The Overthinkers

Is watching harmful things like violence or terror bad for us? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson bring on film critic Tyler Smith to discuss.   Click the link below to donate to Tyler Smith's family during his time of illness. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-tyler-smith-and-family?member=21781955&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer   Check...

A growing number of Christians are convinced that supposed alien sightings are actually demons in disguise. What evidence is there for that? Is it convincing? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson weigh in as spooky month continues!    

Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss the good and bad of true crime and how you know if your love of true crime might be problematic.   https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/43762-half-of-americans-enjoy-true-crime-yougov-poll?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fentertainment%2Farticles-reports%2F2022%2F09%2F14%2Fhalf-of-americans-enjoy-true-crime-yougov-poll   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10...

Should we leave society and move to a cabin in the woods? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss whether packing up and leaving society is really the best solution to our problems.    

CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were giants of fantasy literature and Christian thought. So why haven't there been others like them since? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson invite cultural apologist Annie Crawford to discuss the conditions that created Lewis and Tolkien and how we can create those conditions again.

Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes welcome on celebrated author Amanda Dykes to discuss why we seem so embarrassed to read fiction and why that's a mistake. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/17/us-losing-appetite-for-reading-fiction-research-finds#:~:text=But%20novels%20and%20short%2Dstory,24%2Dyear%2Dolds%E2%80%9D .   https://news.gallup.com/poll/388541/americans-reading-fewer-books-past....

People tend to either think that pop culture is harmful or that it doesn't matter. But is pop culture more important than we think? And might it be a positive force for good? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson bring on author and culture critic Dr. Daniel Blackaby to discuss.       Times of India Are young people of a society more influenced by pop culture? Rohit Chowdhury   https://timesofindia.in...

Why do men go to church so much less than women do? We bring on men's coach and filmmaker Jesse Dvorak to discuss why church isn't working for men and what to do about it.   https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/04/06/christian-women-in-the-u-s-are-more-religious-than-their-male-counterparts/

Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes talk to writer and podcast host of "The Wallflower Journal" and "Dear Wallflower" about why women seem to be having an identity crisis that nobody is talking about.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4478054/   https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/08/health/women-anxiety-disorders/index.html

Everyone's talking about AI. Is it something we should be scared of? If so, what should we be scared of about it? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss.     https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence   https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/10/31/should-we-be-afraid-of-ai/?sh=2b90d8274331   https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/06/youre-right-to-be-scared-of-ai-white-house-advisor-ivy...

It's one of the most famous paradoxes in history. But is it really that big a deal? And what's the answer? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson answer the omniscience paradox on this latest episode.   The Omnipotence Paradox   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/omnipotence/#IntrPrel     A God Problem   https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/opinion/-philosophy-god-omniscience.html     The Rock God Can’t...

Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss how society defines success and how we could or should define it differently.   Dictionary   https://www.dictionary.com/browse/success   The moral consequences of teleological beliefs about the human species   https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-92110-001?fbclid=IwAR0gIv8NdbnL9jl92aRi5K3_s1zB6xaRXND_MsX47o-bDC-1xRJTF-sv-k8     ‘Is This It?’ When Success Is...

Why do we feel uncomfortable with preachers having lots of money? Is there something wrong with pastors having expensive things? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes bring on Ben Kirby--author and man behind the viral "preachers and sneakers" account--on this latest episode.   History of prosperity gospel: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-the-prosperity-gospel/  

Does The Bible have anything to say about conspiracy theories for the church? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson bring on biblical scholar Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss.   https://www.businessinsider.com/pastors-quit-after-qanon-radicalize-congregation-2021-3   https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-03/la-na-church-qanon-conspiracy-theories   https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/decem...

Forgiveness is one of the most most difficult values our culture aspires to. But what is it and how do we do it? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson are joined by author and forgiveness expert Karen Laing on this latest episode.    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/forgiveness   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/forgiveness/#TheoForg   https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/before-forgiveness-the-orig...

Is beauty just in the eye of the beholder? Or is there some objectivity in what beauty is? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss the science and philosophy of beauty on this latest episode.    https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/beauty/   https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/beautiful-and-metaphysics-beauty#:~:text=The%20word%20%E2%80%9Cbeauty%E2%80%9D%20 (and,It%20can%20work%20both%20ways.   Th...

What is envy? Why do we all agree it's bad, and how do we overcome it? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss on this latest episode.    Article Links:   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envy   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-files/201510/envy   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-files/201511/coping-your-envy-turning-envy-its-head

Why don't Millennials and Zoomers feel like adults even though they are? Nathan Sherrer joins the show once again to discuss.   Articles mentioned in the episode: https://time.com/4361866/adulting-definition-meaning/   https://www.npr.org/2022/06/11/1104056661/disney-adults     https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/23/economy-millennials-children-low-birthrate   https://aninjusticemag...

What do we as a culture get wrong when it comes to discussing race? Are colorblind advocates and antiracism advocates missing something to have productive racial discussions? If not, why aren't we making any progress? Sociologist and author Dr. George Yancey joins Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson to discuss a new approach to racial conversations that he believes will help make real racial progres...

Are younger generations getting more sensitive? Or is that just a myth that older generations perpetuate? And if they are, why, and what can we do about it? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss.   Some articles referenced in this show:    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jerry-seinfeld-college-politically-correct-racism-sexism_n_7534978   https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kids-today-ar...

Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in America right now. Typically the controversy is framed as disagreements about whether to prioritize the needs of the child (if one believes the fetus is a child) or the mother. But a growing part of the debate is about whether abortion is even good for the mother. Author and scholar Dr. Erika Bachiochi joins Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson to d...

Can words change reality? Or are words just labels we put on things. We talk to translator and philosopher Matas Gelezauskas on this latest episode.      https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7246-the-basic-tool-for-the-manipulation-of-reality-is-the#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20basic%20tool%20for%20the%20manipulation%20of%20reality%20is%20the,people%20who%20must%20use%20them.%E2%80%9D   https://psychcentral...

Is morality subjective or objective? If subjective, why do we intuitively think it's objective? If objective, why don't we agree on it? We invite cultural apologist Dr. Zak Schmoll to discuss on this latest episode.   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morality   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/   https://medium.com/writers-blokke/is-morality-subjective-or-objective-953...

Gun violence is all too common in America. And conversations around them are all to commonly toxic. How do we think better about having conversations around guns? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes give it the old college try.   List of mass shootings: https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/deadliest-mass-shootings-modern-us-history   General facts about guns in America: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-...

Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss why the multiverse is everywhere in pop culture nowadays--from blockbusters to TV to even Oscar Best Picture winners--and what it says about modern society.   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multiverse     https://www.space.com/why-is-the-multiverse-so-popular-in-sci-fi   https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220425-doctor-strange-and-the-histor...