalls a speech at a London synagogue where he realized most people believe that being a good religious person provides some level of protection fro...

Dennis and Julie were deeply troubled by the developments between Israel and Hamas.  The number of Israelis killed in the Hamas attack is the largest since the Nazis in the Holocaust.  Dennis and Julie are baffled by groups that blame Israel for the conflict.  The American Jew is disappearing.  Israel is the canary in the world’s coal mine.  We should be the most enlightened people to ever live… g...

Dennis and Julie ask… when did it become uncool to get old?  Wanting to look younger makes sense… but acting younger is not dignified.  You can judge a society on how they treat the vulnerable.  Julie recalls some takeaways from her visit to Oklahoma for a speech.  The truth is good… not something to fear because it’s uncomfortable.  In some cases, empathy has become toxic. Music: Straight to the...

Character matters.  “What is my nature,” is important... at least as important is “what person do I want to be.”  What will be in your obituary?  The thing we want most from others is for them to be good... but we don't apply the same demand to ourselves.  Does it matter that behaving ethically makes you feel good?  Why doesn't Dennis set his phone to silent when broadcasting?  Actions trump thoug...

One reason not to have an affair …is the amount of lies it entails.  Do good people commit adultery?  Do men and women cheat for the same reasons?  Men are sexually drenched… and need to temper their expectations.  It’s okay to have fantasies… but they should not direct your reality.  Is masturbation evil?  You must be gutsy… you can’t build a good world on cowardice.  Other topics include: Kosher...

Dennis talks about his recent travel experience.  Julie’s undeveloped hypothesis… you can identify a Leftist by their appearance and attire.  Dennis is the Godparent to a gay couple’s child… the conversation turns from gay marriage to the evolution from tolerance to endorse to celebrate.  The Spanish soccer kiss scandal… it’s a sick time were living in.  Whatever happened to shrugging it off?  Jul...

Dennis asks Julie if she knows any women her age who acknowledge their physical beauty.  Are men/women genuine in their trivial exchanges?  They discuss the importance of looks to women, and the importance of income to men.  Do degrees from prestigious universities hold the same value they used to?  Are we becoming a meritless society?  Does affirmative action have the opposite effect from its int...

Dennis and Julie start with the power of the ear/hearing… the importance of sound, and Dennis ponders if the eye/sight is intellectual?   They explore the power of memories… audio recordings, old films, pictures, and home videos.  People live in their present… they do not know the end of the story… that’s why it’s important not to judge people outside of the context their time.  Other topics inclu...

Tropical Storm Hilary shut Los Angeles down like Covid… for what amounted to heavy rainfall.  People believe the news rather than what they see with their own eyes.  Inspired by Carl Trueman’s book: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution… Dennis and Julie discuss the age of feelings and gender confusion.  Does a future...