The BetterPears Podcast

This episode is on the Latin word, “altum” and its two disparate meanings. The purpose of the episode, like all those of the podcast, is to suggest a deeper etymology and etiology for the words we employ to express reality each day. Thus, while the positions offered in each episode are in no way definitive and at times are rather speculative, it is my hope that they function as timeless attempts a...

This episode is on perdition (and by extension forgiveness). The purpose of the episode, like all those of the podcast, is to suggest a deeper etymology and etiology for the words we employ to express reality each day. Thus, while the positions offered in each episode are in no way definitive, it is my hope that they function as timeless attempts at expanding your palette for true and accurate ver...

This week’s episode is on beatitude, but first a few announcements concerning the podcast. A little over a year and a half ago, we began distributing this podcast to the world and today’s episode is of some historic significance. As a connoisseur of podcasts, perhaps you might recall a certain statistic floating around the internet that 90% of podcasts fail to ever be produced, dying in the idea p...

We begin this episode with a dedication to a late family friend whose legacy of abiding with the Fugikawas over half a century, impressed me as a young man. This week’s topic is Menial Labor which in my arrangement of podcast topics is categorized as “words often used and rarely considered.” The purpose of the episode, like all those of the podcast, is to suggest a deeper etymology and etiology fo...

The long touted announcement of BetterPears Leaves is finally here! Visit BetterPears.com/Leaves now to watch the video and learn more.

This week’s episode titled “Father and Mother” pushes beyond the limits of Big Lexi and even some now conventional discussions of sexual complementarity influenced by St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. While some in the audience might disagree with one or several of the connections offered in the episode between language and the foundational relations of father and mother to their children....

This week’s episode on real estate is prefaced by a dedication to my first Latin teacher. I continue to offer my gratitude to you our audience for continuing to listen each week. If you enjoy The BetterPears Podcast, could you please like and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice? This simple task truly helps us reach a wider audience. To receive the transcript of each episode and be...

This week’s episode after a short, mid-winter hiatus is on Knight Errantry. I continue to offer my gratitude for our audience, for continuing to listen each week. If you enjoy The BetterPears Podcast, could you please like and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice? This simple task truly helps us reach a wider audience. To receive the transcript of each episode and be the first to le...

This week's episode is on Vaccination. If you enjoy The BetterPears Podcast, could you please like and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. To receive the transcript of each episode and be the first to learn of BetterPears announcements, please sign-up to our newsletter at the bottom of the page at BetterPears.com. On the in-person courses front, we hope to have a big announcement...

Season 2 rages on this week with “Bellum Gerere,” a reflection on both war and its waging, but first we have a few announcements. Yesterday was the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. and to further the cultural restoration of the Pro-Life Movement, BetterPears has launched a new IYKYK mug recalling the portion of the Hippocratic Oath which pledges not to provide abortifacients to pregnant m...

Welcome back to another episode of The BetterPears Podcast. As we announced in December, there are a number of new initiatives happening at BetterPears including further development of the BetterPears Market, your home for BetterPears branded apparel and drinkware. The podcast has also been establishing its presence on Rumble and YouTube, although new episodes of the podcast will continue to premi...

Welcome back to another season of The BetterPears Podcast. As we announced in December, there are a number of new initiatives happening at BetterPears including further development of the BetterPears Market, your home for BetterPears branded apparel and drinkware. The podcast has also been establishing its presence on Rumble and YouTube, although new episodes of the podcast will continue to premie...

Welcome to this update for BetterPears. I am Dr. Jason Fugikawa, founder of BetterPears and managing member of FugiCor, LLC, the parent company of BetterPears. This blog post and podcast will include updates on my career transition, the BetterPears Mission, and the year ahead followed by a closing insight for your reading or listening edification. Links Mentioned in the Episode: BetterPears Swag a...

The phrase “it does not make one iota of a difference” should be classified with similar phrases such as “I am not my brother’s keeper” and “to thy own self be true” in that it bears something of a biblical or Shakespearean pedigree while it excels in being on the wrong side of history and truth. This episode of The BetterPears Podcast features a dedication to Dr. Fugikawa's paternal grandfather a...

Fecisti nos ad te et cor nostrum inquietum est donec requiescat in te. In his most famous line from his Confessions, St. Augustine introduces the great outward and return journey of his life, of our life. In this meticulous sentence, he reveals both his ability for rhetorical flourish and the paucity of our attempts at translation. This episode is prefaced by a dedication to Fr. Matthew L. Lamb, w...

Sight and Taste are linked to our expression and understanding of wisdom in the West. Dr. Fugikawa explores the limitations and nuances of these senses in our grasp of reality, truth, and the ordering of all things. Dr. Fugikawa announces the second BetterPears course starting on June 15th in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. For more information and to claim a limited spot in these fellowships...

The BetterPears Podcast returns this week with an historical announcement concerning our first BetterPears Course starting on May 30th in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. For more information and to claim a limited spot of the inaugural fellowship, visit BetterPears.com/courses. All inaugural fellows will receive a complimentary BetterPears Mug from the BetterPears Market. Catch up on past epi...

The BetterPears Podcast returns after our mid-season hiatus as the road to the Season 1 finale approaches in May. Catch up on past episodes of Season 1 at BetterPears.com/preserves. This week's podcast is on procreation . As one of the two (or in some sense three) ends of marriage, the procreative end or procreation is often confused with creation. Dr. Fugikawa discusses this difference amid the c...

Dr. Fugikawa offers a memorial dedication to his late uncle. The meaning of genesis is examined through the lens of pasta and paternity rituals. To learn more, please visit: BetterPears.com. To support the BetterPears Podcast, please visit: BetterPears.com/CSA

We desire communion. We desire community. We find undesirable the task of defining what we mean by communion or community. To learn more and sign up to our newsletter, please visit: BetterPears.com. To support to The BetterPears Podcast, please visit BetterPears.com/CSA.

The curious case of Cyrus of Persia is examined. Dr. Fugikawa says a number of Greek words that all sound similar. The full text to read along is at BetterPears.com.

The influence of Big Lexi is noted again in this analysis of the Greek word for human being. This episode is dedicated to Dr. Fugikawa's Boy Scout Scoutmaster, whose lessons and wise counsel are discussed and honored. The CSA (Community Sponsored Analysis) is still open for this season of the podcast at BetterPears.com/CSA.

The first entry in a larger project on "deep etymology," The Three "Pars" analyzes the three Latin verbs sharing the same root to arrive at the essence of parenting. The episode begins with a dedication to the late Fr. Joseph Koterski, S.J. This episode also introduces the BetterPears CSA.

Classical education bears the tension of an oxymoron. Education, a literal “leading out” recalls the “Allegory of the Cave” in Plato’s Republic in which Socrates describes the way by which the philosopher leads others out from the cave of images.

While faculties of higher education in the United States have for the last half-century eschewed an understanding of their role in loco parentis, higher education, like all education, remains fundamentally a service of parents to their children.