Heavy Things Lightly

Story time! Dan Shays and his rebellion are revisited by Heers today as an allegorical exploration for COVID, lock-downs, and what is "good" for you and me.  Maybe big pharma is good. Maybe everyone receiving the vaccine is great. But maybe Mr post-revolutionary Shays would have gotten a little rowdy over all of this. WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbi...

What is alone time really? And isn't that really just "sitting at my desk and working" time? The Old World sees it as a potential sickness and in the West as a necessity. Come explore (alone or otherwise) what this very common thing actually is with us on WAWTAR. Like the intro music? That was Hilltop who will be joined by Brunes Charles and Georgia Heers for the First Things Founda...

 What does success look like? Well the NoVo Foundation seems to think that we can measure it using love as a metric. But how does that work? And as some have noted, can love really be quantified so easily? John tackles this and counters with an old world concept called the nous - which offers a possible meeting ground for these concepts. Links: Quartz article by Suzanne Guillette - https://tinyurl...

Foreign aid...what's it really? Did George Washington have a foreign aid policy? And is it only about sending aid overseas, or is there an element of receiving as well? Or is it all about making lots of money? Heer's takes a quick look at what aid is and how it's delivered. WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: ht...

Welcome! Welcome! Today John dives into the dowry (not to be confused with bride price - don't worry we clear that up). What was it, what is it, and how has it transformed in the modern world? Also, yes, there are people who kidnap their brides and we talk about that too. WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: https://www.fa...

The From the Field Series is a conversation between First Things Foundation Field Workers and John as they explore the lesser talked about aspects of life. This is not a series devoted to what FTF does per se, but rather, a meaningful look at how experiences and decisions shape our lives. This week Isabella Copeland joins us from our Appalachian site to talk about her experience as a hospital chap...

Big companies have become the movers and shakers of the modern world. But was it always that way? How were merchants understood in the "old world?" And do big, global companies have a problem that most of us aren't discussing? WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/797121200908155 In...

In the "Old World" you see a lot of interesting things. A truck lodged in the roof of a Guatemalan hut for instance. You also see, especially in Africa, men holding hands. What is that all about? You might be surprised to find out that the underlying reasons are more important culturally than is first apparent. WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Joi...

John and Uncle Seth back for more as they bite into what exactly happened to individuality and community in the last year. Was there a chance to unite under a common cause and repair social rifts? Or is taking horse de-wormer really the issue at stake here? WAWTAR! Interested in joining First Things Foundation? We are looking to send people to Sierra Leone and the Georgian Republic! Check out our...

Welcome back! John has been ruminating since his trip to Africa (Mozambique - where we might be working at some point in the future, stay tuned!). He was noticing trash. Or the lack of it. And it got him thinking about how we enlightened folk think about waste. Is it all bad? Interested in joining First Things Foundation, we are looking to send people to Sierra Leone and the Georgian Republic! Che...

On this episode of WAWTAR, John is joined by iconographer Aidan Hart. They talk about the role icons and secular art play in society alongside a more detailed discussion on why icons look the way they do. Aidan has been a professional icon painter and carver for over thirty years with works in over twenty countries of the world in a wide range of mediums. He has experience with panel and wall pain...

John has returned from a trip to Mozambique where slave castles and the old world mixed in his brain to produce this episode. It's a little about our culture (Chuck D and Public Enemy), it's a commentary on the Enlightenment and the cost of utopian dreams. And it's a reflection on all the "leftover" people when utopian dreams fall through. Interested in joining First Thing...

Jonathan Jackson joins the show to talk about art and Orthodoxy, how Orthodoxy has affected his view on art, and a discussion on what beauty might be.  Jonathan is a five-time EMMY® Award-winning actor and Critics’ Choice Award nominee, who has starred in numerous TV and films including ABC/CMT’s hit drama “Nashville,” “General Hospital,” “Tuck Everlasting,” among others His band Enation has perfo...

La Tanya Hall is a renown singer and musician who has played with some of the world’s most celebrated artists, including  Steely Dan, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin among many others. She has also appeared as a solo artist in her own right with the  American Composers Orchestra, The Denver Symphony, and the St. Louis  Symphony and at jazz clubs around the world. Her new record, Say Yes (Blue  Can...

Fr. John Strickland is an Orthodox Priest, teacher, and podcast host of Paradise and Utopia on Ancient Faith Radio. He is also the author of several books including: The Making of Holy Russia , The Age of Division , and The Age of Paradise . He joins John Heers today discussing the historical roots of the secular dimension. What was the world view before it included a secular "space?" An...

Welcome one and all yet again to "Why Are We Talking About Rabbits?" This week is an Uncle Seth special where we attempt to close out some outstanding topics. Whether that happens or not is entirely unknown.  Teaching and parenting are on the table alongside the new never normal COVID-19 reality and God. It's Uncle Seth folks, everything is up for grabs. Interested in joining First...

Interested in joining First Things Foundation? Check out our Join FTF page: https://first-things.org/opportunities for more info, or email Daniel at danielpadrnos@first-things.org . We are going to Georgia this September and you should come! Keipi Journeys by FTF is an immersive 10 day trip across the Georgian Republic. Past Journeys have included stops in Kazbegi, Tusheti, Tbilisi, and Kakheti am...

Baseball is changing. In fact it has been changing for a while now. And the shift involves a move from "old timer wisdom" to KPIs, swing statistics, and algorithms that let a team win for less money. It might also be heralding a deeper problem in our society as a whole. Join Heers as we take a quick look at how greed and selfishness are changing the game. Interested in joining First Thin...

Kingsnorth is an English writer and thinker currently living in Ireland. Growing up he was actively involved in protests, at one point going so far to chain himself to a bridge. He has worked for Greenpeace, openDemocracy, and EarthAction, is an honorary member of the Lani tribe and was infamously named one of Britain's top 10 troublemakers. He is also a recent convert to Orthodoxy. Today Joh...

Secret meetings. Plots. Unexplained things. Our imaginations can run wild when we think about conspiracies. They are the proverbial rabbit hole. Instead of talking about a bunch of conspiracies directly, today Heers discusses the historical and post-enlightenment understanding of conspiring along with ice trays and Emmanuel Kant. Links: Check out this semesters podcourse on Conspiracies here: http...

Today Richard Rohlin joins Heers to talk about missionary work, the idea of immersion, silence, and a little on the Medieval mindset. Richard Rohlin is a software developer, Germanic philologist, and Orthodox Christian. He speaks and publishes on Germanic poetry, the Inklings, and the Sacramental Imagination. His podcast on Ancient Faith Radio, Amon Sul, explores the themes of JR Tolkein as inform...

Today Andrew Martin joins WAWTAR to talk about the religious impulse in corporate America. Andrew is a Senior Manager of Talent Development with many years of experience in corporate America.  Links: Century of Self documentary Interested in joining First Things Foundation? Check out our Join FTF page for more info, or email Daniel at danielpadrnos@first-things.org . We are going to Georgia and yo...

Fr. Peter Heers, Orthodox priest and author, rejoins WAWTAR to talk more about Orthodoxy, what a martyr is, and the perilous state of education. Fr. Peter, known for his book "The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II" ( https://tinyurl.com/52udprh9 ), is also the host and creator of The Orthodox Ethos podcast ( https://orthodoxethos.com/ ).  Links: Check out Fr. Peter's "Su...

This week WAWTAR is joined by nonother than Gregory David Roberts, international best selling author of Shantaram and The Mountain Shadow. He is also a singer/songwriter, speaker, and seeker of deeper meaning and spirituality. This week John and GDR discuss what it means to be truly human, finding deep meaning in life, and a little on sacrifice.  Links: Shantaram ( AMZN ) GDR's Website   The...

Evan Amato, founder of "Rewire the West" joins WAWTAR today to talk about beauty, truth, and virtue. From his bio: "Evan is passionate about helping others rediscover beauty, truth, and virtue in today's Western culture. To this end he created Rewire the West, wrote and published a free ebook, and now releases weekly videos on YouTube. He is a firm believer in beauty's pow...