Stuff I Learned Yesterday

In October of 1883, a boy was born in a one-room cabin in southwest Virginia. His mother died when he was just nine years old. By thirteen, he was writing for his father's newspaper. At twenty-five, his business went bankrupt and his wife divorced him. He remarried in 1910, launched various ventures, and kept grinding through failure after failure. Then, in 1925, he wrote a book that coined a phra...

I’ve made it no secret on this podcast that I am a super fan of the TV show LOST. I love the mysteries, and the beautiful setting. I love the way the character stories interweave, I love the lore and history of the island. There are a lot of poignant moments and pieces of dialog that still echo in my mind today. But perhaps the most tragic line ever spoken in the series was, “Something tells me he...

I love that the audience of this podcast is filled with many of those who consider themselves Christians and many of those who do not. Regardless of where you fall within those two categories, today’s episode is for you. Today we’ll be looking at a story Jesus told in Matthew chapter 25, and the lessons found in that story are ones that all of us can benefit from. The post SILY 692- Burying Your B...

Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I am looking forward to covering the Stranger Things spinoff, "Tales from '85" next month with my daughter, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. This quarter we have three mailbag contributions: Ryan, Upside Down, and Jason. Here they are: The post 691- Monday Mailbag appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- E...

Some evenings you take a walk and wonder if the tides are listening. In today’s story, the shore holds more than shells and driftwood. A mysterious traveler drifts ashore in a tale older than sand, bringing with him a question every one of us has asked themselves: If you could rewrite the past, what would you change? Three choices flicker like lanterns in the dusk, each one a doorway for you to wa...

For generations, the path to success seemed clear: graduate high school, go to college, get a degree, land a good job, climb the corporate ladder. But what happens when that formula stops working? When the degree doesn't lead to the career? When AI disrupts entire industries overnight? When companies value credentials over competence? The rules of education and career advancement are changing fast...

I recently finished watching the final season of Stranger Things. Without spoiling anything for those of you who haven't seen it yet, there's a profound conversation near the end of the season. One character is struggling with the weight of a painful loss and the guilt that comes with it. Another character, who's been down a similar road, offers some wisdom about the choice we all face when dealin...

I thought I had it all figured out. I'd driven that route dozens of times. I knew exactly where I was going. I didn't need any help. So I turned off the GPS and relied on my own knowledge and experience. And that's exactly when things went sideways. Sometimes I turned it off too early and ended up heading the wrong direction. Other times I turned it on too late and missed my opportunity to avoid t...

Heroes have been a part of American pop culture for decades. We’ve seen them come to life on the pages of comic books and movie screens, and heard them sung about by some of our favorite musical artists. Songs by David Bowie and Foo Fighters are some of my favorites, but I think Mariah Carey’s song about heroes is probably the best one to match up with today’s story. The post SILY 686- Holly the H...

There's something disarming about simple honesty. When someone messes up and immediately says, "I'm sorry. This was my fault. Here's what happened, and here's how I'm going to make it right," it stops the blame game before it starts. It shifts the conversation from finger-pointing to problem-solving. It builds trust instead of eroding it. The post SILY 685- The Honesty Advantage appeared first on...

Our date had been magical. The horse-drawn carriage ride through the Victorian town adorned with Christmas lights was beautiful and romantic. It was a cold evening, but the beauty and sparkle of the lights, seeing the smile on her face, and enjoying the peaceful moment together made it all worthwhile. But moments later I realized I’d made a critical error, and the rest of our evening was going to...

This is the final episode in a three-part series based on 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." In December we examined faith in episode 674, "Faith on Trial." In January we explored hope in episode 679, "Hope in the Unseen." Today we conclude with love. The post SILY 683- The Greatest of These appeared first on Gold...

I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to experience. I mean, I was 42 years old, less than a month away from turning 42, and I was about to do something many people have done by the time they were a teenager. I had done very little research to prepare me for the day, but as I look back on it, I’m not really sure how much research would have helped. The post SILY 682- Getting To Your Happy Place a...

He was universally hated by his men, removed from command for incompetence, and died alone and forgotten in a veterans' home—yet he may have been the single most important reason the most legendary unit of World War II became legendary. This is the untold story of the man who sacrificed his reputation and relationships to save lives he would never see again, and how I found personal connection to...

In that moment, I knew how Al Bundy from “Married with Children” must have felt every time Kelly brought home one of her boyfriends. I never expected that coping with the idea of my daughter having her first boyfriend would be easy, but I never thought it would be like this. On one hand, I appreciated his honesty. On the other hand, his honesty led him to tell me, “I just want you to know that I’v...

Near the end of "The Shawshank Redemption," escaped prisoner Andy Dufresne writes to his friend Red: "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." But earlier, Red had warned Andy differently: "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." Two perspectives on hope. One life-giving, one destructive. Which is right? The post SILY 679- Hope in the Unseen ap...

Unfortunately, we didn't receive any new contributions for today's Monday Mailbag, but I didn't want to go without sharing an episode with you. So this week I'm brining back the first Monday Mailbag episode. This episode originally aired in April of 2024 and has some great contributions from Geoff, Barb, Colby, Bradley, and Andrew. The post 678- Monday Mailbag appeared first on Golden Spiral Media...

As I neared the exit of the parking lot a familiar face spotted me. He approached and I rolled down my window. Looking at my BMW Z4  he said, “I love your James Bond car.” “Thanks,” I replied. Hearing those words filled me with pride but not for the reason he would assume, and perhaps not for the reason you would either. The post SILY 677- Driven by Fear appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Ente...

I’m normally a chill person, but from time to time I lose my composure. Today I share the story of the day I got so angry at work, my assistant told me it would be better if I went home. The post SILY 676- Fueled By Anger appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More .

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There’s no way it could be real. I knew this stuff was heavily guarded and those who knew of it were sworn to secrecy. I pondered for a moment, hesitated. Then, convinced there’s no way it could be legit, I clicked on it. What happened next changed everything. The post SILY 675- Missing the Good Times appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcas...

As the first season of LOST came to an end, two of the lead characters, Jack and Locke, found themselves pursuing the same task but for completely different reasons. They both felt led to open a mysterious hatch; Jack for survival, Locke to fulfill his destiny. On their way to the hatch with bags full of dynamite, the men found themselves in a tense conversation. The post SILY 674- Faith on Trial...

As we reached the bottom of the hill my friend looked over at the instrument cluster. Alarmed, he looked at me and said, “Does your car normally get that hot?” I calmly looked down and saw the needle was nearly pegged at the highest temperature level. Not wanting to alarm my friend, I told him it was totally normal, but in my mind I was panicked, wondering if I was about to blow up the engine. The...

Imagine this: You’ve just landed your dream job. You and your spouse are expecting your first child; a child you hoped and prayed for. Unknowingly, your new job will pair you with a person who also wanted that job, will have to train you to do the job, and has been desperately trying to conceive.  The post SILY 672- Living Someone Else’s Life appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainm...

The best gifts are the ones that represent, in some way, something of the giver and something of a receiver. So, each Christmas, I find some way to give my kids a personalized gift, something that'll make a memory, something that represents something of me and of them The post SILY 671- Eraser Boogers appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More .

Was Jesus actually born in December? If not, why do we celebrate it then and not his actual birthday? Does celebrating it in December along with the traditional things that are a part of it have pagan roots? If so, does that mean Christians are wrong for celebrating Christmas? Does having a Christmas tree and other items as part of our celebration violate rules in Deuteronomy or other Bible passag...