No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

This is our unabridged interview with David Desteno. Does religion make you happier? These days, many of us are prone to see religion as an artifact of pre-scientific humanity, full of non-scientific claims. For that reason, religion often gets written off as having no measurable value for everyday life. But what if the so-called goods of religion could be studied? In his most recent book How God...

Does religion make you happier? These days, many of us are prone to see religion as an artifact of pre-scientific humanity, full of non-scientific claims. For that reason, religion often gets written off as having no measurable value for everyday life. But what if the so-called goods of religion could be studied? In his most recent book How God Works, psychologist David DeSteno, suggests that reli...

This is our unabridged interview with Johnnyswim. What is it like to be a famous musical duo, on the road all the time, and married with kids? That’s the life of Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez, more widely known as folk-pop band Johnnyswim, whose eclectic life is put on full display in their two reality television shows, “The Johnnyswim Show” and “In the Kitchen with Abner + Amanda.” Amanda's mot...

What is it like to be a famous musical duo, on the road all the time, and married with kids? That’s the life of Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez, more widely known as folk-pop band Johnnyswim, whose eclectic life is put on full display in their two reality television shows, “The Johnnyswim Show” and “In the Kitchen with Abner + Amanda.” Amanda's mother was the legendary Disco Queen Donna Summer; me...

This is our unabridged interview with Oliver Burkeman. In an age full of life hacks, self-help books, and productivity gurus, many of us only end up busier and more stressed than we were before. What if there’s a better way to live a full, fruitful life? "The world is bursting with wonder,” says Oliver Burkeman, “and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility...

In an age full of life hacks, self-help books, and productivity gurus, many of us only end up busier and more stressed than we were before. What if there’s a better way to live a full, fruitful life? "The world is bursting with wonder,” says Oliver Burkeman, “and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might...

This is our unabridged interview with Charles Strobel. On August 6th, 2023, at the age of 80, Charles Strobel, affectionately known as Charlie, left us. Today, we revisit our 2020 interview with him. A true Nashville icon, he was once hailed as "Tennesseean of the Year." As a Catholic priest and the visionary behind Room In The Inn, a Nashville-based non-profit dedicated to offering hospitality, e...

On August 6th, 2023, at the age of 80, Charles Strobel, affectionately known as Charlie, left us. Today, we revisit our 2020 interview with him. A true Nashville icon, he was once hailed as "Tennesseean of the Year." As a Catholic priest and the visionary behind Room In The Inn, a Nashville-based non-profit dedicated to offering hospitality, education, community, and employment to those experienci...

This is our unabridged interview with Elise Hu. What is beauty, and what role should it play in our lives? Beauty has long been seen as one the three “transcendentals” (along with truth and goodness) which have been valued at all times, in all places, by all cultures. But these days, the word “beauty” is often equated with standards of bodily presentation that, in an increasingly globalized and te...

What is beauty, and what role should it play in our lives? Beauty has long been seen as one the three “transcendentals” (along with truth and goodness) which have been valued at all times, in all places, by all cultures. But these days, the word “beauty” is often equated with standards of bodily presentation that, in an increasingly globalized and technological world, are reachable only by extreme...

This is our unabridged interview with Tish Harrison Warren. Does pluralism result in discrimination? Must one choose a political side, either on the Left or the Right? And how can an ordinary life be an exceptional one? These are all questions involving dichotomies that are commonly presented to us in our culture. But Tish Harrison Warren, an ordained Anglican priest and columnist for the New York...

Does pluralism result in discrimination? Must one choose a political side, either on the Left or the Right? And how can an ordinary life be an exceptional one? These are all questions involving dichotomies that are commonly presented to us in our culture. But Tish Harrison Warren, an ordained Anglican priest and columnist for the New York Times, sees such dichotomies as false, and has spent her ow...

This is our unabridged interview with Angela Duckworth. What do Olympic athletes, world-class artists, elite academics, and successful business executives have in common? Ivy League psychologist Angela Duckworth has spent her career researching this question, closely studying those folks at the top of their respective fields who are considered “high achievers.” Surprisingly, it turns out talent is...

What do Olympic athletes, world-class artists, elite academics, and successful business executives have in common? Ivy League psychologist Angela Duckworth has spent her career researching this question, closely studying those folks at the top of their respective fields who are considered “high achievers.” Surprisingly, it turns out talent is not the answer. Neither is genius. “The common denomina...

This is Part II of our unabridged interview with Parker Palmer. “Things didn’t come together vocationally for me until I was 50.” Now 84 years old, Quaker writer, speaker, and activist Parker Palmer has much to say about living a good life. And in his experience, a good life is often hard-won and counterintuitive. In this episode, Parker covers a lot of ground, offering wisdom gleaned from a life...

This is Part I of our unabridged interview with Parker Palmer. “Things didn’t come together vocationally for me until I was 50.” Now 84 years old, Quaker writer, speaker, and activist Parker Palmer has much to say about living a good life. And in his experience, a good life is often hard-won and counterintuitive. In this episode, Parker covers a lot of ground, offering wisdom gleaned from a life l...

“Things didn’t come together vocationally for me until I was 50.” Now 84 years old, Quaker writer, speaker, and activist Parker Palmer has much to say about living a good life. And in his experience, a good life is often hard-won and counterintuitive. In this episode, Parker covers a lot of ground, offering wisdom gleaned from a life lived at attention to the makings of a good life. He tells about...

This is our unabridged interview with Judith Moskowitz. Stress, they say, is a silent killer. It sometimes feels as if our culture, all the way down to its very economic and social structures, is oriented toward increasing stress levels. Then add the challenges of various common life events–death of a loved one, losing a job, going through divorce – and sooner or later, overwhelming stress seems t...

Stress, they say, is a silent killer. It sometimes feels as if our culture, all the way down to its very economic and social structures, is oriented toward increasing stress levels. Then add the challenges of various common life events–death of a loved one, losing a job, going through divorce – and sooner or later, overwhelming stress seems to come for us all. But might there be a way for us to fl...

This is our unabridged interview with Gretchen Rubin. What does it take to be happy? Our show is often over-academic in its approach to such questions. But what if there was a way to discover answers that work without bothering too much about definitions, drawn-out studies, and the search for a one-size-fits-all objectivity? In other words, what if the path to happiness includes some personal expe...

What does it take to be happy? Our show is often over-academic in its approach to such questions. But what if there was a way to discover answers that work without bothering too much about definitions, drawn-out studies, and the search for a one-size-fits-all objectivity? In other words, what if the path to happiness includes some personal experimentation, fueled by good old fashioned trial and er...

This is our unabridged interview with Rainn Wilson. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica… and spirituality? Rainn Wilson is known for playing beloved misfit, paper salesman, and beet farmer Dwight Schrute on the hit TV show The Office. But in Hollywood, he’s known for being a bit of a misfit in another way… he frequently talks about religion in public. Recently, he wrote a book called 'Soul Boom' in...

Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica… and spirituality? Rainn Wilson is known for playing beloved misfit, paper salesman, and beet farmer Dwight Schrute on the hit TV show The Office. But in Hollywood, he’s known for being a bit of a misfit in another way… he frequently talks about religion in public. Recently, he wrote a book called 'Soul Boom' in which he calls for a spiritual revolution. “We've t...

This is our unabridged interview with Judith Shulevitz Why would anybody want to practice Sabbath? Over a decade ago, Judith Shulevitz wrote a book called 'The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time.' Before most of us had smartphones and remote jobs, she was calling attention to the troubling trajectory of an increasingly productivity-focused western culture. In a few years, she arg...

Why would anybody want to practice Sabbath? Over a decade ago, Judith Shulevitz wrote a book called 'The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time.' Before most of us had smartphones and remote jobs, she was calling attention to the troubling trajectory of an increasingly productivity-focused western culture. In a few years, she argued, we would simply be working all the time. Her predi...