A Drink With a Friend

We're back! Seth and Tsh recap Italy, but don't worry, it's not done in a way that bores you if you weren't there... They reflect on why it's always true that ordinary conversations with new friends over gelato are more meaningful than touring even the most jaw-dropping cathedrals and monasteries (though that's great, too). They also share recorded thoughts from some of the folks who joined them i...

It's good to remember the good things in life, especially when the news is heavy (when is ever not anymore, right?). And since art has a season, Seth and Tsh share their summery music, movies, TV shows, and books they're into right now. Because good art tells good stories, even when they're lighthearted. Also: it's time for their annual summer break! Seth and Tsh will return in mid-August — in the...

Tsh talks to her good friend, Sarah Mackenzie, about what makes good stories (especially for our kids). She's got a HUGE new project in the works: not only a new children's book, but a new publishing house! When it's hard to publish new classics that tell timeless truths, you gotta start the company yourself. Why do we need more stories that tell us things that were as true a thousand years ago as...

It's now Tsh's turn to update us on her six-month challenge: what she's learned living as best she can in a 100-mile radius. She and Seth talk about the importance of subsidiarity, reorienting our priorities, finding community IN an actual community (vs. online), and doing it all imperfectly. Is living locally worth the effort? Tsh has thoughts. Seth:  Newsletter  |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter  |  W...

It's June, which means Seth and Tsh are at the end of their first of the year challenges. Seth updates us on what he's learned being away from social media for six months, what he'll do differently, and what he misses. Tsh chimes in on her reflections about using our phones as instruments instead of devices so that the internet returns to how it works best: as a bicycle for the mind.  Seth:  Newsl...

Hobbies aren't just the things we do whenever we have spare time — they're actually important to our health. The things we do just because we enjoy them, staying at amateur status for the love of the craft, starting at the beginning and learning from zero, make us more of who we're made to be. Seth and Tsh each share some of their favorite hobbies and why they're so important to them. Seth:  Newsl...

Seth moseys by a river and sits among the birds to explain what's up this week. He and Tsh be back next week with a new episode! Stay tuned. Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Both Seth and Tsh became Catholic just a few years ago, as adults after a lifetime of being Protestant. Why? ...That's the question they get asked by many of you ALL the time. In this episode, they dip their toes in the water of answering this massive question that doesn't have just one answer, focusing first more on Tsh's journey. (This will likely be an ongoing series, peppered throughout other...

It's the end of the school year, and May is always nuts. When life feels flustered, it's grounding to remember the ordinary things adding beauty to our days. Seth and Tsh each share what they're currently reading, watching, and listening to that are bringing them more joy and insight. Seth:  Newsletter  |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter  |  Website Pick up a round of drinks Come to Italy with us  — $250...

How do we connect with people when our differences are exacerbated by algorithms and echo chambers? Seth and Tsh are joined around the table by their friends Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart-Holland from the podcast Pantsuit Politics — together, they chat about what it looks like to listen and learn from others when it feels like we disagree on almost everything. Beth and Sarah's podcast, Pantsuit P...

Particular places in the world matter, whether they're your grandma's childhood home or the Sistene Chapel. Going to them matters, too, and it's a privilege and honor to do so because the journey, the arrival, and the conversations once we're there shape us for the better. Go to them when you can. Seth:  Newsletter  |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter  |  Website Pick up a round of drinks Come to Italy wi...

You don't need all the people, you just need your people. This is the premise of an idea penned over a decade ago that still serves as a bellwether for Seth and Tsh's work, that they're on the right track. It can be applied in all parts of life, and is especially true when we're tempted to work like someone else. Seth:  Newsletter  |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter  |  Website Pick up a round of drinks...

It's been a doozy of a week, so Tsh and Seth weren't able to chat — instead, they're re-sharing with you a chat from spring 2021. Perhaps you haven't yet heard it, or perhaps you're due for a re-listen. ...Either way, enjoy! Walking is good for us, but it takes a while — it’s not the most efficient mode of transportation. But it’s not about efficiency; that’s not the point. What about the other st...

Two episodes ago, Seth updated us on how his six-month challenge was faring, halfway through. Now it's Tsh's turn. Her challenge is to live as much as she can within her 100-mile radius — what does that mean, though? How do we live according to our unique values without being legalistic? And how do we gracefully handle the privilege that most of us have? Seth:  Newsletter  |  Website Tsh:  Newslet...

There's something life-giving in uttering the phrase, "I guess I haven't learned that yet." Seth and Tsh talk with their friend Shauna Niequist about how she's learned to exhale and relearn how her life could be. Through moving to a new city, leaving known familiarity into uncharted territory, and questioning just about everything, Shauna found some much-needed freedom in the sacramentality of a l...

It's about halfway through Seth's challenge to stay off social media for the first six months of 2022. How have the first three months been? Will anything change for the next three months? He and Tsh talk some more about big-picture social media: does it work as a public square? When is censorship called for, and when does it violate free speech? And are the positives ultimately worth all the nega...

When life is busy — like Seth's right now, or when life is slower — like Tsh's, who just started a short teaching break — it's a good time to remember good things. In this episode, they chat about three things each that are currently adding more beauty to their lives: a thing they're listening to, reading, and watching. Seth: Newsletter |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter |  Website Pick up a round of dri...

We’ve all heard of the seven deadly sins, but what good does it do to think about them in our modern, well-intentioned lives? Maybe more to the point — why does contemplating about them bring us hope? It’s because of their corresponding virtues. Seth and Tsh talk about what this looks like in their own lives. As a reference, here are the seven pairs of vices and virtues: Pride: A desire for excell...

When big global events happen — like Russia invading Ukraine — what can we possibly do in our small, ordinary lives to make any difference? Seth and Tsh chat about how they’ve been talking about the news with their kids, how they’ve been processing it for themselves, and what we might learn from the past to forge ahead soberly toward the future. Seth: Newsletter |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter |  Webs...

Seth is off doing lawyer-y things this week, so Tsh talks to friend Joy Clarkson about, essentially, Wendell Berry’s beloved quip, “Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.” Why is it not only a good idea to pursue happiness — it’s necessary? And perhaps counter-cultural to our doomscroll-obsessed modern ways? Joy and Tsh talk about where real happiness is found, what it means to uniron...

As friends do, in this episode Seth and Tsh come to table to talk about whatever. Like the nerds they are, they end up talking about Romantic poetry, the end of the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join in! Seth: Newsletter |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter |  Website Pick up a round of drinks  & help keep the show going Come to Italy with us ! Bitter & Sweet , Tsh’s book for Lent Station Eleven , b...

Seth is off social media for the first half of 2022, and Tsh is limiting most of her family’s resources to her 100-mile radius. How’s it going? What are we learning? We chat about these things, plus whether we think these practices might be a net-positive for you, too. Seth: Newsletter |  Website Tsh:  Newsletter |  Website Pick up a round of drinks  & help keep the show going Come to Italy with u...

Liz Gilbert once said that if she didn’t write, she’d become a farm dog and chew up the couch. Why do we partake in creative pursuits if we’re not going to profit financially from it? Lots of reasons, actually. Tsh and Seth chat with their friends Maile and Shawn Smucker about what they’ve been learning about why they have an insatiable need to create — and why every one of us needs to as well. Se...

We have SO MANY choices these days — on what to watch, what to listen to, what to read. We know well the feeling of opening a streaming service and indefinitely scrolling instead of clicking ‘play’ because of the inability to make a choice. So how do we choose? How do we all decide what deserves our attention and what we should just scroll past? After all, even with seemingly infinite choices, we...

Disagreeing well is a lost art — it seems like our culture has withered down to treating one another as avatars not worthy of an opinion different than our own. But what if knowing how to disagree well not only mattered to our own personal development, but was also a tool in keeping our civilization from crumbling? Seth and Tsh talk about why disagreeing matters so much and how we can do it better...