12: Bricks, Elephants, and More

In this final episode discussing Derek DelGaudio's In and Of Itself, Jonathan and Jeff talk about the difference between living to achieve something and living to be consistent, what it might mean to find deep satisfaction in life, and if living in the here-and-now and living an eternal kind of life are the same thing. They also talk about what shapes and makes us, and if stories and careful attention to the world, ourselves and what is true can transform and redeem our hurts and our failings. The conversation ranges over several related (and some unrelated) issues, using DelGaudio's magic show as a springboard, including discussions on the internet, big-tech's attention-grabbing algorithms, whether we can build a better internet, whether we could have avoided the current one, and whether our future AI overlords will be friendly or not (and if either option is that great). Finally, they discuss how we relate to and know the world in such limited ways. Conversation on the wonder of all that is experienced and not yet fully known and also the possibility of only being aware of radically local comedians also crops up during this episode. Show Notes: Derek DelGaudio's In and Of Itself: https://store.cineplex.com/Product/derek-delgaudios-in-of-itself On Evil by Terry Eagleton: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300171259/evil "Invictus" (poem) by William Ernest Henley: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus Movie: About Time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_Time_(2013_film) Just a Minute by Wess Stafford: https://www.moodypublishers.com/just-a-minute/ Blankets by Craig Thompson: https://drawnandquarterly.com/blankets Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary W. Moon: https://www.ivpress.com/becoming-dallas-willard The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-divine-conspiracy-dallas-willard Movie: A Hidden Life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hidden_Life_(2019_film) Movie: The Two Popes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Popes Middlemarch by George Eliot: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/145 Podcast Episode: Radiolab – The Heartbeat: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/heartbeat Music: Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay