Bufnagle: the Podcast

Harry and Rafe discuss wild, wonderful, and wacky Shrove Tuesday traditions and how they bring us to understanding the balance between feasting and fasting and staying in the the middle of the highway of virtue. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As suc...

Harry and Rafe discuss the Cardinal Virtues, how they apply to different areas of your soul, and how Courage helps us apply all of them.  Along the way, you'll find some more discussion of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, a sprinkling of Aquinas, donuts (of course, as this is the Buf), Christmas movies, a smattering of sin, Faith, Despair, Presumption, Hope, and Love. ***** As always, you can...

Harry and Rafe tackle the questions of how to deal with being apart from those you love.  Spurred by the song Yonder Blue by Christine Lavin (youtube video here ), the Bufnaglers discuss long distance communication and the pluses and minuses of text messages, (video) phone calls, and good old fashioned letters. In the end, they agree that staying in touch is absolutely necessary and that more freq...

Harry and Rafe explore two pieces of literature, The Storm (1898) by Kate Chopin and Lyin' Eyes (1975) by Glenn Frey and Don Henley and recorded by the Eagles.  Both short stories are tales of marital infidelity — certainly not a topic associated with virtue! — but one story gets it wrong (by pretending there are no repercussions) and one story gets it right (by showing the way that self-cent...

Harry and Rafe entertain listener questions relating to formal attire, computer screens vs paper, the component of humanity that requires contact with Nature, and lessons from grandparenting. Through the discussion, we learn that we need to dress appropriately to show respect for others and the institutions of which we are a part, that screens can be awesome but they can never replace paper, that...

Rafe is joined this week by Big Brain Smart Head Mike Round, actuary, egg-collector, and generalist researcher.  As is typical at the Buf, the conversation covers all sorts of topics, from collectable eggs, to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, to "somebody do something!", to research, to otters, and a terrible helicopter accident.  Along the way, a number of lessons come out: take the time...

Why isn't October month #8 and December month #10?  And what is the Ten O'Clock Line?   Rafe digs back into tracking time with days, months, and years and finds the source of the wackiness that is month names.  Furthermore, a chance encounter in central Indiana reveals an interesting surveying trick using a spear, a clock, and the sun. April showers bring May flowers, and Mayflowers brin...

Harry joins Rafe to discuss all the wonderful history to be found around us.  In particular, Rafe discusses the history of his childhood hometown and the history of the place he currently calls home. Along the way we discuss, among other things, Kissel Kars, African violets, beets, offset screwdrivers, Martha Doan, the Quakers, the Underground Railroad, the Sycamore Dairy, and so much more. In the...

Harry and Rafe discuss this final third part of our series on the Pilgrims, covering interactions with the Native Americans, an alliance with Massasoit and the Pokanokets and the consequences of that treaty. Nathaniel Philbrick's book Mayflower is the basis for these episodes and provides generous insight and keen analysis to understanding the state of the world where the English Pilgrims enc...

During this last show in Advent, Rafe goes solo to discuss the first two chapters of Luke's gospel, the backstory and the story of the Nativity. Along the way we cover the concept of quarter-year days and their bank holidays and the fundament of the Rosary, but in the end we learn to embrace the Hope promised through the patience of Advent, to trust in those things we don't understand, a...

Harry and Rafe take up where they left off in Episode 111: the Pilgrims have arrived at Cape Cod, but what awaited them? The North American landscape was anything but a blank slate.  Countless local tribes were living on the continent and with them were their cultures, their customs, and their politics.  Throw in more than a century of Europeans interacting with the natives and a very recent epide...

Bob Luzenski, America's Favorite Rocket Scientist, joins the Buf again this week to discuss big rockets, the vehicles necessary to return us to the moon. After a brief reprise of the Time Zones episode (Episode 110, November 18, 2022) to address a pair of residual issues, Bob takes us on a walk to discuss the Artemis missions, how they are to be sequenced, how they relate to the Apollo missio...

A post-Thanksgiving drive highlighted by a double rainbow leads to wondering about the necessities of gratitude.  "Please" and "Thank you" are fundamental in recognizing our obligations to each other, literally ties (" ligare ") that bind us together.  Giving thanks requires recognition that the giver is participating in an act of the will; as such, "being thankf...

Rafe is joined by Harry to discuss the first part of Nathaniel Philbrick's book Mayflower and the story of the Pilgrims and how they came to America. Starting as English puritans in Holland, the Pilgrims decide to pick up and move to America.  This episode tracks the incredible travel from Leiden to the Pilgrims landing at the tip of Cade Cod before even eventually making a settlement at Plym...

Rafe welcomes back America's Favorite Rocket Scientist, Bob Luzenski, to discuss time zones and rockets.  Of course, the Buf being what it is, the conversation gets stalled discussing time zones and Daylight Saving Time and all things related to the the sun moving east to west, and never gets back to discussing some imminent big rocket launches. So join us this week to discuss the prime merid...

The internet can be good or bad, but in this case it is very good:  an internet book review has led to a special Big Brain Smart Head appearance by Sarah Schutte, a writer, singer, pilot-in-training, and lover and maker of fine baked goods. As you can imagine, this conversation shines with typical Bufness: stories of airplanes and flying, brownies, glee clubs and the Von Trapp family, children&apo...

Rafe goes solo and discusses the two ladies, one Queen Elizabeth II and one his mother-in-law, both of the same generation who lived lives rich in virtue: duty, fortitude, honor, sacrifice. The parallel stories show that the ways to live excellent lives are the same regardless of one's station.  You are who your are because of how you relate to others.  Giving to these others, through shared...

A jaunty and frolicking discussion of brownies and things to learn from them, Zach shares his learnings on becoming the "best brownie baker in the family".   Along the way, we learn that: if you want frosting on your brownies, then go eat cake; if you put too much stuff in the brownies, you might as well just eat a kitchen sink cookie; make sure you give time to the stuff you care about....

A rambling conversation of how to be community to others: be a superhero to others by employing the super power that we all have, by showing kindness, generosity, and authenticity in the furtherance of the Good. Man is a social animal; we need others in our lives to fulfill the most basic of our needs: acceptance, community, belonging, and love.  These spiritual needs are beyond the physical needs...

Zach hits Rafe with another spontaneous topic, this week it is Stonehenge and other megaliths. Ancient peoples spent more time with the stars than we do and through that they came to understand more deeply the natural calendar that the stars demonstrate.  The connection between the location of the rising and setting of the sun and the stars that sit behind it gave ancient Man the capacity to deduc...

Zach takes a sharp turn off the rails and proposes a question to Rafe, who had agreed to address it without prep:  Is digital art too easy?  And is it really an expression of anything? Does the ability to "undo" and avoid the risk of screwing up make digital art a lesser medium than other media?  Does great art require risk? What follows is a grand discussion of digital art and its pros...

Starting with the issue of putting your shopping cart into the shopping cart holder thingy, Zach and Rafe discuss that if you cannot do simple tasks such as these, then you probably aren't capable of self-governance.  The conversation drifts to other similar topics, like common courtesy and civil duty, touching on the Queen for a bit, and stresses that we can make things better if we start wi...

Zach and Rafe dig into the Labor Day holiday and all that it brings to mind.  In classic Buf fashion, the conversation waxes and wanes over all sorts of topics, from calendar computations, to Greek myths, to ideas around leadership, to work-life balance, and the modern concept of working from home. Join us for a Bufnagley tribute to the end of traditional summer! ***** As always, you can reach the...

In (slightly belated) honor of reaching a triple digit number of episodes, Harry, Rafe, and Zach share personal stories of some of the Good things they have found.   From returning from months abroad, to a life that reflects the words of the poet Robert Browning, to simply taking the effort to share with others what they mean to you, the Buf teams shares some of their Good with you. ***** As alway...

Rafe tells stories about the wonderful suburban wildlife that can be found if you just go outside and go for a walk.  From eagles to foxes to otters, there is more out there than you may realize.  Put down the phone and go find the Good in the wild that is right around the corner. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so y...