Hi there...

Today, Leah and I discuss a book called "Here I Am." A book by Dr. Leonard Felder. The extended title for his book is, "Using Jewish Spiritual Wisdom to Become More Present, Centered, and Available For Life."

While we do spend a lot of our time discussing some of the parts of the book, our discussion ranges from strategies found in Felder's book to discussions of how to navigate the current world's climate.

Leah and I are in the process of completing our first season together, and we have enjoyed working on this podcast. Our next season starts in 2025, and we hope to have some more deep and thoughtful conversations in the new year! Join us!

Also, look for us on Blue Sky. I will give more details when I get the account set up, but we should be able to share details on this in a few weeks!

And...Great News! I've just started a Facebook Page too! Check us out!

So...I know we promised to talk about our favorite quotes on this episode, and we fully planned on it, but sometimes things happen that take us down a different road.

Today, Leah and Jamie spend a bit of quality time trying to dispel the way body image plays such a negative role in our everyday lives. Jamie spends some time relaying a situation at work where the current event of the day was the "Obesity Epidemic," and pandemonium broke out between the adults in the room.

While there is some credibility to the science of unhealthy weight, there are so many little strands of complexity to the issue of weight and body image, and some of it hearkens back to our episode about Food Insecurity and Racial Justice.

With so many people struggling with body image - not just fat shaming - a new way to approach humans should be with more kindness and support! Hope you enjoy!

This episode took place about a week after the election. We were a little raw, but were able to keep ourselves somewhat on topic.

We looked at the book: Warming Up , How climate change is changing sport, by Madeleine Orr. Dr. Orr is a sports ecologist who has spent years studying the effects of climate change on a large portion of the sporting world. She doesn't just cover winter sports, but also discusses how sport will change, or need to adjust everything from locations, to how training takes place to adapt to the real threat of climate change.

What is refreshing about this book is the different approach that she takes to find a way to reach even some people who may be skeptical of human-caused climate change, but may love sports. The threats to the whole world of humans is real, and maybe, if we could just get a few more people on board.....

Leah and I recorded this podcast about a week before the election. We had some cautious optimism, but alas things were not to be. So many people voted the man back into office, and he has made so many problematic claims and promises, that I thought that no one was that delusional to vote him into office. But the polls showed that he was popular and the thing happened. This strikes me as troubling because critical thinking is so important in our world, and many people lack that ability. I guess that we just need to put our heads down and keep plowing forward. Keep working in our own ways to create a safer and more sane world for all people. What is sad is that so many people think that we need to make America great again, and that we need to take America back, and that we need to save America. But what they don't realize is that we are losing our identity because of the ideology of the MAGA movement. We're creating a less perfect union that only has room for those who think, look, act, pray, live like them.

I hope you enjoy this episode of our podcast. When we recorded it, we felt a little more positive about our futures, we hope that we can feel better as we move forward over the next few years.

In today's podcast Leah and Jamie discuss the book: Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch. The title says most of what the wide-ranging discussion was about, but we focus on how food was used as a way to subjugate and conquer indigenous cultures and the implications this had on tribes in today's world. We also look at the way food was used to as a way to keep Indigenous Africans under control as slaves in the early U.S. We discuss the way food insecurity still affects these two vulnerable communities even today.

Finally, we tackle the school lunches - something we all have had experience with. Click the link above to see a Good Reads reviews of this incredible book!

In this episode, Leah and I jump into the book "Cultish," by Amanda Montell. This is a book that delves into the idea of "in-groups," and "out-groups" that are found in every part of our culture today. A highly recommended read!

Welcome Back to Season 2 of Skeptical Thinker!

I have asked my oldest daughter to join me on the Skeptical Thinker Podcast because we share so many incredibly interesting conversations! So a warm welcome to Leah!

Today's Discussion is how connected we can be to the natural world. We are discussing parts of a book by Tristan Gooley called How To Read Water . Another book that comes up in our discussion is Self-Compassion by Kristen Neff. I (Jamie) have not read How to Read Water, but I did read Self Compassion and I have learned a lot from it to use in my daily life!

Hope you enjoy our new format! I know there are audio issues with our discussion - we were using Discord for the recording, but I just got a new computer, and I think I forgot to change the microphone from computer to the mixing board, so I sound a little like I'm in a tin can!

Best Regards!

Jamie

Show Notes

This month, I look at a couple of areas of sociology. Enjoy! Check out my show notes, and be sure to subscribe!