Two Retired Homeschoolers

Do you ever find yourself tempted to do something bad? Do you ever know it's bad, but then you do it anyway? It's probably Wormwood's fault. And yours, of course--it's always your fault--but it's also Wormwood's. In today's book (as Holly and Rebecca return from hiatus to record another podcast), C. S. Lewis lays out all the best advice a senior devil (Screwtape) has fo...

So do you really need to read The Silmarillion ? Will Aragorn's reign of capturing every woman's heart ever end? Are the films or books better? "Are we even asking that question?" asks Rebecca. "Yes," says Holly. Since returning from our hiatus (we will neither confirm nor deny whether we were recruited by Gandalf for an adventure during this time), we have successfully...

Is it octopuses or octopi? Do these strange sea creatures really have a unique color of blood and number of hearts? Is Sy Montgomery really all she's cracked up to be as an author? For once, you can listen to your co-hosts agree on how much they liked a book, along with some writing tips, cool octopus facts, and a recap on what a year’s worth of content has done for the podcast. Thanks so much...

Once upon a time, three nerds got together to talk about Lord of the Rings. The way to Mordor was long and fraught with technical difficulties, but at last they emerged from the depths of Fangorn to bring you this episode, wherein Holly ponders dark things, Itzhak is Treebeard, and I guess Rebecca must be Gandalf (she's pretty testy in this episode). Mostly it's just three nerds rambling a...

Between Rebecca's habit of sinking cars and Holly's obsession with the Plateau of Latent Potential, this episode sure made for an interesting conversation. This week, your hosts toil away to explain and summarize all the charts, graphs, laws, and systems that make up this book, including: how to not let your happiness become dependent on accomplishing your goals, why motivation is overrate...

Today's episode is about two sisters: one beautiful and the other ugly, and serves as a multi-layered tale winding together many threads of ambiguous meaning. With special guest Virginia Matthews, your hosts embark to uncover the significance of this book by discussing the old and new man within every Christian, a case against the divine for the injustice of human suffering, and Lewis' int...

Did you know that Thursday is a person? That throwing wads of paper with nonsense written on them is a tactic of escape? That it can be surprisingly difficult to tell the difference between an anarchist and a detective? If none of that made sense to you, then don't expect it to be clarified. In an episode where your hosts were sure they had little of insight to say, we still managed to discuss...

What made Agatha Christie the world's second-best selling author, and what draws us to creepiness in the first place? In today's review of  By the Pricking of My Thumbs , your hosts discuss these curiosities while considering mystery's worth as a genre, how to write suspense convincingly, and the horrors of the villain in this book. Holly appreciates the imagination it takes to hop off...

Join us for an energy-filled episode with special guest EllieJoy Matthews! We discuss Ted Dekker's Christian thriller Blink of an Eye, where Saudi princesses flee for their lives and Berkeley grad students can see the future (but only sometimes). Holly struggles with the purpose of prayer, Ellie has deep thoughts about open theism and the consequences of sin, and Rebecca sounds dead inside bec...

Why is the danger involved in riding a skateboard important for a child's development, and what's really so bad about telling a little lie now and then anyway? In today's analysis of  12 Rules for Life: An Antidote To Chaos , we explore these questions (and a lot more) offered by the venerated Jordan Peterson. Holly talks way too much in this episode, but at least she has a revelation...

Which sin is the worst, and which one most afflicts modern America? In this analysis of what the Church considers the seven principal sins, your hosts explore these questions alongside Dorothy Sayers while reviewing her essay on the subject. Rebecca feels that she's stumbled upon a revelation concerning envy/covetousness and how they relate to the liberal/conservative parties, while Holly make...

Like Frodo, your hosts and guest Mackenzie Matthews form a fellowship and set out on a quest to uncover a fantasy masterpiece.  We discuss Tolkien's aversion to allegory, debate the presence of moral implications, and compare the differences between the book and movie. Join us as we delve into the appeal of comfort versus the need for adventure in this classic tale of good vs. evil. Holly com...

This week your hosts return from the Swiss mountains and embark on a new journey with a young fella who's chasing a bunch of thieves through the old Wild West. Rebecca struggles to describe a deep and mysterious affection for land that is depicted so well in this book. Holly reverts to believing in the common notion that "things just ain't as simple as they used to be" when it comes to love. Join...

This week we spent some time in the mountains and gained some intuitive powers as a result. We used those powers to read our listeners' minds, and then we knew exactly what this world needed: a healthy dose of Switzerland's history, our two cents on what makes simplicity so captivating, and an oh-so-thrilling conversation about happiness vs. suffering. Come partake of the welfare as we review Heid...

If you're like us, you've heard the name of Spurgeon before and felt you ought to know something of him, but it never made its way to the top of your to-do list. Well, today we've come to change that for you! By analyzing his three sermons of "The Personality of the Holy Ghost", "The Bible", and "Election", your hosts band together with our guest Mackenzie Matthews to discover what it is about thi...

Happy New Year! Our New Year's resolution is to get at least one review that we can read in the intro to an episode to make it sound like we're popular (and no, this is not your faithful podcaster slaves guilt-tripping you). ANYWAY! Welcome to part 2 of the Little Women talks. We took an unannounced Christmas break (on accident), so this week we make amends with a special guest who joins the discu...

The time has come at last, folks! We finally broach a subject your hosts have both knowledge and personal experience in! Isn’t that just capital (excuse our slang)? In the 1994 movie adaptation of Louis May Alcott’s book about sisterhood and the trials of growing into a young woman, we explore the beliefs of transcendentalism and marvel at the film elements that make this movie a classic. Holly sw...

Is fear the worst vice of them all? What makes a villain truly evil? Will Holly ever be reunited with her long lost spider pet? In today's episode, we use the excuse of reviewing a children's book to discuss some of life's deepest, darkest questions. Rebecca feels drawn to the concept of responsibility without personal stakes, and Holly takes a sudden and passionate interest in children's books th...

Music credit: "March of the Pods" by Howling Mad H   In today's episode, your two very unmarried hosts evaluate, in comprehensive depth, one of the most romantic novels of all time - that's right, it's Emma, by Jane Austen. Holly has found a kindred spirit in Harriet Smith, Rebecca defends the noble pastime of gossip, and manipulation is probably only okay if you're stopping your friend from...

The Muses are against us - or maybe it's simply another week and therefore another opportunity for some random issue to develop, such as our mic deciding to cut in and out while recording. We trust that wherever editing was inadequate to appease the tech gods, your own gracious disregard will suffice. Oh, also, if you at all intend to read this book in the future, then beware of SPOILERS concernin...

Episode 3 // Can't Stop Thinking // Nancy Collier Music credit: "March of the Pods" by Howling Mad H This week we read a book about excessive thinking and proceeded to spend a thirty-minute podcast episode overthinking it. Holly felt the book offered insightful ways to manage her overthinking problem. Rebecca #didnotrelate because she's too perfect for silly problems like that...or maybe she's jus...

The Weight of Glory // C. S. Lewis Music credit: "March of the Pods" by Howling Mad H Being homeschoolers, we believe in being unconventional. That's why we decided to take on one of Lewis's lesser-known works. From "Why I'm Not a Pacifist" to "A Slip of the Tongue," the hosts dive into a hodgepodge of Lewis's essays in their desperate search for the true meaning of "glory." Also, Rebecca gets vul...