Leaving With Common Ground

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

In this final segment, we talk about policies and practices that, for Tristan, need to change if small, independent farmers are to survive. Through it all, the deeper question kept rattling around: What kind of country do we become if fewer and fewer people know how to make, repair, grow, or care for the things that sustain us? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Tristan generously shares with us his approach to making a life that makes him a good neighbor, a citizen of the world, and a steward of the land. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Every August, a new cohort of students—and their parents—asks essentially the same question: "What do I need to do to succeed in college?" My perspective is unusual because it combines my own experience as a first-generation student with three decades of watching thousands of students flourish, struggle, change direction, and ultimately find their way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

In Part 1, we join Tristan Swartz during his evening milking session. You'll hear and feel the sights and sounds of his dairy barn while he explains his life as a doing-it-wrong farmer. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

The question I’m interested in is this: even when the memory of a place is accompanied by sadness, why do so many stories remain happy and funny? And a larger question lies beneath that one: What makes each one worth telling? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Have we somewhere along the way traded doing things together for doing things separately? Have we traded shared work for convenience and dependence on one another for independence from one another? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

We often think we care for our animals, but somewhere along the way, they end up caring for us, too. This episode is a tribute to the animals that loved us despite our flaws and changed us in return. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

In this new series, Doing it Wrong, we explore how families are resisting modernization to live a rural life and sustain it economically. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

The Ones Who StayA tribute to the quiet heroes of hospice—the ones who hold the light steady when the rest of us can’t.When you’ve sat beside someone you love in their final days, hospice is no longer an abstract idea—it becomes something deeply human. My guest, Melissa, and I have both been there, and it changed how we understand care, dignity, and presence.Melissa has spent more than 20 years working in senior care and hospice. In this conversation, we unpack what hospice really is, challenge the stigma around it, and honor the compassion of those who choose this work.They are the ones who stay when others have to step away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

This 10-minute episode goes out to anyone who learned something the hard way—with scraped knees, bruised egos, and just enough stubbornness to try again. It’s for the ones who are still at it decades later—moving a little slower, maybe, but no less determined. “I Quit Golf” is, strangely enough, not about quitting. It’s about that voice in your head that refuses to accept that getting older means backing down. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

In this episode, we pull up a barstool and explore the stories, sounds, and spirit of the neighborhood pub. Your favorite bar is a place that holds us together when the world feels scattered. The bars also reflect who we are and our desire for something easy. Membership is earned over time. The review process is informal but stringent. Conversation hog? You’ll know it. Complainer? No thanks. Bars especially hate complainers. It’s tough to learn appropriate tavern patter. Nothing is to be too extreme in emotion; keep the vibe upbeat. Want to grind that axe? Take it somewhere else. Neighborhood pubs aren’t just places — they’re memory keepers, refuge stations, and the heartbeat of the block. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Every day, 11,000 people in this country step into a new chapter at age 65. Where do they go? How do they build a life that feels full, connected, and purposeful? In this episode, we discover insights into the trends shaping senior care—and the emotional work of navigating change with dignity and compassion. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Higher education is a $700+ billion-a-year industry. But for most families, it’s not an industry — it’s a life-changing, six-figure decision. And yet… how many parents really stop to ask the most important question: Is this degree going to be worth what we’re paying for it? We comparison-shop for cars. We inspect homes before buying. We study interest rates before taking out a mortgage. But when it comes to college — a purchase that can easily rival the cost of a house — many families rely on reputation, rankings, or emotion. In this episode, we step back from the glossy brochures and the campus tours to ask the harder questions: What are you really paying for? What’s driving tuition prices? Which paths deliver a return — and which ones might quietly erode value over time? Before you write that first tuition check, listen in. Because, unlike a car or a house, you can’t resell a degree that doesn’t deliver. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Across cultures and throughout history, we may disagree on almost everything, but we agree on one thing: something must be done with the dead.When that universal impulse meets culture, belief, and change, things get fascinating. Join us as we explore death, its rituals, and the powerful influences reshaping them around the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

My friend Ray is a playwright and an actor, and is navigating the challenges of living with Alzheimer's. Ray and Pat, his wife, share just a small sample of their insights on resilience. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

Originally coined by the British as British Regiment Attached Traveler, “BRAT” described children who moved alongside military families. Today, the word has taken on a new meaning—Born Resilient and Tough. In this episode, three BRATS reflect on growing up in military life, leaving home for college, building families of their own, and uncovering how constant movement, adaptation, and service shaped who they are today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

In this episode, we go backstage with Jeannie, a Broadway dresser who’s been pulling theater magic out of her apron since 1994. From legendary productions to last-second saves involving gaff tape, Jeannie shares what it’s really like to be there when the curtain goes up, to see history made, and to have lived through Broadway finding its way during 9-11, and the pandemic. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

After listening to this episode of Common Ground, we hope you’ll discover, as we did, that life offers endless chances for renaissance. With each new coming of age, we strengthen the confidence to trust ourselves, soften noisy inner critics into wise inner guides, and learn to step back from anxiety—sometimes even laughing along the way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

What if the secret to a fulfilling career isn’t playing it safe, but having the audacity to hone your talents, the courage to leap when it matters, and the tenacity to stay true to yourself? In this episode, you’ll meet four people who consider themselves lucky—not despite their career restarts, resets, and sharp turns, but because of them. Their stories just might change the way you think about your own path. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com

When my friend of 40 years, in the middle of our working together on his one-man play about his battles with cancer and double-bypass surgery, decides to reveal his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the dynamics change, and the merging of art and life becomes real and very present. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bnp9315.substack.com