The Far Middle Journey

  Marking the milestone 150th episode of The Far Middle, Nick reflects on the podcast’s nearly three-year journey and inspiration from Dr. James Burke's "Connections" series. “With such a prominent episode number, we need a compelling sports dedication, one that sits atop the greats, as a great of greats, and one that epitomizes and embraces the attributes of doing, achieving, hard work, and being rational,” says Nick, presenting the honor to Gordie Howe, aka “Mr. Hockey.” After reviewing Howe’s legendary career, work ethic, and transformative impact, Nick connects to The Far Middle’s impact on helping foster civil discourse and the importance of expressing diverse opinions. Looking back on the history of The Far Middle, Nick describes his philosophy on strategic thinking akin to that of a chess player, versus a checkers player’s mentality. However, the podcast’s beginnings resembled more of a checkers style before evolving into that of a chess player’s approach. He explains that each Far Middle episode is distinctly unique, with no two episodes exactly alike, yet all 150 episodes tie together a handful of core themes consistently and uniquely connected. “Strangely enough, applying a checkers player's mindset over the years helped me to become better at applying the chess player's mindset when thinking ahead,” says Nick. “It's one of life's interesting ironies.” Next, Nick references Ayn Rand’s essay, “Who Will Protect Us from Our Protectors?”, in discussing a core theme of The Far Middle, which is the state justifying control of the individual under the cover of looking after the helpless individual’s best interests or the public good. “The state is promoted as the protector for the individual, the little guy's shield,” says Nick. “But who then protects the individual from the out-of-control protector when that protector explodes in size and scope?”  The episode delves into the Founding Fathers' vision of limited government and individual sovereignty, contrasting it with the growth of bureaucratic control. Drawing parallels to Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World," Nick warns against the dangers of state manipulation and the erosion of individual freedoms. In closing, Nick reaffirms his commitment to advocating for individual liberty and civil discourse as The Far Middle journey continues.