Front Porch Philosophy

In this episode, Garrett and Mike discuss Ivan's mentality and relationship to the world around him as he deals with the reality of Death.

Garrett and Mike continue their discussion of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. In this chapter, they discuss the character of Gerasim and what he can teach us.

Garrett and Mike celebrate Father's Day by continuing to do their best to face death with the help of Tolstoy and Ivan. The song Mike was trying to come up with is Epic by Faith No More if you want to give it a listen. Happy Father's Day to all the dads tuning in.

Garrett and Mike return from spring break to discuss Chapter 5 of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. The lesson from this episode: Watch the movie Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.

Garrett and Mike discuss Chapter 4 of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. Things start to turn for Ivan. But not for anyone else.

Garrett and Mike break down Chapter 3 of the novella "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. In this chapter, "Everything was as it should be."

Garrett and Mike continue their discussion of the novella "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. Respice finem listeners.

Garrett and Mike begin their chapter by chapter discussion of the novella "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy. They encourage you to pick up a copy and read along. It will change your life. Or your death.

Garrett talks about the different sorts of rules that our lives ask us to play by and Mike provides some wisdom. Video referenced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfN_8RVtZVY J. Krishnamurti Essay: https://jkrishnamurti.org/content/if-i-depend-my-existence-entertainment-i’m-not-human-being-i’m-just/Entertainment%20

Garrett and Mike talk about our need for mental clarity and how true clarity comes from awareness of what is. The Gamification of Public Discourse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LpbGW3qLVg Chapter 27: To live with clarity is not a value https://jkrishnamurti.org/content/chapter-27-live-clarity-not-value/Clarity

Garrett and Mike discuss their notion of freedom as they get over another crushing Buffalo Bills playoff loss. Link to J. Krishnamurti reading: Chapter 2 - Freedom is essential for the beauty of goodness | J. Krishnamurti

Garrett and Mike continue to try and discuss time, more specifically our experience of it. They turn to the Bible, Henri Bergson, and Dante for inspiration.

Garrett and Mike celebrate the season by discussing some of their takeaways from reading Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Hermitix Podcast Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hermitix/id1437997652?i=1000739997500

Garrett and Mike talk about the elusive concept of Now. What it means for the self, what it is, and if it's really here at all.

Garrett and Mike take on the difficult task of attempting to talk about I am.

In this episode, Garrett and Mike discuss fear. They read some original poetry and ask the question, does the bud fear the flower?

Garrett and Mike once again return to a discussion that centers around The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky. They talk about feeling ridiculous, the medium of the dream, truth, love and all the rest.

Garrett and Mike discuss Marshall McLuhan and his concept of "The Medium is the Message." They explore how the mediums and technologies that make up our environment change our perceptions and modes of being even more than the actual content of those mediums and technologies.

Garrett and Mike discuss minimalism and some of their takeaways from the book Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki. Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Things-New-Japanese-Minimalism/dp/0393609030

Garrett has recently started practicing Muay Thai and it has got him thinking about stuff like commitment, time, and grabbing onto things. He and Mike discuss some of their ideas around these topics and how some principles of combat sports extend into everyday life.

Garrett and Mike return to the topic of hospitality to discuss how Eckhart Tolle's thoughts on talking to flowers can help teach us about the relationship between attention and hospitality. Peace Lily: Spathiphyllum wallisii

50th episode celebration! If this is the first episode you're listening to or if it's your 50th, thank you! To celebrate the occasion, Garrett and Mike discuss the virtue of hospitality while sitting on the front porch for the first time in 2025.

Mike airs his grievances about Daylight Saving Time and he and Garrett talk about how setting our clocks forward an hour presents a great opportunity to reexaime our relationship to time.

Inspired once again by the show Severance, Garrett and Mike discuss "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", a novella by Leo Tolstoy, and how it shows us what it means to live a full life.

Mike asks Garrett a few questions about technology today, the nature of time, and what love might be.