No Shortcuts to Now

What if transformation begins not with power — but with tenderness? 🎧 Waypoint 2.3: The Birth of Pleasure This is the third audio installment of Season Two of No Shortcuts to Now — a journey through myth, memory, and meaning in turbulent times. In this episode: soul as butterfly, beauty under threat, erotic mystery, jealous goddesses, and the myth of Psyche and Cupid — retold as a meditation on p...

What if history returns disguised — face covered, badge hidden, pounding on your neighbor’s door? 🎧  Field Note 2.2: Of ICE and Men Bonus audio episode from Season 2 of No Shortcuts to Now — a journey through myth, memory, and meaning in turbulent times. In this episode: California’s buried languages, Sierra snowmelt, Queen Calafia, John Steinbeck, and the brutal myths of modern borders. 👉 Subsc...

What do volcanoes, butterflies, and ancient breath have in common? 🎧 Waypoint 2.2 — Of Wings, Words, and Sacrificial Hearts This is the second episode of Season Two of No Shortcuts to Now — a podcast exploring myth, memory, and meaning in an age of upheaval. In this episode: butterfly souls and volcanic gods, breath as spirit, Aztec fire rituals, and the resurrection of culture through language....

What happens when public media becomes the enemy of the state? Field Note 2.R: The Coup Clux Clown Rides Again; or, Don't You be My Neighbor Bonus episode from Season Two of No Shortcuts to Now — a journey through myth, memory, and meaning in turbulent times. In this episode: Trump’s defunding of PBS and NPR, Putin’s propaganda blueprint, Sesame Street under ash, and the slow, strategic silencing...

What can butterflies teach us about justice, borders, and belonging? This bonus episode of No Shortcuts to Now is a companion to Waypoint 2.1 and part of a series of shorter reflections called Field Notes — meditations from the trail that explore myth, migration, and meaning in turbulent times. In this episode: Lassen’s volcanic updrafts, migrating tortoiseshell butterflies, natural law, sacred ri...

What do we begin to see when we rise above our assumptions — and look back through time? This first episode of Season 2 of No Shortcuts to Now explores symbolic ascent, fall migration, and the long view of history. Weaving myth, memory, ravens, and Platonic imagery, it asks how breath and perspective shape the soul — and how elevation reveals what we’ve missed below. 👉 Subscribe to No Shortcuts t...

What do we lose when we rush? This short episode reflects on patience, presence, and the dangers of cutting corners — in life, in history, and on the trail. Featuring gravel switchbacks, ancient Septembers, and the slow climb toward meaning. 👉 Subscribe to No Shortcuts to Now 📖 Prefer to read? The full text is included below. New here? → 📘 Begin here ☕ Brew the next chapter — and keep the stor...

Can truth survive in a post-fact world? This bonus episode of No Shortcuts to Now explores perspectivism, fundamentalism, Marcus Aurelius, and the fragile foundations of democratic knowledge. A meditation on why truth must be earned — not declared — and what’s at stake when belief replaces verification. 👉 Subscribe to No Shortcuts to Now 🗂️ New here? → 📘 Begin here ☕ Your support helps keep thi...

What holds us together when the truth feels like it’s unraveling? This is the fourth audio installment of No Shortcuts to Now — a podcast weaving myth, memory, philosophy, and political reflection into a slow-burning meditation on meaning in an age of disinformation and democratic drift. In this episode: volcanic awe, Marcus Aurelius, epistemology, spiderwebs, childhood wonder, and chocolate chip...

What happens when a mythic trickster strikes a nerve of shame in a would-be king? In this bonus Field Note from No Shortcuts to Now , we track tremors in the mask of power — from Trump’s eerily calm reaction to Musk’s Epstein jab, to the symbolic meaning behind heavy makeup, shame, and the authoritarian gaze. This is a meditation on myth, masculinity, and the deep fault lines beneath political per...

What do myth, media, and mischief have in common? As NPR and PBS come under fire, this episode explores Norse tricksters, family rituals, and the collapse of public storytelling. In this episode, we gather at a mountain trailhead where Norse tricksters, family rituals, and public storytelling collide. As NPR and PBS come under direct attack from the current administration, we follow Ratatoskr — th...

What happens when a child’s curiosity runs headlong into silence, science, and myth? In this episode, a boy’s volcanic obsession becomes a meditation on childhood awe, forbidden questions, and the slow erosion of wonder in an incurious world. From mythic gods to marriage beds, from Mt. Etna to Pompeii, this story asks what we hand down — and what we bury. 🎧 Waypoint 1.2: Trees of Forbidden Knowle...

What does it mean to raise a child under looming political fire? 🔥 From volcanic awe to authoritarian spectacle, this episode blends myth, memory, and parenting in a time of rising strongmen. 🎧 Waypoint 1.1: Vulcan’s Evangelist — Raising a Son in the Shadow of a Strongman Myth, memory, and volcanic awe converge as a young boy’s obsession with fire sparks a meditation on parenting, power, and pol...

No Shortcuts to Now — Myth, Memory, and Meaning in an Age of Authoritarianism This is the trailer for No Shortcuts to Now — a podcast weaving myth, memory, and political reflection into a slow-burning meditation on power, story, and resistance. In under 3 minutes, you’ll hear what this project is about: waypoints, field notes, and a search for meaning in a time of shortcuts, misinformation, and st...